Page 47 of Take Her On

Maya: I don’t think so

Jamie: Where are you?

Maya: At home. Going back to the hospital in the morning

Jamie: Do you need a lift? I can take you if that helps

Maya’s head ached. She closed her eyes, rubbing circles against her forehead. Too much had happened today. She didn’t know if she could handle seeing Jamie now. She needed to focus on Grandpa.

Maya: I think Mum will be home by then

But thank you

I’m gonna try and sleep now

But I appreciate the offer

She put down her phone and rolled over. A streak of light escaped from under the curtains, highlighting Jamie’s black jumper, which was folded beside her bed. She still had it from when Jamie had driven her home that time after training, when she’d been caught in the rain. She didn’t know why she hadn’t given it back yet.

She reached down and plucked it up, bringing it close to her chest. It didn’t really smell like Jamie now, only faintly of her spiced aftershave and the rain. She breathed it in, feeling her presence. Then she tucked the jumper under her chin and wrapped the duvet around her, indulging herself for just a few moments.

Before Maya knew it, she was jolted awake, the room brighter than before.

Her mum’s soft voice sounded in her ears. “Time to go, love. There’s been some news about Grandpa.”

Chapter Fourteen

Jamie

The late afternoon sun was lazing behind the clouds, intermittently lighting the grass with golden light.

Henry, a little whippet of a six-year-old, sprinted up to the ball and whacked it with all the might his thin legs could muster. “Hi-yahh!”

The ball trickled out of play, and he high-fived the children closest to him while a young girl with pigtails went to retrieve it.

Jamie clapped her hands together. “Love the enthusiasm, Henry. Try and pick a corner next time.”

On Saturday afternoons, she took the Millton Tykes training, teaching the under-sevens basic football skills. It had been something to fill in her weekends at first, to distract from the move and the voices in her head that liked to remind her how much her dad had messed up her life.

But now she loved Saturday afternoons. Especially on a day like today.

The fine autumn day meant the park was busier than usual. Parents were taking advantage of the dry weather to wear out children and dogs alike, playing frisbee and ball games on the grass. Squeals and laughter blended with the chatter of the birds in the treetops above, and Jamie welcomed it.

The next child in line moved up to take her shot. The ball soared straight into the bottom corner of the tiny net, and she turned to give Jamie a gap-toothed grin.

“Kiara, what a shot! You’re on fire!” Jamie faked hosing her down with a hosepipe, and Kiera shrieked with delight. She moved to the back of the queue, and the group continued to take turns kicking the ball into the empty net.

Jamie’s coaching method was the opposite of her dad’s. She focused on the kids having fun and enjoying themselves. Her dad had worked the Harriers team to the bone, sucking all the fun out of the sport she loved so much—that is, before he got fired, anyway.

But that was a whole other can of worms.

Jamie inhaled, letting the cool air fill her lungs. She only visited the house when her dad wasn’t home, but now the relationship with her mum was difficult, too. Her mum had been calling, asking her to stop by, but Jamie’s anxiety had been flaring up and being around that house would only exacerbate it. She couldn’t help but feel guilty, leaving her mum at home with her dad, but she was the one who’d decided to stay with him; that was her choice.

Taking her dirty washing there had been a last resort; she’d run out of clean underwear and the building’s sock thief made her self-conscious, because what if it was a Harriers’ scheme to embarrass her somehow? Being away from her old team was a relief, but she hated how paranoid it made her.

Jamie just wanted to look to the future, and to let her performance speak for itself. If she was the top scorer in the league for a third time in a row, surely that would get the attention of some clubs after university? Maybe even a scout would attend their games. A lot of people stopped playing after graduation, but Jamie didn’t want that. She’d dreamed about playing in front of a huge crowd, people chanting her name, since she was the same age as the kids she coached now. She was happiest with a ball at her feet—and nothing beat the feeling of scoring a goal.

Except being with Maya…