𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 - 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥

𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙊𝙣𝙚. 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶

"Have a nice Christmas guys." Beth calls to everyone as we leave the training facility for the last time before winter break begins. It didn't last very long, but it was enough to allow us to celebrate Christmas and New Years before having to go back to training.

"What plans do you have?" I ask Caitlin as we grab our bags together. The team still didn't know we were together. We'd been together for around 3 weeks now and we'd managed to keep it quiet. Everyone just believed we were close friends.

"Mum and Jamie are flying over. They're landing tomorrow morning. What about you?" She glances over at me as she pushes everything into her bag while I do the same beside her.

"Just going to enjoy the empty apartment while Steph's in Australia." I shrug and pick up my bag. As I turn to walk to the mirror, Caitlin wraps her hand around my wrist and pulls me back towards her.

"Come over to mine." She suggests with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I don't want to intrude on your family's traditions." I say to her, but she only shakes her head.

"You're coming."

"Cait." I whine.

I stood outside Caitlin's apartment with a bag filled with gifts in one and in the other, I nervously clutched a bottle of wine. I could hear the faint sound of Christmas music playing from inside, a comforting reminder that this was supposed to be a day of joy and celebration, but my stomach fluttered with nerves as I lifted my hand to knock on the door.

Before my knuckles could make contact, the door swung open, revealing Caitlin with a wide grin on her face. "You made it!" Caitlin says, hee voice warm and welcoming. She steps aside to let me in and the familiar scent of her perfume mixed with the aromas of a Christmas dinner in progress instantly put me at ease. I did miss celebrating Christmas with my dad.

"Of course." I reply, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I hand the bottle of wine to Caitlin, who takes it with a smile ans sets it on the kitchen counter.

The apartment has a cozy vibe to it, decorated with soft fairy lights, festive garlands and a small but beautifully adorned Christmas tree in the corner. I was guessing that Caitlin decorated the place with her family since none of this was around last time I came around. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and I couldn't help but smile as I took it all in.

"Hey, Elena!" Caitlin's sister, Jamie, calls from the living room, waving enthusiastically. She was perched on the edge of the sofa, wrapping a few last-minute gifts. "Mum's in the kitchen finishing up dinner. Make yourself at home!"

"Thanks," I say, my nerves wavering slightly with the warm greeting. I take off my coat and hand it to Caitlin, our fingers brushing for a breif moment as we exchanged a knowing glance- one filled with the unspoken understanding of our secret.

"Let me take that," She says, her tone casual but her eyes soft. Cautlin hangs up my coat and then leads me further into the apartment.

In the kitchen, Caitlin's mum, Simone, was bustling around the stove, her face lighting up with a warm smile when she sees me. "Elena, darling! It's so good to see you," she says, wiping her hands on a dish towel before pulling me into a brief, affectionate hug. Caitlin's mum seemed like a really loving person and I was happy for her and Jamie for having such a great mum, but it made me think back to what my mum would've been like.

From my dad's stories I knew she was graceful, though she loved football and was the reason I began playing. When I'd heard that she used to play football growing up, I begged my dad to let me play so that I could feel connected to her in some sort of way and when he finally agreed, it felt amazing. I never expected to be able to do it professionally, but I would be forever grateful.