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Numbness smothered me. A year of work, and I didn’t get to see it through. Lana was the second-best penalty scorer. She had a chance, but she was also one of the youngest on the team. It was so much pressure on young shoulders. This was the captain’s responsibility. She shouldn’t have to bear that terrible burden if things didn’t go our way.
I tipped my face to the sky, trying to calm myself. My hair dripped with water, but at last the rain had stopped battering us. The clouds parted, revealing the faint wash of a rainbow against pale blue. I allowed my gaze to find Reece’s. Dark tendrils of hair curled on his forehead. We were too far apart to speak, and I wouldn’t be able to hear him over the racket anyway, but we didn’t need words. His face had always been so inscrutable, but he offered me a smile that was unmistakably warm and encouraging. Reece believed in me. He’d always seen something in me, even when I couldn’t see it in myself.
His gaze clung to mine as he drew exaggerated breaths, his full lips parting to inhale and open as he exhaled.
Deep breaths. Calm and solid like a mountain. You’ve got this.
He tipped his head in a nod. A sudden spaciousness filled my chest. I’d got us here, hadn’t I? Sean had trampled my confidence, but I had to have my own back. This wasn’t a time for self-doubt. I’d never been like the other girls at school. The ones who knew all the words to Frozen and wore pretty fairy costumes on dress-up days. I’d spent my childhood in shorts and football boots with the roar of the wind in my ears and the taste of mud on my tongue. I’d clocked up hours of grueling training in every weather condition. Injuries. Defeats. Blood, sweat, and tears. I’d given everything to football. I’d fought my entire life. Everything had been building to this one moment. A single penalty. I wasn’t a teaspoon. Not anymore. I was the only girl that had been good enough to play with the boys. I’d always been good enough. Somehow I’d forgotten myself. An awakened sense of power filled my chest with warmth.
I could do this.
I’d always been able to do this.
Planting myself in front of Claire, I forced myself to settle and spoke with quiet but determined firmness. “I panicked before, but it won’t happen again. I’ve worked with the psychologist on it. You have to trust me now. I won’t let you or this team down. I’m taking that penalty, and I’m getting us into the Women’s Super League.”
Claire’s icy gaze roved over me, and I detected the slightest thawing in her piercing eyes.
I stood taller. “I’ll get it done because that’s what I do. This is no one else’s responsibility but mine. I’m the captain. Let me do my fucking job.”
A small smile played on her lips. She tapped her pen against her clipboard thoughtfully and gave a grudging nod. “Fine. Off you go then, Marshall.” She waved a dismissive hand. “You’re right. You’re the captain. Do your fucking job.”
I found a nice patch of grass. A few cheers rang out. Then clapping. Then stomping. My hands were sure and steady as I placed the ball on the penalty spot. Once, I might have trembled, but not now. I had a job to do. I’d been training my entire life for this one moment. I straightened my spine. The wind slapped my face and screamed in my ears, but a voice rose up in me. A cool, calm voice that made warmth explode in my chest.
You are strong and steady like a mountain. Just this breath. And the next.
Reece had told me he was a terrible healer, but that wasn’t true. I was still angry with him, but he’d helped me believe in myself again. Sean had broken me, and Reece had put me back together. Maybe it hadn’t been the way he should have done it. He hadn’t healed me with bandages or medicines. He’d loved me, and with his love he’d fixed the cracked parts inside of me.
I blocked out all of it: the clapping, the stomping feet, the howling wind. I’d been a little girl that the boys didn’t think was good enough. I’d shown them. I’d show everybody.
I’m the captain.
The whistle blew. Adrenaline coursed through me, but I didn’t move. No rush. A mountain stands still and composed, regardless of the weather. One breath and then the next. With every ounce of strength, I aimed for the top right corner. The keeper jumped and time moved in slow motion. The tips of her orange gloves grazed the ball as it sailed over her head. It hit the back of the net. The stadium erupted with wild screaming.
Lana dove on me and I was weightless as the girls lifted me into the air. My heart soared, wrapped in the love of my team, where I knew it would be safe. We’d done it. We’d made it into the Women’s Super League.
Sometimes, even captains miss.
But not today.
Chapter 38
Skylar
When my feet finally hit the pitch again, my face ached from grinning. There would be interviews and photos to pose for, but first I needed to find Reece. I scanned the sideline, but there was no trace of him. As I headed for the tunnel, a familiar voice held me in place.
“Skylar?”
I twisted, hoping to see anyone but the man who stood in front of me. Sean raked a hand through his golden hair and hitched a shoulder.
“Sean? What do you want?” This wasn’t a time to go toe to toe with my ex.
He quirked a brow; his smirk was still as smug as ever. “You did well. I wanted to congratulate you.”
I stared at him, unable to hide my annoyance. “Thanks.”
I made to move past him, but he grabbed my elbow. “I heard you’re going to LA?”
“So?”
