Talia's POV
"Fuck the Courage." I mumble as we finish warming up for our game against the courage. "And their shitty stadium."
"Easy Killer." Christiane teases as we walk towards the away locker room.
After we step into the locker room we split up and head to our individual lockers. When I get to my locker I change out of my warm up shirt then put on my gold jersey. I then relax in my locker while the speeches happen. Once the speeches are over I, along with the rest of the starters, head to the tunnel and I get in line in-between Desiree and Jessie.
Seconds later we hold hands with the little kids we're walking out then we walk onto the pitch and line up. A couple seconds later we shake hands, the captains do the coin toss, then I run to my position. I wait a few seconds then NC kick off the game.
The first 20 or so minutes of the game are a bit boring with neither team getting a shot off.
In the 22nd minute we have a goal kick so Christiane passes me the ball then I walk with the ball up field and survey for options. While I'm looking for options I notice Christen making a run so I roll the ball forward then use the outside of my right boot to pass the ball into Christen's path. The ball lands at Christen's feet as she's mid stride so she keep racing towards goal and right before she shoots, Merritt Mathias comes over and takes Christen's legs out from under her which earns us a penalty.
As I'm walking toward the penalty box I watch as Merritt Mathias grabs Christen's head and drives it into the ground.
"HEY." I shout then I sprint toward Mathias, who's standing over Christen.
When I get to Mathias I aggressively shove her off Christen then I get in her face.
"Bitch I swear if you touch her again I will make sure you never walk again, you got that?" I seethe.
"HEY." I hear the whiney voice of Hinkle yell so I turn around face the bigot.
"Ain't nobody talking to you short-stack." I say and tower over the woman.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Mathias huff then she throws a punch.
"Woah bitch." I say and catch the punch. "Really?"
"ENOUGH." The referee shouts and our teams separate us.
"What the fuck Merritt?" Sam questions.
"Get a grip Merritt." Abby says.
The ref goes to her pocket and pulls out both her red and yellow cards.
Hinkle and I are given yellows then Merritt Mathias is given a red.
"Serves her right." I mumble then I walk over to Christen who's now sat up on the ground. "You okay?"
"Yeah Freckles." Christen says with a smile as I check her face over. "Thanks for that."
"Of course." I say. "Nobody hurts you and gets away with it."
"Thanks...Do I look okay?"
"You still look like a goddess so I think you'll live." I say with a smile.
"Thanks Freckles." Christen says while blushing then I help her onto her feet.
"Now go score this penalty." I say.
Christen nods then grabs the ball and sets up her penalty. A few seconds later my roommate buries her penalty making the game 1-0.
Our team celebrates the goal then we get ready to restart the game.
Throughout the rest of the first half I am used for elbow and kicking practice by Hinkle and Zerboni which pisses me off.
"That didn't look fun." Kelley mumbles as we walk into the locker room.
Once in the locker room I head to the bathroom then lift my shirt up to reveal my stomach.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" I shout.
"What?" Amy says as everyone runs into the bathroom.
"Look." I say and hold my shirt up.
"Oh my god." Kelley says as Christen takes a picture. "That's so many bruises."
I'm guessing Christen took a picture so Hinkle and Zerboni can be reprimanded by the league.
"They're about to get a cleat to the place where the sun don't shine if they don't watch out." I say then shuffle back to my locker.
I sit in my locker and rest for the duration of half-time then return to the field when told to.
We kick off then Hinkle and Zerboni immediately resume kicking and elbowing me.
In the 50th minute we earn a corner so I loiter around the penalty spot with Hinkle marking me as Christen gets ready to take the corner. Moments later Christen swings the ball in and it heads right for me. Annoyingly right before I jump Hinkle elbows me in the ribs causing me to slump to the ground.
"REF." Everyone on my team yells then the whistle blows.
I look at the ref and see her pointing to the penalty spot then she points at Hinkle and gives her a straight red.
"You okay?" Christen asks and helps me up.
"Yeah." I say.
I walk over to the sideline to get some water and as I'm drinking I hear cheering so I look at goal and see the ball in the net. I also see everyone hugging Christen so I assume she scored.
Once I've had enough to drink I get to my position just as NC restart the game.
With Hinkle gone, Zerboni picks up her slack and keeps elbowing me and kicking me.
Eventually I have enough of the elbowing and kicking so I decided to give Zerboni a taste of her own medicine.
In the 80th minute Sam passes the ball to Zerboni, who then sprints down my side of the field so I jog with her. Zerboni runs towards the endline and tries to cross the ball, but right before she gets the cross off I take her legs out from under her. I then follow through on the tackle and make sure to cleat her where the sun don't shine.
And just for good measures I step on her ankle.
"Doesn't feel so good being on this end does it." I say as I hover over the bitch.
"Alright Talia." Becky says and pulls me away.
"I mean you kinda deserved that McCall." Jess says as some of the girls check on Zerboni.
"You really did." Sam says.
"Probably deserved a little more." Abby says.
The ref comes over and shows me my second yellow then she shows me a red.
"Worth it." I say as I walk off the pitch.
Laura meets me when I get to the bench and she slyly high fives me.
"That's my girl." Laura says as I continue on to the locker room.
Once in the locker room I only have to wait 10 minutes for the game to end meaning we win 2-0.
"Talia the press want you." Our press officer says.
"Okay." I say.
I get out of my locker and head to the press room then sit down.
"Well that was an eventful game for you." A reporter says.
"Yeah that girl needs to learn some professionalism."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Last year she blamed Rachel Daly for ending her season when all Rachel was doing was going for the ball. Tonight's the second time Merritt Mathis has pushed someone's head in the ground so yeah she needs to learn how to be a professional."
"What do you think of the refereeing in this game?"
"It was atrocious." I admit. "My stomach and legs's are badly bruised from how many times I was elbowed and kicked by Jaelene Hinkle and McCall Zerboni...just wanna say their names so the NWSL knows who to discipline...Once again Jaelene Hinkle and McCall Zerboni were the ones who elbowed me and kicked me all game. If you want pictures of my bruises then I can send them to you."
I answer a few more questions then I return to the locker room and check my phone.
Julie💎👑: Call me please
I immediately call my girlfriend.
"Julie what's wrong?" I question the moment Julie picks up
"Are you okay?" Julie asks. "I saw the game."
"I'm fine." I say. "I'll miss the game against the Reign, but I'll be back for the game against Portland."