‘But too much has happened between us. She … betrayed me. And she left,’ I say.
‘Overdramatic.’ Deen gives me a pointed look. ‘Dina, you can hold on to the past and refuse to forgive Maya, if that’s what you want. And if it was, then I would support you. But I don’t think that’s what you want. Because you wouldn’t have thought about her for the past nine years, or avoided anything to do with her during that time, if that was the case. Maya obviously means something to you – she meant something to you then, and she means something to you now.’ He looks me square in the eye as he repeats his question again. ‘Now, what are you going to do about it?’
And even though I don’t want Deen to be right, I know that he is. I’m the one who is in the driver’s seat and I have to do something.
I have to make a choice about Maya.
Chapter 23
Dina
Nine years ago
I have my eye on the ball, and I’m ready to take it from my opponent. I weave around some of the other players, feeling the rush of wind around me with every step. I step forward, my foot angled towards the ball, about to manoeuvre it right towards me.
And then suddenly I’m falling face first on the ground, and there’s a searing pain running up my leg and all I see is red, red, red.
‘Dina, Dina, are you OK?’ Jen’s face is suddenly in front of mine, concern etched on it.
‘I’m, I’m …’ I look down at my leg. It’s bent a different way than it should be, and I can feel the ache, throbbing and burning. I close my eyes and shake my head. ‘Shit. I don’t think so.’
‘OK, come on, let’s get you to the school nurse.’ Jen waves over Baba, who is on the touchline as he always is. He rushes over, his panic clear, and Maya appears right beside him, a twin expression on her face.
Jen and Baba put their arms around me and I try to balance myself with their help while trying my hardest to work through the pain that seems to be getting worse and worse with every passing second.
They help me all the way to the nurse’s office, where they sit me down on the bed. Maya must have silently followed behind because she hovers in the doorway.
‘What happened?’ Nurse Gail asks, looking from me to Jen to Baba to Maya.
‘Just an accident during football practice,’ Jen says. She offers me a smile like she’s trying to tell me that it’s no big deal. But we both know it’s a big deal. Next week, the under-18s league have organised for a scout from a professional team to watch us play. It’s the last match of the season and Jen told me that the scouts were specifically interested in me, and that I could have a chance at a real team if I played well.
And now, I’ve somehow injured myself while practising for the school team.
Nurse Gail pulls up a chair near me and examines my leg carefully, but every time she touches me, a fresh wave of pain goes through me. I try not to wince, but it’s difficult.
‘Is she going to be OK?’ Maya asks. She’s hovering close to me, looking like she wants to reach out and soothe me, but she doesn’t.
‘She’ll be fine,’ Gail says. ‘It’s better than it looks, you’re lucky.’
I certainly don’t feel lucky with this excruciating pain. ‘So, I’ll be fine to play next week?’
Gail’s expression drops. ‘Next week? No, honey, you’ll take a little longer than that to recover. It’s a sprain; you’ll need crutches for at least two weeks, probably three.’
‘But I have an important match next week. I have to play,’ I say, as if Nurse Gail can somehow magically heal my leg. I look to Baba, expecting him to say something about how I have to play too, but he just gives me an encouraging smile.
‘Dina, you need to recover. That’s more important than a match,’ he says.
‘But—’
Maya rests a hand on my shoulder, and I cut myself off. When I look at her, the deep brown of her eyes makes me feel a little calmer. She has a way of making me feel more at ease, less angry. Which is ironic considering she had been the source of my anger for so many years.
‘Let’s make sure you’re OK. That’s the most important thing right now. We can worry about the other stuff later.’
I want to worry about that stuff now, I want to make sure that I’m not going to miss my chance at my dream because of a stupid sprain. But I know that Maya is right. I’m not going to get anywhere by trying to argue my case in the nurse’s office while wincing in pain.
‘OK, yeah.’ I sigh.
I’m on bedrest for the rest of the week, and I take it seriously. I’m hoping that if I don’t use my bad leg at all, I’ll be well enough to play by match time. But the game is approaching fast, and my leg isn’t much better. It still hurts to put any pressure on it. No matter how much I wish for some kind of a miracle, there’s no way that I can play, I know that.
