Attached - Mallory Pugh/USWNT

Chapter 39

April 20th, 2022 - 1:45 pm

Morgana's POV

After I returned the car and walked Mal to her gate, it really hit me how far she'd be. 

I let myself get too attached. 

I was too attached to someone I hated so deeply 3 weeks ago. 

Now we're dancing with our hands tied, like that Taylor Swift song. 

The overhead speaker announced that it was  officially boarding time, something I'd been dreading. I took a shaky breath as we both stood up. 

"So this is it?" Mal said, making sure she had everything. 

"I guess it is." 

"I'm gonna miss you like crazy." 

"Me too. But I'll be out of school soon enough, and I'll come right to Chicago, okay? I promise." I said. 

"I know you will." 

"I have a present for you." I said. "I know you said you loved this, so you can have it." 

I took off my white Bellmont hat and put it on her head. She smiled. 

"Why?" 

"Why not? It looks better on you. And besides, there's about a million other hats I could get. I have the new one from Disney anyway." 

"Thanks dude. You're the best." 

She pulled me into a hug, and it was just about the saddest hug ever. I held in my tears, because I don't like to let other people see me cry.  

The hug lasted a long time, probably shorter than it felt, but it was comforting. 

"Alright. I gotta go. Don't want them to leave without me. Text me when you land, okay?" She said finally. 

"You do the same, please." 

"Of course." 

"Bye Mal." 

"Bye Morgana." 

"I hate you." 

"I hate you too." She laughed her happy little laugh as she got on the plane. 

WHat I really meant to say was I love you, but that could be saved for another time. This got the point across pretty well. 

----------

I landed in Nashville and made sure to text Mal and my parents. I got on a bus that took me to campus, and I still had a half mile to go until I was at my dorm, so I called Ashley Sanchez. I missed her a lot too. 

"Alright. I'll call you later. I'm about to get inside." I said once I got to my form. 

"Okay. I'll talk to you later. I miss you." Ashley said. 

"Miss you too." I said. "I'll call you later. Bye." 

"Bye." 

I hung up and unlocked the door to my form. 

"MORGANA!" Yelled my roommate Erica, running over to me and giving me a hug. 

"Erica! How are you?" I asked. 

"I thought you'd never be back." 

"When did you get back to school?" 

"About a week ago. But you best believe I watched all of your games, whether I was here or Chicago." 

"I completely forgot you're from there. Mal plays for the professional womens team there." 

"Mal Pugh? I know that. I went to a game last time I was home." 

"You're lucky." 

"I know." 

"So how's it been around here? Too quiet without me?" I asked. 

"Very. But I want to hear everything about your time at USWNT camp. EVerything."She said, sitting down on her bed. 

"Alright." I said, sitting down next to her. 

I started from the very beginning. Having to be roommates with a girl I despised, getting to see Ashley Sanchez for the first time in a few months, getting to meet Alex Morganm and Kelley O'Hara and everyone else. I told her about dinner that night, about the pool the next day and meeting those kids and how they made fun of me for not being able to swim. Then I was telling her about the dinner where they gave us assigned seating so we could talk to different people, and howSophia Smith and I became fast friends. I told her about the guys and the hot tub, and how I ended up kissing Sophia to prove to those guys I was gay, which was also news to Erica, but she said she had a feeling. I also mentioned how we got a bit drunk and Mal took care of us because she's an angel. I told her about the feeling before my first game, and just the rush when I stepped onto the field. I told her about movie night and how Mal and I had that fight before it. I also told her hwo wehn I went to go find Mal so we could talk about it, it ended up being a lot more then talking. 

"Morgana this is escelating so quickly. I'm so invested." Erica said. "This is for sure the best story I've ever heard." 

"But there's more." 

So I told her about how Ashley Sanchez was the first to find out, even though we didn't tell her. I told her how she told Kelley, Sophia and the Ashley's at movie night, and then at practice Abby Dahlkemper found out. I told her about the second game, which was the game of my life. Then I talked about going back home to Colorado and Hayley and everything. 

Then I came to that night, which she already knew about because I'd called her and told her. My black eye was still visible, but not bnearly as bad as it was before. 

She didn't ask me a million questions, which I appriciated. 

The next thing I told her about was the third game, and the medal ceremony and how Ashley had no flight home or place to stay so she stayed with us. And then when I got my tattoos, then what made is decide to go to Florida. I told her about all of our Florida adventures to finish off th story. 

It took about an hour and a half to explain everything . Like seriously. 

"I wish I never stopped playing." Erica sighed. "I could have these fun stories to tell other people." 

"Yep, and you could show people how easy it is to take an hour and half of their life for nothing."I laughed. 

"I could just tell them your story." 

"By the way, almost no one except the people mentioned know about Mal and I. S please, I beg of you, don't tell anyone." I said. "But the rest of the stories you can tell. Except the drinking one. It's illegal." 

II got you. I wasn't intending on telling either, and you and Mal are no one's business excpet the people you told. And still it's not my business." 

"Thanks Erica." 

"You wanna go get something to eat?" She asked. 

"Yeah, why not?" 

"Martins's BBQ?" 

"Hell yeah." 

One more chapter! Thank you all so much for sticking around for so long. I am working on the sequel, but I still have a bit more to go on that. But until I start putting out chapters of that, make sure you go check out my Ashley Sanchez story because I will be giving updates on the sequel there. Thanks all!