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MARA
*FLASHBACK* narrative
november 7th, 2022
A stadium packed with nearly 10,000 devoted fans going silent is never a good thing. Everyone in Carver Hawkeye Arena let out their "oohs" as Mara hit the floor, holding her left knee.
And then the stadium went silent.
Iowa was only four minutes into their season opener against Southern University. This couldn't be happening to the Hawkeyes. It couldn't be happening to Mara. She'd worked too hard for this to happen.
Kate was the first one by her best friend's side, Mara's face already red and covered in tears. "Shh." Kate tried comforting number 14, running through her hair with one hand while calling for Coach Bluder with the other.
"It fucking hurts, Kate." Mara cried out.
"Stop moving." Kate warned. She stabilized Mara, forcing her to lay on her back and release her harsh grip on her knee.
"Oh, Pumpkin." That's when Mara knew it was bad. Coach Bluder was a sweet person, but the nickname 'pumpkin' only came out when something was really really really wrong. "What happened?"
"It popped." Mara choked out. "My knee popped."
Bluder let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, let's get you checked out. Can you put pressure on it?"
Mara tried to move her leg, letting out a scream.
"I got you." Kate assured her. She waved over to the bench, bringing Caitlin over. Together, the two picked their teammate up, draping a towel over her face. The audience rose to their feet, applauding the injured guard as her two teammates carried her off the court. When they reached the Iowa bench, Caitlin handed Mara off to one of the athletic trainers, but Kate stayed, holding onto Mara closer than ever.
"What the fuck are you doing? You have a game to play." She reminded Kate through sniffles and sobs.
"Like I said, I got you."
XXX
"Go back to the game." Mara told Kate sternly, removing the towel from her head once they'd reached the athletic training suite.
"No, I told you I wasn't leaving you, Sheffield." Kate placed her hand on top of Mara's, giving it a slight squeeze.
"Martin, I swear to god..." Kate could tell by the look in her eyes she wasn't messing around. Injured or not, Mara scared the living daylight out of Kate sometimes.
"Fine, but I'm coming back at halftime to check on you."
"Wouldn't want it any other way." Mara weakly teased. Kate kissed her cheek quickly before sprinting back towards the court.
Mara's test results were released the next day. She'd torn her ACL and MCL in her left knee.
