ᴍʏ ᴍᴏᴍ ɪs ᴡʜᴏ? ✔︎

The Thing Is...

| Cody |

I watch Alex pace the length of the room in front of me. I don't know why she's so nervous, she's an Olympic gold medalist and World Cup winner, surely whatever she has to say to me can't be that  bad. I'm just me, a stranger. She doesn't even know who I am. My attention is brought back to the superstar in front of me when I heard her take a deep breath, releasing a long sigh.

"Okay, the thing is Cody-" She finally speaks only to be interrupted when the door swings open, the school nurse sauntering in.

"Miss Dennings, your parents are here, they're talking with the principle out in the hall waiting for you to take you home." She informs.

"Already? But...you just left to call them." I say, confusion written all over my face, nothing compared to the pale, scared expression on Alex's face, which only adds to my confusion.

"Yes, I did. Only the principle called them the second he got to his office after the fight, forty minutes ago. Apparently, they've been here for thirty minutes waiting for you." She says, like it doesn't matter. I know it does, though. They hate to be kept waiting. I start to panic again as my mind replays all the beatings and sexual assaults I've endured, my vision goes blurry and I can't breathe when I feel a set of hands holding my face, making me look up to the unmistakable eyes of Alex Morgan.

"Just breathe Cody, you're alright. Just...just copy my breathing." She says, making the nurse turn around who then comes to Alex's side to help. I eventually do calm down, not that the nurse helped much, I couldn't look away from Alex, there's something about her that calms me, she makes me feel safe, I just can't put my finger on why.

| Alex |

I watch as my daughter falls into an anxiety attack, I've never witnessed one before which makes me hesitate, but I eventually let go of my own worries and focus on my daughters wellbeing. Turns out it feels natural to take care of her, I hold her face forcing her to look at me, and my heart breaks when I see the tears welling up in her eyes.

I urge her to breathe, while urging myself not to snap at the nurse who didn't even notice my daughter's attack. It takes some time but my baby girl eventually calms down to a quiet sob, which still kills me to see but it's better than before.

"W-what did you want to tell me?" She whimpers out, bringing me back to the reality of why I'm here in the first place. I decide to use Tobin's method - being blunt.

"Cody, sweetheart, I'm yo-"

"What the fuck is taking so long?!" A voice bellows as the door to the nurses office bursts open, making Cody flinch and in marches my daughters so-called 'parents', followed by a very concerned looking Tobin, Ash, Pinoe and Kling.

"Get the fuck away from my daughter!" The woman whose name I don't know, snaps at me, but I don't move, my hand still holding my daughters. Instead, my teammates move closer to my daughter and I.

"Get up Cody, we're going home, and you're grounded for starting a fight. Look at the state of you, your behaviour is a disgrace!" She spits at my child, making my blood boil, but before I can say anything Cody stands on shaky legs and slowly walks toward the woman she thinks is her mother, following her and her 'father' out of the door, she stops short to turn back to me tears threatening to spill once again - only adding fuel to my fire.

"T-thanks for helping me, Alex. It was nice m-meeting you." She stutters to me. "All of you."

Before I can say anything, before I can tell her I'm her mother and not those cretins she lives with, before I can ask her to stay - she's gone.

| Cody |

I arrive home with my parents, they're angrier than usual which is saying something because they're always angry. I try to escape to my tiny bedroom but I'm yanked back, not expecting it I fall to the floor. I attempt to stand up, to plead my case that it was Joanna who threw the first punch, and that I didn't even hit her back. But it's useless, they never listen. I'm kicked in the stomach, and my arms as I use them to protect my face which only makes them more furious. My mom holds my arms away from my face as my dad gets a few punches in. I only assume it's a few, I blacked out to wake up on my bedroom floor, dried blood on the floorboards indicate that I've been here for a while.

I grit my teeth and wince in pain as I try to pull myself up onto my bed, where I fall asleep for the night.