Stay Away

is coventry the city of love?

The Lionesses visit Scarlett's grave the day before their match in Coventry. Having been granted leave by Sarina, their decision to go is unanimous. It is some of their first times going. It is not Leah's.

Seeing her granite headstone planted so strongly in the grass reminds them of what they have lost – who they have lost. Leah, Georgia, and Keira stay half an hour longer than the others, only leaving when the sky greys above them and they begin to worry about it raining. They sit in a café for a bit, before Keira ventures out again, wanting to be alone for a moment, and Leah chooses to tell Georgia everything.

I hear about it all on FaceTime later that night. She should be fast asleep, and I should really be sorting out transport to Coventry instead of just assuming Marcus can take me (Amanda has been lovely, but I fear I am a major inconvenience in her well-organised plans). Obviously, neither of us are doing what we ought to be doing, much preferring to talk to each other.

"G wasn't as shocked as I thought she'd be, you know," Leah says, sounding far too awake for me not to feel a little bit guilty. "She was all like 'it was obvious you had a crush on someone' and, like, 'there's no way you'd be that invested in tennis without fancying one of the players'. I... eased her into it. Like, saying that I'd been talking to a tennis player for ages, and that we'd started going out." It sounds very juvenile. I snort into my (her) pillow. Finally, after much persuading, she has given me permission to snoop through her childhood bedroom as long as I steer clear of what is under her bed. It's what I will be doing for the remainder of my stay in the lovely Milton Keynes. "Oi, are you listening?"

I hum, in a dismissive response, too focused on the Arsenal poster glaring at me from the opposite wall. It gets uglier every time I look at it, though the lyrics to that awful song are fun to memorise and translate into Dutch when I'm bored.

"Anyway, so it got to the point where she looked as though she was gonna throttle me if I didn't tell her who. I said, like, 'it's Jaimie de Voss'. Her reaction... two things: one, fucking rude, and two, unnecessary. G goes 'you fucking pulled Jaimie de Voss' as if you're a supermodel!" I clear my throat. "Yeah, yeah, Jaimie, you're hot. Old news, get over it. And then, if that wasn't enough, she pulls up your Instagram and starts scrolling through your posts and telling me that I've liked them all, acting as if I'm completely whipped."

"Which you are," I warn her, knowing that I make her like them and text her if she doesn't. "Did she say anything about Fleur?" To be completely honest, I'm a little bit scared of my sister's reaction, and it gets worse when I think about how I have to tell her before she returns to Barcelona, otherwise I am no longer lying by omission but by avoidance. Ever since her relationship with Mumma crashed and burnt, I made a promise to myself that I would ensure I never truly avoided her like our mother did. Does. Who knows. "Any insight would be useful."

"Other than her checking you guys are sisters and then bringing up how she hates me, no." Apparently, Fleur's lack of fondness for everybody's favourite captain is a well-known thing within their little world. It is slightly embarrassing for the both of them, and will be even more so once everyone finds out about Leah and I.

Sighing, I thank Leah for her useless comment. She tells me to stop being so mean to her. "You've already convinced me to wear that England top tomorrow. Don't push it, Needy."

Her grin is shit-eating. "You're wearing it?" To be clear, it is not that English. It's a white t-shirt that happens to have three lions embroidered into the left side of the chest. I have given each lion the most Dutch name I could think of, and am only putting it on because it's also Leah's and I miss her, but yes. I am wearing it tomorrow. "The day you wear an Arsenal shirt is the day I'd rather you clothed than naked."