Number 15 - Katie McCabe

2

I head down the lift of my apartment building, wondering who's going to be at Leah's other than Beth and Viv. As I step out of the elevator, I feel excited. Hopefully this will be a good chance for me to get to know the others better and make some new friends. I walk out of the automatic doors of the building to see Beth and Viv in the car and I open the backseat door. "Hi guys! Thanks so much for driving me!" I say while sitting down and putting my seatbelt on.

"Of course, it's no worries at all!" Viv replies while driving off and keeping her eyes focused on the road.

"So, Willa, what do you think of the team so far?" Beth asks, turning around to look at me from the passenger seat.

"Yeah I love it, I haven't gotten the chance to speak to everyone yet but pretty much everyone I've met has been really nice." I smile.

"Don't worry, we're really excited to have you here, I know you're going to do so much good for us this season," She smiles back while turning to face the road but stopping midway. "Oh, I forgot, I was going to ask you this at training but what's the deal with you and Katie?" Beth adds while turning back again. I dig my fingernails into my palms to retain my straight face at the mention of her.

"Beth!" Viv briefly gives her a warning look.

"What? I'm just curious? Something was definitely going on there." Beth laughs as she faces me.

"It's nothing, we've just had some run ins in previous matches against one another." I shut down the conversation and turn to look out of the window. I try to come off as nonchalant as possible, but I think I end up sounding defensive.

"It didn't look like nothing." Beth goes back to looking at the road and out of the corner of my eye, I see Vivianne giving her a look again. From there, the car journey is pretty silent other than some small talk and we soon arrive at Leah's. I step out of the car and we make our way up a few stairs to her house, me being in the middle of Viv and Beth. I ring the doorbell and we are almost immediately greeted with Leah's smile.

"Hi guys! Come in, come in! The rest of the girls are inside." She beams, motioning us inside with a tea towel. As we walk in, everyone is at the dining table, a charcuterie board filled with various cheeses, grapes and crackers are in the middle of the table, along with a couple candles creating a lovely atmosphere. Wine glasses outline the table, it's beautifully set up. I take my eyes off the table and quickly glance on who is here. Lotte, Caitlin, Steph and Jen. I breath a sigh of relief as I realise that Katie isn't here. As Beth, Viv, Leah and I sit down, I say hi to everyone and we talk about upcoming trainings and games we're looking forward to play. I subconsciously notice the empty seat beside me, but I don't think anything of it. Instead, I pour myself a glass of wine, and a second, and a third... Before I know it, I'm a little tipsy and laughing with the group until I hear the doorbell ring. Leah goes to answer it and I hear footsteps grow louder as the person makes their way towards me.

"Sorry I'm late guys." I could recognise that thick Irish accent from anywhere. I mentally face palm as she gets into the seat beside me but I make an effort to not look at her. Trying to be discrete, I shuffle my seat to the left, closer to Beth, continuing to talk with the rest of the group. I hear her scoff quietly but I don't think anyone notices except me.

For the rest of the night, everyone drinks, eats and laughs, and we move to the living room. I take a seat on the plush, brown leather couch and who other than Katie to sit beside me, leaning against the corner. Why can't she take a hint? I look over at her, obviously making a face, because as soon as I do, she scoffs again. "What?" I ask her in an angry tone.

"Nothing." She laughs, still looking at me while she slides her hand down her chin, eventually dropping it down. I shake my head and turn to my left to face everyone else. At this point, I am a bit drunk and everything is spinning slightly.