I decided to upload this chapter early because I felt bad for making Shawn try to ruin Becky's life one last time. For those of you wondering, that was the last of Shawn. He's officially in jail for good.
"Ella, slow down," Zola calls out as the girl races to the pitch. They were running a bit late much to the 6 year olds annoyance. Zola offered to watch Ella for the weekend so Becky could go to an Adidas event. Ella refused to miss anymore soccer even for an event where she'd get to see Moe, Lindsey, and Sonny.
"I can't Zo! Coach won't let me play offense if I'm late!" Ella yells over her shoulder. She gets to the sideline just as her team begins warming up. The little girl quickly jumps in, not wanting to stand out. It was already tough enough coming in midway through the fall season and being with kids four years older.
Zola shakes his head at her response. It's hilarious to him that Ella likes offense when her mother's the best defender in the world. 'Speaking of her mother', Zola thinks, 'I should probably text her.' He sets up a chair on the sideline and pulls out his phone. The man is so preoccupied with his actions that he misses the stares from the other parents. Ella has been the talk amongst the parents since she joined the team. Between Ella only being 6, Becky being a professional soccer player, and no husband in the picture, the catty mothers had gads of material for gossip.
One of the mothers clears her throat causing Zola to look up then. He gives them a smile and wave before turning his attention to the kids on the field. He tries to ignore the conversation behind him but it's hard when they talk loud enough for the entire field to hear. A tap on his shoulder causes him to look away from the warmups happening on the field.
"Hi, I'm Ashley Thompson. My daughter is Chrissy over there. She's number 11," the petite blonde introduces. Her perfectly coiffed hair falls to an appropriate shoulder length, a traditional mom cut if you will. She dons an outfit composed of entirely lululemon. The combination of these things is enough for Zola to deduce that she's the head mother. He swallows thickly at the realization.
"Hi, I'm Zola," he introduces taking Ashley's hand in his own. He quickly releases after an appropriate amount of time. Zola sends up a silent prayer that this will be the extent of the interaction.
"So, you brought Ella. We've loved having her as an addition to the team. She's a great little player. I'm sad that Rebecca couldn't make it to the game this weekend," Ashley continues, either entirely unaware of Zola's lack of interest or she just doesn't care. The fake smile plastered on her face makes Zola nearly vomit.
"El definitely has some skills and yeah Reebs was a little upset, too. She had a work event this weekend," Zola explains. In the back of his mind, he questions whether or not he should be giving her this information. There's something about Ashley he can't quite trust.
"Ooh, that's exciting. We just love having a real soccer player around our girls, really motivates them to play well. To think, I was just watching the women's team play in the Olympics and now Rebecca's here. It's a shame they lost but important for the girls to see playing soccer doesn't mean you're successful. Well, enjoy the game," Ashley yammers on. She gives a little smirk when she says the last thing. It's purposefully supposed to be a dig. Ashley doesn't like that Rebecca comes waltzing in and her kid becomes a starter, the coaches fawn over her, and the fathers try to talk strategy with her.
Zola manages a smile and watches her walk away. He relaxes the hand that had been tightening around the chair arm while Ashley spoke. The whistle signaling the start of the game draws his attention. He's able to immerse himself in the game and forget about the mothers behind him.
The game is well fought for the most part. There's a couple of time Zola nearly intervenes. The other team had been rough with Ella. They saw her size as a weakness but Ella used it to her advantage. She zipped between players like it was nothing. After one too many nutmegs, a player had decided to get even and roughly shoved into Ella. Zola nearly lost it at the action but Ella quickly popped back up. Her little thumbs up to him was enough for Zola to sit back down and let the game go on.
"Hey, kiddo, that was great!" Zola cheers as he high fives the little blonde. The girl sends him a bright smile. Her dad had never come to one of her games before.
"Thanks, Zo. Could we get chinese?" Ella asks as she grabs his hand and pulls him towards the parking lot. The game had left her starving. Zola laughs at her request but ultimately obliges. He remembers fondly how hungry you can get post game. Ashley spots them leaving a offers a goodbye. When they're out of hearing range Ella says, "I don't like her very much."
"Me either," Zola agrees.
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"Hey Becky, did Zola take Ella to her soccer game this weekend?" Lindsey asks out of the blue. They were in between shots for the ad they were filming. Moe and Emily look down over her shoulders at the thing Lindsey has on her phone.
"Yeah, he's watching her this weekend. Why?" Becky asks confused by the question. She knows they made it to the game because Zola had sent her a text.
"Because someone sent a picture of her and Zola to the media and now there's a whole article on how you've moved on and are dating again," Lindsey explains. She knows Becky is going to flip when she sees the article. Becky is particularly protective of Ella and her personal life in the media. This past year has been an anomaly for her because of the whole Shawn thing. Both Morgan and Emily look at Becky worriedly as she hurries over and takes the phone out of Lindsey's hand.
"How the hell did they get this?" Becky questions furiously. She stares down at a picture from behind of Ella and Zola holding hands. She briefly skims the article. The amount of personal information in it makes her loose her cool.
"Maybe it was someone from the team," Emily suggests. She had gone to one of Ella's games when she was in Portland and didn't like the vibes she got from the other parents.
"Maybe, but..." Becky trails off. Her attention is drawn away by something on Lindsey's phone.
"Maybe what?" Morgan asks. She wanted to know what Becky was thinking. Even though she's upset that this stuff got out about Becky, she's gotten more details about Becky's personal life from the article than she has since she met Becky.
"Nothing, nevermind, here Lindsey. Thanks for telling me," Becky states as she gives the phone back to its owner. She walks away quickly and heads into the bathroom.
The comments she had read at the bottom swim in her head. A lot of the comments had been positive but there were some that made her sick to her stomach. Words and thoughts that no person should be subject to stick out boldly in Becky's mind. It's those comments she sees in her head as sobs wrack her body . She brings her knees up to her chest as she crouches into a fetal position in the corner of the bathroom. 'Why can't I just be happy?' Becky thinks as tears continue to fall.
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"Momma!" Ella greets excitedly when the blonde comes through the front door.
"Hey El," Becky replies placing a kiss on her daughter's head. She drops her bag near the door and heads further into the house. "Why don't you go get your pjs on and I'll be up in a bit to tuck you in," Becky suggests looking down at the time on her wrist. It's definitely getting late for Ella to be up especially on a school night. Ella reluctantly agrees. She knows better than to argue with her mom when she gets back from work stuff. Her mom is usually more tired than normal because of it.
"Hey babe," Zola greets as her rounds the corner to exit the kitchen. His hands are still soapy from the dishes as he embraces the blonde and places a kiss on her cheek. He notices somethings off but decides to wait until Ella is asleep to ask.
Twenty minutes later he gets his opportunity to ask his girlfriend. "What's up with you? You seem off, Reebs," Zola questions. The couple sits on the couch with Becky's head resting against his chest. They had decided to watch a movie but neither were paying particularly close attention to it. Zola runs his fingers through her hair when she doesn't answer right away. He's learned the action calms her.
"There was an arcticle...about us released," the blonde explains carefully. She doesn't dare sit up to look him in the eye. If Becky did she knows she would fall to pieces all over again. "It had some pretty personal stuff in it, but the comments were awful. Some of the things they said about me and Ella were terrible but the things they said about you...," Becky continues. The words catch in her throat as she tries to explain. Tears threaten to fall thinking about what all those people thought of Zola and Ella.
"Hey, look at me," Zola instructs gently. Once Becky fully turns to look at him he carefully takes her face into his hands. "Reebs, I'm a grown man. I can handle anything those people have to say about me. I've probably heard worse. You don't need to worry because I don't give a damn about what they have to say. I only care about loving you and that little girl upstairs," Zola says seriously.
Becky can tell that the words come from his heart. It makes her fall all the more in love with him. 'Wait a second...,' Becky's brain pauses confused by the previous concept. 'You love him, stupid,' her heart explains before her brain has a chance to catch up. The thought is enough for her to lean forward and capture his lips with her own. Zola's hands migrate to the back of her head. They end up tangled in her blonde tendrils. The two break apart not long after.
They're unaware of the tiny eyes watching them from the top of the stairs. Ella had wanted to tell them something but she thought better of it when she saw what they were doing. She decides to tip toe back to her room, smiling the whole way.
"I should probably go," Zola states reluctantly. The last thing he wants is to leave but he also wants to respect Becky's boundaries. He stands and grabs his things before heading towards the door.
"Probably," Becky replies following behind him. She pauses at the door frame while he continues out of the house. A smile plays on her lips as she says, "Bye Zola, love you." Her arms brace the door open as she watches him walk down the steps. A laugh falls out of her when she sees him nearly trip at her words.
"Getting bold are we? Confessing love before the third date. That's a little premature don't you think, Becky. Some people may call you crazy," Zola replies jokingly. It took him a moment to recover from her words. He didn't want to make the moment too emotional or else he may never leave. He also makes sure to call her Becky instead of Rebecca. He'll never associate himself with the man who last called her that.
"Nah...., goodbye Zola," Becky replies with a smirk before shutting the door on him.
At the sight of the closed door Zola immediately yells, "I must be crazy too." The declaration causes laughter to pour out of the blonde as she leans against the door. She hasn't been this happy in a very long time.
