She didn't tell her parents about her soccer game. And she doesn't regret it. The last thing Kathleen wants is for them to end up in a fight right in front of all of her friends…in front of people who have no idea that her life is even as screwed up as it is.
Pulling the laces on her shoes in order to tighten them, Kathleen scans the crowd, not really expecting to see anyone. Sure enough, no one's there. Satisfied, she turns back to the field. The team from the Bronx is warming up. They look intimidating, but she knows her own team probably looks the same way.
The game is due to start any minute. Getting off the cold metal bench, she slides into a split and starts stretching. The desire to be sore afterwards doesn't exist with her. She's already sore enough…emotionally, that is. Physical discomfort would have no bearing on what she's feeling. But she still doesn't want it.
Her friends call out to her and she realizes that the game is beginning and the team is huddling, going over their strategy. She rises to her feet and joins them, saying nothing as the coach speaks. Before she knows it, the huddle is over and she is on the field, bracing herself.
And up in the stands, hidden from her little sister's view, is Maureen. She heard from one of her friends and a fellow Glen Oaks High School alumni that there was a game. And she wonders why their parents aren't there. It only takes a few minutes for her to figure out that Kathleen didn't want them there.
Honestly, she can't fault her for it. Their parents have been so weird lately that it's hard to tell where they'll go with each other. Maureen figures that that is the main reason she and her siblings haven't been telling them anything lately. Satisfied with her conclusion, she leans back, taking care not to fall through the bleachers.
Her eyes follow her younger sister's movements carefully, even though she never played soccer. Kathleen is a lot better than some of the other girls out there and Maureen finds herself smiling in spite of herself. But at the same time, she notices that there is something different about Kathleen's movements. She seems angrier than normal…more aggressive. And she is the only one who knows why.
Out on the field, Kathleen notices that the second quarter is now over. Breathing heavily, she makes her way over to the bench where her water bottle is. But instead of drinking from it, she pours half of it over her head. Behind her is the sound of her friends laughing. She ignores them, lost in her own personal thoughts.
At this point, her eyes scan the bleachers again, and this time, she sees Maureen. Their eyes meet and she offers up a half-hearted smile that her older sibling returns. Kathleen realizes then that even if she hadn't wanted her family there before, she is glad that her sister is here now. After all, the game will need reliving as soon as it is over.
The coach decides to keep her on the sidelines for the third quarter to give her time to rest. The girls that are sent back to the field run out again, grinning as they tease her. She laughs along with them, glad for an excuse to be cheerful about something. Reaching for her water bottle, Kathleen pops it open, this time opting to drink from it. Her eyes follow the game and as she watches, she realizes that soccer, like life, is a lot more complicated than it appears.
Above her, Maureen's attention has gone from the game to the sight of her younger sister sitting alone. A part of her wishes that Kathleen would reach out to someone…anyone, really…within reason, of course. But the other part of her knows why her sister is insisting upon isolation
It is the same reason she herself has changed. This past year has done something to both of them and neither of them like it. Frowning, Maureen leans forward, still watching the game, but her true focus is still on Kathleen. She wonders vaguely for a moment then if today might be the day she gets her younger sibling to open up.
The game ends much sooner than either girl thought it would. Glen Oaks is declared the proud winner by the numbers on the scoreboard. An elated grin crosses Kathleen's face as she walks off the field, having played the fourth quarter. Shouldering her duffel bag, she exchanges the usual post-game banter with her friends before hearing her sister calling her name.
Swallowing nervously, she says goodbye and walks towards her older sibling, expecting a reprimand for not having let their parents know about the game, but none comes. Relieved, she immediately starts chattering about the game before Maureen can say anything.
They leave the field and Maureen listens, an amused look on her face. She knows what Kathleen suspects, and she knows what Kathleen is doing. But it makes no difference. Yes, she came to watch the game, but she also came to talk. And whether her sister likes it or not, she's going to.
It's been said that most responsibility falls on the eldest child of a family. And Maureen is feeling it now, more than ever. The only problem is that it's not only her. Kathleen is feeling it too…and she's not taking it very well. Both of them fall silent at this point, and wonder when things started to change so dramatically.
Their reality has become so much more different from what it was. And both of them are handling it in different ways. But if there is one thing they know, it is that they will always have each other.
With this in mind, Maureen opens her mouth and starts to speak.
A/N: Follow-up to the scene between the twins...oh, and before I forget like I did in the first story, LOSVU is not mine...wards off corporate lawyers