to live for the hope of it all.

Chapter 19

October 6th, 2023

"Take me away (Take me away),
A secret place (A secret place),
A sweet escape (A sweet escape),
Take me away (Take me away)..."

Beckett

Blinding.

So bright, it causes a physical ache in my chest.

That was the only way to describe the way Bailey's smile made me feel.

When I got the photo from her, I just stared at it. There she was, right in front of me, like she has been for the past 10 years.

Her hair fell over her shoulders as she leaned in over my sister, who also wore her adoring smile. And it's like I forgot where I was, that I was on my way to a soccer game. They both wore Aria Falls Hawk's t-shirts, and it tugged at my heart knowing they were probably smiling and laughing the whole way up here to watch me.

Two of my three favorite girls.

I'm not sure where my moment of confidence came from earlier when I texted Bailey that I liked her smile, and her no response did nothing to ease my nerves. I worried I had pushed too far, too fast.

I glanced at the picture once more, following the way Bailey's lips curved into one of her genuine smiles, which I seem to be getting more often. Smiling softly, I put my phone back in my bag before taking one more swig of water and running to my position for kickoff.

I'd slow down, I won't slip up like that again, Bailey.

"Go Beckett!" My little sister shouted from the stands. I turned to see her on Wren's shoulders, waving her arms wildly as she tried to get my attention. I smiled and waved at her before letting my eyes fall to Bailey on Wren's side. She too was looking at me, and yeah. There it was.

Absolutely beautiful.

Shaking out of my trance, I focused on the game.

Play the game now, and you can try to keep listing ways to make her smile later.

I watched as the referee brought the whistle to his mouth before scanning the field and calling out to Caleb, ensuring he was ready.

Breathe, Beckett.

The whistle blew, and the ball was officially in play.

This. This is what I'm meant to do.

What started as something our mother's signed us up for to keep us busy and out of trouble, quickly became my favorite thing to do. I loved this sport. Everything fell away when I played. I could run to the point my legs would give out, and I would still anxiously await the next time I got to play again.

I loved the way my lungs would seize so tight it was hard for me to catch my breath, in a similar way they do whenever I am around Bailey. But it's different with soccer, whereas I have never been lost or wondered where I stood with it.

I was good, really good, if the offers I had were anything to go by. When I played, I was just Beckett Davis. It was the one constant thing I had going in my life.

I never knew my father, and I never cared to ask about him. But I knew Delilah's father, I'd even liked him. He would sometimes pass the ball around with me, but then he left, and I never wanted to pay him any more attention. He didn't deserve it. Things were bad at home. My mother has come a long way from the shell of a person she was during those 9 months. I had worried she would never come back to me.