La Reina | The Story of Melanie Kavitz

confrontation

"Hey. You wanted to see me?"

I entered Bradley's office on our training grounds. It had once again been just him and I, with the exception of a few assistant coaches, on the grounds as the players have gone back to their clubs. It was going to be an endless cycle that I didn't think I had the courage to endure.

The last two matches after our humiliating loss to Mexico had went well; I garnered every assist in our 2-0 victory against Canada, and I also managed to score against Costa Rica. We were still in the race to qualify, that was for sure.

But I hadn't been able to recover from that three-nil defeat.

"Hey, Mel. Come, have a seat." Bradley ushered to the chair in front of him. I took the seat, feeling uneasy. I didn't know what he wanted to talk about, but there was a thought in the back to my mind that kept telling me there was no way it could be about anything good.

"So..." I stretched my voice unintentionally, but wasn't able to help myself from doing it. "Am I... in trouble or something?"

"What, no!" Bradley scrunched his eyebrows in response. "What made you think that?"

Although a wave of relief just hit me, I now had to explain why I felt the way I felt, and that was a can of worms I desperately didn't want to open. "Uhh, nothing. Just a feeling."

A moment of silence hit between us, and Bradley's eyes grew softer. He crossed his arms against his chest and took a deep breath. "Well, I do want to talk about what you thought you were in trouble for, but I promise you, I'm not angry."

Shit, he knows already. I mean, why wouldn't he? He was our coach. It was his job to know. "You're... you're not?"

"Melanie, all players have to lose a game here and then." Bradley said as if it were the most matter of facts. "And honestly, taking you out may have been a bigger mistake, because we went from being one down, to three down."

I smiled softly at the remark; I didn't know if he meant it or was saying it to cheer me up, but I decided I was going to take it.

"So I don't want you thinking this loss was your fault. It wasn't." Bradley said gently, but remained concise in his voice. "Sometimes managers can make mistakes too. And I made a big one, by subbing you off."

"Can I ask why you did?" I blurted out of nowhere, which visibly took Bradley aback. I never put up any defence for the decision Bradley made during the game, but there was a part of me that still wanted to know why he had made the call in the first place.

"Honestly..." Bradley began to speak, although I could tell he didn't want to. "I don't want to make it seem like I had no faith in you, but I made the call because I saw you completely beaten down, and I didn't want you playing like that because I thought it would lead to a worse outcome."

So he took me off because he didn't want me to buzzkill the entire team. "Right... I understand."

"But that was a mistake," Bradley asserted right away; I think he noticed the hurt that came across my eyes after hearing his reason, but in actuality, there was no way I could blame him for thinking the way he did. "You're more valuable to us on the field than not, so I'm going to make it a point to play you as much as I can."

I nodded my head and smiled to show my appreciation. It was reassuring that even if the rest of the world went against me, Bradley would have my back no matter what. That kind of loyalty is almost impossible to come by, and I knew I'd have to repay him for it by being the absolute best that I can be on and off of the field.

...
leo's point of view
...

This was a bad idea.