Stand By Me - Leah Williamson

It's Me

Kameron's POV

I'd been put on a bed in the first aid room, now I sat up with the support of the cushions behind me.

It wasn't particularly comfortable but I couldn't complain, I already felt better. The defender had just competently winded me, that was all. But the doctors weren't one hundred percent sure so they were conducting more tests and had gone to collect the results. There really wasn't a need for it, but they'd insisted. 

The game was still somehow going on, it felt like it had been hours, so I was alone, just laying there, fiddling with my fingers. 

There was a knock on the door, I hoped it was Leah, I so badly yearned for a hug right now, I'd take one from anyone, "Yeah?"

"It's me," someone's voice that I hadn't heard in a long time but instantly I knew who it was, there was no doubt in my mind, "It's Ingrid."

"Come in," I told her.

She came in, worry shaping her face, all of her features so stressed, unlike the normal sunshine she radiated, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so, I'm pretty certain I was just winded, that's why I couldn't breathe, but the team want to run more tests."

"That's probably for the best, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Usually, I'd agree with that statement but I felt able to play now, and if a test came back negatively, I knew Sarina would keep me off for the final and I couldn't bear that. I needed to play in that match. This was my life's work, this was the fairytale tournament. Fairytales all ended with happy endings, mine needed to as well.

"Can I sit?" Ingrid asked, pointing to the end of the bed.

"Yeah course."

We sat there for a few seconds in silence, I just stared at my hands and she just looked around the room, not that she seemed particularly interested in the facilities, she just didn't know what else to do. My spirits had clearly been dampened, but this wasn't the end of my Euros, I was going to make sure of it. 

"How'd they let you in here?" I spoke up, security was normally pretty tight in these tournaments.

"When you went down, I knew it was bad, so straight away I went to the staff, telling them we knew each other. They knew who I was luckily and let me see you."

I just nodded, thankful that she'd cared enough to come but unsure of what to say.

"There's ten added minutes of extra time," Ingrid told me.

"Ten?" I questioned, "I wasn't down for that long, was I?"

She replied with a jokey grin on her face, "I mean you were being a bit of a drama queen," we laughed, "But no, the referee was being dramatic. England will still win though, don't worry. And the player who tackled you got sent off, Leah made sure of that."

"Good," I replied, "It was a pretty good match until all this happened."

"It was amazing Kammy."

Kammy, that was a nickname I hadn't heard in a while, Ingrid was the only person to ever call me it and it had always made me laugh, but deep down I had always liked it.

"What's going on between you and Leah? It's everywhere on the media."

I ignored the last section of her sentence, I didn't want to think about the media right now. It was completely obvious and pretty confirmed that Leah and I were together. I was happy that we didn't have to hide our love but I knew it would draw massive amounts of attention towards ourselves, and huge amounts of criticism and hate came along with that.

"Me and Leah are dating," I explained, somehow it was always rather awkward for me to say.

A smile fell onto Ingrid's face, I could tell she was genuinely happy for me, "I'm glad you two made up, she makes you happy, I can see that. I'm happy for you two."

"Yeah, she makes me happy. She's a really good person."

"Yeah, she seemed upset when you went down. I've never see anyone run across the entire pitch so quickly, she didn't even wait for the whistle, she just ran."

I smiled, that was my Leah. She'd always been like that, so protective and acted on every emotion so quickly. Leah was someone who followed her heart and the one time she hadn't, broke us completely apart, so she never seemed to listen to her head again after that. I'm not sure if that was a positive thing, but it was definitely a Leah thing. 

"That sounds like her," I laughed fondly.

"So what else have you been up to, what's changed?"

"I mean, I left Manchester and moved to Arsenal."

"I saw that! I was really happy for you, that was always the dream. Is it living up to the expectations?" Ingrid knew pretty much everything about me, she was the person I'd told my secrets to for all of those years, and I knew hers. 

"Yeah," I smiled, all the memories of the Arsenal girls running through my mind, "Everyone's great, it's pretty perfect."

"Anything else happen?"

"I mean Leah's moving in after the tournament."

"That's great, honestly I'm so happy for you two. She seems great for you."

"Literally perfect. Anything changed for you?"

Ingrid thought for a few seconds and then shook her head, "No, pretty much stayed in literally the same place. Still at Barcelona which is still great."

"I'm glad for you."

Ingrid just nodded, a momentary silence filling the room, a small smile on her face, "I've missed you Kammy."

The smile on my face grew, "I missed you too Ingrid."

Ingrid's eyes began to tear up, she had always been like this, it was sweet really. When she loved someone, she really cared and never hid that from anyone. "Can I give you a hug?"

I nodded, "Of course."

She came over to me and wrapped her arms around me tightly, it was a special moment. Ingrid and I had been so close for so long and then we drifted, like a tide slowly going out to sea. But the thing about tides is that they always come back in. 

Ingrid had been there for me in times when no one else knew how bad everything was, she'd held me when I cried over Leah. She'd made my food on the days when I refused to get up. She'd caught flights the minute she'd missed a call from me.

Ingrid cared. She really, really cared.

The moment was interrupted by the opening of the door, yet again my face had lit up hoping to see the familiar blonde that I so badly needed at that moment. But instead it was my doctor, he didn't say anything, but the look on his face wasn't good. 

The look on his face wasn't saying 'it's nothing, you'll be all good to go for the next game', it was showing that the problems were deeper than I'd hoped for.

"I'll wait outside, I'm here if you need me Kammy," Ingrid said, sending me a comforting smile and picking up her bag, leaving the room.