‘Oh crap,’ I said, or rather, croaked. I didn’t say a word on the way home. The others thought that I had done too much too soon, but it wasn’t that. I was scared, petrified and I felt physically sick...     Football Girl Season 2 ~ Chapter 15 By Susan Brown Copyright © 2011 Susan Brown

Previously...

She let go of my arms but stood there. I should have bolted there and then, but I was scared witless and my legs felt like jelly.

‘I’m leaving now. Wait a few moments and then you can go. Not a word to anyone. By the time you get to your table, I will be out of here and long gone. You will never see me again, but if you do not do as I say, my colleagues will make sure that you go through a living hell.’

She stepped back and looked me up and down.

‘Nice dress–for an ex boy. Have a nice day.’

She smiled. winked at me and then went over to the door, taking the chair away from the door knob and with a final glance at me, she nodded as if we had just passed a pleasant few moments together and just left.

I sunk down on a chair, my hands on my face. I was shaking almost uncontrollably and I wanted to cry but there were no tears.

A moment later the door opened and someone came over to me.

‘Susan, are you all right,’ asked a concerned sounding Danni.

I looked up at her and burst into tears.

‘Honey, what’s wrong–not feeling well? You shouldn’t have done all this today. You haven’t got over the flu properly yet.’

I looked up at her through streaming eyes. My nose had blocked up and I probably looked a right state, but my thoughts were not on the way I looked. I couldn’t tell her. If I did, ‘they’ would know that I had told and then bad things would happen to those who I loved.

‘Can we go home please?’ I asked.

‘Okay honey; oh your necklace, it’s broken,’

She bent to pick it up.

‘I...the chain snapped. Can we please go home?’

And now the story continues…

I didn’t say a word on the way home. The others thought that I had done too much too soon, but it wasn’t that. I was scared, petrified and I felt physically sick.

I had been hit, threatened and the ones that I loved were in danger, because of me. I couldn’t stand the thought that any one of them could be hurt because of me.

Soon we were back home and I was grateful to go to my room, get undressed and into bed. I had a good excuse not to say anything, I was ill and that meant that allowances were made for me. Andrea brought me some hot chocolate and I almost broke down, wanting to just hold here tight and feel better, but I was Susan Hurst, strong willed teenager, always together and able to handle herself. I couldn’t burden myself on her. She had enough problems and had gone through hell recently so I just didn’t want to add to her worries.

All the family drifted in and out of my bedroom that evening and I put on a good impression of someone that had overdone it and needed a bit of rest and recuperation.

Daddy asked the obvious.

‘Do you want me to speak to the club? We could put off your disciplinary meeting tomorrow. I am sure that they are not that heartless.’

I wasn’t so sure. If Hiram could put one of his pet beasts on me and scare the crap out of me, then he was capable of anything.

‘See how I am in the morning,’ I said, putting off the unpleasant and snuggling down and feigning sleepiness.

‘Okay honey,’ he said, kissing my forehead and then leaving me to rest.

I nearly said something to Mummy, who tended to almost kill me with kindness when she came in to ‘tuck me in’ but I resisted the attempt and I was soon left alone to my rather mixed up thoughts.

Everything was going around and around in my head. I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. I ran over, time and time again the conversation that I had with the strange and very threatening American woman.

Could I have done anything different? Should I have called her bluff? Why did I just give in the way I did?

Too many questions that I had no answer to. The fact was though, I had wilted. I was just too scared to do anything. Maybe I should have screamed. Kicked her in the shin and made a run for it. Anything except the complete capitulation that actually occurred.

It was dark outside now, but the curtains hadn’t been drawn yet. I got up, shivering slightly in my brief, thin pink cotton nightie and padded over to the window and looked out.

It was cold and clear and the moon was full. I could see a lot of the grounds going down to the lake. I could hear the plaintive hooting of an owl and then saw it as it swooped across the moon on its way to finding some hapless little furry thing for its supper. I felt a bit like a hapless furry thing myself at that moment, waiting to be devoured by Hiram and then spat out when I had been consumed.

I shivered at that thought and quickly drew the curtains across and then went back to bed.

I just needed to stop think such dark thoughts, but it was so hard as I just kept going back to that woman and what she did to me...

I should have turned the heating up a bit, but I knew that under the covers I would be toasty warm and I didn’t really need any extra heat.

Trying to take my mind off of my worries, I turned on the TV and channel surfed. I thought that there might be some Melchester news but, for once, the air waves were free of our problems. After watching a rather mindless chick flick without any plot to think of for about half an hour, I switched off, turned the light out and went to sleep–or rather, I tried to, but I couldn’t. How could I sleep when all this was going on?

Switching the light on, I started to read a glossy magazine. Ironically I was on the front, looking quite nice. It was amazing what you can do with a bit of makeup and Photoshop–I wish that reality lived up to the fantasy!

I was deep into the problem page, there were so many messed up girls out there. I wondered if I should right to the agony aunt, but where would I begin..?

Dear Auntie Flo,

I have a problem. I am rich, famous and play football for one of the best clubs in the country; well I did, until some sexist creep of an owner started to threaten me and my family...

There was a knock on the door. Looking at the clock, it was 11.30. Who could this be?

‘Come in.’ I said.

‘Sorry Susan, I saw a light under your door and wondered if you were all right.

‘Oh, hi Danni–no, I’m fine.’

She was in her satin dressing gown, but could see that she had on flannelette jim-jams underneath and I could swear that the design included little teddy bears...

‘Sorry Danni?’

‘I said–you don’t look fine. Still feeling abit iffy?’

‘Mmm, a bit.’

She came over, dragged up a chair and sat down. She just sat there looking at me.

‘What?’ I said.

‘How long are you going to keep this up?’

‘Keep what up?’

‘Don’t answer a question with a question.’

‘Sorry?’

Danni sighed and then shook her head.

‘Susan, we have known each other for a while now and we have been in a few scrapes together. I can read you like a book. You are shit...sorry, very scared about something. I saw that terrified look in the toilet at the restaurant. Something has happened and it’s making you very jumpy. I want to help you, I need to help you, but I can’t drag it out of you. I am not stupid. What happened in the toilet and why was your panic alarm shattered and on the floor? Normally, it would go off when tampered with but the damn thing must have been defective. Are you going to tell me?’

‘There’s nothing to tell.’ I lied.

‘I should have followed you in...’

‘I said not to. Anyway, it was only a few yards away and I...I don’t like people artound me when I go to the loo.’

‘I know about your shy bladder thing. My dad had it. He wouldn’t even go in a public toilet and..well never mind that. I should have been there. Something happened, didn’t it?’

What could I say?

I just shook my head and tried to look her in the eye, failing miserably.

She looked at me for another moment and looked sadder than I had ever seen her.

‘I see.’

She walked up and paced the room for a bit. I could tell that she was angry. I didn’t know what I could say that would help, so I just kept my mouth shut.

After a minute she stopped and then stood at the bottom of the bed.

‘Neither I, Charlotte nor our team can possibly protect you if we are not kept in the loop about everything. I am sorry Susan, I like you very much as a friend as well as someone who does her best to protect you, but we can’t go on like this. I will speak to my boss tomorrow and we will withdraw from protecting you once we have some alternative arrangements sorted out.’

She got up and walked out without another word, quietly shutting the door behind her.

I looked at the closed door and then burst into tears.

I don’t know how long I was crying, it seemed like ages, but it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes. Eventually, I stopped and after wiping my eyes and blowing my nose on a tissue, I felt strangely better. It was as if the pressure inside of me had gone and I was able, finally to think straight.

I looked back at all I had been through in my relatively short life. Growing up hadn’t been much fun after my real father had died and my mum married that drunken slob. I had been mentally and physically abused by that man as had my mum, who had paid the ultimate price–her life.

Things started to change for me as soon as I took some sort of control over my life. I had been lucky, yes, but I did have talent and I had made the most of it with the help of my new family. Mummy and Daddy–not forgetting the twins, had helped me to be part of something nice, sweet and lovely. Then There was my scatty almost sister, Clair, Monica and my lovely Andrea. I had been so lucky that all these people cared for me, but that wasn’t all. Mr and Mrs Moon were almost the grandparents that I never really had and were always willing to listen to me and help me whenever they could.

Danni and Charlotte may have been technically my employees, but it went so much further than that. I really did consider them as friends and I knew when push came to shove, that they would lay their lives on the line to protect me and my extended family.

Then there was Melchester. I had many friends amongst the players and the staff that were still there. I had been given a chance by the club to flourish and be a reasonably good player. Now everything was changing because a slime-ball had taken it into his head to ruin me, the club and all that it stood for. Hundreds of thousands of fans around the world supported Melchester. What right had he to try and ruin everything?

I don’t think that it was the money. He had more than he could ever spend in a lifetime. My opinion was that he just got his jollies from power and what he could do with it. He hated women and I was a woman. He probably hated the transgendered community and I allied myself with girls and boys who needed to be who they really were.

The fact that there were still jerks like him in the world made me angry and that anger transplaced the fear to a small extent, but what could I do?

I realised that I couldn’t go on like this. I needed help and I knew that if I didn’t sort this out now, once and for all, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

I took a deep breath, got up, put on my pink silky dressing gown and pink bunny rabbit slippers and walked out of my room.

I knocked on the door.

‘Come in.’

Opening the door, I could see Danni lying on her bed, book in one hand and cup of something in the other.

She looked up and smiled.

‘Hello Susan.’

To be continued...

Please leave comments and kudo thingies...thanks! ~Sue