Don't Let Me Fall

Chapter 19: The Way We Were

Chapter 19

I sat on the bench, watching as my team threw away our chances at a state title.

"Come on Hannah! You've got to take care of the ball!" Coach Finch screamed across the court.

We were playing Knox, and I'm on the bench. This is the second round of districts, and if we kept playing like this, it would be our last.

I watched as Jordan missed another lay-up.

"Are you sure you have a concussion?" Coach Bear whispered into my ear.

"I'll be back for the championship." I said. She looked up at the score board, not pleased.

"If we make it that far." She said, un-hopeful.

She didn't say anything for awhile.

"Maybe we could just go against the doctors and let you play."

"I'm up for it!" I said.

"Better not, your dad is over there and I'm sure he'd have a fit. So is Noah, he'd have an even bigger fit."

I looked back to where Noah and Jaxon were sitting. Side by side they looked very similar. They had the same brilliant blue eyes. and both of them cleared 6'3" easily. They were also very similar in body build. They both had noticeable biceps, Jaxon's more prominent. The only difference was that Jaxon was wearing a sling on his left arm, and a black boot on his right.

"Timeout." Coach Finch calmly told one of the referee's.

The team jogged over to him, panting and out of breath. Their faces were covered with sweat, along with discouragement.

"You guys are only down eighteen points, and you have already given up. Just because Sam is hurt doesn't mean we can't win this. You've got to beat the ball into Megan. Hannah, if the three is open, take it. No stupid shots though. Sammy, you have anything to say?" He asked me.

I stood up, feeling a tad bit dizzy.

"I think that you guys are being a bunch of babies. You've got to take a stand, be a leader. If you believe that you can, you will. And let's kick some ass!" I took a seat back town, feeling nauseated.

I looked up at the clock, realizing that we only had about a quarter and a half left to make the comeback, and maybe only a quarter and a half left of my senior season.

"Jordan, you've got to keep your cool. If you feel like your going to punch anyone, take yourself out." I told her. She put a hand on my shoulder, taking me off guard.

"You worry about yourself, Shoey. I can handle it." She jogged back to one of the refs who had the ball.

I highly doubted she could keep her cool for the next twelve minutes. The girl she was guarding kept tugging on her jersey when the ref wasn't looking, and it didn't take much to set her off. Though this season she had been a lot better about staying under control, her anger issues weren't totally fixed.

The Lady Rams took the court. I could feel the energy change immediately as they got ready to inbound the ball. The fans in the stands stood up and were clapping their hands, which they hadn't done most of the night.

Haley took the ball out, then quickly passed it into Megan, who then dribbled across the court. She was very coordinated for being a post. Megan passed it to Jordan. She drove passed a defender, making the lay-up.

I glanced back at Jaxon. He was on his phone not paying any attention to the game. His back was slouched against the seat behind him, his feet propped up on the empty seat in front.

Noah, on the other hand seemed very into it. He was standing on his feet, bouncing Brooke up and down on his hip. Brooke seemed to be having a good time. She was clapping along with the rest of the crowd, a wide smile plastered on her face.

Over the course of the next four minutes we had a twelve-two run, cutting their lead only to eight points, which seemed like nothing. The buzzer sounded, clearing the floor.

"Girls, you've got eight more minutes left to play. And seniors, possibly only eight more minutes left to play in a Schuyler uniform. I say we go out there and play our kind of basketball. On three." Coach Finch said to everyone.

"One, two, three!" Everyone shouted including me.

The claps in the stands had grown a lot louder. I heard a toddler crying in the background, and I immediately recognized it as Brooke's. Brooke doesn't like loud noises, and probably was throwing a fix because of them. I was surprised when I turned around. Jaxon was still playing on his phone, not caring at all about the crying toddler beside him. Instead Noah was patting her on the back, and mumbling things to her. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. It was the total opposite of anything I'd seen before. Like earlier today, before the game he barely said a word in the car. Jaxon was acting weird, and I'm sure it had nothing to do with his concussion, or his broken leg.

I slowly turned around back to the game. I was still thinking about him though. I had no clue what could be bothering him.

"You noticed it to." I looked to my left and was surprised to see Jordan.

"Noticed what?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"That he's been acting weird." She threw her hands back behind her head, and slouched in the chair.

"What has he done to you?" I asked her.

She cleared her throat.

"Well this morning he called me a stupid bitch."

"Well I'm sure you had it coming."

She laughed.

"I knocked over his orange juice at breakfast." My eyes widened.

"Ok. You didn't deserve that. Did you say anything to him?"

"I tried to but he stormed off."

A pass from Knox went out of bounds, and back into to the locker room area.

"I got it." I said to one of the referee's who was walking towards it.

I began jogging towards it, but began to feel light headed. Once I reached it I passed it to him, then went to sit down. Jordan kept talking but I just blocked her out. My head was spinning, which I knew couldn't be good.

One minute I was listening to Jordan go on about Jaxon, the next I was running outside puking all over the grass.

Author's Note

Not my best work, but it's do able. I hope you guys enjoy it, even if I don't. I had a really bad case of writers block, and this was the best I could think of. I have a feeling there is only going to be a few more chapters. Sorry. :(

-Maddie