They broke and moved into formation across from the boys. Caitlin felt anxious and unfocused, her body full of pent-up anger. When Coach Marcus blew the whistle for kickoff, she shot forward, her speed surprising even herself.
The world beyond the field became a blur. Caitlin charged forward to take the ball, her cleats tearing into the field as she passed to Gina Pedalino. The boys on the other side looked momentarily dazed—Gabe Martinez, the boys’ best forward, hadn’t even moved by the time the ball was halfway to the goal. Caitlin smirked. That’s right, idiots, she thought. Girls can play better than you think.
She raced up the field. The ball flew between her teammates’ feet, passing back and forth through the defenders. For a split second, Rocky Davidson intercepted her, but Gina flew past him, stealing the ball right back. Fat raindrops were starting to fall, their rhythm slow at first and then picking up speed. Caitlin felt her blood singing in her veins, pumping with excitement and the thrill of the game.
Suddenly, the ball was hers, and she took off along the sideline, pounding straight toward the boys’ goal. Behind her she could hear grunts of exertion as her teammates kept the defense off her tail. Her heart soared. But then a blur of maroon and white shot in front of her. Ursula. She stole the ball from Caitlin and ran toward the goal.
“What the hell are you doing?” Caitlin screeched. “We’re on the same team!”
But Ursula just jostled her with her shoulder. Anger boiled in Caitlin’s chest. It was bad enough when someone stole a ball, let alone someone from her own team.
A scream spewed out of Caitlin from somewhere deep and frustrated, and she stuck out her foot to trip her teammate.
“Oof!” Ursula shrieked, going down hard on the turf, her limbs flailing.
The whistle tweeted. “Caitlin!” Coach Leah roared behind her.
Her husband ran up as well. “Yellow card!” he bellowed, standing over Ursula. “Are you all right?”
Ursula was breathing heavily and dusting grass off her knees. “That hurt,” she whined.
Coach Leah narrowed her eyes at Caitlin. “What’s going on with you? This is just a practice. I understand your need to be competitive, but there’s no excuse for hurting someone. Hit the showers.”
“What?” Caitlin cried, her jaw dropping open. “Did you not see her steal the ball?”
“I mean it.” Coach pointed at the school. “Go.”
Everyone was gawking. A couple of guys nudged each other. Josh looked at her questioningly. Caitlin exhaled loudly. “Whatever,” she said, waving a hand and stomping off the field. Behind her, the whistle blew again. Ursula, perfectly recovered, took Caitlin’s place as striker.
Caitlin stormed along the edge of the school, glaring at her reflection in the long windows that faced the fields; inside was the computer center, a massive space filled with state-of-the-art machinery. The place where her brother used to hang out all the time.
Unbidden, an image of him streaked through her mind. Taylor, short and scrawny even for a freshman, his glasses too big for his face, the hems of his too-long pants dragging on the ground. He’d been a happy kid—always crouched over his Nintendo DS or reading some enormous fantasy novel. But then he’d gotten to high school. It was one thing for Caitlin, a cute, athletic girl, to have two adoptive moms. But it was entirely another thing for her dorky brother, a skinny Korean kid with no interest in sports or booze or popularity—the social currency of Beacon High. Nolan and his friends had eaten Taylor alive.
“Babe?”
She turned around. Josh had jogged after her, his short dark hair slick from the rain. “Hey,” he said cautiously, as if she were a potentially dangerous animal. “Are you okay? What happened back there?”
Caitlin just shrugged. “I’m fine.” She hiked her gear bag higher and pulled her keys out of a small pocket in the front. “I shouldn’t let Ursula get to me.” She waved him toward the field. “You should go back. Keep playing. Every practice is an important stepping-stone to UDub, you know?”
But Josh kept pace. “You heading home?”
Caitlin licked her lips. “I’m going to the cemetery,” she said, deciding it in that very moment. “I want to see Taylor.”
She couldn’t say for sure, but it seemed as if Josh’s face fell for the briefest second. But then he stepped forward, like the good boyfriend he was. “I’ll drive you.”
Twenty minutes later, Josh and Caitlin parked in the lot at the McAllister Cemetery. As final resting places went, it wasn’t a bad one, with a view of the lake; a lot of old, beautiful trees; and quaint little garden paths.
But as Caitlin undid her seat belt and climbed out of the car, Josh stared at his phone. “Shit. I think the UDub recruiter is calling me.”
Caitlin frowned. “Your phone’s not ringing.”
Josh was holding his phone in a way that she couldn’t see the screen. “I have it on silent. I gotta take this. You go.”