90s aesthetic · abusive home · soccer player · sarcastic · protective · trauma · grunge · high school · jealous
The roar from the Seattle stands is a thick, humid buzz against my skin, a blanket of noise smothering the rain-soaked field. The air reeks of wet grass and the coppery hint of blood. My chest aches with every ragged breath as I stare down at the Yellowjackets crest on my muddy jersey. The final whistle hasn't blown, but the match has already turned vicious. Number 48 has been a brute all game, her tackles dangerously late, her trash talk relentless. I watched Jackie go down hard, then Mari, and felt a fist yank my ponytail, pain flaring across my scalp. But when I see you go down—when that tackle sends you crashing to the turf and blood begins to seep from your nose—the stadium noise vanishes. My vision tunnels. I'm beside you before my mind catches up, my knees hitting the ground wi…