USWNT 3.0

52

« Morgan ? »

Moe was lying down on her bed, eyes wide open. Her roommate has been sleeping on someone else's room, so loneliness was her only company. She immediately recognizes the sound of Cari's shaky voice. When the brunette opened the door, the middy was straightening a bit. They caught eyes, and when Moe noticed the tears in Cari's, she immediately got up. She the energetically walked toward the defender, before closing the door behind her and pulling her into a tight hug. Their bodies collided, and Cari had never held Moe that close. Never.

The middy waited for her to pull away, which she did after some time.

« What's wrong ? » Moe asked.

« I-I... It's nothing »

« Of course it is something ! Look at you ! » the middy immediately said, trying not to be too abrupt because she didn't like when Cari was this weak. She didn't want her to be broken. When she saw the tears come back, she added : « You are safe with me. »

« M-Morgan, I just- » she tried to say, but her voice broke.

« Here. »

Moe softly pressed her lips on Cari's. The brunette seemed to instantly relax, as she was kissing her back with passion. She wrapped her arms around Moe's neck, and came even closer. Moe was surprised, but didn't think about complaining ; the girl she loves is finally hers to hold, and showing her that she really belongs with her. When Cari slowly pulls away, their faces are only inches away from each other.

The middy blinked.

« You know I love you, r-right ? » Cari asked, looking down.

Moe gently lifted her head with her hands, so they caught eyes. « Of course Cari. »

« I want to say it to you all the time, just because I can. The whole Alyssa thing just.. opened my eyes about life. I don't want to wait anymore, I don't want to hesitate, because you are the one person I want to spend all my time with, laughing at your silly jokes, and respond to your kisses. Life is too short to be wasted. Life is too short to wait. » Cari blurted out, trying to look compose (it obviously was a failure, but Moe just appreciated seeing her like this. « So, Morgan Brian, can I call you my girlfriend ? »

This revelation and question came as a shock. Moe just stood still, her eyes wide open. Cari, on the other hand, was starting to doubt : what if she misread the whole situation ? What if Moe didn't want that kind of relationship right now ?

In order to comfort Cari in her idea, Moe just smiled. "Girlfriend ?" She knew that pronouncing this word in a jokingly tone would make Cari blush, and eventually feel uncomfortable. This was cruel from the middy, but she loved it whenever Cari was shy just with her. She then winked at her, putting her hand on Cari's arm. "Of course you can."

The defender let a small sign of relief out of her mouth. That made Moe laugh, before she pulled her closer for another kiss. 

*

Lindsey hadn't left her hotel room for three days now. She didn't want to see anyone but Moe and Cari. But what she didn't know was that Emily had tried to reach out for her, but her teammates didn't let her. They thought the slightly younger girl had to mourn Alyssa in her own, away from any distraction or drama. So here she was, trying not to think about anything, the former goalkeeper's face filling her mind. She was seeing pictures, picturing every memory they had together ; even though they didn't seem that close, they were. Alyssa was the person Lindsey would speak to whenever she wasn't sure about something. 

But life had to go on. 

"I think Sonnett won't give up" Cari commented, while Moe and her were just getting ready to leave for team meeting. 

It was the first one since Alyssa's death, and it would take place in half an hour. Lindsey wasn't stupid : she knew her two friends would just go on a walk, talking just the two of them. Moe was actually the one telling her that Cari and her were dating. Lindsey didn't know who else knew, but she was happy to be the first one to know. 

When Cari opened the door, she jumped. "No, Son-" 

But the blonde defender didn't even listen to her. She burst into the room, pushing the two girls out, locking the door behind her. She then turned around, and Lindsey could tell she was having mixed feelings. It was a mixture between 'I will rip your head off for letting me deal with Alyssa's death on my own' and 'are you okay, I mean I am here for you no matter what'. Lindsey had become really good in reading the defender's thoughts. But this time, she didn't really know how to react, either what to tell her. 

She knew she hadn't been correct to her. 

"Have you seriously just shut me out ?" she yelled, her face becoming slightly red. "After all we have gone through together, I can't believe you just left me hanging ! I know you have Cari and Moe, and that they're your besties or something, but you can't just tell me you love me, and then not letting me in your life during difficult times ! I totally understand you want some loneliness, but at least tell me that ! I am not a freaking medium ! And what was I supposed to say, uhn ? Even Sam didn't know why you acted like that ! The whole team know about my feelings right now, and-"

"Wait, what ?" Lindsey asked, straightening. 

Emily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I may have lost control for a while, and yell that I fucking love you when the whole team was here ! And now they think I am a love-sick lesbian and that you don't even love me back !" 

"Sonnett, I-"

"No, there's no 'Sonnett' right now ! You don't fucking blame me, Horan ! I know you have gone through Hell those past few days, but so has anyone else on the team ! So stop acting like a child and tell me what you want me to do !" she ordered, crossing her arms on her chest. "I can go, and leave you alone. Or I can stay, and try to help.Tell me what you want. Now." 

There was a little silence, during which Lindsey just looked at Emily. Damn it, she really loves me, doesn't she ? That made Lindsey small inside of her. She never had felt somebody's love before, and seeing Emily being all angry and jealous right now was making her feel special. Her feelings were real, and so were Lindsey's. 

The forward lied back down. 

"Stay."