𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 - 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥

𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦

International break had just passed. We'd got a new England manager, Sarina Weigman. She seemed to be promising from the speech she'd given us and the changes she'd made. Let's just hope she could lead us far in the Euros.

We were playing Chelsea today at Wembley Stadium for the FA cup final. I was definitely nervous, but the lively nature of the changing rooms definetly brung up my spirits more.

The game went by with cheers from the blues when Chelsea managed to score 2 goals against us. The team was highly frustrated at the results and it was safe to say we'd be fighting harder now.

"Girls, they're 2 points ahead of us. There's a higher possibility that they'll win this, but even if they do, let's make sure we go down fighting." Leah gives us a pep talk and we all cheer as we run back onto the pitch.

As I run on, Caitlin squeezes my hand, making a smile tug at my lips. No matter whether we win the cup or not, as long as I was playing on the same pitch with Caitlin, I was happy.

In the 56th minute, Caitlin had the ball and I watched as she got close to the goal. I was rooting for her in my head, but when I saw that she'd been pushed to the ground and was clutching her leg in pain, my thoughts changed to particularly negative ones that if I said out loud, I'd definitely be booked.

I ran over and kneeled down in front of her, my hand resting on the thigh of her good leg. "You okay, Cait?" I ask, but she's in too much pain to answer me. "For fucks sake." I mutter as I stand up and turn around to see that it was Guro who had tackled Caitlin. "What the fuck, man!" I push both her shoulders so she goes stumbling back as the team comes around Caitlin with the medics to check her leg. "That was a dangerous move!"

"Elena, she made a mistake." Hannah Hampton, one of my England teammates, comes forward to tell me.

"And that mistake can cost Caitlin her whole career!" I yell back as I feel a hand on my arm, pulling me away from Hannah and Guro. I look back and see Millie keeping a firm grip on me, knowing I'd push her off me. "Let me go, Millie."

"Calm down, Els." Millie says in a soft voice, but I shake my head and pull my arms away from her quickly as I see the medics taking Caitlin away on a stretcher.

I try running after her, but Steph and Kim hold me back, telling me to focus on the game and that I can see her when it ends. I finally give in after I get a yellow for wasting time and continue on the pitch. Luckily for Guro, she's subbed off by Emma, probably since she knows I wouldn't hold back on placing a dirty tackle on her.

Chelsea scored another goal and the game was over. They'd won the FA cup 0:3. I didn't even care as I ran through the tunnel to the medical room.

I didn't even knock on the door as I rushed in to make sure Caitlin was okay. The medics were finishing up.

"Caitlin, are you okay?" I ask, as I rush to her side.

"Yeah, I'm just out of the next 3 or 4 games." She tells me as she nods down to her knee which had a knee brace around it. I still look down at her worried, wanting to pull her into my arms and hold her close to me, but there were still medics around us. "I'm okay, don't worry. Thanks for being protective of me back there." She smiles up at me and brings her arms around me. She pulls me down and gives me a hug, giving me a quick, sneaky peck on my neck. "We didn't win, did we?"

"Nope." I shake my head. "It's alright. We can try again next time I suppose."

"And we'll win it next time, Els." Caitlin squeezes my hand.

"I really hope so."

The team had all come to check up on Caitlin and even a few Chelsea players. Sam had popped in the longest since the two were Matilda teammates. It was only then that I trusted Caitlin in someone else's hands and went to go shower.

When I'd came back, I agreed to take Caitlin back to her apartment and get her settled in. I told Steph I probably wouldn't be home tonight and she nodded in complete understandment.

The team knew Caitlin and I as best friends, not as partners, bestfriends who cared deeply for one another and their well-being so, no one questioned why I was the one helping Cait and I was thankful because I was going to do the job no matter what.

"Bye, Els. Text me if you need anything." Steph tells me as we part ways while I help Caitlin to her car. I sat in the drivers seat after helping her into the passenger seat and made sure her belt was on.

She sat back, just thinking to herself as we began driving back to her place. "You okay?" I ask her after glancing over at her.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking."

"About?" I ask.

"Everything I guess." Caitlin says and turns her head to face me. I glance over at her quickly while I turn a corner. "I still don't know how I feel about the Lia break up, which doesn't mean I'm not happy with you," She grabs my hand which holds the gear stick, "I don't know. I'm confused and now I've got this injury. I'm glad it's only a minor one, but soccer is what distracts me from everything and now I won't have it for a few weeks."

We pull up to Caitlin's apartment and I park up in what I've noticed is her usual spot. I undo my seatbelt so I can turn and fully face her. "I understand how you feel and I know the next few weeks are going to be especially tough, but I'm right here beside you. You need a distraction, I'll be your distraction. You need a shoulder to cry on, I've got 2." Caitlin chuckles at me, making me smile too. "Whatever you need, I'll do it for you. Just don't suffer alone, okay?"

"You should take that advice too, you know." Caitlin tells me, squeezing my hand.

"I know." I whisper, quietly. Caitlin had realised how closed off I was recently. She knew very minimal about my family, she barely learnt about Ona and she didn't know a lot of simple things about me, but she was slowly picking up things I would say and piecing them together to make a bigger picture of me. She wanted to understand me. "Come on, let's go inside."

I'd made us some food, though it wasn't the best, but Caitlin ate it with no problem. I helped her get into bed and she immediately pulled me into the bed with her and wrapped her arms around me so that I couldn't leave.

I was now laying in the darkness of the room, looking down at the girl who rested on my chest. I drew small shapes on her arm. Circles, squares, triangles and mostly hearts.

I couldn't stop thinking about how I felt when I saw her go down. This fear came up within me and then the anger took over as I pushed Guro. I felt kind of bad now thinking about it, but I was scared for Caitlin.

I realised I don't want to loose Caitlin.