Chapter Text
Natalie didn’t find herself to be a very interesting person. The only two things she really liked were playing soccer and listening to music. Not necessarily in that order, but they alternated from time to time.
She’d been playing soccer ever since she could walk, which was probably her dad’s influence. He used to play back in high school, before he met her mom. Except he injured his leg right before ‘making it big’.
“That’s why you never give up, Nattie,” he used to tell her over and over. “You gotta keep playing, even if you break both your legs, or you’ll end up like your daddy.”
Natalie played in a few different teams throughout elementary and middle school. They won a lot of games, she still had all her old trophies and medals lying all around her bedroom.
Nat was fifteen when she first became a Yellowjacket.
She joined the Junior Varsity team as a sophomore: fresh, very experienced, and a bit unruly. She had long brown hair, listened to bad mix tapes, got average grades, and had two parents.
Natalie was looking forward to joining a real team, the kind that lets you turn soccer into an actual career.
She quickly moved up to the regular varsity team by the time she was in her Junior year. It was a pretty big accomplishment for her and the rest of the new members: Goalie Van Palmer, Loaded Lottie Matthews, Jesus-Freak Laura Lee, and even Bitchy Mari made it onto the main team.
Natalie liked to think she was a good player and an important part of their talented New Jersey all-girls soccer team. Except, something happened.
The gun went off on its own.
And then everything went to shit.
The cracks in her act only started to show when they entered their senior year. She cut her hair short and dyed it bleach blonde.
Nat was seventeen, going on forty-five.
The girls, Coach Martinez, and even assistant Coach Scott noticed that Natalie was skipping practice every other day, and when she did decide to come and play, she reeked of cigarettes and some mysterious drink mix. Her performance had downgraded immensely; no more dribbling, no more perfect free kicks, and definitely no goals scored by her. If the team ever won a match, it wasn’t thanks to Natalie.
This all led to Nat getting benched for the last few games of the season. She groaned, sighed and used this time to sit and stare at her teammates, watching them strategize for the upcoming State Championships.
She wondered why she wasn’t as passionate about playing anymore, but she already knew why.
Her dad ruined soccer.
Nat guessed she couldn’t blame her teammates for considering her a total nightmare.
It was easy to tell by how they acted on the field—the dirty looks, the missed passes. The answer was incredibly obvious: They didn’t trust her. Some girls were more forward about her issues, while the others opted to ignore them completely. Jackie Taylor, the captain, was a perfect example of this dismissal. She would smile at Natalie and say, “You played well today.”
It gave Nat hives.
She knew Jackie wasn’t completely genuine, but she didn’t do any of this out of malice. She just wanted to keep every player on her team happy enough to kick a few balls and have a good time playing. Maybe even win if possible, but it wasn’t a necessity.
Taissa Turner, on the other hand, had a different approach to their games. She wanted them to push a couple girls, take risks, and get their win.
“Do whatever it takes, alright?”
Jackie didn’t agree with this mentality one bit, and Shauna was always quick to remind Taissa of that fact before a game. Jackie and Shauna had been best friends since they still had all their baby teeth. But there wasn’t much else Shauna could do; she was more worried about keeping the peace between all the players. It got really annoying, especially when she refused to pick sides during serious arguments.
She wouldn’t even pick her best friend’s side…
They had a confusing relationship, and Nat didn’t try to understand it. She’d lost her girl best friend a long time ago, what did she know? Nat just resorted to minding her own business and hoped they would do the same.
She didn’t have issues with the rest of the players, but once the more ‘influential girls’ began to say, “Natalie has a real attitude problem,” it was hard to live it down.
It was clear as day, they were trying to freeze Natalie out, but playing with a team that hated you wasn’t anything like freezing. They threw her out into the Canadian Glaciers with no jacket or boots on.
Nat figured she deserved it, somewhat. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
~~
It was a Friday in April, and Natalie was tying the laces of her sneakers inside the locker room.
Uncomfortable tension filled the small, humid, blue-and-yellow colored space.
Nat tried to not pay attention to it, except that always proved to be difficult. She didn’t know what they were fighting over this time, but whatever it was, it was definitely Tai or Shauna’s fault.
The silence was so loud, Natalie almost wished Jackie was giving the team one of her ‘oh, so inspiring’ pep talks, but even the team captain was quiet.
Until someone came to save Nat from silence.
“Um, guys,” a voice said from the door, it was small and almost whispering. Then a head of poodle-like curly hair peaked through the cracks. “Coach wants you out on the field in five.”
Misty Quigley, a fellow senior. She was a recent addition to the team—if you could even say she was a part of it. She was named the ‘Equipment Manager’ or something along those lines.
In short, Misty was Coach Martinez’s unpaid personal assistant; she carried around their stuff and acted as the team’s only cheerleader. Nat didn’t know what to think of her. Other than that, she was very eccentric.
In a town like Wiskayok, everyone winds up knowing each other, or rather of each other. She could say she had known Misty since they were in the same middle school biology class, but they hadn’t exchanged words once in those boring twelve months.
Well, Natalie was nicer back then, so it was possible they talked once or twice, and she just couldn’t remember it happening at all.
“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Mari answered sheepishly, putting her hair up in a ponytail.
Misty gave the team awkward glances, making sure everything was in order before the game.
Nat wasn’t sure if there was a guidebook to being a team manager, but she had to admit Quigley was dedicated to the girls. Maybe a little too dedicated.
“Thanks, Misty,” Lottie said softly, dismissing her in a nicer way than Mari initially had.
The team was torn over how they were supposed to treat Misty. Most of them acted friendly in her presence and made fun of her when she wasn’t around, namely the Juniors. Nat couldn’t pretend she hadn’t chuckled along to whatever comment they would make about her huge circled glasses or weird sense of fashion once or twice. Other times, their critiques went beyond her appearance, then she couldn’t really agree.
Natalie figured she would be nice to Misty Quigley as long as she didn’t get too pushy. She had enough on her plate without that poodle haired team manager sniffing around her business.
Misty left and the other Yellowjackets finished getting ready. This would be the last states game before moving up to the finals, then they might just end up going to the national championship in Seattle. Which was a pretty big deal for a girl’s soccer team like theirs.
Their town may not be highest on the list of good housing, healthcare or even education, but if it was big on something, it was high school girls soccer… and occasionally high school boy’s baseball (not often).
Jackie cracked her knuckles, stood up from her seat and called to a meeting. “Alright, Yellowjackets, line up.”
Van raised a brow. “Right now?”
“Or stay as you are, whatever gets the point across,” Jackie grumbled, beginning her speech. “This game against the Hawks is very important, maybe the most important! The Panthers over at Newark already beat Jersey City’s Lizards, which means if we win this, we’re up against them in the finals. Understand? I need all your game faces on.” She snapped her fingers, emphasizing her point. “So that means no stupid fights, and no distractions of any kind, including singing or dancing… Crystal?”
Crystal’s smile faded, she crossed her arms. “What does it matter? Coach’s gonna bench me anyway.”
“He will with that attitude.”
Taissa raised her hand to speak, like they were in an actual classroom. “Shouldn’t you be giving this sermon to somebody else in the team, Jackie?”
Everyone inside the changing room turned to Natalie, who was barely paying attention to begin with. She looked up, feeling about a dozen eyes on her.
“Way to be subtle, guys,” Shauna mumbled, shifting her weight on the bench.
“What did I do this time, Tai?” Nat wondered, not taking the conversation prompt very seriously.
“What did you not do would be a better question…”
“Mari,” Jackie said, acting more like Coach Martinez than herself. “We agreed to have a civil discussion.”
Agreed? So they had been planning the talk.
What the fuck is this? A soccer themed intervention?
Nat didn’t even want to hear it, but she knew she couldn’t escape them. “Just cut to the chase, people.”
“Look, Nat. We don’t care about your sexual escapades the other three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, but as I said before, this game is important.”
“My sexual escapades? The fuck is it to you, Jackie?”
Jackie scoffed. “It matters to me when you skip a whole week of practice to fuck Bobby Farleigh.”
Silence.
Why did it always have to come back to this topic? Yes! The two of them fucked. It was nice, but not nice enough for Natalie to never get to hear the end of it.
She rolled her eyes. “That was a long time ago.”
“Well, don’t let it happen again,” Jackie demanded.
The team captain had a way of saying the most condescending sentences with the warmest of smiles. It might’ve not been ill-mannered, but the intention didn’t make Natalie feel any less angry.
She stood up, ready to give Jackie a taste of her own medicine, however Taissa stopped her, giving her a warning glare. You don’t want to do this.
With a hand on Nat’s arm, Tai offered some input into the dilemma. “What Jackie is trying to say is that we need you, Natalie. Would it kill you to stay focused?”
Oh, Nat would stay focused. Wait and see.
She’d prove that entire team of assholes wrong.
“Whatever.” Natalie shoved Taissa away, picked up her plastic water bottle and stormed out of the room.
See you on the field.
~~
The team stood in position, blue and yellow uniforms showing off their bright designated numbers. Eleven players on the field, carefully sizing up their opponents.
The game began without much of a fuss, the Coach and Assistant Coach stood on the sidelines. Misty was right by them, cheering on her talented soccer team.
Nat tore her eyes away from the audience, as always, her mom was a no-show. Maybe it was better this way, no distractions for Natalie. She had a point to prove.
The field quickly became some sort of war zone, not only between the Yellowjackets and the Hawks, but all team members against Natalie. They don’t trust you, she reprised in her head as Laura Lee kicked the ball away from her. Her eyes said, It’s not personal. But Nat didn’t care if it was personal, it was fucking annoying.
Whatever strategy the others had decided on without her was failing miserably, they were losing 2-1. This was a perfect opportunity. It wouldn’t make them win, but it would make them even, in more ways than one.
The Hawks had the ball, they were reaching the Yellowjackets’ side of the field. Van was a pretty good goalie, but the Hawks’ striker was better.
Natalie knew she could block the player before she reached near the goal. Her plan was in motion, she would take the ball from the girl, kick it over to Lottie, and she would pass it to Taissa or Jackie, giving them a pretty good chance to score. At least over 50% if they moved faster than the other team. Shauna was the fastest, so it was probably best to aim at her.
That was if she went for a group effort, perhaps it was better if she handled things her way. She had noticed throughout the game that the Hawks’ sweeper was weak on the left side. Maybe if she ran directly at her, fainted right and waited for her to turn her hips, she could cut hard in the other direction and score.
It was risky, but no one ever won playing it safe.
Nat ran towards the ball, the other girl must’ve smelled her plan from miles away. She aimed to pass it over to a fellow Hawk in front of Natalie, but missed.
Yeah, Natalie stopped the ball, with her face. The other team’s player had kicked it at the same exact time Nat moved positions, it hit her in the head, right above her left eye. She dropped face first to the ground.
The Yellowjackets immediately rushed to her, but Nat couldn’t exactly see them. She could only faintly hear their voices calling for Coach Martinez and some gasps from the girls who had scattered around her.
One of them being Misty Quigley, she stood over Natalie with the first aid kit in her hands. Her vision became completely blurry, Misty’s face was the last thing she saw before everything went to black.
~~
Nat woke up inside the nurse’s office; she had an incredible headache and a bandage over her left eyebrow. She reached for her forehead, but it stung at her touch; she must have fallen on the opposite side of where the ball hit her. Natalie had a very faint memory of trying to block the other team from scoring.
Clearly, her attempt had been unsuccessful.
Natalie tried to move from her spot, then she raised her head and saw her. Misty Quigley, settled on a blue plastic chair in front of the bed.
The brightest smile on her face.
It made Nat’s headache three times worse.
“Misty?” Natalie sat up, feeling the blood finally coming down from her head. It was only slightly helping her pain. She blinked. “What happened?”
Misty played with her thumbs. “Well, we won!” She yelped, starting off like it was the ‘good news’ and whatever had happened to Nat was the ‘bad news’.
That wasn’t the answer Natalie was looking for, she raised her dark brows at her. “Okay?”
“And everyone went home… you’ve been unconscious for a few hours,” Misty slipped in, revealing what felt like obvious information to Natalie.
Nat looked out the window from the nurse’s office. Misty was right, it was already dark out. Too late to take the bus home, dark.
“Excellent,” Natalie grumbled, removing the thin white blanket sheet over her legs and torso. She almost immediately regretted standing up.
The pain felt worse than waking up with a hangover, she had really outdone herself this time. If they weren’t so close to going to nationals, she would throw in the metaphorical towel and quit soccer all together.
“Wait! Not so fast!” Misty rushed over to her side, lifting Natalie up before she even had a chance to fall. “You just woke up, you shouldn’t be moving this much.”
Nat pushed Misty away, feeling uncomfortable with the sudden hospitality. She gripped the edges of the bed for balance, and her headache suddenly turned into intense dizziness. “I’m fine, Misty.”
“You’re not fine, that ball hit you really hard,” Misty insisted, reaching out her hand, only to get rejected once again. “You could have a concussion, Nat.”
“I don’t have a freaking concussion, my head just hurts,” Natalie let out, placing a hand over the spot where the pain was coming from. “A lot.”
“We were all really worried.”
Natalie glanced around, seeing no one else in the room but the two of them. “Yeah, I bet.”
Misty ignored her sarcasm and stepped closer, but not too close, trying to get a better look at her wound without getting shoved away by Nat once more.
For a split second, it seemed to Natalie like her reaction may have bothered Misty, but any sign of disappointment left the fake nurse’s face as soon as she got the perfect idea. “My parents are coming to get me soon, we can give you a ride home!”
“I’m good. I can walk.”
“No, you can’t,” Misty said in a very ‘don’t be silly’ tone. “Come on, let’s wait by the parking lot.”
In any other circumstances, Natalie would have rather walked alone in the middle of the night than accept a ride from someone else’s parents. Especially the parents of someone she wasn’t even friends with, but she was starting to feel worse by the second.
Plus, she didn’t feel like she had any actual choice in the matter. Misty was one insistent nurse, and it was hard to argue when you only had about 40% of your moving capabilities and 25% of your speech patterns.
Minutes later, the Quigleys arrived at the WHS parking lot in a pretty fancy car, not as fancy as Lottie’s ride to school but better than anything Nat’s mom could afford.
Misty helped Natalie settle into the seat next to hers, and the vehicle quickly left the school. Misty’s parents looked exactly as she had imagined them, both wearing glasses and bright, terrifying smiles.
Nat wondered what kind of dedicated parents they must’ve been to pick up their daughter from school this late and agree to give a stranger a ride home on the bad side of the city, no questions asked.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at Natalie’s trailer park, the lights inside her family’s mobile home were switched off, which meant Mrs. Scatorccio was stuck at work. Typical. Nat was in too much pain to care, she was just grateful her mom was trying to pay the bills.
Natalie had never experienced pain so strong that it made you nauseous until this very moment. The car ride was a wrong choice, and Misty had been right about the ‘too much movement’ thing.
She opened the door on her side, and Natalie struggled to exit through the same door. Misty managed to pull her out, she placed her arm under Nat’s and around her back for support.
Natalie mustered up a, “Thank you,” to the Quigleys and let Misty walk her home.
The trailer’s door was unsurprisingly unlocked, if Nat owned anything of value, she would be concerned about robbers, except she did not. All was good. If Nat wasn’t only half conscious, she might have been embarrassed by the state her home was in, but Misty’s expression did not change the slightest bit as they took the short walk from the kitchen to Natalie’s bedroom.
Misty slowly eased the bleached blonde onto the bed, careful not to make the concussion any worse.
But it was far too late for that.
An overwhelming feeling of nausea took over Nat’s body, from her head to her stomach. She was not one to throw up easily, she avoided it at all costs if it was humanly possible. She had never thrown up while drunk or high before, which she honestly deserved an award for. This was not one of those times.
Natalie knew she was going to throw up since they hopped in the car, it was only a matter of when.
Well, when had arrived, and it was right now.
She shot up from her bed, stumbling from her room to the nearest tub or sink. She didn’t need to say anything to Misty for the trained Red Cross Babysitter to know what she was about to do. Misty followed after, helping her with the door and holding back her hair as Nat pressed her head against the toilet, relieving herself of what felt like a month’s worth of trash food and drinks.
Natalie threw up six times that night. Misty made sure Nat brushed her teeth, changed out of her pukey soccer uniform, and stayed until Nat was tucked into her bed and fast asleep.
~~
Nat couldn’t remember much from the night before, but she knew she had thrown up. The acid in her throat was hard to miss, and the taste of bile didn’t leave her mouth until she rinsed it a few dozen times.
She looked up at herself in the mirror after spitting out the last of her toothpaste into the dirty sink of the trailer’s cramped bathroom. No one had bothered to do any cleaning around the house since her dad died.
It had almost been a year.
Her entire face was swollen, her eyes red and puffy. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had cried a little while puking. To prove her suspicions, her eyeliner was completely smudged—practically gone, along with her mascara and whatever remnants of blush she had left on her cheeks. She wiped her mouth with her right sleeve and cringed, remembering that Misty Quigley had been there to witness her concussion sickness.
She should’ve walked home. Lots of people walk after having concussions; she didn’t need a personal nurse, and she really didn’t need Misty taking care of her like she was a lost dog she had found on the street.
Natalie heard a struggle from the TV room, it was her mom. She must’ve come home the night before. She’d been sleeping on the couch with her stained bright red gas station uniform still on. Her mom stood up and traveled towards her actual bedroom, catching a glimpse of Natalie through the mirror view.
“What the hell happened to you?” Vera Scatorccio asked, her words coming off more as pure curiosity than actual concern. “You look like hell.”
“I hit my head.”
~~
Hours passed. Vera left for another nine-hour shift while Natalie stayed home, she wasn’t taking any calls from Kevyn or Charlie asking to hang out either.
She still felt ill.
Nat was having a lovely moment of relaxation when loud phone ringing interrupted her even louder rock music, those things were designed to be infuriating.
She stood up and picked up the decade old telephone, expecting Kevyn to be calling her again. “I already told you I can’t hang out, Kev, buzz off!”
‘Um. This is actually Misty calling! Misty Quigley.’
“Misty?” Natalie echoed, confusion clear in her voice.
‘Hi’ I just wanted to call in and ask how you’re doing after yesterday. You were in a pretty bad state, even when I left.’ Misty’s voice sounded strange over the phone, like she had practiced what she was going to say before dialing in the number.
“How did you get this number?”
‘Oh! I asked around with the girls and no one seemed to know it, which I found a bit odd… but I was pretty worried, so I went into the nurse’s office and found it in the student files!’ Now she sounded like normal Misty.
“Went into the nurse’s office?” Nat turned her head, viewing a calendar over the rundown fridge. “It’s a Saturday, how the hell did you get into school?”
‘The janitor owed me a… favor… but enough about that! How are you feeling? Have you thrown up again? Any ringing in your ears? Excessive fatigue?’
Nat should’ve expected something of this sort to happen. You give a cat dog food once, and suddenly the entire population of stray animals around the street is inside your house, yelling at you to feed them.
“I’m fine, Misty,” Natalie reprised, the faster she got off this call, the faster she got back to her music. “I don’t need you worrying about me, got it?”
‘I really didn’t mean to bother you, it’s just that as team manager, my duty is to make sure every single player is in their best shape! We won, so we’re going to finals this coming week and I wouldn’t want you—’
“I’ll be at practice next Tuesday, worry about it then.”
Nat smashed the phone into the switch hook and hung up, feeling the slightest bit guilty. She quickly recovered, remembering the conversation would’ve been infinite if she hadn’t cut Misty off.
She figured by the time Tuesday rolled around, Misty would’ve forgotten all about her and moved on to a different patient on the team. It’ll all work out.
~~
Tuesday morning came and somehow, Misty was still worried about Natalie. As soon as she walked into school, Misty was following her around like a fish who had just found its new fellow fish best friend. The wannabe nurse even placed a hand over her forehead, looking for a missing fever. Nat did not have a fever, for the very last time, she was perfectly fine!
“You know, my parents are doctors, Nat!” Misty mentioned for the fourth time that day, “No need for insurance or anything, I swear! I just want to know—”
Nat slammed her locker closed. Misty insisted she was just passing by to ask, but her locker was at the other side of the hall. Just passing? “No. Thanks.”
The conversations never evolved much from that, they didn’t share many classes together, which gave Natalie time off Misty, it was very much needed. Apparently, thirty ‘I’m fine’s wasn’t explicit enough.
Later, a tap on Nat’s shoulder during fifth period. She curiously turned to the perpetrator, Shauna Shipman offered her half a smile, and a brown-eyed look.
Shauna wasn’t one to bother others, she gave Natalie her space at all times. A trait she appreciated, it made Nat believe the trusty number six may be more closed off than first expected of someone who would willingly spend all hours of the day around Jackie Taylor.
Each to their own.
She didn’t speak for a while, then, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Nat replied.
Shauna nodded.
A silent understanding between like minded-players.
Practice wasn’t very eventful that evening regarding soccer. Afterward, the same girls who had once berated Natalie were now asking how she was feeling.
It was so strange. Why did they care?
Natalie wondered if she had met some sort of memo. We’ll judge your every action, but if you get hurt, then we’ll worry about you, Nat :). It would explain why Jackie and Taissa had apologized about the ‘talk’.
“Don’t worry, Nat. We’ll always pick you up,” Jackie soothed with a hand on Natalie’s shoulder.
Any other day, Natalie would’ve taken this gesture as some sort of strange manipulation tactic. But she didn’t throw Jackie off her that Tuesday, she thanked her.
5pm rolled around. State Championships would be held next month, and Nat was feeling great about being back on the team’s good side. Whether she would admit it to herself or not was besides the point.
In other news, a specific someone had been suspiciously quiet for the duration of practice. That someone was also standing next to her by the school’s bus stop, patiently waiting for… what exactly?
Misty Quigley was both too close and too far away from Natalie, making Nat feel like she had scared her off. She should be happy with being free of Misty’s infuriating questions, but she wasn’t. She felt… bad.
“Misty,” Nat called, immediately gaining the girl’s attention. “If I let your parents check me, will you shut up about this whole concussion thing?”
“Yes,” Misty replied warily, trying not to impose any suggestions again, just glad to be there.
Nat groaned. “Fine.” She turned towards the street leading out of school. “We’re walking, you lead.”
Misty tried to hide her satisfaction, but she wasn’t doing a good job of it. “Exercise is great for our bodies! My house isn’t too far actually, I’m just usually holding too many things to go without my parents' car.”
“What a waste of gas,” Natalie criticized.
Misty shook her head. “Oh, they don’t mind!”
~~
“Pupils dilate normally, and your reflexes are pretty much intact.” Norman Quigley placed his Stethoscope on Natalie’s chest. She had a normal heartbeat for a girl her age, if a little faster from nerves, which was also expected.
Nat couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a doctor or been to a routine checkup. Probably years. Vera Scatorccio avoided doctors and hospitals like the plague, perhaps her phobia had transmitted to Natalie.
She’d say, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
A silly way to make kids eat fruits and vegetables, but Nat wouldn’t be surprised if her mom actually believed what she was telling little Nattie all those years ago.
“You seem healthy to me, Miss Scatorccio, you’ve recovered well from your concussion.” Norman was soft-spoken, the complete opposite of his daughter. “I hear you’re one of the team’s best assets, we have to make sure you’re in great shape for Nationals.”
Natalie wasn’t good at accepting compliments, especially not from adults. “I don’t know if we’re going.”
“Of course we’re going, Nat!” Misty yelled from the couch, watching the entire checkup go down.
Maybe she considered all this pre-medical school.
“I hear our Misty takes care of you girls,” Alma Quigley made conversation, adjusting the tilted glasses on her daughter’s nose bridge. “I’m sure you guys appreciate having someone so prepared around!”
“Yeah… she helps alright.”
Misty smiled at this response. Natalie had never seen someone become so overjoyed from such a small comment. It was both endearing and depressing.
This wannabe nurse has a lot of layers.
Nat concluded this after spending the rest of the afternoon at the Quigley residence.
Misty’s room was the size of the Scatorccio living room. She even had a phone line all to herself, probably how she had been calling Natalie nonstop. Misty also had a lot of music in her room, albums from all kinds of artists and decades. She claimed one of her favorite records was Pablo Honey by Radiohead. Not surprising.
It was already dark by the time Misty showed her the backyard. The Quigleys had a huge ingrown pool. Natalie also noticed Misty had no siblings, much like herself. The trailer was small, but it was only meant to hold three. This house was huge, it probably got lonely.
Really lonely.
“Thanks for hanging out with me, Nat,” Misty gushed at the door, “I had a lot of fun.”
Natalie blinked, that comment made her feel like she was doing her a favor. She wasn’t. “You don’t need to thank me, Misty. I had fun too.” Nat might be a rude stoner, but she didn’t lie.
Not to people who didn’t deserve it.
~~
Nat came home around 9pm. She plopped down on her bed and listened to music for the next few hours.
Tired of music, (a rarity). Natalie made her way around the trailer, trying to find something to entertain herself with. She ended up in the small kitchen, Nat opened up the fridge, spotted a fresh beer can and opened its tab for a quick drink. Mom wouldn’t be the wiser, she had a lifetime supply of these in the pantry.
Besides, no one was home to tell Natalie she was too young to drink one of her mommy’s precious beers.
She gagged a bit at the taste, she could only get through the grossness of beer while on other substances, usually at parties, but she was bored.
Nat traveled to the next room, switched on the TV and watched soccer reruns on the sports channel.
She sipped from the can as she analyzed the players' performance, screaming at the glitching screen when one of them would miss perfect shots, not realizing the irony of her judgment. In times like these, she disliked how much she reminded herself of her dad.
Natalie groaned at the sound of someone calling the home phone, for once, it was debt collectors and not Misty Quigley and for that she was very grateful.
Misty wasn’t horrible to have around when she was acting like a normal fucking human being. Maybe if someone told her to stop being so clingy and calling people every goddamn night, she’d have more friends.
Nat wouldn’t do it, but she prayed for whoever did.