Unbreakable Bonds

Chapter 11

London Olympics

The plane ride over was fine. You landed and gathered your belongings and made you way to the guy with your name on a sign. You followed him to the car, silently hoping he wouldn't murder you. Pulling up to the village was a surreal feeling. You took photos on your disposable camera, still not having a proper phone, maybe you'd get one on your off days.

Walking through you were greeted by Tim, your head coach. He ran you through everything, the drug testing, the curfews, the training schedules and of course the game schedules. You were overwhelmed with information but had written it all down. Finally he told you about your "house" pairing. There were three rooms to an apartment.
Room 1. Lydia Williams and Caitlin Foord,
Room 2. Kyah Simons and Aivi Luik,
Room 3.  Veronica Daniels and you.

Ronnie was here? Of course she was. She had been playing amazingly in the NWSL. Makes sense for her to be here too. You haven't spoken to her in over a year. You pushed her away after you moved to Spain, it's not like you could really help it. You didn't have social media or anything to be able to talk to her.

There was a fair bit of awkwardness when you arrived and settled into the room. You didn't really want to talk to her but you knew you had to. The rest of the day was a free day and the girls in your apartment decided to head into London, you joined, hoping you could swing past the Apple shop and get a phone. Ronnie joined too, she didn't force you to talk to her but instead maintained a distance.

You got yourself an iPhone 4, not caring that the new iPhone was coming out in a few weeks. Once back at the apartment, you attempted to set it up. It was pissing you off that you couldn't figure it out. Ronnie noticed. She didn't say anything for a while, just watched. After half an hour of watching you struggled she offered to help. You were a bit shocked at that, nodding your head to say yes. She got it done in 10 minutes. Of course she was able to figure it out.

"Do you know how to download apps or anything?" She asked after handing it back.

"No but I don't have social media so it doesn't matter I guess?" Did you need more than the basics? You didn't even know how to use a phone that wasn't your flip phone. Ronnie downloaded apps for you. Snapchat, instagram and WhatsApp.

She helped you create an instagram account, and Snapchat. Following her and Alexia straight away, then slowly following your teams too. She gave you a quick rundown of what you could do on instagram and on Snapchat. WhatsApp she said was like text message, but it used wifi so it didn't cost money. You thought about how you could message her on that once you got back to Spain.

As she got up to leave you stopped her.

"Ronnie I'm really sorry. I pushed you away when we both needed each other. I thought it was the best way to protect you." You so desperately wanted her to understand why you did it.

"Tas I get it. I do. But it hurt. You broke my heart when you stopped wanting to be my friend. I know you think you ruined my childhood because of what I saw, what we saw, but that's not what happened." Tas. She called you tas. Not hearing that nickname for over a year made something special happen to your heart.

You both talked some more. Telling each other what you've been up too. You admitted you'd been watching her games and keeping tabs on her, she admitted the same. She had a boyfriend, Declan. He was sweet and she loved him. You told her about Dom, about living with Alexia and her family.

Over the next few weeks, you feel into rhythm with each other, like you had never been separated. The opening ceremony was so overwhelming but so fun. The night before the first game, Tim had pulled you aside. He asked if you were ok to start the game the following afternoon.

You knew since Sam Kerr was out with her ACL that there was a slight chance you'd get more game time, but to be asked to start? You were freaking out. You messaged Lexi on instagram start away. Forgetting to even tell her you made social media.

@anastasiasmith
ALEXIA
LEXI
LEX
IM STARTING TOMORROW
IM FUCKING STARTING

@alexiaputellas
Ana????? You made an instagram????
OH MY GOD!!!! YOU ARE STARTING.
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU.

We talked for a while, me sending her photos and making her make a Snapchat and a WhatsApp so we can FaceTime later. I missed her but I was so excited for what was to come.

The first game was against North Korea. The nervous were huge. Everyone was nervous, not just me. In the tunnel, Claire gave me a pep talk, I really appreciated that. We lost that game. 0-1, I played alright, Ronnie didn't get her debut. It was a physical game and I was exhausted after. I quickly found the Putellas-Segura clan in the crowd, beckoning them down to the railing so I could talk to them and hug them. They all kissed you in the cheek, hugged you tight and told how proud of you they were. You made plans to catch up the following day for lunch.

The next few days were spent preparing for you next day against Thailand. You would be starting yet again, more excited than nervous this time round. The game ended 5-1, you getting a brace, Kyah, Tameka and EVE all scoring 1 goal each. Ronnie made her debut, it was all round a great game. Again after you found the Putellas-Segura clan, hugging and kissing them all and posing for a photo. You decided after the game you'd make your first instagram post. Just a simple photo of you and Ronnie after the game.

The rest of the games followed, you lost to Japan 1-0, they were a super strong team and very fast. The next game you won against China 1-0, you scoring the only goal of that game. You won again against Korea, 2-1, getting both assists on the goals. Unfortunately we finished third place, meaning we didn't qualify to move out of the group stage. I was disappointed, I wanted to go further, do better but ultimately it wasn't to be.

After the games, you, Lex and Ronnie stayed in London for a few days. Enjoying being tourists. At the airport, you and Lex both said your goodbyes to Ronnie, her telling you she'd see you soon. Weird thing to say when we didn't have plans to catch up. You posted a few more photos on instagram before boarding the plane. Excited to go back to Spain and start the new season with the A team.