VIRAGO

friable

friable (adj.) - easily broken down into pieces or reduced to nothing

She woke with a start, shooting straight up in her bed and breathing hard. Her therapist said it was normal to have nightmares about something traumatic, but she did not think they would continue for weeks after. What was weird for her is that these nightmares were not just from the previous week - it was a build up of everything that had been going on for the last few years. She had been cleared to play, but she did continue seeing her therapist, and not just for the attack on her life. She felt more vulnerable than ever, but she hid it well when she was not alone. No one knew about her abusive father, her assault, her mother's death, except for her therapist, Jason and Nicole, Dana and Rick, and Nash. They all thought that Dana and Rick were her actual parents, and she liked it that way a lot better.

They had placed at the top of the league so they were able to have their first game at home against the North Carolina Courage. She was happy to be able to stay in the comfort of her own home compared to being away in a hotel, and it did help her stay calm. She was back in the starting lineup, which had been a fight to get into, and she was going to be starting in undoubtedly one of the biggest games she had ever played in. Sure the NCAA championships were big, but a run at the NWSL Championship was a whole different beast.

"Ready to go?" Bethany asked, knocking on her door. Samantha looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath, nodding to herself.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a second." She responded, grabbing her bag off the bed and making sure she had everything. She opened the door as Bethany was walking away, and they gave each other a grin as they raced down the stairs. Sofia was finishing up a smoothie, and they were out the door, heading to the stadium. They were all pretty pumped, getting hyped up to the music playing and singing along to their game day playlist. Once they got to the stadium, they had been transported to a new world of focus and excitement, and it took Samantha's mind off of things. They got to the walk up, the camera crew filming for their social media pages. The three of them always did something funny, and they kept the tradition going for their big game. They got to the locker room, and they were some of the first ones there. She hooked her phone up to the sound system and got the music going, and as their teammates dwindled in to get ready, they all danced around the locker room. It was time for them to head out to the field for their warmups, and she joined the rest of the goalkeepers and went towards the net to get hands on the ball.

Forty-five minutes later they were heading back into the locker room to change into their uniforms for them to walk out, and she felt the nervousness come roaring at her. She had never felt this nervous before a game, and she did not know if it was because it was do or die, or because if they lose they go home. I guess it's the same thing. She lined up behind her captain in Fishlock and followed her out of the tunnel, and the crowd was already roaring as they came out to take the field. After opening introductions they took the field, and she grouped with her starting defense for a last few words of wisdom. They broke off and she went over to her net, the fans getting loud as they awaited for the first half whistle. She watched the ball a lot of the half, the Reign able to keep the Courage at bay in the midfield, but they were still unable to come away with any decent looks on net. Reed watched, trying to figure out what they can do to fix that issue - the only thing she saw was to go into a diamond back and try to push a little more pressure up front and in the middle. When they had a slight break, she gathered her backline and told them to switch their formation, and although they seemed skeptical, they trusted her judgement and did it anyway. Brooks slid into the front while Mcnabb stayed back in the middle, and it seemed to start working, having a false midfield to support them made them push higher. However, the main flaw was that there were gaps in the backline now, more open space, and O'Sullivan slotted a ball through for Williams to get her in behind them. She knew how Williams worked, and she made herself big enough to minimize the angle on net. What she did not notice was Dunn peaking in on the other side, and watched as a shot on net turned into a cross, and she shuffled over to face the one time shot from Dunn's foot. She took the ball straight to the face, giving up the rebound, and pounced on top of it before anyone else could get to it. She stayed on the ground with the ball in hand, knowing her nose was bleeding as she got onto all fours to prevent blood from getting on her jersey. She heard the whistle blow as her defense came around her, but the first person who was at her side was the one who nailed the ball at her face, waving the trainers over.