You can't Outrun the Truth

A New Hell

The shrill sound of the whistle signaled the end of the game. 3-1. We lost. I had been put on in the 60th minute at 2-0 for Carli and nothing. Mal was able to get a goal in the first minute of stoppage time but in the end, we are starting the World Cup year off poorly. I walked around and shook hands with the French players before joining Kelley in a walk around the stadium to see our fans. The locker room speech was rough. Everyone was disappointed with our performance and we all knew it had to be better before the World Cup rolled around. 

Back at our hotel I sat on the balcony and called Jill. They played today against South Africa and won 2-1 with Jill playing the full match.

"Hey, London!" Jill's smiling face filled my screen making me smile back at her. "Hi, Jill. I saw your match, good job!" I say. "Thank you, a few of us watched yours as well. You played well," She responds. "Were you watching the same game I was playing? We lost 3-1 and just barely prevented a shut-out!" I rant to her knowing I can't to any of the girls here. "There are some things that didn't work out for you today but you know what? It's a friendly, you have a second one versus Spain later so learn from today to beat Spain." I really hate the logical response.

"You didn't fail at your role London, you're not expected to score in every game you play. No one expects you to."

"That's why I was called up Jill. To score, to help the team win!"

"And you will, you'll brush this off to beat Spain. Listen to me London. You're going to be upset about a loss, regardless of how important. You just need to make sure you focus on the next matches in order to win." I nod and pick at a loose thread on my sweatshirt. I shouldn't be reacting like this, it's not like I've never lost before. I was over-reacting. "How's Africa been? I bet you lot have nicer weather than we do," I ask changing the topic of conversation. "It's so nice! A very big change from the English winter, it's like summer here!" She smiles walking outside. "Look! It's beautiful here!" 

"Look's amazing Jill," I say. She joins Daan and Lieke and I talk a bit with them before Jill goes back to her room and I have to go for dinner. "I miss you, have a good day!" I hang up the call and go back inside to the warm hotel room. Lindsey looks up and smirks at me. "How was your hour-long call?" She asks. "It was great thanks for asking. How is your book?"
"Amazing, absolutely riveting. And I will tell you about it if you tell me who you were talking to!"

"Some teammates back at Arsenal. They had a match today as well and we were just catching up."

"For an hour?"

"Yep. There are quite a few of them on the team, anyway, we're going to be late for dinner so tell me about your book while we walk." I grab my key and put on some slides before leaving with Lindsey.

After lunch, we had our flight to Spain. I sat with Andi and let myself think for a moment while everyone was still boarding. See how everyone else has managed to move on? You overreact at the smallest things and still expect people to tolerate you.

"London, are you okay?" Andi asks concern written all over her face. Don't be even more of a burden to her than you already are. "Yep, just a bit tired," I smile back at her. "You've got some time, you should sleep now London. I think we're training later on and you need to be well-rested," Andi says as I yawn. She doesn't want to have to deal with you. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

I woke up in Spain and played a card game with Andi on the bus to the hotel. We had tomorrow and the next day for training and then the game against Spain. The Spanish just drew with Belgium so it was bound to be an interesting game.

"London!" I looked up from the game to see Alex standing there. "Hey, Alex!" I say adjusting my cards. "Jill says she has a message for you? She wouldn't tell me what it was, just that it's important."

"Okay, thank you!" I set my cards down and walk towards the front of the bus where the staff are. "Alex said you had a message for me?" I ask Jill. "There was a letter from a lawyer in the Netherlands," She hands me a thick envelope from the lawyer I had hired back in December. "I don't know what you are dealing with but if you ever need anything don't be afraid to let me know."

"Thank you, Jill. It shouldn't get in the way of my career."

"Okay, remember what I said." I nod and go back to my seat with Andi. "What was that about?" She whispers. "Some legal stuff," I respond picking my cards back up. I put the letter in my bag to look at later when the team wasn't around. "Do you need help with it?" She doesn't actually care. "Nope. I can handle it."

Dear Anika,

The trial with your parents has been concluded and they were found guilty of child abuse and neglect. You do not have to worry about them, they have been sentenced to jail for twenty years. Your request for a restraining order was also approved and is effective immediately. The hospital records and images were a great help. There will not be any more trials for this case. Congratulations on winning your case and I am glad I could help you.

Signed,

Juliette Anders

I folded the letter up again and put it back in its envelope. Thank god that was over. As I put the letter back in another piece of paper got in the way of the letter from my lawyer. I took it out and unfolded the lined paper.

YOU AREN'T SAFE FROM US YET

I'm going to be honest, the hardest part of this chapter was coming up with a title.

-Red (Taylor's Version) was released and it's all I've been listening to

-Leah got injured????? Idk what happened other than a 'significant hamstring injury'

-disappointing draw against Tottenham

-Good win against HB Køge

-City still can't win