Page 81 of Well Aware

She’d agreed on two things.

One, that I stop if I feel any pain. That I listen to my body and don’t push myself further than I should just because it was an important game. Two, that I avoid any unnecessary roughness.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the game of soccer, on an elite level, was literally the definition of rough.

She’d probably see me on TV and know that she didn’t quite understand how physical it could get.

But I wouldn’t go out of my way to do anything dumb.

The head ref for tonight’s game came up to me and inspected my bubble-wrapped cast like he said he would be doing, and then nodded when he found everything covered up well.

“Play safe.” He nodded as he disappeared.

I looked behind me and waved at Iris, just like I always did before a game.

She gave me a thumbs-up back, and I walked to my position.

“You nervous?” Meredith asked.

Meredith was the other center defender, and my partner in crime all season.

She’d been through thick and thin with me and had slowly become a true friend.

“I’m not too bad just yet,” I admitted. “But I’m sure that I’ll get that way soon.”

The middle ref gestured to both goalies.

“Here we go.” Kaylee, our goalkeeper, jumped up and punched her hands together.

“You got this,” I said to her. “No goals.”

“None.” She winked.

The ref’s whistle blew, and we spent the next eighty-five minutes zero to zero.

My lungs were on fire. My legs were jelly. My elbow ached for some reason, and I was exhausted.

“Coach needs to put Nettie back in,” Beth grumbled.

I agreed.

Nettie was as fresh as she was going to get.

She’d been sitting on the sidelines for ten precious minutes now, and I didn’t know why.

Then Kaylee said, “They took their forward out, too. Giving them both rest until the last five-minute push. She’ll be back in soon.”

Sure enough, Nettie was back on the next call, and she had determination in her eyes.

“Whatever you do,” I said to my fellow defensive players. “Don’t give it to her. They’re going to be ready for the obvious.”

Just like we were when the ball went to the other team’s forward.

I easily read the play and cleared it to the midfield, pissing the midfielder closest to me off.

“What are you even doing out here? You’re broken, remember?”

I ignored her.