Our Kiddo

You were scared?!

Leah was in lying in bed. She couldn't sleep. All that was going round her head was worries for the poor girl. She wanted desperately to help but what was there to be done?

A gentle knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts.

"Come in," she said. The door opened and Evie stood, her plaits hanging loosely by her shoulders. One of her pyjama trouser legs was caught up and she looked extremely childlike.

"I can't sleep," she said shyly. Leah pulled back the duvet and tapped the space next to her.

Evie was grateful for this and ran and hopped in. Straight away she snuggled into her side, desperately craving the comfort she'd wanted as a child.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Leah asked. Evie shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

"I'd rather not. It's all a bit confusing. I don't know how to feel," Evie replied, honestly.

"That's understandable. Just know I'm here if you ever need anything."

"Thanks, Le," Evie said before closing her eyes and settling off to sleep.

That night they lay in the comfort of each other's arms. Their relationship was special. They were best mates, always making each other laugh and having a nice time, but Leah also protected Evie. She was like the big sister she'd never had- always looking out for her.

***

The piece of paper with Jamie's phone number on had just been lying on the table before Evie decided to finally text it. She arranged to see him at some random café, knowing that a neutral meeting spot was best.

She was going to watch the game against Birmingham, the game she'd been banned from due to the red, and then she was heading straight to the station.

Rafa scored from a header less than quarter of an hour in and Evie bounced around in celebration. She felt terrified with what she was about to do but pushing it out of the way with football was a brilliant distraction.

Viv got their second quarter of an hour from half time and Evie was over the moon. She was sat with the fans and, at half time, she kept being asked for pictures. She was happy to take part, this is what being a professional footballer was about.

Beth scored in the 70th minute and ran to celebrate over the barrier with Evie. She hugged her.

"That's our Meado!" Evie shouted. All of the girls knew that she was on compassionate leave but didn't know why. They all knew that Evie had had a rough childhood so they just presumed it was something to do with that.

Five minutes later, disaster struck as Birmingham got one back. It was awful defending from Arsenal and should've easily been cleared away. Then ten minutes later, it got worse. A terrible throw in from Arsenal lead to Birmingham winning the ball in the box. They chipped Manu and made the score 3-2. Surely they couldn't come back.

For the rest of the match, they managed to keep them at bay and in the second minute of injury time, Caitlin scored to make it four.

The final whistle brought a sense of relief but also brought a rush of nerves for Evie. Now the game was over, she'd have to confront everything head on. She said goodbye to Leah, who could sense her nerves.

"Everything will work out okay. If you need anything, call me. I will drive all the way down at the drop of a hat if you need it. Please look after yourself kiddo."

"I will. Thanks Leah."

***

After arriving in Southampton, Evie was so pleased to see Ava.