More than best friends?

Chapter 12

In the late hours of the night, Alex woke up. She wasn't sure what it was that woke her up, she just knows that she couldn't go back to sleep. Her arm roamed to the other side of the bed and there was a pang in her chest when she realized the other half was empty. It was strange that Tobin was sleeping in her room. The bed hadn't been used at all until now. Suddenly, she shivered missing Tobin's arms loosely wrapped around her. She missed the warmth she gave off as they cuddled into each other. Alex replayed their conversation in her head. What was wrong with Tobin? She was holding something back from Alex, but the striker couldn't tell what it was. Everything seemed fine, why were they having problems now?

After a few minutes of staring up at the ceiling, Alex finally slid out of bed, deciding to go see if Tobin was sleeping. She wasn't sure why she was even bothering, the girl was probably fast asleep, but she went away. Quietly, she shuffled out of her room and a few feet down to Tobin's. She turned the knob slowly, careful not to make any noises that would wake the older girl. Once she was inside, she saw Tobin curled into a ball on her bed. At first, Alex believed she was asleep and fine, so she turned to leave. Then, she her the sniffles and soft sobs. Was Tobin crying in her sleep? The striker spun around and closed the door quietly behind her, making her way to the opposite side of Tobin's bed. She saw the older girl's body slightly shaking and immediately became concerned. She crawled onto the bed sliding into the sheets. Wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's middle, she pulled her close.

"Alex?" Tobin's voice croaked, only another sign she had been crying in her sleep.

"Shh, I'm here," Alex whispered, pulling the other girl even closer. She didn't want an answer tonight; she knew better than to ask for one. All she wanted was to comfort her girlfriend and keep her tears away.

Tobin turned, curling herself into Alex's body and digging her head into the crook of Alex's neck, trying to swallow her tears back. Her breathing was shallow, but she was relaxing at the sudden feeling of Alex rubbing her back.

"I'm here," she repeated softly, kissing Tobin's hair. She felt Tobin clutch her shirt, but she didn't mind. "It's okay," she murmured, trying to get the older girl to calm down. She had perhaps only seen Tobin cry once before, and even now it kind of scared her. Seeing the one person who was so chill and calm and composed no matter what break made her want to break too, but she knew she had to be strong for Tobin because every time she was in tears, Tobin was there making it better. Now the roles were reversed, only Alex didn't know what Tobin was crying for.

Eventually, Tobin's tears stopped and her breathing evened, allowing her to sleep peacefully curled into Alex. Alex stayed up a little longer, wondering what could cause Tobin to crumble, but ended up falling asleep, holding on tightly to the midfielder.
-
The following morning, Tobin woke up, finding herself curled into Alex and tears stained on her face. Worrying that Alex would search for answers when she woke up, Tobin slowly slipped out of Alex's arms and got out of bed. She washed her face with soap and water and then changed into some shorts and a clean new t-shirt. Tobin found a sticky note and then a pen, leaving Alex a short note letting her know she went out to clear her mind and would return shortly, if not by the time the striker woke up. She tossed the pen aside and then stuck the note onto the younger girl's forehead, smiling at the sight of it. "See you Alex," she mumbled before kissing her hair softly. She grabbed her longboard and made her way out of the small apartment they shared.

Tobin drove away from their apartment until she found a place to longboard in peace. She decided this time alone would be good for her. Though she was very grateful for Alex comforting her without question last night, she knew she had to be away from her girlfriend to be able to think. She made sure not to stray too far from her car, but allowed herself to ride around freely and let her thoughts free. What was she supposed to do about Servando? There was the obvious option of just telling him, but Tobin was still so terrified of telling anyone but Cheney. She knew Lauren wouldn't judge her, and would of course support her. She felt most of the national team would react the same way Lauren did (with a few of them possibly teasing Alex and Tobin even more about the flirting), but for some reason she wasn't really ready to tell any of them. She loved the team, she really did - they were a family, but it already took so much in Tobin to trust Lauren, even to trust herself with these feelings.