Eternal Souls (Sam Walsh Story)

Chapter 13: The Unexpected

(Ava Seed)

Two months had passed by, and Ava was still trying to settle in USA with her siblings. She had finally made the big step in her life, leaving her parents behind for them to fend for themselves and leaving the first guy she had ever fallen in love with, behind as well. She followed Carlton from the US and cried silent tears each time she had seen Walsh get the ball or come on tv. Last time she had seen Walsh, was the day she went to say goodbye and had their private moment in a separate room.

It was a Friday night, Ava and her big brother, Jacob, were sitting at home and watching Carlton vs Geelong. It was half time and Sam Walsh had wrapped up 16 disposals already and was smashing the midfield with his teammate and captain, Patrick Cripps. She was proud of him a lot, knowing how much he loved playing AFL.

Ava decided to message her friends on Instagram, since they had a group chat, asking if they were at the footy. The last time she talked with any of the girls, she had found that each one of them were officially dating each of the Carlton players, they had met on the cruise. Sophie started dating Elijah Hollands, Aria with Jesse Motlop and Freya with Matthew Owies.

Sophie was the first one to message on the chat, replying with "Yes, we are at the game. Are you watching?".

Ava replied back, "yes, with Jakey. The boys are playing well so far".

"They sure are. How are you doing in USA?" Sophie asked in the group chat. "We miss you so much".

Ava looked up at Jacob and sighed, "should I tell them?".

Jacob looked at her and sat up on the couch, "will it make any difference if they knew or didn't? You don't want anyone to tell Sam".

"They are my best friends. If I hide it from them, they might get angry at me for keeping it a secret" Ava replied, sighing and looking down. After a few minutes, she grew the courage and messaged her friends again. "I am trying to be okay. I have been very unwell for a while now".

Aria: "Girl! why?".

Ava: "Don't freak out but I found out I am pregnant".

There was a major pause in the messages and Ava couldn't tell whether her friends passed out from shock or if they are squealing at the game.

Aria: "WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHO IS THE FATHER?".

Sophie: "Did you meet someone new up in the US?"

Ava: "No. You girls know who the father is".

Freya: "Wait! You mean Sam Walsh is the father?!"

Ava: "Yes. I found out about 2 weeks after I last saw him. I was here in the US by then".

Aria: "Have you told him?".

Freya: "Well clearly she hasn't Ari".

Sophie: "Oh gosh, this is going to stir up quite a bit between Sam and his partner".

Ava's smile immediately disappeared the moment she read "partner". Was this true? Did Sam find a new girlfriend?

Aria: "How far are you, Ava?".

Ava looked at the message before putting her phone down without responding. She held herself to not cry and not to show any weakness around her big brother. She put her eyes onto the tv and watched Carlton run back onto the field for the second half of the game.

"Sam's got a new girlfriend" Ava informed her brother.

Jacob looked at Ava and sighed, "we knew already. We just didn't want to tell you anything".

She looked at her brother, meeting his blue eyes. "What do I do now?".

"I can't tell you what to do Ava. That decision is yours to make but that baby shouldn't pay for anything" Jacob said, smiling at her stomach. "He or she, is just innocent".

Ava nodded, putting her hand on her stomach.

-

(Sam Walsh)

After Carlton's massive 63 point win over Geelong, the players went down to the change rooms, celebrating their win. They sung the Carlton song, did a few interviews then caught up with family and friends. Sam had gone up to his girlfriend, while Elijah, Matt and Jesse went up to Ava's best friends.

"Great win Elijah" Sophie congratulated her boyfriend.

"Thanks" He said, kissing her on the lips. "You good? you're very pale".

"Oh... yeah. Everything is fine. Just celebrate too hard" she giggled.

"Soph! Don't lie to me" Elijah said, looking at her with a serious glare.

Sophie looked at her two other friends and Jesse, who didn't play tonight and saw the conversation with Ava. "Ava messaged us today".

"Really? What she say?" Matthew asked, looking at Freya.

The three girls and Jesse looked in Sam Walsh's direction, making eye contact with him.

"What's going on?" Elijah asked.

"She's pregnant bro" Jesse announced to Elijah and Owies.

Elijah and Matt became shocked, looking back at Sam as well, before looking away when they noticed he was looking.

Having sensed something, Sam walked away from his girlfriend and her family, going towards his mates and the girls. "Hey girls. How are you all?" he greeted them.

"Fine, thanks. Congrats on the win" Aria said, smiling nervously.

"Cheers" Sam smiled, looking at all six of them individually. "What's going on? and don't even think about lying to me".

There was silence, the girls looking away and the boys looking at each other. Sam looked more worried and confused at them all, before asking again, "what is going on?!".

Jesse looked at his mate and sighed, "Ava.... she's umm...".

"She's what?" Walsh asked.

"She's having your baby Worpa" Elijah announced.

Sam froze for a moment, looking at his mate before looking back at his new partner. "You're lying" he said softly, looking back at Elijah.

"I'm not man" Elijah said.

Sophie took her phone out and handed it to Sam, showing him the message where she announced her pregnancy to them. "She stopped responding to us when we told her about your new girlfriend. We couldn't get full details, but she said it happened a few weeks after she last saw you".

Walsh looked at the message, before handing the phone back to Sophie and walking back to his partner with no further word to anyone.

"Shit. That ain't good" Owies said, before looking at Cripps who was calling his teammates in for a meeting. The boys said goodbye to the girls, before going in, followed by Sam Walsh.