My feet pounded against the sidewalk. I felt free from the Earth. I was no longer running the streets of our small town. The cops driving around weren't searching for my teammate. Kelley wasn't still parked behind me. I was in another place. A better place where people didn't have to run from the problems.

When I reached the end of my route, I crash landed on Earth. Arry was missing. I put my hands on my head. Stories were always told about people who went missing. Some were found and some weren't. I had never imagined I'd be witnessing one.

Especially not Arry. She was a good kid. So was her sister Tobin. So many people misunderstood their situation. They judged them before they could actually know them.

I entered BFP, the Brian's Family Pizzeria, and walked up to the counter. Morgan was sitting at the register. "Hey Morgan," I said.

She looked up at me. She seemed depressed. She said, "The taco pizza is a dollar a slice to raise awareness about Arry's disappearance." Oh. Morgan and Arry were really close from the minute they met. At one point, Morgan was closer to Arry than to her own sister. Sometimes, it still felt that way. Lauren and Morgan were making a great effort to repair the damage between them.

"That's a sweet gesture Moe. Taco was her favorite," I said genuinely. I gave her a small smile knowing nothing would cheer her up until her best friend was home.

"Is," she stressed with blank eyes. Her fingers tapped against the side of the register. "It is her favorite." I rubbed the back of my neck. Before I could apologize she sighed, "I didn't think it would do much, but Kling said it was better than nothing."

I nodded in agreement. "Kling was right."

"Aren't I always?" Kling emerged from the swinging kitchen door. She had her usual mischievous grin, but it didn't have it's usual spark. She stood beside her girlfriend. She took the opportunity to drape her arm around her neck because it was awkward while they were standing.

I couldn't help the smile that creeped onto my face as Morgan melted into the defender's side. My thoughts traveled to Tobin. "Do you know how Tobin's doing?" I asked.

Morgan squeezed her eyes shut and dropped her head into her hands. "Lauren called last night and said they moved her to Juvy. They made Lauren and Amy go home. They're gonna visit her today," she croaked.

I felt the cool fall air sweep into the room with loud chatter. I turned. Morgan's frustrated voice said, "You've got to be kidding me."

Jaelene Hinkle walked up to the counter. As captain I had the ability to kick her off. I was tempted to so many times, but I knew that she would come back with her parents and make a ruckus about the Heaths. I also knew I had no valid reason unless I kicked Arry off too.

Seeing how worked up her girlfriend was getting, Kling glared at the group of girls. "Get out," she demanded. She used her other arm to point to the door.

Hinkle rolled her eyes. "You can't not serve me. That's against the law."

I saw Morgan tense. "Where's Lauren when you need her?" She muttered.

The girls looked at the menu ignoring Morgan's intense glare. "Taco? Who the hell likes that? That's disgusting," one of the girls giggled. The rest of them nodded and laughed in agreement.

Kling looked ready to show off what being a black belt meant. Hinkle looked directly at Morgan. "I heard that animal control finally got those beasts in cages," she said in a fake innocent look. We all knew who she was talking about.

Before the situation took a bad turn, I said, "Hinkle, I'd watch yourself. You've already been suspended."

She whipped her head to look at me. "You may be captain on the field but off? You're no better than a sewer rat," she snarled getting in my face. I stared at her with an unwavering look. She smirked. "A sewer rat that is so helplessly in love with—"

"Hinkle. Order your food and get lost," I snapped.

She gave me a grin that I wanted to smack off her face. I couldn't. I knew that as a role model for Kling and Moe and the rest of my teammates, I couldn't. "We'll have five slices of taco," she said. I made eye contact with Kling.

Moe was ready to murder them. She rigidly stood and got there order. She put it in a box and put it on the counter. One of the girls grabbed the box with a giggle. Hinkle put a ten on the counter. "Keep the change." They walked out like they owned the place.

"Why are they so, so . . ."

"Bitchy?" Kling supplied.

I turned to ask Morgan about the party. Suddenly a car alarm went off. Kling immediately separated herself and ran towards the door. We followed. We witnessed Kling book down the street after a speeding car. Morgan's eyes widened at the chaos in front of us. Parked in the street was Kling's car. The tires were popped, the windows were smashed. Spray painted across the hood were the words Dykes go to hell. Morgan swayed. I used my hand to steady her.

What was going on? Why was all this happening? Kling walked back fuming. Her eyebrows were knit together and her fists were clenched at her sides. She did some kind of spin move and kicked the back of her car. A grunt escaped her lips as she leaned against the metal scrap. A passing car parked in the space in front of Kling's. A girl got out.

Alex Morgan, with dark circles under her eyes, stood in front of us. The forward looked at Kling's car in horror. "What happened?" She asked.

Morgan glared at her. "It's none of your business."

I gave her a warning look and turned to Alex. "There's a lot of tension between you and the team Alex. Now's really not a good time," I sighed rubbing the back of my neck.

She fidgeted with her fingers and bit her lip. She looked up with solemn eyes "I-is Tobin alright?" She asked, her voice cracking.

Kling slammed her fist against the hood of her car. The fresh white paint brushed off on her hand. She vehemently turned on the new girl. "You have no right to ask about her!" She shouted.

Morgan sent another glare at Alex and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "Come on, Kling. Let's go inside." They went back into the pizza shop. It was just me and Alex.

I turned to look at her and noticed a tear slide down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and said, "She's right. I shouldn't have asked. I'll just go."

She turned and opened the door to her a car. I sighed. "She's in Juvy," I said. Alex froze. I wasn't sure how she reacted. Her face was still turned in the other direction. "Lauren and Amy are gonna see her today. I might too. You should come."

She turned to face me. "She doesn't want to see me," she said softly.

I sighed. "Alex—"

"Carli. You weren't there. You didn't hear the things I said. You didn't hear the things she said. She hates me and she thinks I hate her," she said her eyes filling with tears.

"Do you?"

She looked up at me.

"Do you hate her?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't even if I tried." She got in the car and shut the door. The car's blinkers turned on and it turned onto the road.

I stood with my hands on my hips. Life was so difficult. I liked to keep everything that happened off the field to stay that way. A lot of girls on the team have gone through so much. I liked to give them a safe place to do what they love with no distractions. But it was getting harder. With Arry missing and Tobin in Juvy, it will be hard to keep the game in between the lines.

+ + +

"Thanks for letting me come. I know how hard it must be for you guys," I said as we got out of Lauren's car.

Lauren stiffly replied, "Stop acting like she's dead."

Before I could react, Amy put a hand on Lauren's shoulder. "She's just being Carli. Always polite and selfless no matter what."

Lauren and Amy were really close. In fact, the three new kids were basically sisters. They called each other siblings and no one called them out on it.

"My sisters are coming too. I hope that's okay."

"Naw, my sisters got it."

"I have three sisters. It's a . . . Peculiar situation."

Arry was their baby sister. They were very protective of her. If this was Lauren with Tobs in jail, I couldn't imagine her with Arry behind bars.

We walked through the glass double doors and to the front desk. Amy spoke before Lauren could. "Excuse me? We are hear to see Tobin Heath," she said sweetly with a sad smile on her face.

The lady at the desk looked up from her computer screen. "Who?"

"Tobin Heath," Lauren snapped.

The lady just stared at Lauren with a you-did-not-just-use-that-tone expression. "Tobin Heath, ma'am. We'd like to see her," I said, successfully taking over the situation. Her eyes lingered on Lauren but flicked to me.

"You children are under the age of eighteen. Even if you were on the list, you'd need an adult," she smirked and went back to clicking her keyboard.

"What do you mean even if you were on the list? There's no way that Lauren and I aren't on there. We're her sisters," Amy said sternly, her arm hooked around Lauren's. The midfielders other hand rested on Amy's shoulder.

The woman sighed and flopped deeper into her chair. She ran her fingers through her greasy red hair. "Look kid," she said. "I'm just the receptionist. There are two people on her list, and none of you are on it."

"How do you know?" Lauren snapped. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked ready to pummel her way into the building. "You don't even know our names!"

She answered, "There are pictures. Now, I'm going to ask you to leave the building or I'm gonna be forced to call security."

I demanded, "Who is on this list?"

"And what makes you think I'm gonna tell you?"

"Who makes this list because Tobin would want to see her family," I said reasonably.

Lauren replied stiffly, "Her counselor." She looks at the receptionist with piercing daggers.

The woman rolled to the phone and punched in some numbers. "Greg, there are some girls who want to talk to you," she said. "They're hear about Tobin Heath."

She put the phone down and rolled back to her computer. She didn't acknowledge us just went back to work. Before Lauren could pounce, a man dressed in a buttoned up shirt and khakis came through the double doors. He showed a card to the security guard and walked towards us. "Hello, I'm Greg Malano," he said with a smile and stuck his hand out. None of us grabbed it. He awkwardly drew his hand back to his sides.

He was a middle aged man. He had thinning hair and dark eyes that stared analytically through his glasses. "I want to see Tobin! There is no reason why she shouldn't see us!" Lauren shouted.

He blinked. "Miss, please calm down. Can you please tell me who you are and your relationship to Tobin."

Before Lauren could explode, Amy gripped her hand and gave me a look. I nodded. Lauren tried to argue as Amy pulled her to the side. I faced Tobin's counselor. "I can understand why I'm not on the list, but Lauren and Amy are her sisters in every way that counts. Why can't she see them?" I asked.

His eyes widened. He said, "I encouraged her to see the people closest to her. Some people need to be separated to become mentally stable, but I think being away makes her unstable." He nodded thoughtfully. "What did you say their names were again?"

"Lauren Cheney and Amy Rodriguez."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "She's talked about them. A lot actually. She said that she's not ready to see them. I don't make them do anything they're not ready for."

"Not ready? They're the tightest group I know," I said.

He shrugged.

"So who is on that list?"

He purses his lips and sighed. "Who are you to Tobin? If Lauren and Amy are like her sisters, are you her cousin?"

I shook my head. "We're friends. Good friends. We play soccer together."

"Look, Tobin has two people on her list. She only wanted these two. No matter what I said, she wouldn't tell me who they were and why she wanted them to see her." He licked his lips. "In fact, she said that she didn't want them to visit her. She just said that if they wanted to she'd let them. Christen Press and Alex Morgan."

Christen Press and Alex Morgan? What kind of game was Tobin Heath playing?