A Second Chance

Chapter 12 - Revealing It All

You both make your way into the steakhouse, stopping just inside the door and meet a waitress up front, "reservation for Amelia" you say as she looks through the book.
She grabs some menus and gestures for you both to follow her whilst saying "right this way", and begins to make her way through the restaurant guiding you to a quieter area at the back.

You both sit down at the table, thanking the waitress. Leah looks out the window and takes in the view below her, the steakhouse over looks a canal lined with colourful house boats, fairy lights and pretty coloured flowers.
"this looks amazing" she exclaims whilst pointing out the little things she can see.

You smile at the excited look taking over her face, fascinated by how her eyes light up and her goofy smile.
She turns to look at you and catches you staring at her, she blushes and shyly says "what" whilst looking down.

You smile and say "you just look beautiful, you look really happy and it looks good on you".
Leah smiles and places a hand over yours whilst saying "it's all because of you".
This time it's your turn to blush and get all shy, she continues "i know it's not over yet but i have really enjoyed tonight and i don't thnk i've been this happy in a long time".

Before you can reply your food is placed in front of you on the table, you both thank the waitress again and tuck into the food in front of you, You've both gone for a rump paired with chips and a side salad.

After you've both finished your food and the plates have been cleared Leah lifts her glass of wine to her lips and takes a sip whilst saying "sooo", with a look on her face. You look at her and raise your eyebrows to question her 'so' whilst also taking a sip of her drink.

Leah places her glass down and puts both hands on the table whilst saying "i'm just going to get to the point, what happened when you left Sheffield?".
You take another big sip of you drink and sigh before putting your now empty glass back down, Leah quickly takes a hold of you hand and says "we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to though"

You squeeze her hand and smile, "it's ok i want to talk about it, i am in a much better place now with much better people" you say whilst looking in her eyes.

You pout your lips as you think about where to begin and lean back in your chair, "man where shall i begin, i was literally at the top of my game. I was top goal scorer in the Championship League, my team was top of the league with a massive goal different thanks to me. This sounds so big headed but i was unstoppable".

Leah laughs at your comment and rolls her eyes but nods her head for you to continue.

"One day i woke up and headed to training but something didn't feel right, that day i missed 80% of my shots in training and couldn't get past anyone. I put it down to a bad night sleep and a bad day but a few weeks later and everything was still the same. It was like i had woke up with two left feet."

You sigh and lean forwards on the table ready for the next part of your story, Leah puts her hand over yours and gives it a comforting squeeze.
"I saw multiple therapists but nothing changed, they put it down to performance anxiety but i didn't feel it. I was excited to get out there and play and show everyone how good i could play.
As my training carried on getting worse and worse my team mates tried to get my head back in the game. We made training more fun and more of a game but i still struggled.
I think in the end they just gave up on me as i was giving up on myself.
It wasn't that i didn't want to join in training i just didn't feel like i was helping them.
That's when i started getting benched more and more, i went from starting every game to maybe coming on in the last ten minutes if we were winning by a few goals to never leaving the bench.
Team gatherings started happening less and less, or so i thought. They carried on happening but i just wasn't invited anymore.
That's when everything got really bad. I barely left my room, i barely turned up to training and no one really noticed. I became a total stranger in a place i called home. I had no one up there and i absolutely hated it, i hated football.
One morning i woke up and decided i had enough, i walked into a meeting with the boss and said i was going. He didn't even try to fight it. I told him to rip up my contract and i walked out without looking back and drove back down to my home".

Leah takes both of your hands in hers and says "but look at you now, you're playing for one of the best teams in England with some of the best players from around the world who all love you. Sometimes things happen for a reason, i know it was an awful time for you but look at where it's lead you Melly".

You smile at the new nickname Leah has given you before leaning over to give her a quick peck on the lips and thanking her for listening to you.
"I do feel so much better here with you girls, as soon as i stepped foot into my first training session i felt like i was home. I'm excited to see where this journey takes me with my football career and also with us", you smile.

Before you leave Leah runs to the toilet, as she does this you quickly pay the bill. You stand up as she returns to the table and hold your arm out, "shall we finish this with a walk along the canal?".
Leah links her arm with yours, "i would love to".

It's a cold November night so Leah leans in close to you as you're both walking along just talking about life in general.
"are you excited to get back out on the pitch with everyone?" you ask.
Leah nods her head and answers "i am. I've missed it so much. When you go from playing football everyday to physically not being able to play it's awful. But i can't wait to be out on the pitch again fully playing, obviously there's always going to be a worry in the back of my head. I'm on the back line and put in some strong tackles so im always going to be worried about my knee, but i know that i've got all of you guys behind me".

You both sit down on a bench covered in fairy lights and watch as a boat begins to make its way down the canal. You wave as a cute old man driving the boat calls out "evening ladies".
You continue to talk before you feel Leah shivering beside you, you stand up and pull her up with you whilst saying "come on let's head back now, don't want you getting ill". Leah smiles and links her arm with yours again as you both make your way home.

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