Mini Ertz///USWNT/NWSL

10pm Call

I opened my presents, most being the same sort of things. Red Stars shirts,  hoodies, hats, and a few other things as well. 

Then everyone left after that, letting me have the rest of my evening to myself. 

It's official now - I'm a real pro with a real contract. 

Tatumn, Mallory, and Kealia hung around while I went upstairs to tell Bailey.

"I did it." I told her. 

"You did what?" 

"I signed a contract!" 

"Are you serious?" She laughed. 

"Drop dead!" 

"That's so awesome! We're gonna have to fly out to see you play sometime!" 

"I'm finishing out the season with the team. If you can come it would be awesome." 

"Maybe we can try! I would love that." Bailey smiled. 

Then we talked about her soccer seasons, Mace, school, and then we ended up talking about the contract again. 

"Britt! I'm leaving. Come say bye!" Mal yelled from the bottom of the stairs. 

"Bailey, I have to go. I have company right now. But I'll call you later." 

"Sounds good, Britt. Love you." 

"Love you too. Bye." 

I hung up and went to go say bye to Mal, and then I joined the other girls on the couch. 

I grabbed a blanket and settled in the corner of the couch. We talked all about how excited I was to be on the team for real, not on a temporary replacement contract. 

I was eligible to play on Saturday, and there was already plans for me to play in the game. It was a home game so it was a nice welcome back. 

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One thing I learned today was never to read comments on a post about yourself that you didn't post. 

The Red Stars fans were happy to have me, not a single negative comment on their posts about my signing. 

But on the official NWSL page, there were a lot of people hiding behind their screens telling me I didn't deserve it and I was only signed because I was related to Julie Ertz. 

"Never read comments on an official page's post about yourself." Julie said when I showed them to her. 

"I learned the hard way." I sighed. 

"So did I." She sighed. "It's inevitable I guess." 

I nodded. 

"Listen to me. You deserve this. You really do. Through everything, you've kept your head held high, you pushed through. And that's not easy. You never gave up, and worked your ass off. You deserve this, and you better think that." She put her hands on my shoulders. "You understand? This isn't about me, it isn't about Zach. It's about YOU and the person and player you are. You prove that you're deserving of this. I know you will. I love you." 

She pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. 

I was weak, because that was the nicest thing anyone'e ever said to me. 

I started sobbing as her words echoed in my head. 

"Thank you, Julie." I said between sobs. "That's everything to me. I love you too." 

I realized now that I really was cared about. She really did care about me in a way no one ever had before. 

And that made me so insanely thankful and grateful. 

All I ever wanted was this, and I finally got what I was looking for. 

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When Tatumn calls you at 10:00 at night and tells you she's coming over and has something important to tell you, you forget about sleeping and start to panic.

The knock at my door came 5 minutes after. So she definitely wasn't at her house when she sent that text.

I opened the door, but it wasn't just her.