Our Kiddo

I'm so proud of you

Today was the day that Evie needed to face one of her fear foods. She'd been trying so hard and the only thing yet to be tackled was bread. Leah had made her a piece of toast with avocado spread on top and it was sat waiting when Evie came down.

She sat at the table trying to push down the fear that was surging in her stomach. It was only a piece of food. She would do this.

That was easier said than done as she sat staring at it for a little bit. Panic and words of people who'd made her so uncomfortable with her body rushed around her head.

Leah was sat next to her. She didn't speak about the toast. She didn't want to make it a big deal.

Silent tears began to flow down Evie's face and Leah held her hand. She was also sat scrolling through her phone to make it seem less tense. It was a way of showing that she was there if needed but it also wasn't a big deal.

With a trembling hand, Evie picked up the food and took a bite. One bite became two and even though she was weeping at this point, she wasn't going to give up.

There was only a little bit left when she set it down, unable to carry on. Leah's hand was still grasped firmly in hers.

"I'm so proud of you kiddo," she said as she pulled the little girl into a hug.

Despite the look on her face, Evie was very proud of herself. She'd managed to do it. Her eating wouldn't destroy her.

***

Training had not been going well since they'd returned from the break. Nothing was crisp and Jonas' usually relaxed mood had become quite angry as he was fed up with how wrong it was going.

Today was match day against Birmingham, an easy 3 points most people thought. Three points that got further away from them as they conceded in the second minute.

It had completely been their fault and Jonas was fuming.

"SWITCH ON!" he screamed.

They didn't switch on and three minutes before half time they conceded another one. It had been coming and it was clear that Arsenal weren't feeling it. The half time team talk was one that the girls would've preferred to forget.

As the second half went on, they still struggled. Their plays weren't crisp and they were allowing Birmingham to walk all over them.

It was frustrating but ten minutes from the end, Evie hassled a Birmingham midfielder and won the ball. She set off and looked around for options. No one.

She carried on running, two defenders and the goalie to beat. Using a few twists and turns, she beat the defenders and now only the keeper stood in her way.

Pretending to shoot one way, she cut back before smashing the ball into the net. It felt good to get a goal but it wouldn't mean anything if they couldn't get another one.

Evie ran and took the ball out the net before running it to the middle so they could reset quickly.

It wasn't enough and they lost match. It was frustrating and when Evie went to speak to Freya she was in a bad mood.

"You played well," Freya tried to tell her.

"No I didn't. I got a goal but it wasn't enough," Evie moaned. Freya pulled her into a hug and some of the tension was released.

It was annoying but there were lots of games to go. Arsenal could still win the league.

"Do you want to meet up tomorrow?" Freya asked.

"Love to."

***

Evie knew she was now cutting it very fine. She'd spent an amazing morning with Freya and now she needed to get to training.