by Nicole Shay
THE HEART OF THE STARS
Nicole Shay
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
CHAPTER 1
It took a moment for Imogen to realize what happened. The whistle blew, angry cries were heard from all around her, sweat dripped from every pore reminding her just how hard her body is working, fresh blood ran down her leg from where the defender’s cleat met her skin. She got up in a daze not knowing the seconds between her running and her falling, the goals between the tied score of 2-2. She knew one thing though. She needed to win this game. To lose to one’s biggest and only rival would be a tragedy, a story to not tell. Before she could anything else, a pair of intense blue eyes began to aggressively make their way over to her.
The pain in her leg faded as the girl’s words attacked her. Olivia McBray. The opposing captain and quite possibly the worst human being she’d ever come across. Imogen was not one to hate easily, but Olivia lit a different fire within the girl. Her resolve returned as she listened to the anger in the raspy voice that was like listening to a cat slowly being crushed. She was determined to win, despite the fatigue, and pain. As long as she beat Olivia McBray, that’s all that matters.
It happened so fast that Olivia had stood in a daze for a moment trying to figure out if it was real or not. She was at the halfway line, hoping her defenders and midfield could get the ball out of their half when Imogen Sloane, captain of their rival team, dribbled towards Kerrie, who went in for a tackle. Imogen tried to do some stupid cheeky move Olivia had come to hate almost more than the girl herself when they went down. Kerrie held her knee; Imogen was bleeding. To say Olivia was furious is a damn understatement. She immediately sprinted over, words flying out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
“What the hell?” She screamed, glaring at Imogen. She would have checked on her player, but Maeve’s already got it covered. Instead, she kept going, sending all the hate she had for the girl out. “Are you kidding me? You could’ve just tried to dribble around her! Ref, is that not a yellow? It should be a damn yellow!”
The ref shook his head and gave both players a warning. That only pissed Olivia off further.
“You’re kidding me!” she screamed again. She needed Kerrie. She needed everyone on the field at that moment. She couldn’t have her team lose the game. When Elaine turned down the position of captain for her senior year, insisting Olivia have it instead, it was a whole new load on Olivia’s shoulders. Now, she wasn’t letting this team lose as long as she was leading them. “This is such bullshit!” Olivia yelled, her eyes still on the number 17, who was getting up and getting treated by trainers. “Absolute bullshit,” she muttered.
“Ollie,” Hailey came up to her side, giving her a look. “Calm down.”
“Calm down?” Olivia cried out. “Are you being serious right now? Didn’t you just see what she did to Kerrie?”
Hailey took a shaky breath, trying to remain calm herself. “Kerrie’s being taken care of. She’ll get up and start playing now.”
“She walks away with a warning!” Olivia went on.
“13,” the referee barked. “If you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to card you.”
The whole team gave Olivia a look, but she didn’t pay attention to anyone’s gaze more than she felt her keeper’s eyes on her back. She turned around to see Elaine’s icy stare on her and she knew she needed to clean up her act up quickly.
“We need you Ollie,” Hailey continued in a low voice. “No one scores like you.”
Olivia nodded, her eyes going to Imogen who was all cleaned up and walking away. “Fine,” she spat. “Let’s win.”
Imogen watched Olivia fume in the center of the field as the trainers quickly cleaned up her leg. She shook her head and scoffed as the girl’s pleas further fueled her desire to take away any sort of pride the opposing team had walked on the pitch with.
She noticed Olivia look back to Elaine Strongman, quite arguably the best keeper in their state. Taken aback by the exchange she yelled, “Can the real captain please stand up!” but she was sure no one heard her other than the trainers who were too occupied with bandaging her up.
Imogen felt a light hand on her shoulder, a familiar touch that she knew was Lilith.
“Imogen, are you alright? That was a pretty nasty tackle.” The girl asked genuinely worried about her friend’s leg.
“I’m fine, just a little cut is all” Imogen said still hyped from the game thus far.
“Are we good?” Imogen asked the trainer who glared at her with a ‘I’m going as fast as I can’ look.
“Hey hey, calm down, ok? We need you thinking clearly out there, don’t let McBray get inside your head like she does..” Lilith said with a warning look before running back into the midfield.
“She could never get inside my head!” Imogen yelled back to her friend unsure if she even heard her reply.
She ran back on the field as the trainer finished up and was instantly informed by the daggers sent her way, that Olivia heard her comment.
The game presumed and Imogen found a new aggressiveness in her touches. She kicked the ball harder, ran faster, and did her best to keep the ball away from Olivia who was known to be dangerous, especially with a win on the line. There were five minutes on the clock and the score remained 2-2. In a quick turnaround Chloe kicked a long ball to the midfield, finding Imogen’s feet. The girl started dribbling down the left side getting past one defender before the whistle blew again. Focused, Imogen didn’t even notice until Karen stopped her. Imogen turned around to see the ref hovering in the midfield over a fallen Britta and a fuming Maeve Thenard who tried to argue with the ref that she didn’t actually do anything. Imogen ran over to make sure her teammate was alright but not before crossing paths with Olivia again.
“Maeve didn’t touch her!” Olivia groaned as she made her way over to the injury. “It was all ball!”
The rest of the game had gone on, and Olivia was hungry for a goal. This team needed the win, and she would do anything to make it happen. It was another collision that was a blur. Maeve had the ball, she was doing quick 1-2 passes between Hailey and Justine. She had the ball again and was going to shoot when number 11 came out of nowhere and tackled the ball away, sending it to a midfielder on the other team. This sent Maeve forward, almost falling but not quite while the defender sat on the floor, curled on and holding her ankle. Olivia had looked up to see if a call was made, but there was Imogen Sloane dribbling away - even after the whistle blew.
Now Olivia was annoyed, just wanting the game to be over with one more goal from her team. She walked the short distance, but Imogen Sloane crossed her path.
“Way to pay attention to the game,” Olivia glared at her.
“You can’t take a call without trying to eject someone from the game...Way to be fair McBray…” Imogen scoffed as she continued walking to the collision and away from Olivia.
Olivia’s jaw dropped. “That’s a good joke, Sloane!” she yelled after her, then quickly followed suit towards the collision, walking over to Maeve who was still trying to talk to the referee.
“I didn’t touch her!” Maeve argued. “I was just going in for a shot! She’s the one who came out of nowhere!”
Imogen kneeled down to talk to Britta “Are you okay Britta?” She began but was instantly more infuriated at the cries of Maeve.
“I’m okay, it’s just a little sore” Britta sa
id with a pained expression on her face.
Imogen helped the girl up and couldn’t help her comment to Olivia as she walked by her.
“Tell your team to be more careful...or maybe your keeper should do it, she seems to be the one running the show around here..”
Olivia gaped at the statement as Imogen walked by. “I swear to--”
“Let your soccer do the talking, Sloane!” Maeve called after her. She turned to Olivia. “Just three minutes left plus injury time. Keep your head in the game.”
Olivia sighed, nodding. “Got it.”
“You’re captain for a reason, you know.”
“I know. Let’s kick their ass. Do me a favor. Watch out for little Miss Smart Ass for me? I know if I get too close I’ll end up getting a yellow for anything I do to her.”
“You got it, Captain,” Maeve smirked, giving her a pat on the back and then jogging away.
Olivia watched as Imogen bounced energetically around. “I hate you,” she spat, shaking her head.
I hate her was all Imogen thought as she jumped up to get herself ready for the next three or so minutes left. She took a deep breath as the whistle blew to restart the game.
Imogen exhaled deeply as the final whistle blew and the game ended 2-2, just the way no one on the field wanted it to. Her emotions ranged from angry to sad to frustrated to even more frustrated. She stormed back to the bench and took a long swig of water not making eye contact with Olivia or anyone on the other bench. She knew that she had to line up with the rest of the team to shake hands with the opposing team for a ‘good game’ but she couldn’t bring herself to move from the bench. Her head hung low and she felt herself being crushed by the expectations and pressure put on her.
“Imogen, come on” Ornella softly encouraged as the rest of the team was already shaking hands.
Imogen sighed and got up reluctantly. She got in the back of the line and didn’t bother looking at the faces of her opponents as she shook their hands. She knew immediately the last hand she shook was Olivia’s by the firmness it held, much like hers probably did at the same time. She couldn’t bring herself to say ‘good game’ to the one girl that she’s had a heated rivalry and hatred towards for most of her life. As the team walked to the bench for a team meeting , Imogen took one glance over to Olivia who was already glaring at her. One look, and Imogen knew exactly how Olivia felt. Not only did the look tell her how much the girl hated her, it also was a challenge to be better next time they met for ending in a tie never brought resolution to opposing forces. Imogen gave the littlest of nods to acknowledge that next time would be different. There would be a winner and a loser.
When the final whistle blew, it took a lot for Olivia to not scream and argue. To her, tying was just as bad - or even worse - than losing. She shook her head angrily as she joined her teammates to get water quickly before they shook hands. She didn’t want to do it. Or, well, she didn’t want to shake one person’s hand. It was ridiculous, really. The thing that pissed Olivia off the most about the girl was that she actually did have skill.
“Come on Olivia,” Maeve beckoned.
Olivia sighed, tossing the water bottle aside and falling into line with the rest of her team. She mumbled “good games” even though she didn’t really care as she went down. It wasn’t until she met with the rival captain that her face remained in a glare and her hand shake was firm, not that Imogen’s wasn’t. She moved on and followed the rest of her team to the bench, still glaring at Imogen. When the other girl’s eyes met hers, she knew they at least had one thing besides their leadership and the sport they loved in common. They both hated each other. They hated each other more than the tie that just occurred. The rivalry ran deep between the teams, but it never quite hit Olivia like this. She’d learned to hate Imogen as the years passed, and this year, seeing they were both honored with the title of a captain made her angrier. When Imogen gave her the subtle nod, Olivia’s jaw set. She knew what it meant. Neither of them were backing down next game. Neither were willing to let this happen again.
After Coach’s quick words, Olivia found herself sitting in the locker room, untying her boots as she felt someone join her. She stiffened a little. She knew Elaine was mad at her - who wouldn’t be? Over the years Elaine had become like an older sister, a mentor, and Olivia had no doubt in her mind that she had let the keeper down.
“What the hell was that today?” Elaine asked in a low voice that meant Olivia was in trouble.
Olivia sighed, taking off her cleats. “I don’t know, Elaine. It’s Imogen Sloane!”
“Olivia, you need to stay level-headed in games or else you’re not playing,” Elaine said slowly.
“I know that,” Olivia frowned. “I know, I know. It’s just...the calls that were made today, Elaine! And then there’s Sloane - did you hear the bitch? She was pissing me off!”
“I turned down a second year of being captain for a reason,” the keeper reminded her. “I believe you can do this. I believe you can lead this team. Don’t let me down, kid. And don’t let Imogen Sloane get into your head. She’s all mind games. Let the soccer do the talking for you, okay?”
“Okay,” the striker sighed, her shoulders slumped. “Okay.”
“Good, now when we play them again I want you to be solely focused on the game, understand? Forget Sloane, forget the calls. Don’t argue with the ref unless it’s absolutely necessary. Start carrying yourself properly out there, or else Coach is going to take that captain’s band off of you.”
Olivia hung her head, feeling disappointed in letting the one person she looked up to the most on the team down. “Got it.”
Elaine patted her knee. “You’ve got this Ollie. Don’t let this get to you. We’ll win next time.” She gave a slight smile when Olivia lifted her head and then walked off.
Olivia sighed, shaking her head. No one told her being captain caused this much pressure to be on her.
Imogen couldn’t bring herself to look at any of her teammates as the team huddle dismissed. Her coach grabbed her before she could make her way to the locker room.
“Imogen? What was that? Listen, get your act together 17, I made you captain for a reason. You’re better than whatever the hell that was out there today.”
Imogen nodded without a word. She walked behind the rest of her team as she contemplated what she should say to the group of girls she was supposed to be leading. She felt like an apology was necessary but even she knew it wasn’t enough for the way she didn’t lead her team that game. She paused before turning the handle of the door. She knew all eyes would immediately be on her as soon as she took a step through the door.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning the door handle.
She immediately met the eyes of Lilith, whose gaze was filled with disappointment and worry.
Imogen nodded in understanding before making her way to her locker, unable to say anything. Before she could put her stuff down a slam of a locker interrupted the awkward silence.
“So you don’t have anything to say Captain?” Chloe shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the locker room.
Imogen couldn’t bring herself to look at the team’s keeper, and one of her closest friends.
“Seriously Imogen?” Chloe continued as she opened the door to the locker room.
“No! You know what Chloe...I do have something to say!” Imogen said as she slammed her locker and stopped the girl in her tracks.
“We could’ve won today, we could’ve played better, we could’ve been more focused-”Imogen began.
“Oh don’t you dare start with this crap-” Chloe fumed.
“- We could’ve been a better team….” Imogen continued ignoring Chloe’s interruption. “But we weren’t, and we didn’t win..and it’s because I could’ve been better, I could have led you guys instead of worrying about whatever Olivia McBray was doing… I could’ve been better.. and I’m sorry” Imogen finished surprised at the end, not expecting to say any of it for fea
rs of looking weak or incapable of leading a team. It was a worry that she had as soon as she accepted the title of ‘captain’. Imogen knew it would be a true test of her character yet as far as she could tell, the title brought her nothing but a constant pressure and even more hatred towards a one Olivia McBray.
The locker room was quiet after Imogen finished, the girl looked around unsure what effect her speech had on her team.
Finally Lilith spoke up “We’ll be better next time, you’ll be better next time Imogen..” she said leaving Imogen unsure if it was a suggestion or an order.
The next morning, Olivia needed something to make her feel better. She knew her team was probably mad at her for the way she was losing control yesterday so calling any of them up and asking to hang out was out of the question. Instead, she decided to go to the local indoor soccer place. Sure, she wanted to play some soccer, but she knew that it was Julio’s day to work. Julio wasn’t her boyfriend - not by any means. He did end up flirting with her every time she showed up during his shift, and Olivia could use some of that at the moment. So, she got dressed and put her hair up with her pink pre-wrap and decided to put on a little more makeup than she typically did.
As she swung the door open, she found Julio off to the side, handing a small ball to a kid no older than six. When he heard the bells above the door go off, he looked up and immediately grinned at the sight of Olivia.
“Hey Olivia,” he greeted as the kid ran off.
Olivia returned the greeting with a smile. “Hey. I didn’t know you were working today.” Yes, she did.
Julio chuckled. “Yeah, I take more shifts now, I could use the money. No friends joining you today?”
“No,” the brunette shook her head. “Just me. Rough game yesterday. Ended in a tie and plenty of fouls.”
“Damn,” Julio whistled. “Well, glad you’re not scraped up.”
Olivia smiled, trying not to blush. “Thanks.”
“You want to use one of the mini fields?” he asked, leaning on the counter.
