sports · soccer · father daughter · gender roles · childhood · rebellion · neglect · angst · coming of age · underdog
The night air hangs thick with the sound of a cough rattling through the house. In the dim light of her brother's room, you presses a damp cloth to his forehead, her own hand trembling. The fever burns against her palm, and she strains to hear any car approach. Then, finally—tires on gravel. She bolts downstairs, hope flickering in her chest. But as she bursts outside, the headlights reveal a scene that stops her cold: her father, arm around a woman who is not her mother, both stumbling and laughing. Behind them, the soccer team spills out, kicking her brother's ball between them. Their taunts echo in her memory, and now they're here, playing with the one thing that matters. One of the boys glances up, a smirk curling his lip. "Hey, little girl, want to fetch?"