ᴍʏ ᴍᴏᴍ ɪs ᴡʜᴏ? ✔︎

Mama Morgan

| Cody |

It's been about a month since Jack and I came back to school, and things haven't gotten any easier.

I remember, when I lived with the monsters that raised me, when they beat me so badly that I was kept hidden, kept away from prying eyes so that nobody would see the bruises. I remember missing school, wanting to be there, with my peers, so desperately that I prayed my bruises would heal faster.

Now, when I walk down the hallways towards classes, with or without Jack by my side, I'm bombarded with looks, whispers and questions about whether or not Alex really is my mom.

Am I lying about everything? Am I just trying to steal her money? Do I want the fame and attention?

What do I have to do to be left alone, show them the DNA test results?

Now, I actually miss my old life. Not the beatings or assaults, but the invisible aspect that came along with it. The only people that noticed me were Jack and Joanna. Now it seems that Jo has more followers, online and offline. She's loving that people are taking notice of her because she goes to the same school as me and she's my captain.

I don't miss anything she says about me on Twitter, or what she says about my family. Biological and the 'family' that raised me.

My mom let me know that she's seen everything on Twitter, due to Jo constantly tagging her in her posts, and because my mom refuses to stoop down to Jo's level, people assume that what my captain is saying must be the truth because 'if it wasn't true then Alex would say something'.

My mom went back to Orlando to finish the season. It's not going so well, which is hard to watch. I mean, yeah I love The Thorns but since finding out who my mom is, Orlando has grown on me. They have some great players, they don't deserve to be where they are. It's even harder to watch my mom getting frustrated on the pitch, the fractures within the team obvious to see.

We keep in touch, calling each other as much as we can, and she Facetimes me at least everyday. I get the feeling she wants me to know without a shadow of a doubt that she didn't want to leave me here, and go back to Orlando, but I understand it's her job. I'm sixteen yeah, but I've had to grow up a lot faster than other kids my age.

The media isn't slow to notice that I'm not with Alex. While some people are respectable, and give us our privacy, there's still a lot of outlets that talk shit about me. Asking if I'm really her daughter or if it's all just one big publicity stunt. Not only that, but because Ali is injured and living here with us - Jack, Hope and I, we've been bonding. Which means actually venturing outside, with other humans. The media wasn't slow to pick up on that either, making assumptions that I'm just 'getting around the team'. I had to stay off of Twitter, IG, everything really, for weeks because I was getting more and more irritated and taking it out on players on the field.

Speaking of being out with Ali, I am right now. We're having dinner at a small restaurant with Hope and Jack, since Kelley is at camp with the National team in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Jack and I are having some downtime while Ali and Hope talk about the upcoming National games against Brazil and Australia, while I finally venture back onto Twitter. I'm not surprised when one of the first things I see is Joanna on another one of her rants, probably about me or Alex, or Jack, who seems to be a new target for our Captain. What does catch my eye though is a new article posted by Fox Sports. Jack notices how I've tense, of course she does - she is my best friend.

"What's wrong Maxi?" She asks, gaining the attention of the adults with us and I see all three of them are looking at me. I don't speak, I show them my phone, and Jack reads the headline outloud.

"Kristie Mewis dating Rachel Daly. We sit down with one half of the NWSL's 'IT' couple."

It's silent, I don't cry, I've done enough of that over her but I am confused.

"Wow. It didn't take her fucking long, bitch." I chuckle when I hear Jack mumble, only to get scolded by Hope. Ali grabs my attention when I feel her arm wrap around my shoulder, pulling me into her so she can whisper in my ear.

"Are you okay, Cody?" I smile at how much she cares already. I'm honestly still adapting to this whole 'people caring' thing, but I like it.

"I'm fine Ali." I start, being met with looks from the three females at the table that say 'we don't believe you', I flash them a smile, shaking my head in amusement of their stubbornness. "I'm serious, I'm fine. She said I'm too young, I should have read between the lines but I'm fine."