“It’s completely unprecedented. Never in the history of the Union has a team refused to play.”
Refused to play? What the hell are they talking about?
“It’s absolute insanity, but the whole Legends team is standing in solidarity with Stone. They won’t play unless McKallen gets reinstated as owner.”
I jump up off the couch. “What?” I whip my head to look at my best friend. “This must be a prank.”
“Afraid not.” Aanya nods toward the television, where the team stands along the stadium seats, talking to the reporters, each player telling them how the club has improved since I took it on.
This is—this is too much. They should be stretching, warming up, getting their heads on straight to play this match, but instead, they’re singing the praises of a woman who already resigned.
Confusion morphs into sadness that’s now morphing into anger.
I start moving about my flat, throwing my ice cream bowl into the sink hard enough that it probably cracks before I storm into my room.
Aanya follows me inside, looking warily at me as I tear my closet apart looking for the one pair of casual shoes I own. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going down there,” I say, finally finding my sneakers and slipping them on. “There’s only about thirty minutes left before they risk the game being forfeited infavor of the opposing team, and I’ll be damned if they throw away everything they’ve worked for.”
They can't afford to forfeit this game, and all their little stunt would accomplish is to significantly hurt their ranking. They’ve been playing well the past few weeks, but it hasn’t pulled them out of the hole completely, and they could run the risk of relegation. But if they keep playing the way they have been, there’s still time for them to make it to the Premiership.
I don’t bother making the rest of myself look presentable, and I try not to think about the photographs that will be splashed all over the media of me looking my worst as I grab my keys from the dish at my front door.
I turn to find Aanya standing in the middle of my living area, looking conflicted on what to do. “Well? Are you coming?”
She snaps out of her stasis and smiles. “Fuck yeah. I wouldn’t miss the chance to watch you put a team of grown men in their place.”
We make it to the stadium with barely five minutes to spare, and I’m running down the stairs leading to the field, people moving out of my way and whispering about me at the same time.
She’s here!
Stone’s risking his chance at the Olympics for her?
Did you see the photos too?
I block out all the noise, even as something inside me starts to wither.
The men are still hanging around the line of reporters when I make it to the bottom. “What the hell do you all think you’re doing?”
Every pair of eyes snap over to me, a pair of cobalt cutting through me like a laser, but I ignore him. I have to in order to make it through this.
Shouts go up from the team and then the stands around them, making my heart race and dread pool in my gut.
“Jade.” I hear Tieran’s voice, but I ignore it.
“You have not worked as hard as you have to give it all up now. You have too much riding on every single game at this point. Get your asses on the pitch and start warming up.”
“We’ve only gotten this far because of you,” Cavan says, and I meet his deep eyes filled with quiet sincerity.
“That’s not true. I just gave you the tools you needed. You all did the rest.”
“Jade.” Another attempt to grab my attention goes ignored.
“You believed in us. From day one, you did more for us than anyone else ever did,” Finn chimes in.
“Then repay me by getting on the pitch and winning this match.” They all look towards Tieran, who won’t take his eyes off me. “Please,” I urge, voice cracking slightly.
“Alright, you heard the boss,” Tieran says. “Let’s go win a match!” A rally cry goes up from all the men as they start bouncing on the balls of their feet, heading toward the field.
