You're too good (USWNT)

5

After around 20 minutes, we pulled up to our house. Kieran hopped out, while I hesitated. I wanted to run away and never come back. I was terrified of the awful people that I call my parents. 

I eventually grabbed Kieran's hand as he helped me out of the car. I slowly walked with my crutches up to our porch. I waited for Tobin before I knocked on the door. When I heard footsteps coming, my stomach filled with butterflies. I don't wanna do this.

My father opened the door, when he saw Kieran, Tobin and I standing there. He looked shocked to see me in crutches, and even more shocked to see Tobin. 

"Where have you two been?" He asked angrily, the smell of alcohol taking over. "And who are you?" He looked at Tobin. 

"I'm really sorry sir, but your niece has broken her ankle at soccer training. We took her to the hospital and payed for everything, we would've contacted you earlier but we had no way of doing so. I'm terribly sorry sir." Tobin explained, leaving the part out that her friend broke my ankle.

"Niece? She's not my niece. Now get in here! You woke me up." He demanded, grabbing mine and Kieran's arms. 

"Bye Tobin. Thank you for everything." I shouted, just before my dad slammed the door.

"Why the fuck are you back so late! And do you think we can pay for this?!" He screamed, kicking my ankle. I screamed out in pain. "And why the fuck are you still playing anyway!? You suck at soccer! You can't play! Stop wasting your time on that bullshit!" He screamed again, slapping me this time. 

Tobin

Alcohol filled my nose when I met the kids' father. He was a big man, muscular, maybe 6'2, to 6'3? He wore a white tank top with dark blue jeans. His face looked like he hasn't shaved in days, and I know for sure he hasn't showered in forever. Are these kids okay? Do they need help?

Just as their father slammed the door on me, I turned to walk away, when I heard screaming from the inside. "Why the fuck are you back so late! And do you think we can pay for this?!" the father yelled, when I heard Cora scream. Is she okay? What was going on? I thought I was just hearing things, and plus, Kelley and Sonny were waiting for me.

"Hey. How'd it go?" Kelley asked once I got in the car.

"Bad. Im worried."

"Why? What happened?" Sonny asked, now also concerned. 

"The father was clearly drunk and grabbed Kieran and Cora's wrists, and I heard screaming from the inside."

"Should we go help?" Kelley suggested, worry filled her words. 

"And do what? We can't just barge in there, that's illegal." I sighed.

"Here's what we'll do. We can ask coach Mathew to see if we can come back tomorrow, he told Cora he wanted here there so she can help coach. Then we'll talk to Cora and see if she is in danger." Sonny told us. 

"That's not a bad idea. Now let's get out of here before Jill gets mad at us." Kelley suggested.

———

Kieran

Not much happened the rest of the night. Obviously we got beat, but it wasn't that bad. Though Cora now has a huge black eye, and my leg really hurts. 

Cora's coach asked her to come and help coach her team. She's gonna go, my leg hurts too much to walk. Honestly, I have no idea how she's gonna get there with her broken ankle, but I'm sure she'll figure it out. 

Cora

I got on our other bike since we left the other one at the stadium, though only after I covered the bruise up with makeup. 

I had to leave an hour before training, because I don't know how long this will take me. 

With the crutches, cast, and pain, I know this will take me a while, so I set on my journey. 

I duct taped my crutches to the bike, seeing as I had no place to hold it. It held pretty well, and I was very proud. I also put the duct tape around the handlebar, knowing I would need it later.

The ride wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Yes, it was very slow, but not that painful. I figured out that pedaling doesn't hurt, I just can't bend it in certain ways. 

Eventually I got to the stadium, with around 15 minutes to spare. I hopped off my bike, ripped the duct tape off, grabbed my crutches, and crutched as fast as I could inside. My coach, a few of my teammates, and a few of the national teammates were there.

I was surprised to see Tobin, Mal, Alex, Kelley, Christen, Emily, and Ali there. When my teammates saw me, they excitedly ran up to me. 

"Oh my god Cora! Are you okay?!" Bianca asked. 

"Yeah, Im fine." I replied. 

My other teammates started asking me questions, but I wasn't listening. In the corner of my eye, I saw 3 people walking up to me. Tobin, Emily, and Kelley. Kelley instantly ran and swooped me up. It surprised me, I expected a slide hug, not to get picked up, bridal style, especially with a broken ankle. 

Kelley!" Tobin shouted from afar. I thought it was hilarious, until Emily came over and tried to take me out of Kelley's arms. As much as I liked Emily, I really didn't want to leave Kelley's grasp. With her, I felt safe, like she could protect me from anything. I knew this wasn't the case, though I still didn't want to leave. 

Kelley's grip tightened as she shouted at Sonnet, "Sonnet! Hands off!" Surprisingly, she didn't say it in a joking way. She seemed protective, which kinda frightened me. I've never seen her like this before.

I looked at Kelley with a look saying, 'What was that?' She noticed and looked down, immediately apologizing.

"Oh my god Cora I am so sorry, I did not mean to scare you, are you okay? Can I do anything for you?" She rambled.

"No no no, you didn't scare me I've just never seen you like that before, it's okay." I laughed, leaning my head onto her shoulder. 

"Okay phew." She sighed, leaning her head on mine. I love this!

"Girls! Bring it over!" My coach shouted from the middle of the field, where some cones were set up in a certain way, meaning fitness.

My team and the girls from the national team walked over. I was still in Kelley's arms, and I wasn't going to leave until either Kelley or coach physically made me. 

"So as you all can see, some of the national girls decided to join us today again, as well as Cora's broken ankle. She should be back in a month or two, but for now, she is just going to help with training." He began. "You have all probably noticed the cones out. I think you all know what that means, fitness today!" He cheered, while all the girls groaned. 

He looked over to the national players. "You girls can join if you would like, too." He smiled.

Everyone either shook their heads no or laughed. Besides Emily of course, she decided to jump at the chance.

"I'll do it! I'm gonna beat them." She grinned, wide enough to show all her spotless, bright white teeth. 

"Now now Sonny, this is not a race." Alex patted her shoulder. 

"Okay mom, but I'm still gonna win!" She shouted. Little did she know how fast some of my teammates were, two of them having Olympic medals from track. Still not faster than me though :).

Anyways, of course Emily didn't beat them, even thought it was not a race, my Olympic medalist teammates beat her by like 20 seconds. Coach then decided to let us off easy with a simple scrimmage, pros vs pros-but-at-a-younger-age.

Kelley eventually had to let me go, after holding onto me the entire fitness tests. She got weird glances from some of her teammates, but she didn't care. She either growled at them or flipped them off. It was hella funny.