Illicit Affair • Ben Chilwell

Stay Positive

November 23, 2021

    Three days later, Scarlett sat at the Bridge as Chelsea faced off against Juventus in the group stage of Champions League. She was excited knowing she would see Westin after the match, she missed him more than she thought she would. The two had only met at 13, but were from the same hometown in Texas, had the same jersey number, and position, giving them things to bond over immediately.

    She sat with Paula as the boys were up three goals to zero. It was 64 minutes into the second half when Ben dropped holding his knee. Scarlett jumped to her feet as the stadium around her faded to the back of her mind. She watched him rolling around in pain as Christian went to check on him, then call the medics over. Her bones ached with worry as anxiety devoured her. He couldn't get hurt now, not when he was in the form of his life.

The medics finally got him to his feet, helping him walk off the field as Azpi went on to replace him. She watched his every move until he was out of sight going into the tunnel. It was a knee injury, seeing a teammate from high school get hit the same way, she figured it was his ACL as she sat in her seat and prayed it was a minor. She started getting antsy not being able to give her full focus to the game as her leg bounced up and down. Paula tried comforting her, but her mind kept replaying the moment he hit the ground. She watched the clock as they entered the 85th minute.

"Excuse me, Scarlett?" A voice said pulling her from her thoughts. It was one of the kit men she had seen work with Ricky, but didn't know his name. "Ben's asking for you." She was on her feet before he finished speaking.

    She followed him down to the physio room to see Ben sitting on a exam table. His legs were laid in front of him, boots and shin guards were off, his socks had been pushed down, and a bag of ice on his right knee. His face brightened up at the sight of her, she had an uneasy look in her eyes.

"I'm okay, well my knee's in shambles, but overall I'm fine," He assured as she approached.

"How bad is it?" She worried, sitting on a stool next to the table by his side.

"Their thinking somewhere between a grade one and a grade two ACL," He confirmed. "Were gonna give it six weeks and see how it responds to therapy. If it's good, then we carry on, and if not-,"

"Surgery," She cut him off and he nodded. "How are you feeling?" She asked wanting to know his mindset before she said anything else.

"My knees fucking killing me," He chuckled, "It's inevitable something like this would happened. Of course, I'm going worked hard to get back, but we just have to stay positive." She was happy to hear he was being optimistic about the situation.

She sat with him, holding his hand while they assessed his knee again. She was looking down at their hands, when a tight squeeze made her look up to him to see he was in discomfort. The sight broke her heart, she wished she could swap places with him, wanting nothing more than to take all his pain away.

The sound of the boys going to the changing room made it obvious the game was over. When Tuchel entered the room Scarlett decided to go outside, even when Ben assured she could stay. She stepped out to see Christian and Westin talking in the hallway. They noticed her the second she walked out of the room.

"There she is, my little Scare Bear," Westin smiled embracing her. Scare Bear was a nickname he had given her after seeing how scared the girls on an opposing team were to play against her.

"Hi, Wes, it's always good to see you," She chuckled.

"How's your boyfriend?" He asked genuinely concerned.

"Oh, Ben's not my boyfriend, but he's staying positive," She explained.

"Oh, my bad. You post about him like y'all are dating," He smiled causing Scarlett's cheeks to turn a slight shade of pink.