Redemption

PROVE EVERYONE WRONG

I waited for Carter all night. Every creak made me rush from the bedroom, but every time I did, I found out it was never him coming up the stairs. My heart stopped racing at the sounds coming from the hallway. I waited for him until my eyes started drooping, and I didn't fight it off, I welcomed it with open arms.

I wanted to talk to Joey and tell her what happened. Every time I tried, I didn't know what to say. Even Fletcher said he hadn't talked to Carter in a few days. It made me wonder where he was and if he was safe. I knew he was coming home at night, but I hated that it was so late, and I didn't want to be the reason he felt uncomfortable. He was here first.

After getting ready for classes the next morning, I didn't stop by his room. I didn't even check to see if he'd been home. It's not that I was mad at him for what happened. I knew it was because of me, and he didn't owe me the opportunity to apologize. I overreacted, and I can't blame him for avoiding me the way he has.

So, I went to the gym, and I decided that I'd stop saying no to the things that had the potential to make me happy. I didn't know why the volleyball coach wanted me to play for her. I didn't know how there weren't other options, but I walked through the gymnasium doors anyway.

I found the blonde-haired woman, chewing her gum, and instructing her players. Then the door closed, and her body turned to find me standing in the doorway.

She approached me with a clipboard in her hands. I didn't need to say a word. It's almost like she knew why I came back. I watched the wrinkles on her tanned face settle deeper as she waited for the reassurance that I wanted the position on her team.

"I want to do it."

"As I assumed."

"When do I start?"

"Well, I hear your working with Coach Ferentz, so we need to figure out how this works for you, Sawyer."

"I'm free now."

"Okay," she stopped chewing her gum. "Joey!"

The redheaded girl approached me with her face blotchy and red. "What's up, coach?" She turned to me. "Did you accept the position?"

"She did," Dawn smiled. "Take her to the locker room. There's extra practice clothes in my office. Find something that fits and meet me back out on the court. We'll run a few drills and go from there."

I followed Joey into the locker room. She expressed her excitement as she threw me clothes from the coach's office. I listened to her clap as I slipped out of my sweater and jeans.

The redheaded girl stared at me in shock when she realized I already changed into my practice clothes, but I didn't want her to see the scars on my back, so I wasted no time. She was already worried about my injuries when I showed up at her doorstep covered in blood. I didn't need her to worry about the broken skin I was struggling to heal.

"Coach! She's ready!"

I wasn't ready. Not when a stranger approached me, and Dawn said we'd be competing for the setter position.

"If you want to serve the ball then you should know how to direct your ball," coach yelled. "I laid out six x marks on the ground. If you can hit all of them, you can move to a different obstacle. If you cannot then that's all I need to know."

I hated the feeling of being put on the spot and embarrassing myself. The coach didn't want to hear my protests, she told me to get in line and ignored everything else. So, I did.

Then the whistle blew, and although I felt the heat creeping up, I threw the ball into the air as I did yesterday. My palm connected with the surface as I sent the ball over the net. Instead of worrying if it connected with the x, I grabbed another ball from the rack beside me.

"Yes!" Joey shouted. "You've got this, girl! Do it again!"

I sucked in a deep breath before cocking my arm behind me and positioning my hand for the next target. After missing the first time, I tried over and over until I taught myself how to set my body correctly. Then it became almost impossible for me to miss. Just as my last ball hit the mark, I turned to Joey who was jumping in the air.

Coach's whistle silenced the sounds echoing through the gym. I turned to look at the girl still struggling to make it through her obstacles, and I realized I made it.

"Sawyer, we play this Thursday," Coach announced. "You'll replace Amanda for this game."

"That's in two days," I stuttered. "You can't possibly think I'm ready – "

"I'm never wrong."

If she saw something in me, I'd like to know what it was. I stared at myself every morning, and when I saw my reflection, I saw nothing special. Nothing except for the same weak girl, but I'm trying so hard not to be here anymore. So hard. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm not questioning Dawn when she says she's never wrong.

"What's next?"

Coach turned to me with a piece of paper in her hand. "Practice and playing. Get ready, Sawyer. I'm excited to see what you've got."

I didn't say another word as she walked away. She told me to be at practice tomorrow and we'd start there. I looked around the team, realizing I'd have to prove a point and make them understand why I was here. All of them stared like the coach made a mistake, but when I caught the ball Joey threw in my direction, and I cocked my hand back to hit it, I knew I was going to do what I did best – prove everyone wrong.