CHASING GOLD: The Olympics

Chapter 13

JULY - SAME DAY - MORGAN-HEATH HOUSE
"Bye moms!" Andy yelled.

Tobin looked at her fiancé. Alex gave her a look. "I'm going to talk to Theo." Tobin said.

"Ok love. Just be nice...ish." Alex said. Tobin smiled and kissed her fiancé before heading towards the kitchen to talk to Theo.

The O'Hara/Solo family all looked up as they heard Tobin walk towards them. "Hey, guys." Tobin said.

"Hey Tobs." Hope said.

"Sup Tobito." Kelley said. Tobin rolled her eyes. She walked up to Theo.

"Hey. Can I talk to you?" Tobin asked Theo. Theo hesitated but nodded. Tobin led her upstairs.

"Tobin," Theo said as they got into the workout room. Tobin turned to look at Theo. "I'm sorry. I truly am. The party and being drunk is not an excuse but it was never my plan or intention to ever hurt her. It just happened. But I know that's no excuse for what I did."

"Then why?" Tobin asked. Theo stayed silent. "Why did you even get drunk in the first place?" Silence. "You are a professional athlete. You cannot fuck around. People are watching you and will look to you as an example. Trust me, I've been doing this for a long time. People will see your behavior and think it's ok for them to do it. People will turn on you for cheating on Andy. I just hope you are prepared if this gets out and that happens."

Theo looked down at her feet.

"Theo this is something that you cannot afford to do!" Tobin said raising her voice. "You are a role model for young kids now but you are still a kid. You were a girlfriend. A best friend. And now you've thrown that all away! It's so stupid of you to do this!" Tobin now yelled.

"I know," Theo said quietly. "I know I fucked up. And I know I've lost her." The two stood silently for a few moments.

"Theo. You are a great kid. You are a great soccer player. I will always watch you play. I will always support you. But right now, I can't and I need to be on my daughter's side. What you did, was something that will be hard to come back from. I know you know that. But I can't be around you right now. My daughter is devastated and I need to be there for her. You've upset me probably more than you've upset Andy." Tobin said.

Theo looked down at her feet. "I know. And it kills me inside that I've hurt some of my favorite people. You guys are my family and I've hurt you." Theo's phone buzzed and she looked at it. "My mom texted me that it's time to go." Tobin nodded and the two walked out of the room and downstairs to say goodbye to the O'Hara/Solo's.

Tobin and Alex said their goodbye's to the O'Hara/Solo's and soon the family was on their way to the airport to go home to Utah.

Alex turned around when their front door closed. "So. How'd it go?" Tobin walked to the couch and sat down. Alex followed and curled up next to her.

"It was ok. I told her that I was hurt that she would do something like this. I said I would always support her but right now I just can't. I need to be on Andy's side. I told her she fucked up but she knew that already." Tobin said. Alex nodded.

"I'm proud of you Toby." Alex said. Tobin smiled and put her arm around Alex.

*****

Andy looked up on her phone what the standings were for the NWSL teams.

She only cared about two teams. Her current team and the one that gave up on them.

Portland was still way in the lead with 39 points. And San Diego was 10th with 14 points. Andy frowned. She smiled slightly though as she saw Angel City in 3rd place.

Yay Pressy! She thought.

With 9 games left, the Wave would have to pull off an incredible run. They would have to win almost every game and even then they could still be on the edge of not making the playoffs.

All Andy wanted to do was beat the Thorns.

A notification popped up on her phone. A breaking news story that involved the Utah Royals...

"Hey, moms?" Andy yelled slightly. Alex and Tobin each entered the room.

"What's up kiddo?" Tobin asked.

"Listen to this. 'The Utah Royals have been bought mid-season by the Kansas City Current. Because of the recent controversies within the program, the team will play the rest of the season without the head coach as he has been fired. Jess Santos, the assistant head coach will act as the interim head coach until a new coach is hired. Most players have been traded or loaned but some have elected to stay as others come in. Star keeper Hope Solo, defender Kelley O'Hara and forward Theo O'Hara, have all been traded to OL Reign. No further news has been released.'" Andy read. "Theo must be having a fit. Neither of us ever really liked OL Reign. Now she's playing for them." Andy chuckled but then frowned slightly. Tobin sat down next to Andy as Alex said she'd give them some privacy and go start dinner.

"Hey. How are you doing with everything?" Tobin asked.

"I'm ok. Not great but I'm ok. I haven't cried yet today about it which is a start but who knows? The day isn't over yet." Andy said.

"Hey. You'll be ok. I promise." Tobin said. She pulled her daughter into a side hug and the two sat like that until Alex called Tobin in to help with dinner.

*****

"Hey, mom?" Andy asked Tobin as she walked into the study. Tobin looked up from the large table in the middle.

"Hey, kid. What's up?" Tobin asked.

"I'm nervous." Andy whispered.

"About what?" Tobin asked.

"The Olympics." Andy stated. Tobin nodded.

"Ah. Yeah. I understand. What are you nervous about?" Tobin asked.

"I guess I'm nervous that I'm not good enough. My knee has felt great these past months but I'm worried that I will feel too scared to commit to plays. And with the competition being so fierce, I worry that I'm going to get injured again and I'll be taken off the roster." Andy explained. Tobin sighed.

"I know what you mean," Tobin said. "The times I've hurt my ankle and we've had a big game or competition coming up, I get worried. Worried that I'm not going to be at my best and I'll bring the team down." Andy nodded in understanding. "But let me tell you something. If I had let my fears of getting my ankles re-injured, I might not have 4 World Cup wins, 2 gold medals, one bronze medal, 2016 player of the year, and an NCAA championship under my belt. The only things I thought of during those times, were my teammates, my family, Alex, and eventually, you. All of those people made me realize, without them even knowing it, that as long as I trust my team and don't play cautiously, I have nothing to worry about. So I just played the game I know and love. If I was cautious, I would've gotten injured. I wouldn't have played right and I probably would've let my team down." Tobin said. Andy smiled. "Hey." Tobin put her hands on Andy's shoulders. "Just play your game. You know that the team and your mom and I have got your back. I promise you."

"Thanks, mom." Andy said.

"She's right." Alex said from the doorway. She was leaning against the frame. "All the times I had been injured and was afraid of either re-injuring or being too cautious, I came to her. And all of those fears went away once she told me that I just needed to play my game. And of course, I had to remind her of her own words here and there." Alex walked up to them. "You've got this. I know you do." Andy hugged her moms and soon, the three sat down at the table and had dinner and thought about the game tomorrow and the upcoming Olympics.