Mal Pugh

Part 17

Winning the World Cup was the best feeling and was so indescribable. After everyone got all of their hugging out on the center of the field and the group huddle was over, everyone ran to their families. For Mal, she had nobody. Her only family she had was her older sister Briana but she had given birth to a baby 9 days ago so she couldn't be in attendance. A lot of the team had not  realized this. However, when Christen saw the look in Mallory's face when everyone ran to their families, she remembered. She felt stupid for forgetting. She walked over to Mallory and pulled her into a hug.

"Listen to me, after my mom died, a couple months before the 2019  world cup, I was destroyed. Winning that World Cup felt so good but I also felt so defeated that my mom wasn't here with me. I had my dad and sister here with me so I cannot begin to understand how you feel, but I understand how brave and strong you are. But most importantly, I want you to know how proud I am of you. Never forget that all 22 of us of us on this field are your family. Especially Tobin and I. You are like a daughter or a little sister to us. You are so much more than a teammate to us and we will always be here for you. Never forget that" Christen told Mal then pulled her into a tight hug. The two women embraced on the field for what felt like forever but in reality was only 30 seconds. Christen then grabbed her hand and pulled her over the bleachers where her and Tobin's family sat. Tobin's mom pulled Mal into the biggest hug and Mal smiled. Next to them sat Kel  and Alex's family. Mal took a step over and gave the two women a huge hug. Both of their families also gave the young girl a hug.

After the award ceremony on the center of the field, everyone ran into the locker room to party. Everybody had their fair share of shots and champagne. Everyone had been pretty tipsy, especially Mal who had drank a little more than everyone else. After 2 hours in the locker room, everyone got dressed and went out clubbing. It was now 2:30 am. Mal had been drinking shots all night. Inside the club, was the US women's soccer team players and their closest friends and partners. Outside was huge crowds of fans waiting for them to come out. Inside the club, everyone was tipsy but well under control. Except Mallory. She had been going crazy. At the moment, Christen and Kelly were basically holding her up. The girl was laughing and dancing but could barely stand. It was at that moment that they decided they should probably take her back to the hotel because it was getting late. They had the car service pull up behind the building. In the back, there was still a ton of fans but not nearly as many as out front. Christen, Tobin, Rapinoe, Carli, Alex, Kel, and Julie has decided to go back to the hotel with Mal. There was one extra person in the car so Mal would have to sit on them for the 15 minute ride back. Once everyone got into the car, Mal laid across Kelly, Alex, and Christen. The whole ride Mal was laughing so hard and saying the most random things. At least she was a funny drunk. In return, this made everyone in the car die of laughter. When they finally got to the hotel, a huge crowd of people were outside. Mal walked with Carli and Christen on each side of her so she didn't fall. They were basically carrying her. That's when it all went down. A group of Australian fans were  standing outside the hotel waiting for the team to pull up. One fan caught their attention after he yelled Mallory's name.
"Fuck you and your dead fiancé. Your parents are probably glad they don't have to see you again" he proceeded to say, clearly being very intoxicated and angry at his team's loss. Mallory went white. Carli and Christen automatically jumped into action and pulled Mal into the hotel with the help of Julie. Outside, Rapinoe, Kelly, Alex, and Tobin were fuming. Tobin stepper forward and punched him the face. There was definitely a good chance his nose was broken. To make matters worse, a report had caught all of this on film. After the fight, everyone pulled Tobin inside. As they came in, they saw Carli, Christen, and Julie trying to hold up Mal and get her into the elevator. She was having a breakdown and was crying extremely heavily. Everyone was eventually able to get Mal into the elevator and into the hotel room. Once in the room, Christen took Mal to the bathroom to calm her down. After 20 minutes, Mallory came out in a towel with her wet from shower. She was holding hands with Christen and Christen had her other hand on the girls shoulder.

"Mal" Alex began to say.

"I think it's a good time for you guys to leave" Mal unexpectedly said. Everyone was confused.

"Mal I understand that you're upset but" Christen started.

"Listen, just because your mom died doesn't mean you understand. You never lost the two people who raised you, at once. You never lost the one person on this earth who took the pain away after this happened. The people I love most on this world die. So don't say you understand. You don't understand. So I'm going to ask again. Can you guys please leave." Mal said while losing her cool. Everyone was shocked but they decided not to push the boundaries so they all left. That left Mal, Tobin, and Christen alone in the hotel room.

"Look I'm sorry ok, but I really don't want to talk about it tonight" Mal said once she calmed down.

"It's ok Mal, you have the right to be upset" Christen replied calmly. Christen wasn't mad at all. Mal was completely right.

"Did you want me to sleep with you tonight?" Christen asked confidently. Mal had never denied her when Christen had asked.

"I would rather sleep alone tonight" Mal replied while pulling the covers over head. Christen was secretly disappointed. Tobin knew how upset this would be for Christen but she couldn't help but feel heartbroken at how Mal was treated tonight. Mal still had no clue that Tobin had punched the guy. However, she would probably know tomorrow since it would most likely be all over social media.
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After Alex, Carli, Julie, Kel, and Megan left they went to Jill's room to tell her what had happened. Jill knew Mallory had been intoxicated when they left but she knew the girls would get her back safely to the hotel. When Jill opened the door she had a huge smile on her face but it quickly disappeared when she saw the looks on everybody's face. They told her the whole story and Jill felt heartbroken for Mal. Jill assured them that Tobin would not be punished. She also assured them that she would call the presidents of fifa, and the heads of Australian and American soccer and inform them on what had happened.