Breaking the Mold (Alex Morgan x OC)

You feel the burn when you cry

Ellie's POV.

I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. The morning sun shone through a small crack in the curtains, casting a warm glow across my room. My eyes were sore, tears dried up on my cheeks as I still couldn't wrap my head around it all. Jenny was gone, and it didn't seem real.

My phone started to vibrate, and I reached for it to see multiple messages from my teammates. I opened up Alex's message first, and read it over and over again. I felt a warmth spread through my body as I read it, and I felt another wave of sadness wash over her, knowing I couldn't be with her right now. I started typing out a response, but the words didn't come out right, so I just wrote:

I'm okay, thank you.

I sent it and then put the phone back down. I could hear voices coming from the living room, and I got up to see who it was. I walked in to see my parents and Dave talking, hugging him while Ken and Rick were sitting at the dining table, photos of Jenny laid out in front of them.

"Dave," I said, my voice soft. He looked up at me and then got up, walking over and hugging me tightly. I wrapped my arms around him, both of us holding each other as tears started streaming down my face. He let go, and I hugged my parents too. That's when I noticed today's issue of the Calgary Sun sitting on the coffee table. I picked it up, looking at the headline. "Wrestler Jenny Taylor killed in a tragic accident." Below that was a photo that was taken after the fall, all of the officials and paramedics surrounding her as they worked on her in the ring.

My heart dropped, and I put the paper down. I couldn't bring herself to look at it anymore. I walked over to Ken and Rick, pulling a chair out next to them and sitting next to Ken. He had tears running down his face and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. I wrapped my arm around him as the three of us looked at the photos. There was a photo of Jenny holding me when I was a baby, "That was after you were born," Ken said, his voice filled with emotion.

I nodded, and then I saw another photo, this one of all of us at the beach. We were all smiling, and I remembered that day so clearly. We were all laughing and having fun, and now here we were, all together, but Jenny wasn't here. I sighed, and then Rick stood up, his face still sad.

"I'm going to go talk to Dave," he said, before walking out of the room. Ken followed him, leaving me alone at the dining table. I stared at the photos, my heart heavy. I couldn't believe Jenny was gone. I was going to miss her so much, miss her laugh, her smile, her hugs. I was going to miss everything about her. My phone vibrated again, and I saw it was Al.

Ellie, I'm sorry for your family's loss. Take as much time away from the team as you need. All of us here in Los Angeles are thinking of you and your family. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.

I smiled, grateful for his support. I replied, thanking him and telling him I'd be back when I'm ready. I put my phone down and then let out a massive sigh, my heart still heavy. I slowly got up, and then walked into the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water. I took a few sips and stared out the window, my heart aching. Jenny was gone, and I just wanted to be able to hug her again, to tell her everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't. She was gone, and she was never coming back.

*******

Kayla's POV

"See, Finau?" I lifted up my left foot, which had an ankle brace over it. "If you have one of these on, then that's when you know your time as an athlete is short," I joked, trying to lift the mood in the room, but it didn't seem to work.

The entire room isn't lively like it normally is, the group of us here is just in a sad mood, and I understood. We all wanted to fly up to Calgary together and be there for Ellie and her family, but we're here in New York, gearing up for tomorrow's match against Sky Blue. Ellie's sister's death has been front page news down here in the States for the past few days, with more information coming to light. I knew it'd be a huge deal up in Calgary though since the Taylor's are from there and that they're a big dynasty.