"You can do this, Quinn." I whispered to the anxious looking girl in the mirror.

She had her hair tied in a high ponytail, her soccer uniform clung tightly to her, about a size to small and made everything seem a lot bigger.

"You could always distract them." Kacey had joked a couple hours ago when I was outside practicing, "You know how guys are, always wanting to stare at your boobs." I had rolled my eyes and went back to dribbling the ball.

But now, as I stood in front of the mirror, I was terrified. This was the first playoff game I had ever played in. The girls team hadn't ever been good enough to make it. Of course I played soccer with the guys all the time, but this was different. We were playing another school, and I would be laughed at, screamed at, as they tried to get me disqualified.

"Quinn! Come on!" My mom shouted from the kitchen. I let out a shaky breath and grabbed my bag from the ground, backing toward the door.

"Qui-"

"I'm coming!" I cut her off, shutting my door and darting down the hall. I found her standing in the doorway, buried under a few coats as she grabbed at her keys on the table.

"Austin and your father said they'd meet us there." She said, throwing the door open. I groaned when I sound the overcast, my stomach churning. I had to pray it wouldn't rain on us.

"Quinn!" I looked up, a smile stretching across my face despite my nervousness when I saw Max beside the van. I tossed my bag into the car before walking across the street. Mr. Duncan was pushing a few bags out of the way in the van, muttering something about his kids being unorganized under his breath.

"Hey." I said, waving a little. He let his eyes drift from my face down my body, his eyes finally resting on my cleats.

"I didn't think someone in a uniform could possibly look so sexy, I was wrong." He smiled, but my eye were elsewhere. His face was a dangerous white, he was so pale that he could pass off as a vampire. His hands rested on his stomach, one of them clenched as if he were in pain.

"I could come to the surgery, Max. I could call Coach and-"

"No, I don't want you missing this game, Quinn. It's fine, I'll be okay." He reached out and took my hand, pulling me forward.

"You're going to win this for me, do you understand? You are going to try as hard as you can to beat those bastards. I don't want you thinking about me and the surgery. Your head has to be in the game." I nodded slowly, lacing my fingers through his.

"You'll be okay, right?" I whispered, wanting to hear him say it again.

"I'll be fine, Quinn. I promise." I leaned down and fell on to his lap gently, feeling his arms circle around me.

"I'll be there after the game, when you get out and wake up." I assured him, grateful that Mr. Duncan had disappeared somewhere a few minutes before, "I promise." He looked away from me.

"You better go going or you'll be late, Cyrus. Don't want that to happen now, do we?" He joked, pushing me off his lap. I squeezed his hand, smiling.

"Goodluck, Duncan." I backed away, his hand still grasping mine.

"I'm not that one that needs luck, I'll be fine. I better wake up to you telling me you won, understood?" I rolled my eyes as I finally let my hand fall to my side.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later tonight." I saluted him before spinning around and jogging back across the street and sliding into my mom's car without another glance over my shoulder. I was afraid that if I did, I would go running back, and as much as I wanted too, I knew that I couldn't. I couldn't let the team down, I couldn't let Max down.

**

"Come on, Soccer Chick, don't get cold feet right now." One of the boys on the team said, slapping a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head, glancing at the crowded stadium behind me.

"I. . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Another guy stood up, I recognized him as one of Max's old friends, Leo.

"Look, Cyrus. If you don't want to do this for us or yourself, do it for Max. We all know he would kill to be here right now." I nodded, wiping my sweaty palms on my shorts.

"Dude, she can just distract the other players with her body, I'm sure a few are bound to-"

"Shut up." I growled at whoever had spoke, my jaw clenching.

"Damn, feisty, aren't ya?" The guy standing behind me commented, throwing his arm over my shoulder, "Guys, stop picking on here. She is seriously the only chance we got at winning right now." I forced a smile on to my face and glanced over my shoulder at the open Gym door.

"We're going to win this, guys. We're going to make this school and town remembered years from now. As the only team with a girl on it to make it to the championship. You guys with me?" I put my hand into the middle, and after a second, the boys crowded around me and nodded.

"You've got it, Soccer Chick." One of the boy's spoke up again.

"One the count of three we're going to go out there and show them what we're made of." I said. We broke apart and started to jog toward the door after the countdown, Leo a few steps behind me.

"You better prove yourself. As of right now, all you are to me is Max's girlfriend." Then he jogged out the door, waving at the crowd that greeted him loudly. I took a deep breath, shut my eyes, and walked out on the field.

"Okay, Max." I said out loud, "We're going to win this for you."

**

"You did it, Cyrus! We did it!" Leo exclaimed, throwing his arm over my shoulder and laughing. I smiled, pulling away as I took another swing from my water bottle.

"I better go see Max." I replied, slipping out from under his sweaty arm, "And you better take a shower." He rolled his eyes as the other guys pulled me into a sweaty hug. I cried out, pushing them away as I laughed. After I was finally able to escape them, I went into the girls lockeroom and showered before getting dressed and jogging out to meet my parents by the car.

I found them talking to a group of other parents and the Coach, Austin and Luca sitting in the trunk of the van smoking a cigarette.

"Congrats, sis! You won!" Austin said when I approached, slapping a hand on my shoulder. Luca mentioned something about how quick I was, but my mind was on trying to find out what time it was.

"What time is it?" I asked them, watching my brother pull out his phone.

"Nine-thirty, why?" I whirled around and grabbed my mom's arm.

"Max just got out of surgery, can I go?" She nodded quickly.

"Of course. Here are the keys. Your brother can take us home. Give him a hug for me." She dropped the keys to the van in my hands, gesturing for my brother and his friend to get out of the back of it. I climbed into the driver's seat, starting the car. My parents were still talking to Coach Welts as I pulled away and out of the parking lot. I looked back to find them as nothing but small dots in the distance.

When I finally got to the hospital, it was a disaster trying to find a parking spot, and when I finally did, I had to walk pretty far to get to the doors. I fought with them for a couple minutes before rushing in, my eyes scanning the crowded room for the Duncans. I found Mr. Duncan sitting in the seat, his hands on his temples.

"Mr. Duncan?" I was out of breath by the time I reached him. He lifted his head, revealing his tired face.

He looked as if he had been tearing his hair out the last few hours, his face a dark red and his eyes held bags under them.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"He's fine. The doctors said the operation was smooth. It's just. . . nothing that concerns you, Quinn." He shook his head, pointing down the hall. I stared at him for a second, confused, before walking down the hall with the room number he had muttered.

I found Mrs. Duncan sitting in the chair beside her knocked out son, tears streaming down her cheeks.

I slipped in, knocking gently so I wouldn't scare her. She smiled weakly at me, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Quinn, darling, how'd the game go?" She whispered.

"We won." I answered, moving toward the bed, "Is everything okay?" I could feel a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach as I sunk down on to the edge of Max's hospital bed.

"He's perfectly fine, Quinn. Don't worry." She assured me, reaching for my hand.

"It's. . . we lost everything." I blinked in surprise at her words.

"What do you mean?" I mumbled.

"I mean that David and I have lost all our money, therefore most of our things. We can't afford this hospital bill and. . . and I don't know what we're going to do." She started crying again, wiping at her cheeks with a bitter smile.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. You shouldn't have to worry about this. It's not your problem." I only stared at her, at the woman that had been one of my favorite people for most of my life. She had been one of the strongest women I knew, and here she was falling apart in front of me.

"How much is the hospital bill?" I asked, glancing toward Max. He looked peaceful, his eyes fluttering a little.

"No, sweetheart. You can't do that. Don't-"

"How much is the hospital bill?" I repeated.

"Over a thousand dollars. You can't-"

"I have over twelve thousand dollars saved up, Mrs. Duncan. I've been keeping it hidden for the last twelve years." She shook her head, burying her face in her hands.

"No, no. We can figure it out. That's for college and. . . and no, sweetie." I reached out and took her hand in mine, forcing her to meet my eyes.

"I want to help. He's my. . . I care about him too. I care about you." She sniffled, turning her face away.

"If it's going to help you get back on your feet, I can help. Just let me know." She wiped at her eyes again, taking in what I had just said. After what seemed like hours, she stood up and walked toward the door.

"I have to speak with David first. Stay with him." I nodded, watching the door swing shut behind her. Once she was gone, I moved and sat in the chair, pulling it closer to the bed so I could rest my head on it and take Max's hand.

"We won." I whispered, brushing my lips against the top of his hand.

"We won, Max. For you."

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! I'm so sad that this book is starting to wind down to the end.

Let me know what you though while I go cry!

~ChasingMadness24