The Quiet One

1

The days leading up to the semi-final felt like someone had hit fast-forward and slow-motion at the same time. Training sessions were intense, meetings were constant, and the air buzzed with pressure — like the whole squad knew they were walking on the edge of something huge. And through it all, Elijah toddled around the team hotel like he owned the place, babbling at staff, trying to steal Lucy Bronze's snacks, and becoming the unofficial Lionesses mascot without even meaning to.

Leah being here by my side made everything easier with Eli with the pressure and just having another person that i love most in life be around made everything better. Every time I finished training and spotted her waiting near the pitch — hair tied up messily, coffee in one hand, baby toy in the other — something in my chest tightened in the softest, stupidest way.

"Captain," she called out one afternoon, giving me that tilted smirk that made my brain short-circuit. "You survived another media session without swearing. Proud of you."

"Barely," I muttered as she leaned up to kiss my cheek. "One more question about tactics and I might've thrown a mic."

"You can't do that," she said. "You're a role model now."

"Please don't say that, I'll pass out."

She laughed, slipping her fingers into mine. "You're doing great. They all adore you."

"They also all adore Eli," I said, glancing behind her.

Elijah was toddling in circles with little dinosaur socks on his hands — don't ask me how — while Beth Mead filmed him for her Instagram story like he was a rare animal sighting.

"LOOK AT HIM!" Beth yelled. "HE'S A TINY CHAOTIC KING."

"Beth, for the love of God," I groaned.

"He inspires me," Beth said solemnly.

"He terrifies me," Lucy muttered as Elijah made a beeline for her shoelaces.

The squad cracked up, and for a moment, the pressure didn't feel quite so crushing.

But as matchday crept closer, the tension came back like a weight on my chest.

Semi-final.
Against Australia.
In Australia.

Everywhere we went, people were chanting for the Matildas. Posters. Flags. Media swarming like hungry bees. The stadium for the match sold out in minutes. The noise — we were told — would be deafening.

The night before the game, after team meetings finished, I slipped into mine and Eli's room to find Leah sitting cross-legged on the bed, Eli asleep draped over her chest like a drooling koala.

Leah looked up at me. "You okay?"

"No," I whispered honestly as I crawled beside them. "I'm terrified."

She reached over, intertwining our fingers. "Jae... you've led them this far. They trust you. Sarina trusts you. I trust you."

I swallowed hard. "I just don't want to mess up. I don't want to let them down. Or you."

She leaned forward, cupping my cheek with her free hand. "You could never let me down. And as for the squad? They'd follow you into a fire."

Her thumb brushed my jaw gently.

"And tomorrow," she said softly, "you're going to prove everyone right."

I rested my forehead against hers, breathing her in. Her calmness. Her certainty. Her warmth.

"I love you," slipped out before I had time to panic.

Leah froze, eyes widening — then softened in a way that sent my heart falling out of my chest.