Twists of Fate - Love on The Pitch

One Step Forward

After everyone had gone home for a short rest, Beth and Viv were over at Liv and Eva's place so they could all visit with Ben, Olivia and Richard before they had to go back to Whitby that evening. They had just left, leaving just Beth, Viv, Liv and Eva at the house, along with the twins when Katie texted. She texted the Arsenal group chat to see if anyone wanted to go out to the club that night, to celebrate the win over Chelsea. As long as they got any points in their last game of the season against Brighton and Hove, they would win the league, so there was good reason to celebrate.

"Liv, Eva," Beth called across the room, "Katie is asking if we want to go to the club tonight?"

The two exchanged a glance, before Eva responded, "Umm, we don't have anyone to babysit tonight, and the twins probably shouldn't stay up late after such a busy day." She said, picking up Emily when she crawled over. "Plus, it's not like we can just have a neighbourhood kid watch them because of Lily's epilepsy."

"Yeah, that's fair." Viv said, "I know that Dean, Steph's fiance, had offered to baby or dog sit for any of us when we go out." She suggested, "He doesn't really like going out, he finds us all a bit much. I'm sure he would be willing."

"Oh," Liv said, looking to Eva for her reaction. "I guess that would work."

"Let me message Stephy." Beth said, pulling her phone out quickly to message her best friend. Steph replied quickly, saying that Dean would be happy to babysit that night. He would come over around 7, so they had 45 minutes to get ready.

"I think we need to head home quickly to get ready." Viv announced, standing up. "We can come by around 7.10 to pick you guys up."

"That would be great, thanks Viv." Liv said, reaching to hand Beth her coat. "I'm not drinking at the moment, since I'm still pumping for the girls, so I can drive us all home."

"Perfect!" Beth said, heading out the door. "See you soon!" She called over her shoulder.

Eva and Liv quickly got ready and fed the twins dinner so Dean wouldn't have to deal with the mess. Once he arrived with Steph, they quickly walked him through their bedtime routine, and showed him around. Steph would be driving to and from the bar with them, so she could drive home with Dean. They were chatting in the living room when Beth and Viv pulled up and honked.

"Thank you so much Dean," Liv said, giving both the twins a kiss on the head, "Text us if you need anything at all."

"Will do," He said, taking Emily from Eva, "I'll take good care of them!"

"Thanks again Dean." Eva said, after kissing the girls cheeks, "We should be home by 11."

"Bye guys!" He called, holding both the twins as they walked down the driveway to the car.

Steph climbed into the car first, leaving Liv sitting in the middle seat.

"I feel like a child again." She laughed, "Since I was the middle child, I always go the middle seat. Beth made sure of it."

"Hey, if you're going to make fun of me, you can get out of my car!" Beth joked, as they pulled away.

"This is my car, I'll have you know!" Viv laughed, grabbing Beth's hand before she could smack her. "Hey, no hitting the driver!" Everyone laughed, and continued making fun of each other until they arrived. Once they arrived they all got out and headed inside, quickly finding all the girls towards the back.

"Finally! I thought you guys were never going to show!" Caitlin called from across the room, walking over, "We were just about to call you, anyways, some of us have gotten drinks, and we're mostly set up around those tables at the back." She said, pointing to the back corner where the rest of the team was sitting.

"Alright!" Beth said, leading their group over to the rest of the team. Everyone said hi, and they all got settled quite quickly. Liv had found a seat at one of the tables, and got herself a Coke to drink. Eva came over and hung out with her for a little while before going to sit with Viv, Lotte and Katie. Lia then came over, sitting down across from her.

"Not drinking tonight?" She asked, nodding her head towards Liv's drink.

"Nope, I'm still breastfeeding, so nothing for me right now." Liv said, smiling a little. "I'm also kinda the DD for our group tonight."

"Alright." Lia said, scooting her chair in a bit. "I also wanted to check on you. Are you doing alright? After everything with Tom at the game, me and Leah were just worried about you." She said, reaching to take Liv's fidgety hand into her own. "You do a good job of putting up a brave face, and I see why you feel like you have to, especially around the twins." She continued, tracing circles on the back of Liv's hand. "But I hope you know that you don't have to put up a brave face around us," She gestured to the team around them, "We're all here for you no matter what, and we are here to be your shoulder to cry on, your punching bag, your bodyguards or your friends to toss you in the air after an amazing game." She laughed, as a small smile appeared on Liv's face. It was only then that Lia realised that she had some tears rolling down her face. "Aww love," She said, getting out of her chair and walking around to wrap her in a hug. "We've all got your back, Liv." She whispered.

"Thanks wally." Liv said quietly, "It means the world right now. It's pretty stressful at the moment, but hopefully it will all start getting better soon."

"Hopefully," Lia agreed, pulling away after kissing the top of Liv's head. "I'm going to go grab myself another drink, do you want something?" She asked, stepping back.

"Ummm, I should be good with this one for now, thanks." Liv said, grabbing her half-full can. Lia left to grab herself another drink, and Liv sat back down, fiddling her fingers. She had always picked at her nails when she was anxious or stressed, it started during Covid because she couldn't bite them. Ever since, it just stuck. She felt her phone buzz and pulled it out to look at the text from Dean.

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From Dean: The girls are both fast asleep, everything went well. Lily only had half of her last bottle, but seemed pretty content. Emily was absolutely knackered, out cold in less than 5 minutes!

To Dean: Thanks Dean. You have no idea how grateful we are. As long as Lily's behaviour seems normal, there should be no reason to worry. We should be home in a couple hours!

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The rest of the team was still hanging out and dancing, but Liv had spent most of the night sitting alone. Her thoughts were beginning to spiral. All these thoughts that she had managed to suppress ever since she broke up with Tom, flooding back to the surface. Every inch of her skin tingled with nervous energy. She just needed to move, do anything to make it all go away. Normally, being out on the pitch helps with that feeling, but that was clearly not an option. She got up and quickly walked outside, trying to seem casual so as not to concern her teammates.

Once she was outside, she sat down on the curb, her head on her knees. All the tears she had managed to contain all day began to pour out. 'How am I supposed to keep my babies safe?' she thought, opening her eyes to look at the concrete below her. Finding something to look at and focus on always helped her when she was feeling like this. Her heart in the throat, head spinning. She felt like she could run a marathon, but it was also impossible to stand up, impossible to breathe. She could hear someone walking towards the bar, she looked up expecting someone random.

But no, no, no, no.

Why?

How?

"No....." She gasped.

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A/N: I'm feeling a bit punchy, so I went with a cliff hanger! Sorry not sorry! Shorter chapter today, written during science class, because who needs physics when you have wattpad. Still not over Viv leaving, so I will not be addressing that for now!