Fallin' For Her

Chapter 22.

Alexa's POV
I woke up to someone shaking me. I opened my eyes only to shut them back closed tight. I opened them again slightly and looked to see Brian with the biggest grin on her face.
"Morning kid. Sorry to wake up you but we've got to go somewhere."
"Ugh B. I love you and all but if I don't enjoy this you have to buy me an ice cream for dessert later."
"I'll make that deal. Cmon so." I slowly got up out of mom's grip. She groaned and I did too feeling instantly cold leaving her side. Brian left the room so I could change. I changed into a sweatpants and one of moms jumpers for warmth. I walked out to the kitchen to see Brian dressed exactly like me. I looked at the the clock and it showed 4:38 am. Ugh what is with people and waking me up this early! Brian handed me a travel mug with hot chocolate and a granola bar. We walked out to the car and hopped in. Brian turned on the heaters because it was freezing. We reversed out and drove up the road. I didn't have a clue where I was going. I looked out the window and watch the sun start to rise.
"Brian where are we going?"
"That's a surprise for now." I laughed and drank some of my hot chocolate. We pulled up to the park and Brian got out of the car. He opened the trunk and pulled out 2 pairs of cleats, a bag of balls and 2 pairs of cloves.
"You coming kid?" He said closing the trunk. I got out of the car and follows him down to the pitch. There was goals and cones all set up. I looked up at Brian and he smiled.
"Looks like they beat us here." I looked at him and then back onto the pitch. I was confused by what he meant but then saw two people walking towards us. As they got closer I saw it was Car and Ash. I ran to them and hugged Ash first.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well kid here's the thing. I have a feeling you're going to be the closest thing to a daughter we'll have for a while so we want to be there for you. I know we're 9 years too late for that and that you have a mom but we want you to know that we're always going to be here no matter where in the world you are. No matter what time you call, be it day or night, we'll always answer. And if Hope is being an overprotective mother you're more than welcome to call and we'll come to collect you. I know I speak for the rest of us especially Car,Brian and Ali."
"Wow thanks that means a lot. Really. I've never had that kind of love before and I'm glad it's you guys." I walked over to Car and hug her too. I run back to Brian and we change into our cleats. We all do a bit of passing the ball back and forth and the shooting from different ranges. I scored almost all of my shots. There sun was up and beaming down on us with sweat dripping off our heads. We had a game of penalty shootout and Ash was in goals. We each got 3 shots. The person with the least was out. Brian missed one of his and Car scored all of hers. I scored 2 of mine so far. I was just about to take my last one. I placed the ball down on the grass and took 3 steps back and 2 to the right. I looked behind me and saw Brian and Car standing there in a hug looking at me. They gave me a thumbs up and I looked back to the goals. Ash was determined looking. I looked at her and we made eye contact. I gave her a smirk and she returned it. I ran towards the ball and gave it a powerful kick with my left foot. It was going right and Ash guessed it right. She jumped a little too early and dropped as the ball slipped over her fingers in the upper ninety and hiring the back of the net. I jumped and ran back to Brian. I jumped into his arms and he spun me around.
"I did it. Brian did you see that."
"I did Lex. That was amazing. Well done." He put me down and I ran to Carli. She laughed and hugged me back tightly. She let go and I ran back to Ash. She looked sad she missed it. I sat down on her lap and kissed her cheek. She chuckled and gave me a hug. I heard clapping and looked up to see the whole team standing there. Mom was in the front with a shocked face. I jumped up and ran towards her shouting.
"MOM!! DID YOU SEE THAT."
"Yes Lex that was amazing." She picked me up and hugged me tight. I had the biggest smile on my face. Mom put me down and everyone congratulated me. The girls started to train and I said bye to mom. I ran over to Brian and changed back into my runners. We drove back to the house and Brian made some tea. We sat and drank tea and making small talk. He had work to do so I went into the living room to watch movies. I was halfway through Inside Out when Brian decided to join me. He sat down next to me and I curled up into his side. He wrapped a blanket around us and we watched the movie. My eyes got heavier and soon enough I was asleep.

Carli's POV
After training finished I went back home to take a shower and spent time with Lex. I drove up the driveway and went inside. It was quiet. I walked into  the kitchen and put the car keys on the table and my bag down by the door. I looked in all the bedrooms and they were empty. I walked into the living room and saw that Brian and Lex were asleep on the couch curled into each other. It was so cute so I took a picture. I posted it and captioned it.
"When your fiancé and niece decide to have cuddles without you 😌 not for long though ...." I got a couple of texts from teammates saying how cute it was. I smiled and put my phone in my pocket. I smiled looking at them and decided to jump. I jumped onto Brian's lap and kissed his lips. I felt Lex jumped and then laugh. Brian and I laughed too.
"Good afternoon sleepy heads."
"Afternoon babe."
"Ew dad inappropriate." I looked at Lex and her eyes went wide. She quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. I looked at Brian and his eyes went wide. I got up and ran to the bathroom door and Brian followed. I knocked but no answer came only small cries.
"Hey Lex, honey, open the door."
"No please just leave me alone." I looked at Brian and he looked heartbroken. He then spoke up.
"Okay you don't have to open the door but you have to listen to me okay?"
"Okay"
"Thank you. Here's the thing Lex. I know that I only met you a couple of days ago but you're already like a daughter to me. I enjoy spending time with you and having you around. You're apart of my family now and I couldn't be happier and I know Car feels the same. I know I haven't been there all nine years of your life but I can promise you I'll be there from now on. I promise to be there when you graduate high school. And when college. I'll be there when you get married. I'll be at the front wiping away my tears seeing as my daughter been given away. I'll be there for you when your kids are a pain and you need a shoulder to cry on. I'll be there if you get sick. I'll be by your side from now on Lex. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I promise I won't leave and especially when you need me the most. I want to be a father figure to you Lex. I love you more than you could possibly know." I had tears in my eyes by the time he finished. And he did too. I looked at him and he gave me a sad smile. We heard the door unlock and open. Lex stood there looking down at the floor. I bent down and pulled her into a hug.
"We love you. You're our baby even if you like it or not. We're always here."
"Thank you. I love you too." She looked up at Brian and gave him a sad smile. He looked down at her and bent down to hug her too.
"So dad huh?" He laughed. I did too and so did Lex.
"Yeah. Wonder what mom is going to say to this?"
"Actually me too. Cmon go get dressed up we have to go to team bonding at the hotel that started 5 minutes ago. She ran into her room and shut the door and I pulled out my phone to text Jill.
To Jill;
Coach, I'm so sorry I'm late but we had a bit of an emergency. I'll be there in 10 minutes and tell Hope not to worry I'll have Lex with me.
From Jill;
It's no problem Carli. We're up in Hope and Kelley's room discussing tactics. I'll fill you in once you get here. See you in a few.
I changed into sweatpants and one of Brian's sweatshirts. I walked out to see Brian and Lex laughing in the kitchen. I smiled at the sight and went up to kiss Brian goodbye. I grabbed my keys and took Lex's hand and walked out to the car. We arrived at the hotel in less than 5 minutes. We parked and walked over to the elevator and took it to Hope's floor. We walked down the hall to the room and knocked. Ash opened the door and her face lit up once she saw Lex. She picked her up and carried her into the room ticking her. I walked in behind them and shut the door. I saw down next to Becky and she filled me in. I kept looking over at Lex laughing at Ash and wrapped in Ali's arms. She looked so happy.