Chapter Text
Finals had gone as expected; a fairly high grade—one her mother wouldn’t be able to find a problem with.
Normally, Lavinia didn’t do much preparation—maybe a night or two of studying until she got bored (which would normally be after 30 minutes)—but provided with the right motivation, she could put all of her time and effort into it.
The motivation this time was that if she got a high grade on her finals, there would be a higher chance of her mother letting her play this year. She’d been right, but the conversation had lasted an hour. Somehow, she’d managaed to keep her cool throughout it, though just barely.
Her stepfather and mother were difficult just for the sake of being difficult. Trying to find flaws in every part of it. It was a good thing she’d planned the conversation beforehand. Now all she needed to do was finish reading the form and contact Wymack.
She had five days left to give an actual answer. Hopefully, later today, she’d have an actual answer. For now, she felt it too early to call him. A glance at her clock told her it was 5 am. Today was Sunday, so she doubted Wymack would be busy. Maybe in a few hours she’d call him, around 10 or 11. Being barely a state apart, she doubted there was a timezone difference.
Wymack had said official practice didn’t start until around late July, which meant she’d have nothing to do until then. She’d been considering getting a job until then, but was indecisive about whether she wanted to work at the local library or at a grocery store. The library paid a bit less, but it wasn’t all that bad. She went to the library at least once every two weeks, when she had free time.
Of course, the pay didn’t matter. She’d get paid for playing college-level exy in the Class I division. She just wanted an excuse to be out of her house and away from her mother and stepfather.
With that in consideration, working at a library would probably be better for her. It was quieter, less crowded, and she enjoyed the library anyway and knew the layout almost by heart. She wasn’t a huge fan of socializing, but there was always the option to just sort books and keep things organized.
She’d have to fill out an application later this week. For now, she decided, she’d probably benefit from getting some more sleep and calling Wymack whenever she woke up. No school meant she’d probably wake up around 12, if no one woke her before then.
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Lavinia woke up to the sound of yelling outside of her room. Her door was closed, so she couldn’t make out the exact words, especially with her mind still drowsy from sleep, but she could tell her mother and stepfather were arguing.
She didn’t know why they were still together. Her life—and probably theirs—would be a lot better if they did. Sure, her mom was still bad when it was just them and her brother, who’d moved out a year and a half ago, but her stepfather was a lot worse. Every time she looked into a mirror and saw the faint, circular burn marks on her throat, she could almost feel the burn of the cigarette, pressed up against her skin.
The scars on her arms from broken glass weren’t much better, but they were a lot easier to hide with long sleeves, while each day before school, she had to wake up a bit earlier to use makeup to hide the burns. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed, but she hated being asked about them and hated seeing them even more.
As she got up from her bed, her eyes landed on the contract needing to be signed. Right now wouldn’t be a good time; not while her parents were arguing. Although, while they were arguing, she could go out for a walk.
As she got up, the sound of a crash made her wince. Lavinia didn’t bother wondering what it was; it only motivated her further to leave the house for a bit.
Within five minutes, she was dressed. She checked the mirror to make sure the marks on her throat were concealed well. In summer, they were easier to hide because she was more tanned.
Her hair was starting to get long again, the dark brown curls falling a few inches past her shoulders. Normally she’d cut it, but she was starting to not mind it, although it could be irritating at times, having to put it up any time she ate.
Normally, she’d go through the front door, but she didn’t want to get between those two while they were arguing, so she opened her window, grabbed her phone, along with the form, and crawled out, then shut it behind her.
It was a pretty sunny day, just a few cirrus clouds across the sky, a stark contrast from a few days ago when it was storming most of the night.
She let her feet guide her, only half paying attention. She wasn’t thinking about anything specific, for once. Walking help cleared her head, something she needed more than she got.
When she finally stopped walking, she found herself in front of the local cafe. Coffee wouldn’t hurt, and she could make her call to Wymack while she was here.
Lavinia was in and out of the shop within a minute. It was surprisingly not busy today, despite it being a Sunday morning—almost noon, now. She claimed a table outside for herself, setting the coffee cup down on the table with the form. His contact information was on the bottom of the last page—the entire form was about three pages, with general information, terms, pay, etc.
She hated calling people, but it was safer than doing it in person, and probably easier. Without allowing herself to overthink it, she dialed his number. He answered after two rings.
Before he could say anything, she spoke first.
“Lavinia. I’m willing to join, but I have a few questions.”
“I have all day,” was his reply. Judging by the lack of questions, he didn’t need any more information to remember who she was.
“Your…” it took her a few seconds to remember the name Wymack had mentioned. “…Abby Winfield. Does she drink or smoke?”
Smoking would automatically shut down the choice of staying with her. Drinking was a bit more complex. She didn’t mind some who drank a bit; even she'd gotten drunk once or twice while alone. But heavy drinkers were a no. She could almost feel the hard impact of the glass wine bottle being thrown at her, shattering and cutting her skin.
“Abby doesn’t smoke. She occasionally drinks, but doesn’t get blackout drunk around any of the players. Will that be a problem?”
Lavinia thought about that for a few seconds. She could probably deal with that.
“No.”
“Good. If it concerns you, some of your future teammates smoke or drink. I’m assuming that’ll be a problem?”
That made her freeze. She’d forgotten about the chance that her teammates may smoke or drink. Sure, she wouldn’t see them much over the summer, but once dorms opened up and school started, she’d probably half to share a dorm with one, if not more, of them.
Apparently, Wymack took her silence as an answer.
“I can’t guarantee a perfect solution, but we’ll find something. The most I can promise right now is that while you’re staying at Abby’s during the summer, you won’t have to interact with them much, and when the dorms are open, we’ll make sure you don’t share one with them. Is that good enough for you?”
It took her a few seconds to think over it and answer.
“That’s fine.”
“Is that all?” Wymack asked. Despite his words and gruff tone, he didn’t sound impatient or irritated.
“Yes,” she answered, taking a sip of her coffee.
“Do you have a ride down here, or would you rather one of us come pick you up? If not me, I could ask Abby or Betsy—she’s the team psychologist.”
“That’ll work.”
The idea of being alone in a car with someone she didn’t know made her wary, but she’d have to get used to it, at least until she got her own car. Maybe in a year or two, if she was being optimistic. If she was being realistic, probably four years.
“June 12th is the best day to pick you up, assuming you’re not busy. Otherwise, we’d have to schedule a change.”
“Okay,” she replied.
Done with the conversation, and sure there wasn’t anything else left to say, Lavinia hung up and turned off her phone.
Today was May 30, so she’d have nearly two weeks until then. She was sure she could survive being at her house for that long.
As she took another sip of her coffee, she considered going back home, but her parents would be in a foul mood after argung, and she didn’t want to deal with that.
The conversation with Wymack had gone surprisingly well. She wasn’t expecting him to make any adjustments for her, but she definitely wasn’t complaining. Soon enough, she’d be staying in a new house, away from her mother and stepfather, and by the time she graduated from Palmetto State University, she’d hopefully have her own house.
The thought of going to college made her realize she had no idea what to major in. She’d need to decide by the end of summer, but she’d never had any specific interest. Her younger self wouldn’t have even imagined that she’d make it to college. That she had was a wonder in itself.
Lavinia only stayed long enough to finish the rest of her coffee, but she didn’t go straight home, wanting to walk around her city for another hour or so.
As she did, she couldn’t help but think about how, for the first time since she was taken away from her father, her life was starting to look up.