Faulty Trust || Katie McCabe

08

I woke up naturally because, for some reason, it's engrained in my mind to wake up before the sun rises. It's annoying.

Shifting to lay on my back, I realised there was another body next to me. Like a tidal wave, last night's events washed over me, making my heart ache.

We'd put on Scream 4 while wrapping ourselves in blankets. Though if I were honest, I didn't need a blanket because Katie's close proximity due to the fact I had the laptop propped up was enough to make it feel like I was burning up. We weren't even touching; there was still a canyon between us. Neither of us wanted to cross the glass bridge that had just been built over it.

She'd fallen asleep halfway through, and her head was rested against my shoulder. Her even breaths against my bare skin were enough to send my heart racing, but it lulled me to sleep. I was grateful for the talk we had; it told me we were finally on the right track. And that's what mattered to me.

Turning my head slightly so I could see Katie, I analysed the way she was sprawled across the bed. Taking up basically the whole thing yet still somehow hanging off the side. Her leg lazily hanging over the side of the bed as she lay tangled in the duvet. The chaotic simplicity of it made me laugh to myself, and an idea popped into my head.

Sitting up and leaning on my elbows, I adjusted myself so I could fully see Katie before following through with my plan.

"Katie!" I shouted while shaking her with my left hand, which was enough to make her shoot up looking wildly confused and still wrapped in the duvet. All in the process, falling off the bed with a huge thud. My eyes widened, and I fought to contain my laughter as I crawled across the bed to peer over the side. Katie was lying with her back on the ground, looking up at me with an unamused frown.

"You okay, mate?" I asked innocently with a growing smirk.

"Fuck off," her accent was thick, and it was enough to let my laughter boil over. Eventually a small grin cracked through her annoyed expression, and she too laughed at the fall. "Was that really necessary? I was getting good sleep." She mumbled, clearly wanting to continue her beauty sleep.

"Yep, it's time to get moving. You can sleep on the plane and the bus." I clasped my hands together while getting out of bed myself. Now standing in front of her, I offered her my hand, and she gratefully took it. Though next thing I knew I was being shoved onto the bed as she walked past towards the bathroom. Mumbling a curt 'oops' which I couldn't help but laugh at.

Laying on the bed for a minute, I let out a content sigh. This is good; this is progress; maybe things are finally on the right track. Katie and I's relationship was frail; one wrong move and either of us could explode.

Determined, I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of us finding our way back to each other this time. Even if it was the last thing I do.

—

The turnaround to preparation for the start of the league was quick. Training started a few days after our return and was intense. We were honestly thrown into training because of how tight the schedules got—added games, more competition—it's almost an unbearable schedule. The lack of rest between club and country practically didn't exist anymore; injuries were happening more and more with no end in sight. It was worrying.

All our focus, though, was on winning the league and making up for not being in the Champions League this season. That was our main focus, no matter what.

It had also been a few weeks since Katie and I had truly talked, and we were in completely new territory yet it was such familiar territory too. Slowly, we'd begun slipping into our old ways. Teasing one another lightheartedly, as we did in our teen years. We'd catch each other's gaze from across the pitch, in the gym, or at lunch; my heart fluttered each time. But we weren't necessarily friends or enemies anymore; we were teammates. Nothing more, nothing less.