delicate ~ L.W

Chapter 3: The Contract

We pull up to the Bed and Breakfast we're staying at for the night. It's a small, modest building that is fairly quiet if you ignore the cars going past. It's made of stone with poison ivy growing around the sides that is clearly trimmed to keep the building tidy and appealing.

I turn the ignition off in the car and Sophie jumps out but not before saying, "I'll get us checked in and text you your rooms numbers, I'll see you guys later." She flashed us a wide smile and a thumbs up, grabbing our backpacks for the night and heading inside through the big, bulkley oak door.

I let out a soft sigh before turning to look at Ffion in the passenger side of the car with a hardened expression. She looks at me with a slightly concerned expression and tilts her head to the side, reaching out and placing her hand on my hand that is curled into a fist, brushing her thumb over my scarred knuckles, my veins bulging slightly, hinting at how tightly I've closed my fist and she utters softly, "tell me what's going on, Els, we've been through hell and back together so don't keep that mask up with me."

I look into her eyes as my walls begin to fall, finding comfort in the familiar Hazel irises, revealing just how emotional drained I am, my eyes drooping slightly and my lips falling into a slight frown as I gulp audibly. I whisper softly, "I don't think I should do this, starting over. What if everything goes wrong? I'm leaving behind all the friends I've come to call family, Fi."

I look away from her eyes, running my fingers through my short hair, tugging softly as the strands, sighing softly. She gently places her hand on my right cheek and turns my head to look at her once again, a solemn expression falling over her face, "we've done this before, Els. It's me and you, we've started over before we can do it again," as if she can sense my doubt at her words, her expression turns more serious and her voice comes out with a high modality, instilling a confidence in me that no one else has ever been able to do, "we're older now, Ellie, we won't make the same mistakes as before. I know I'm the younger one here but I'll help guide you through this, if you cry, I cry. If you scream, I'll scream too. It's you and me, that's what it will always boil down to. You can do this and you will. Now, turn the ignition on and start driving and sign this damn contract to play for your dream team."

I nod in response, all uncertainty and insecurity wiped from my mind (for now) and I turn on the ignition, pulling into the road and taking the short, 5 minute drive to the training centre.

I park comfortably into a space in the car park and I turn off the ignition, turning to look over at my sister, my reason to keep fighting to stay. "I can do this." I said with confidence, not giving myself a chance to overthink after her pep talk.

She smiles at me and nods in response. "Hell yeah, you can. You're Ellie-fucking-Jones, you can do anything."

I smile back at her, getting out of the car, leaving the keys with her. I sigh softly, my expression hardening once again as I breathe in the crisp air, heading towards the training centre seeing my soon-to-be manager, Jonas Eidevall, waiting outside for me with a wide smile. I find comfort in his expression but not trusting him just yet.

"Hello, Ellie, welcome to the Arsenal! If you just follow me I'll take you through to one of the offices where we can go over your contract and you can sign it. Now just a forewarning, there will be cameras set up ready to capture the moment." He speaks with a peel of authority, however it's clear from his tone that he cares and doesn't want me to feel uncomfortable.

He scans a small fob, bedazzled with the Arsenal logo, scanning it on a small device near the door, which opens automatically and he walks inside, gesturing for me to follow him with a slight nod of his head. I hesitate before following him inside, taking in the red and white walls, decorated with the accomplishments of the women's team over the years.

He leads me down a long hallway, decorated with photo frames of all their players, managers, coaches, and physios (past and present). I walk alongside him, the both of us making small talk along the way before we enter the office in which my contract is clearly displayed on the table where the wall behind has the arsenal logo displayed on it. There are no cameras inside just yet.

He walks to the table and grabs a bag from beneath it, passing it to me, "that contains your training kit. I'll take you to the changing rooms so you can change into it, we'll come back here, sign your contract, and then you can meet all the girls and decide whether or not to join or watch how we train at the Arsenal." He announces slowly with a level of excitement hidden behind his words.

He claps and smiles before leading me out of the room and to a room nearby, stopping by the door which has a sign beside it, clearly stating 'Changing Rooms.'

"This is where I leave you. Now, when you're changed, just follow this hallway and go inside the office where I'll be waiting with a few club photographers and your contract. The office has a sign beside the door that states 'Room 25'."

I nod in response before heading into the changing rooms, taking notice of the modern and minimalistic design with it, sitting down on one of the benches and breathing deeply, closing my eyes, and taking in the peace for a few seconds before opening the bag Jonas passed to me and taking out the kit, taking notice of the classic arsenal red and white, smiling softly.

I quickly changed into it, pulling in the training jacket and heading out of the room, trying to recall what room the office was. I remember he said to follow the hallway until I reach room 25, so that's what I do, arriving at the room fairly quickly and efficiently.

I place a hesitant hand on the door handle and opened it, walking into the room, quickly taking note of the three club photographers on one end, and Jonas on the other. He's sat down by the table where my contract lies, the next 2 (or 3 if I decide to sign for another year) years of my future sits. I slowly walk towards him and he stands up, shaking my hand, before sitting back down. I take the seat alongside him and he pulls my contract closer and quickly goes over the fine print, then passing me a pen. I let out a shake breath in response, to which he takes note of and softly mutters, "take your time, Ellie, there no rush."

I smile at him, comforted by his words and quickly signing the papers. I am now, officially, a player with Arsenal WFC.

He smiles broadly, patting me on the back gently and exclaiming, "welcome to the arsenal, Ellie!"

AN: This is chapter 3 of delicate, I'm starting to  more progress now and next chapter will be Ellie meeting all the girls. I found it difficult to write the start of this chapter since I've slightly based Ffion and Ellies relationship on my relationship with my sister. I hope you liked this chapter and feel free to comment any theories about Ellies background and things you would like me to include in the story. I'm open to ideas! x