Crush - Leah Williamson

5. I Have a Dream

I Have a dream - ABBA

"I Have a Dream, a fantasy
To help me through, reality
And my destination, makes it worth the while
Pushin' through the darkness, still another mile"
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"Who do you fucking think you are to disobey me?!"

Oh well, that's encouraging.

I beforehand suspected Laura was not as cheerful as I was. She had given me some deadly glances from across the pitch and her eyes were boiling with rage. Literally.

That's how I knew that the second I put a foot in the locker room, that yell filled with anger was directed towards me. Laura was a formidable and intimidating woman standing in the middle of the room, arms cross around her chest and her face so red that she looked like that character from Inside Out.

My teammates were seated on their cubby, expectants of how this heated yelling session was about to unfold. Their eyes were mostly on me, as if I was about to scream at our coach as I entered. Me, who was still shirtless and with a smile that occupied my whole face. Before locking eyes with Laura, I looked over to Rose in search of comfort, only to be met with worrying blue eyes

"I'll repeat myself one more time." Laura's words peeled my gaze away from Rose's eyes, only now realizing she had said something before. "Who do you think you are Ona?! Huh?!"

"I.. Um.. What?" Was all I said while making my way to my cubby. Knowing Laura's hatred towards me, I needed to sit for this will take longer than expected

"If I say Megan takes the penalty, you have to obey me!" Looking directly to me, her words filled with venom. She still had the entire room looking at her standing stoic

"I..mm." I cleaned my throat stalling before saying something I'll deeply regret. "We decided it was better for me to take it. Megan agreed with it"

The only sound following my statement was Megan's hum in agreement. I felt some sort of relief knowing she didn't back down from her decision. Although for the rest of my teammates, this was just entertainment

"I. Don't. Care." Laura spoke slowly, almost as if she wanted to threaten me. She even made a few steps towards my direction

"Seeing you won't answer my previous question, I'll tell you who you think you are Ona Taylor." I prepared myself, for the way she said my name demonstrated her clear disgust towards me

"You think you are indispensable, the best of the best. A rising star is what you are described. You surround yourself with big names like Putellas and Martens just to have someone talk about you. But you are nothing, Ona. Nothing'

'You think so highly of yourself but the reality is that you are what you are because of us. Because of me! For God sake, you are Argentinean! Did you ever believe you'll have a chance to be someone in this sport when not even your country supports you?!'

'It seem that no-one told you what you really are, Ona. Everyone lies to you so they can get to the big names, but in the end you are an irresponsible egocentric little brat that thinks she's on top of the world!"

Fuck

The whole stadium felt silent, only troubled by my rapid breathing. I tried to stop the watering on my eyes, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I gulped in search of some relief from the tightening pressure around my throat.

Her eyes were glued to mine possibly expecting me to break down. For a second, I believed everything that left her mouth. I was a scared little girl with a dream and they forged me into the twenty-three year old woman I am today, who's about to live that dream. Alexia and Lieke, the latter not credited enough, were my rocks. But was I known because of them?