"Becky!" Heather shouts as she sees her friend from across the airport. She is staying with Becky in Kansas City for a few days to speak with FCKC before returning to Arsenal.
"Hey Heather, how've you been?" Becky replies as she brings HAO in for a hug.
"Good, great actually. Where's El at?" Heather asks looking around for her long time friend's 6 year old daughter.
"Hi, Aunt Hao" the 6 y/o says as she stands behind her mother's legs. El quickly gives one of her favorite aunts a hug before dragging both women towards the doors to go home. The girl informs her aunt of her latest soccer feats. When they finally arrive back at the Smith residence Becky asks if Heather would play outside with Ella while she gets dinner ready.
"Rebecca! What's going on!" shouts Shawn, her husband, as he enters their house and sees the bags in the foyer.
"Shawn, I told you that Heather was gonna stay with us for a few days before i head into camp," Becky attempts to placate as she sees the anger exuding off of her rapidly approaching husband.
"No, Rebecca, I think you're lying," he replies as he grabs her arm and pushes her into the kitchen cabinets. It's then that Ella and Heather enter the kitchen. Shawn quickly releases his hold on Becky and steps away from her.
"Everything alright here?" Heather asks as she eyes Shawn suspiciously and gives becky a concerned look.
"Yeah, HAO, were good. Becky here just forgot to tell me that you were coming," Shawn replies as he shoots Becky an angry glare. The reply makes Heather turn to her friend. Becky only looks at her pleadingly to drop the subject.
"When is dinner gonna be ready Momma? Im hungry" El asks innocently, completely unaware of the situation in the kitchen.
"Soon baby, why don't you help set the table so it'll be ready faster for Daddy" Becky tells her daughter as she crouches down to the height of her miniture replica. The girl manages to rope Heather into helping her while Shawn heads to his office to finish up "work".
Dinner runs relatively smoothly but Heather can still feel the tension coming off of Shawn as he sits at the head of the table. He's already on his second beer and Becky knows he probably already had a few while in his office. She can tell it's going to be a long night for her. After dinner El easily heads to bed due to a tiring day with her aunt and Heather goes with her. The jet lag had officially set in for the older woman. Becky tells HAO goodnight and to holler if she needs anything while she tucks Ella in.
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Heather's sleep doesn't last long though. Around midnight she hears her door creek open followed by a small whisper of her name and the pitter patter of little steps until a weight lands on her legs.
"El, whats wrong?" Heather asks as she grabs the little girl and notices the tears streaming down her face.
"Momma and my dad are fighting again." She states as she tucks herself further into her aunts arms.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sure everything's okay. Does this happen alot?" Heather asks after honing in on the little girl's use of again. She doesn't get a reply though because a huge crash can be heard down the hall followed by the slamming of several doors and the starting of a car. Heather quickly jumps out of the bed leaving El cuddled up and runs towards her friend's bedroom. The door is slightly ajar and she can see glass scattered around inside from the hallway. She enters cautiously unsure of which adult had stormed off. As Heather enters the room further, she sees becky cowering in a corner. Around her are various broken items including a lamp and a framed picture of the national team.
"Becks, are you okay?" Heather asks as she touches the other woman's shoulder. The woman flinches at the contact and attempts to move further away. "Hey, Reeba, its me Heather. Everything's okay, hun" Heather says more gently as she attempts to snap Becky out of her state. Becky slowly untucks herself and turns toward her friend. Tears stream down the woman's face as she attempts to move.
"Heather?"
"Yeah, Becks?" Heather asks as she attempts to comfort the cut and bruised defender. Anger runs through HAO as she realizes this surely isnt the first time Shawn has hit her. She prays that Ella hasn't seen any of it.
"I...I cant keep doing this."
"You shouldnt have to, Becky. How long has it been this bad?"
"Longer than i care to admit. Probably atleast since before the world cup." Becky replies ashamed at the lie she had just told. In reality it had been far longer than that. Not wanting to face her friend, Becky attempts to steady herself in a standing position and leave the corner.
"Becky! Thats over 2 years! You could have told me and Dave. He would have made sure you and El were protected." Heather replies in disbelief at how long her friend has been putting up with this. Becky only shakes her head and begins to pull things out of drawers.
"I don't really want to talk about this anymore, ok?" Becky asks as she puts the items from the drawers in a bag. "Could you check on Ella and maybe help her pack a bag? Shawn might be back soon and I'd rather have El settled somewhere before it gets even later." Heather nods and returns down the hallway she had sprinted through earlier. She enters the room and smiles seeing a mop of blonde hair sticking out from under the covers. The little girl's position reminds her so much of her mother. She walks toward the bed and gently wakes the 6 year old.
"Momma?"
"No sweetheart, it's Aunt HAO. We have to pack your bag cause you, me, and your mom are gonna take a little trip for a while, ok?"
"Where's my dad?"
"He went out but he said that he'll miss you while you and your mom are away," Heather says and cringes. Despite everything he's done, she doesn't want Ella to think her dad doesn't love her.
"Oh,...did he...did he hit her again?" Ella asks as tears prick out of the corners of her eyes. Heather can only pull the little girl into a hug because she has no idea what to say. The last thing she had ever expected was Shawn to have hurt her friend but to know that he made their daughter see; it makes her want to kill him more. After a few minutes, Ella asks if they can get her stuff ready so that 'momma' doesn't get upset. Heather agrees and picks the girl up. The duo then heads down the hall to the door covered in soccer balls and KC decals.
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"Hey sweetheart, how's Becky's? Is the munchkin even cuter than the last time we saw her?" Dave asks innocently on the phone the next morning. After leaving the Smith home last night, the two women and child ended up going to a hotel because Becky didn't want to let Arod or anyone else know about it.
"Umm, not so great. Has Shawn ever seemed off to you?" Heather asks quietly as she sits on the balcony of a hotel room. Inside the room both Ella and Becky remain sleeping after their eventful evening.
"No, maybe a little intense, but I figured that's what Becky liked about him. Why? Whats wrong?" Dave replies quickly concerned about his wife's tone of voice and line of questioning. Heather scoffs when she hears the word intense and mutters something along the lines of 'of fucking course'.
"He's been hurting Becks for over two years, Dave. Why...why wouldn't she ask us for help?" Heather asks as the strong front she had been using for Becky and Ella finally crumbles. Dave's heart breaks for his wife, her friend, and the little girl he loves as a niece. He also feels rage begin to seep out at the thought of that son of a bitch.
