Crossing Lines - a Lucy Bronze story

19: Erin's guilt

Erin couldn't shake the image of Lucy on the ground, clutching her knee in pain. Every moment after the tackle replayed in her mind, and each time, the guilt grew heavier. She hadn't meant to hurt Lucy physically, but the anger, the betrayal, had clouded her judgment.

As the training session ended, Erin barely spoke to anyone. Her teammates gave her worried looks, but no one approached her. There was an unspoken understanding on the team, whatever was happening between Erin and Lucy was personal, and they would let it play out without interference. But that didn't stop the looks of concern, or the tension that had now spilled over from their private lives onto the pitch.

In the locker room, Erin sat on the bench, her head in her hands. She couldn't believe what she had done. The last thing she had wanted was to make things worse, and now Lucy was injured—because of her.

Millie Bright and Sam Kerr were talking quietly nearby, their eyes darting to Erin every now and then. She knew they were worried, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

After everyone had left the locker room Wieke walked over to her. "How are you holding up? Want to talk?". Erin looked at Wieke but didn't really know what t0 say.. "I messed up, Lucy is hurt and it's my fault. I don't know what to do". Wieke gently wraps an arm around Erin and says: "I'm sure she knows it wasn't on purpose". Erin sighed, grateful for Wieke's steady presence. She knew Wieke was right, but the guilt gnawed at her. She had asked for space from Lucy, but now all she wanted was to make sure she was okay.

But what could she say? And was she ready to reach out to Lucy? She decided not to reach out since besides the feeling of guilt she was also still angry at Lucy for sleeping with Ona.