One day I'll have it all. // Williamson

Nightmare

The nightmares continued.

Again and again. And again, and again.

Leah had tried everything to make them stop, but nothing seemed to work. She stayed up with me, holding me close and whispering soothing words into my ear as I struggled to break free from the grip of my dreams.

Some nights, I would wake up screaming, drenched in sweat and shaking with fear. Other nights, I would lie awake for hours on end, unable to close my eyes for fear of what horrors awaited me in the darkness.

Because the first one had been scary. But the next ones, the next ones were terrifying.

"Leah!" I screamed, my voice raw with terror as I jolted awake yet again, my heart pounding in my chest like a trapped animal. "Leah, where are you?"

Leah was by my side in an instant, her arms wrapping around me in a tight embrace as she whispered comforting words into my ear. "I'm here, baby. I'm right here," she murmured.

I clung to her desperately, my fingers digging into the fabric of her shirt as if she were my lifeline in the midst of a raging storm. "I... I can't do this anymore, Leah," I choked out, tears streaming down my cheeks unchecked. "I can't take the nightmares. They're... they're tearing me apart."

Leah held me tighter, her touch gentle yet firm as she rocked me back and forth, her lips pressing soft kisses to my forehead in a silent gesture of love and reassurance. "I know, baby. I know," she whispered, her voice filled with empathy and understanding.

For two weeks straight, no one at Arsenal told me anything. As if the contract offer didn't even exist.

But it did and I knew it. And it was eating me alive. I barely slept at night. And it showed on my pale face, during my training sessions, and during the very little game time I had.

And it showed on Leah's face, too. Because when I woke up screaming, she was the one who held me until I stopped shaking. When I couldn't sleep, she was the one who stayed up with me, trying to ease my mind by mindlessly talking for hours and hours.

But despite her best efforts, the nightmares persisted, relentless in their onslaught. Each night brought new terrors, new horrors to haunt my dreams and torment my waking hours. And each day, I felt myself slipping further and further into the grip of despair.

Leah was worried sick, I could see it in her eyes. She tried to hide it, tried to put on a brave face for my sake, but I could see the worry etched into the lines of her face, the exhaustion lurking beneath the surface of her facade.

I knew I couldn't keep going on like this. I had to do something, anything, to put an end to the nightmares before they consumed me entirely. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to find a way out of the darkness that threatened to engulf me.

I yawned loudly, lifting my cup of coffee, my hands slightly shaking due to my lack of sleep. I tried my best to hide it, and I could see Leah watching me closely from across the table, her concern evident in the furrow of her brow and the tightness of her lips.

I hid my face behind my cup, speedily drinking the content of it as if it was the only thing keeping me alive.

I put down my cup and then played with the only blueberry remaining on my plate.

My plate was full of food Leah was desperately trying to make me eat every single morning. Eggs, toast, bacon, yogurt - all meticulously arranged in an attempt to coax me into nourishing my body. All I seemed to be able to consume was fruit. And for Leah, fruits were not enough. Not nearly enough.

I even caught Leah purposefully burning the eggs, in an attempt to trick me into eating them, as I usually did so I wouldn't make her sad.

"Valentina," Leah's voice broke through my thoughts, her tone gentle yet firm. "You need to eat more. You're barely eating anything, and it's not healthy. You need to take care of yourself."