Train Wreck

fifty-nine

Alice POV

"GOOD JOB TRENT!!"

Daisy whistled with two fingers in her mouth, the ear-splitting noise causing me to recoil and almost lose the sunglasses from the top of my head. 

"Holy shit, Dais... warn me next time..." I laughed, startled at the volume she was able to emit from her small frame.  After adjusting the shades back into the messy tangle of waves on my head I clapped along with the crowd.

Our group was settled on a low and uncomfortable set of bleachers for Trent's soccer game, grouped together so we could chat between plays and share snacks more easily.  Remington and I agreed it would be necessary to bring Peach every time we came to one of these soccer games since she was quickly becoming the talk of the town.  Every child wanted to give her a pet while the adults were surprised at how gentle she was.  We praised Kenny and Leah for their training and many were familiar with our friends, in spite of the fact that they were also newer to the area.

Doc reached toward our bag of goodies and dug around, extracting a Tupperware of strawberries before grabbing one as we continued watching. Trisha and Daisy were directly behind Doc and myself, the four of us enjoying the spread of goodies from my fridge while the guys did some soccer drills on the side with a few kids.

I stretched my arms over my head and yawned, twisting my torso in the process to relieve some of the tension in my rib cage.  The t-shirt and khaki shorts I chose for the day were comfortable but I felt restless and anxious.  

Nothing was wrong but everything felt off.

My senses were heightened while every nerve ending reached for resolution.

"Where are the guys?"  Daisy asked, looking around our area for the rest of the party.

"Benji just went to help Taylor and Remi with some coaching stuff," Becca replied with a smile, "I'm so glad they're willing to give Taylor a hand.  He has some other Dad's that are happy to help but they know sports and are far more patient."

I turned around to watch just as Remington was helping one of the smaller boys that struggled to dribble the ball. He was stooping to help the child rotate his foot so the way he kicked was more effective but the poor thing just could not get his ankle to cooperate.  The man I love continued to give him tips on how to gain coordination but it seemed like a lost cause.

"Poor little Liam over there has two left feet..." Trisha chuckled, jumping over the rows until she was next to me then leaning over my lap to dig into the tote bag for a snack.  "Poor kids older brother is the same way."

Daisy snorted, "Oh my god, Matty is the worst."

"Matty?" I asked, furrowing my brow at the girls.

They giggled and Trisha nodded, "Yeah, he's a little older than us and is such a douche.  He's the kind of guy who will try to make Ben's life a living hell but Ben is awesome so it won't work."

"Ohhh, okay.  I get it."  I rolled my eyes as she spoke, the mental picture of this guy now clear in my mind.

"They have a sister our age.  She's really sweet but gets trampled by Matty, too."  Daisy shrugged, reaching toward the tote bag,  "Gimme the snacks, Trish."

"Has he always struggled?" Doc asked, watching as Taylor tried to help Remi now that he was finished with another one of Trent's teammates.

Becca nodded, "Liam's parents just don't care but he wants to play and be an athlete so badly.  His older brother is the star of the football team and Liam would love to be just like him, but doesn't have the support he needs." Her eyes drifted toward her husband as he stood next to Remington and a smile played on her lips.  "It's pretty adorable to watch your man dote on a sweet little kid, isn't it, Lissy?  Warms you from the inside?"