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I waited and waited. I watched the veteran Piper move the ball around and kept up my vigilance to see who stood close enough to accept a pass at a moment’s notice. I’d been playing with Grace long enough to recognize her body language and what she wanted to do. There was an opening between us but the distance was a problem. Obviously there was only one thing to do, and I was ready.
She kicked the ball up high. I braced for it and watched it fly right at me.
It was going to be a header, definitely. Head meet ball, ball meet another player with a better shot at the goal. It was one of my favorite moves.
I went for it; I jumped straight into the air as a version of my lifelong friend and enemy, the ball, continued its trajectory toward me. Someone elbowed me right in the boob, but I ignored the pain. I could sense people moving around nearby.
I was going to get it. I was going to get it.
Later on, I would realize that I didn’t get it.
The last thing I was aware of was the sharp pain that cracked the back of my head.
….
….
Sal!
Casillas!
Schnecke!
Goddamnit!
Schnecke!
SCHNECKE!
….
….
I didn’t even know I’d gotten knocked out until I opened my eyes and found myself on my back, staring up at Kulti’s face, whose eyes were maybe two inches above mine.
Kulti’s breath washed over my mouth, ragged and uneven. His face full of an expression I wasn’t remotely familiar with. And his eyes….
“Move back! Move!” someone yelled from nearby, and I found myself blinking, trying to remember what the hell happened.
A second before Kulti was pushed away by two paramedics, he squeezed my hand. I hadn’t even realized he’d been holding it.
“Overnight?”
The doctor smiled at me. “Yes, overnight. We just want to be on the safe side with your medical history.”
This wasn’t my first or my second concussion. It also didn’t help that the player who had elbowed the daylights out of me, was twice my size and had an arm that would have given a professional bodybuilder a boner. If I was going to get knocked out, at least it had been by a girl like Melanie Matthews, the second most aggressive defender in the WPL after Harlow. My concussion was practically a badge of honor.
“All right.” I didn’t sigh because it would have made me move half an inch and that was more than I wanted to. She really had knocked the shit out of me.
“Excellent. The nurse will be in here to check on you. The call button is to your left if you need anything.”
Unfortunately or fortunately, however you wanted to look at it, this wasn’t my first stay in the hospital. Knee surgeries, ankle surgeries and that one time I got pneumonia had all landed me an overnight stay. It wasn’t the end of the world.
“Your team rep is outside, I’ll let her in,” the doctor said.
“Thank you,” I called out to his retreating figure loud enough that it made my head buzz with pain.
By some miracle, they had given me a room to myself. My best guess was that it was the Pipers insurance that provided it, so I wasn’t going to complain at all.
