More Than A Game

Chapter 62

It had already been three weeks into Chad's preseason training trip to Dubai with the Port Adelaide boys and three weeks since I found Chad emerge on my front porch from the dark. Even after our last meeting, I've still found myself wondering about where I stood with my feelings for Chad. Just hearing he still loves me is an absolute blessing but I still find it hard to forgive myself for what I put him through.

Already, I knew the boys would have a great time in Dubai with their reputation for having some of the best training facilities within the world. I gave many of the boys my blessings for the trip and was surprised with the replies I was given. A few of the guys understood that there wasn't anything romantically going on between Kurt and myself although most of the team was pretty clueless about the truth.

Angus has already been questioning me about my rather private activities - whatever that was meant to mean, Hamish constantly wanted to know what was the reasons behind my sudden relationship change and Sam Colquhoun somehow became interested in my beginnings with Kurt; the guy never bothered to at least say hi to me yet now he thinks he knows the world about me. Just give me a break.

Surprisingly, there were those who came to my defense. Travis had a chat with me about the situation and he gladly stepped in to help shut down the questions when it had gotten rough. Chad and Ollie obviously supported me through this situation which I was pretty thankful for, yet the most interesting piece of support I received from the club was from a couple of players that I was not personally familiar with. Billy Frampton and Jesse Palmer who were just first year players for the club had voluntarily left a couple tweets in my defends which I was pretty flattered for. Reading their tweets, I felt a smile form upon my face.

"can't always believe what they say in the media. <3 go out to the beautiful @carmenxrichwald. loyal ones will always support. #weareportadelaide." - frampton38.

"shame there's plenty of hate for @carmenxrichwald. never be too quick to judge when you don't know what's fact from fiction. #teamrichwaldforever. - jpalmer37.

Another overwhelming event was saying my goodbyes to Brayden. Since it was currently the time for the majority of the league to begin their training camps, Brayden decided it would be best to head to Melbourne so he could get used to the lifestyle before the new season began. It was an emotional time for all of us and for him to be going now would be difficult to get used to, although it was bound to happen soon.

According to Brayden, there was accommodation available with another family who were apart of a program to support young draftees during their first few years of football. Support would usually be given until they were financially secure enough to move into a place of their own. A bonus for Brayden was that he was also staying with another roommate, Lukas Heathcote, another draftee who was just also recently recruited to The Western Bulldogs.

Right now, I was having difficulty concentrating on what Jess was telling me about a draftee who she saw during last weeks televised national drafts. Although I wanted to listen to my best friend, with everything that had happened with Chad, I honestly just bring myself to keep focused with what was going on.

"So when they called out his name and I watched him walk up the stairs, I was blinded by his natural beauty. His hair looked seriously luscious Carmen, it was such a beautiful sight."

"What was his name?" I asked showing that at least I was trying to pay attention to the convention started by her. I looked around the street and could already tell something wasn't right. My heartbeat intensified as we both turned the corner walking side by side.

"Darcy Weller from Fremantle. I don't think you realise how truly beautiful he is Carmen. His brown hair and tanned skin made me feel so much happiness you wouldn't understand." Jessica giggled to herself as we continued walking down past the shopping centre.