friable (adj.) - easily broken down into pieces or reduced to nothing
She woke with a start, shooting straight up in her bed and breathing hard. Her therapist said it was normal to have nightmares about something traumatic, but she did not think they would continue for weeks after. What was weird for her is that these nightmares were not just from the previous week - it was a build up of everything that had been going on for the last few years. She had been cleared to play, but she did continue seeing her therapist, and not just for the attack on her life. She felt more vulnerable than ever, but she hid it well when she was not alone. No one knew about her abusive father, her assault, her mother's death, except for her therapist, Jason and Nicole, Dana and Rick, and Nash. They all thought that Dana and Rick were her actual parents, and she liked it that way a lot better.
They had placed at the top of the league so they were able to have their first game at home against the North Carolina Courage. She was happy to be able to stay in the comfort of her own home compared to being away in a hotel, and it did help her stay calm. She was back in the starting lineup, which had been a fight to get into, and she was going to be starting in undoubtedly one of the biggest games she had ever played in. Sure the NCAA championships were big, but a run at the NWSL Championship was a whole different beast.
"Ready to go?" Bethany asked, knocking on her door. Samantha looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath, nodding to herself.
"Yeah, I'll be out in a second." She responded, grabbing her bag off the bed and making sure she had everything. She opened the door as Bethany was walking away, and they gave each other a grin as they raced down the stairs. Sofia was finishing up a smoothie, and they were out the door, heading to the stadium. They were all pretty pumped, getting hyped up to the music playing and singing along to their game day playlist. Once they got to the stadium, they had been transported to a new world of focus and excitement, and it took Samantha's mind off of things. They got to the walk up, the camera crew filming for their social media pages. The three of them always did something funny, and they kept the tradition going for their big game. They got to the locker room, and they were some of the first ones there. She hooked her phone up to the sound system and got the music going, and as their teammates dwindled in to get ready, they all danced around the locker room. It was time for them to head out to the field for their warmups, and she joined the rest of the goalkeepers and went towards the net to get hands on the ball.
Forty-five minutes later they were heading back into the locker room to change into their uniforms for them to walk out, and she felt the nervousness come roaring at her. She had never felt this nervous before a game, and she did not know if it was because it was do or die, or because if they lose they go home. I guess it's the same thing. She lined up behind her captain in Fishlock and followed her out of the tunnel, and the crowd was already roaring as they came out to take the field. After opening introductions they took the field, and she grouped with her starting defense for a last few words of wisdom. They broke off and she went over to her net, the fans getting loud as they awaited for the first half whistle. She watched the ball a lot of the half, the Reign able to keep the Courage at bay in the midfield, but they were still unable to come away with any decent looks on net. Reed watched, trying to figure out what they can do to fix that issue - the only thing she saw was to go into a diamond back and try to push a little more pressure up front and in the middle. When they had a slight break, she gathered her backline and told them to switch their formation, and although they seemed skeptical, they trusted her judgement and did it anyway. Brooks slid into the front while Mcnabb stayed back in the middle, and it seemed to start working, having a false midfield to support them made them push higher. However, the main flaw was that there were gaps in the backline now, more open space, and O'Sullivan slotted a ball through for Williams to get her in behind them. She knew how Williams worked, and she made herself big enough to minimize the angle on net. What she did not notice was Dunn peaking in on the other side, and watched as a shot on net turned into a cross, and she shuffled over to face the one time shot from Dunn's foot. She took the ball straight to the face, giving up the rebound, and pounced on top of it before anyone else could get to it. She stayed on the ground with the ball in hand, knowing her nose was bleeding as she got onto all fours to prevent blood from getting on her jersey. She heard the whistle blow as her defense came around her, but the first person who was at her side was the one who nailed the ball at her face, waving the trainers over.
"Sorry about that." Dunn muttered.
"Not your fault. Well, kinda." She chuckled as she heard running feet come towards her, assuming it was the trainers.
"Hey Sam let's see what we're looking at." Kathryn said as she knelt by her side, getting a towel under her nose so it did not drip more than it already had.
"How we lookin' Kat?" She asked, grimacing.
"You're gonna have to change your jersey and it looks like it might be broken, but we can pop it back into place. Gotta do concussion protocol before we move you off the field." She responded, and she nodded as she sat back on the field. "What's your full name?"
"Samantha Claire Reed."
"How old are you?"
"I just turned twenty-three."
"Birthday?"
"September 15, 2002."
"Where are you right now?"
"I am at Cheney Stadium playing in the semi-final match for the NWSL Championship."
"Where do you live?"
"I live in Tacoma, Washington."
"What's your horse's name?"
"Depends which one you're asking about."
"The one back in Michigan."
"Bandit."
"Alright, what are your parents names?"
"Malia and Clarke Reed."
"I thought it was Rick and Dana?"
"My birth parents aren't them."
"Based on my field assessment she's alright. I'd still like to get a scan afterward to make sure. However for now, let's get you a new jersey and make sure that bleeding has stopped." Kathryn finished her line of questioning after that, and she looked at the referee. "How close are we to halftime?"
"Technically we're there. Do you need me to call the half?" The center official responded.
"Unless you want to wait five minutes for me to get her cleaned up, yeah." She answered, and the official nodded, blowing the whistle to signify the end of the half. They all walked towards the sideline, Kathryn and Cox helping her get to her feet to walk on her own towards the sideline as well. They cleaned up the blood and had her take off her jersey before they headed into the locker room so they would not make a mess inside the locker room.
"So, Rick and Dana aren't your real parents?" Cox asked her as they sat down.
"Drop it Steph." She responded quickly, and her teammate sighed, nodding.
"If you want to talk." She trailed.
"I know where to find you." She answered as Benstiti came in, clapping his hands. Kathryn sat down next to her so she could take a better look at her nose while their head coach talked with them.
"Alright this is gonna hurt." She said lowly as to not interrupt the coach, and she nodded, bracing for it. She felt her fingers line up on the upper cartilage, and without any warning she went for it, popping her nose back into place.
"Shit." She hissed, getting a couple chuckles from her teammates as she put the towel that was now full of ice back up to her nose. They talked for a few more minutes before making their way back out to the field to stretch their legs back out and get ready for the second half.
The whistle blew and they were off to start the second half, both teams itching for the first goal of the game. Her team played aggressively, and with the changes they made with their formation, they seemed to be holding and pushing up the field a lot easier. Possession was in their advantage, and they were able to get quite a few more shots on net. Thankfully Reed did not face much action on her end, she made a few simple saves when needed, but they were not able to get on the board themselves. At some point, Dunn got a quick shot on her and she made the save, but time was dwindling, and she needed to try. She saw Huerta making a crashing run, and she punted the ball up as far as she could up the field. The ball took an awkward bounce and up over Huerta, as well as Murphy, and into the back of the net. The crowd erupted from silence to loud cheering, and all of her teammates tackled her. Someone hit her nose and she was in pain again, but eventually they all got off of her to play the last five minutes of the game. She kept a cool face, keeping herself focused, but as soon as she heard that final whistle, the entire team bursted out onto the field to celebrate both her goal and the fact that they were going to the finals.
After they were done with after game festivities, they all decided to head back to the trio's home to continue their celebration in a more intoxicated state. Even though she was exhausted, she was ready to have a night of drinking with her best friends. She rode back with her roommates and they had to stop to buy enough alcohol to last them all night.
When they got back there were already cars lined up down the street, and they had some helping hands for all of their beverages. They did not do these parties unless it was after a big win, and with their goalkeeper's clutch goal in the eighty-sixth minute, there was no better reason than to get things started. Samantha hooked up her iPad to the surround sound system for music, and they got to living the best night of their life of beer pong tournaments, drinking more than they should, and just straight up having a good time.
Samantha got to a point where she could not stay on her feet any longer. She was exhausted and had a slight headache from the fractured nose, and she was just ready to head to bed. The crowd was dwindling but a good portion of them were still sitting downstairs, drunk, and having a wonderful time that only half of them would probably remember. Just as she was about to go upstairs, her phone started to ring. It was a private caller, but she was tipsy enough to answer it anyway.
"Hello?" She asked, answering the phone.
"This is an automated recording from Pierce County Corrections to inform you that inmate 'Henry Fox' has been released on bail prior to their hearing. If you have any questions, please call the emergency hotline or in case of emergency, 9-1-1...." The voice on the other end of the call said, but by then she had stopped listening and her hand was shaking. Her phone dropped out of her hand and hit the floor, and she felt as if she could not feel her legs anymore.
"Hey, Sam! You alright?" Sofia asked, being the first to notice she was out of sorts. She looked up, her face looked like she had seen a ghost, and they watched as shook her head.
"Is it Nash?" Bethany asked as she and Sofia got up from their seat, carefully walking over to her so they did not fall over.
"Breathe Reed. Who was on the phone?" Sofia asked calmly.
"Henry Fox, the guy who tried to kill me, he's out of jail." She responded in between panicked breaths. "Sof, he knows where I live, he knows my schedule to a tee."
"You've got a restraining order, don't you? He'd be stupid to come near you again." Bethany tried to reason with her.
"How is this possible that he's out of jail for attempted murder?" She asked softly, searching their eyes for answers but finding none.
"Maybe he had a clean record beforehand? I'm not really sure." Sofia answered, then looked to Bethany. "Work on getting everyone home safe. We'll clean everything up tomorrow." She instructed, and Bethany nodded, walking over to the few that remained sitting around, wondering what was going on.
"He tried to kill me. I hate to say it but I'm a high profile, why would he be released?" She continued to ask repeatedly, both panic and the alcohol making her more paranoid than normal.
"Should we call Nash?" Bethany asked when she came back over with a bottle of water, and Sofia nodded to her.
"Alright Reed, we're gonna take you upstairs. Right now you need to sleep, and we'll figure this all out in the morning." Sofia said to her, guiding her up the steps one at a time. The strong, resilient Samantha Reed she had gotten to know and love had disappeared, whether it was from the late night boogie man call or her drunken state. She was broken, vulnerable, and in the worst shape she had ever seen her in. She got her to her room and shut the door behind them, and Samantha made her own way to the bed. She had sobered up rather quickly for the time being, and went ahead and got herself changed before sitting on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and still shaking. Bethany walked in a few minutes later to see if she had calmed down, and Sofia assumed all of their guests were gone.
"What if he comes here?" She asked softly, not breaking eye contact with the wall.
"We have one of the best security systems there is. If he even tries to get in here his ass will be in cuffs before he can reach the door." Sofia responded. "I know it's going to be hard, but try and get some sleep, alright?" She told her, and the girl nodded, but remained unmoving. Sofia got up to turn on the lamp while Bethany turned off the overhead light, dimming the room quite drastically.
"Hey guys?" She asked.
"What's up Reed?" Bethany responded.
"Do you think you could stay for a little bit, just until I fall asleep?" She asked in a small voice, and they both gave her a small smile, walking back over to the bed and laying down on either side of her.
"Sure thing Reed. Does this mean we get to have a sleepover?" Sofia answered, and the three of them laughed.
"Just until I fall asleep."