Beep…beep beeeeeeep, were the lovely sounds of the horn that he was resurfaced by. He jumped and opened his eyes in time to see Annabelle walking away from his car to the opposite side of the field from the other girls on the team, who were sitting down to stretch. He watched for a while and flinched every time Annabelle kicked a ball into the empty goal with incredible force.

"Why did I make the schedule with games on Fridays and practice the next day?" he asked himself out loud, getting out of his car and walking onto the field were the majority of the team was gathered when he was tapped on the shoulder.

"Oh, Coach Edward," a sweet voice said. He turned to see Martha standing there. Martha, the fifteen year old teen who was hell-bent on marrying him.

"What, Martha? You're supposed to warming up."

"Could you warm me up?" she whispered into his hear in a seducing tone.

"No, you little whore!" is what he felt like saying, but he just stuck with a 'no'.

He turned his back to her and saw Annabelle, who had apparently been watching, shake her head and kick the ball harder than usual. He couldn't see her face, so he didn't know if she was laughing or shaking her head in disgust.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Martha! Is it so hard to run with out faking an injury?" Edward shouted from across the field.. She pouted and tried to stand up, but screamed in faux-pain. Edward sighed exasperatedly and jogged over to Martha to help her up. Martha acted like she stumbled and fell into Edward's chest, her blonde hair forming a sort of veil around her face. She stuck out her rear and Edward gagged, looking upward and unlatching Martha from his body. "You're fine, Martha. Go and practice." She walked away, pretending to limp as she went. Eventually she gave up and took her frustration out on Annabelle.

"Oops. Sorry, sweetie. Didn't mean to trip you like that," she said after she stuck her foot out and watched as Annabelle fell to the ground. Annabelle stood up and started to walk away, but the giggling coming from Martha drove her over the edge that she was already slipping off of. She turned around and ran at Martha, tackling her to the ground and punching her. There was a cracking sound and Martha shrieked .

"Stop calling me sweetie, stop lying, and stop breathing, you bitch!" Annabelle shouted in Martha's face. It all happened so fast that Edward had just broken in and pulled Annabelle off of the sobbing Martha. He dragged Annabelle away and restrained the struggling girl in a bear hug, flinching when she kicked and bit him, but he didn't let go.

At least I get to hold her, he thought. Stop, Edward. Stop! She's only thirteen ! Annabelle stopped and fell limp. The sudden dead weight made Edward lose balance and fall, giving Annabelle a chance to run to the locker room where she stayed until everyone one else went home.

Edward followed the broken sobs to a huddled, shaking mass in a far corner, covered by a hoodie.

"Annabelle?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

Annabelle froze in shock, then nodded her head.

"No, you're not, Annabelle. What happened?"

"The bitch tripped me. I got pissed. I tackled her. I punched her. I told her to stop breathing. You stopped me. I ran here," Annabelle muttered.

"Come on. You could be hurt." Edward held his hand out and Annabelle took it, standing up and gave Edward a hug, startling him.

"I'm s-sorry," she said through jagged breathes. "I'm just so tired of… well, life in general. I mean, I'm not gonna go jump of a bridge, but I don't care what happens anymore. I go with my first thought and act. I don't stop until I feel like it or I am stopped." She wiped her left eye, and that's when Edward saw it. He took Annabelle by the shoulders and pushed her back a little so he could see her hand better. There was a sickening bony lump in between two joints on one of her middle fingers.

"Oh, gosh, Annabelle. What happened to your finger?" he asked in a worried voice.

Annabelle laughed. "I think I broke it. What, you think I was crying because I punched the little wh- I mean Martha?"

"Yes, actually. I thought you felt guilty," he said, taking her hand in his and examining her finger. He touched it and she jumped.

"I hurt you," he said guiltily.

"Thanks for the news flash, Captain Obvious."

Edward blushed and looked down at his feet. How does she make a fool out of me so easily? he asked himself.

Annabelle put her free hand on her hip and tapped her foot impatiently. "Are you just gonna hold my hand there all day?"

Edward released her hand and went to fetch a first aid kit, Annabelle at his heels, trying her best not to show any signs of pain, though every time she took a step, her finger throbbed.