Faulty Trust || Katie McCabe

23

"Okay, okay, okay, how about this one?" Katie couldn't contain her laughter for more than a second as she scrolled through Twitter after our 4-1 win against Chelsea. It had been an absolute masterclass, and I desperately wished I had been able to play alongside my teammates. Yet my collarbone was still healing, and I was still in a sling.

I watched from the door frame of my bathroom as Katie's eyes scanned the words on her phone. Her hair was still damp from the shower she'd taken before coming over to mine. Her excuse this time was she wanted me to do her hair; I wanted to tell her she didn't need an excuse to come over, but I found it amusing anyways.

Katie was sitting on the edge of my bed, her legs dangling over the edge as she opted to lean back on her right arm. The more I scanned over the edge, the more I realised how unfocused she caused me to be. When Katie was around, my attention was hers and hers only. I could only pray she hadn't realised that yet.

She sat up before finally speaking, "I 4-1 love Katie McCard." The snort she let out almost put a smile on my lips.

I immediately shot her an unamused look, which sent her into a fit of laughter like she was the funniest person on Earth. "You are so full of yourself," I muttered before turning back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. Katie had always been a confident person. She held herself to the highest standards. She knew what she wanted; she knew herself better than anyone. It was rare you'd ever see her vulnerable, but when you did, even then she'd try and act tough.

Sometimes it worked, and sometimes her facade would fall apart.

The team had quickly made plans to get dinner after the stunning win today, and afterwards we'd be heading to a club to, in Beth's words, 'party the night away.' I honestly couldn't wait, but I was also about to go insane with the stupid sling my arm was still in. The way it just caused the slightest inconvenience in my daily life had me wanting to rip it off.

I'd made my way into the closet attached to my bathroom to change, but getting a tighter shirt over my sling had been more of a challenge than I'd anticipated. With a loud huff, I unsuccessfully tried again before ultimately deciding on a looser shirt that was less of a hassle. A white button-up would have to work.

"Are you alright?" Katie's voice asked softly behind me. I froze, mid taking my sling off to slide my arm through the shirt. Letting out a sigh, I took my sling off before setting it down on the shelf beside me. Katie hadn't said anything for a moment, but I felt her presence behind me. Her eyes boring into my back in a way that made me squirm more than I liked to admit.

"Do you..." she paused. Light footsteps padded towards me until Katie stood in front of me. Her eyes never left mine even if I was only in a bralette and trousers. They were a deeper blue than usual, and as she took a step closer, I felt the breath leave my lungs. She carefully took the white dress shirt from my hand. "Do you want help?"

Her voice was anything but the teasing tone I'd expected, and I didn't know how to react. Injuries had always frustrated me more than anything in the world, and Katie knew that. My temper would grow an even shorter fuse than usual, which meant anything and everything could set me off. It was childish maybe, but it was just me frustrated with myself for getting injured in the first place. Even if it was my fault, it didn't matter; at the end of the day, I missed football.

Katie pried the shirt from my grasp without a word from either of us and unbuttoned it so I could slide into it. As I slid my non-injured arm in, I didn't miss the way her eyes fell to my chest. A light smirk now growing on my face the longer she seemed to stare. I knew Katie like the back of my hand, but I chose not to comment on her not-so-subtle staring.

When I turned around to slide my other arm in, it was a bit harder, but Katie helped guide my arm in, and before I knew it, she was buttoning up my shirt for me. The way her jaw flexed slightly as she focused on buttoning my shirt did my head in. My composure was starting to dwindle the longer she was this close to me. It felt like she was setting a trail of fire as she buttoned all but the top two.