Go for Gold

10

Y/N
-

As soon as I was on my plane that would fly me directly to Australia, I just started bawling. Of course there had to be an old lady sitting beside me, and she asked me what had me so down.

"My girlfriend just broke up with me because I'm moving to Australia for a while and she doesn't want to do an international relationship, but she's fine with a normal cross country relationship from Portland to D.C."

"You loved this girl."

"And I never got to tell her."

-

After I had settled into my place in Sydney and began training with the team, I started to pour myself into the club. If I couldn't stop to think about her, I couldn't cry about her. Simple idea, but probably not the healthiest habit I've ever formed, so I stopped doing that and acted like a regular soccer player. Eat, sleep, train, repeat. One day, as I finish cooking my dinner, I get a call, I'll give you three guesses as to who it was, so I decline the call and put my food on a plate so I can eat it, declining four calls the entire meal, three as I unwind with some Netflix, and only two as I get ready for bed, it was definitely not normal, but I didn't want to talk to or about her. I could barely keep it together without her calling me. I'd rather get lost in Suicide Forest than deal with her.

-

"How tough was it leaving America to come play here?" The interviewer I was meeting with asks and I shrug.

"Not that hard really, the only thing that made it difficult was my baby brother."

"What about your girlfriend? Mallory Pugh?"

"Who is Mallory Pugh?" I ask and there's a tense silence before the interviewer clears her throat.

"Alright, uh, how are you enjoying your time here in Sydney?"

"I love it. My first time actually living here. Temporarily of course, thinking of going somewhere else to play after this season ends."

"Which clubs are you thinking of playing for?"

"Man City Women's, Chelsea Women's, and there's also a tie between PSG and Olympique Lyon."

"So either England or France." She clarifies and I nod.

"The spiders here are too big for my liking." I say and she chuckles.

"What did it feel like to win a league championship as a rookie this past NWSL season?"

"Oh, wow, it was... it was indescribable. Absolutely amazing, especially having my teammates by my side as we celebrated. Of course I didn't win the game for us, but I still enjoyed celebrating with my teammates."

"You've got a lot of fans already and they've noticed your bond with Tobin. Where does that stem from?"

"Well, we are both from the same town in New Jersey, we both went to the same town, and she started treating me like her kid sister the second we met. I'm not really sure how to explain our friendship or how it grew."

"Are you going home for the holidays?"

"Yes, of course I am. I promised my little brother." I say, smiling at the thought of Landon. I miss him, and my folks, and Tobin.

"Well, that's all the questions we have for you today, thank you for coming in and talking with us. We appreciate it."

"Any time."

-

As I got home, I let out a loud groan and relaxed on my couch, probably too much relaxing was done on the couch, because I woke up to my phone vibrating on the glass coffee table. I apparently slept through training today, so they took $200 off my paycheck. Didn't bother me much, Nike has my back. I'll just pop up in a random ad for them and make a quick grand. Which is what I did, paid up front. The rest of my day was dull, the Australian season was not for me. I liked having my winter months off, don't get me wrong though, this whole summer in December thing was the best. I may be a jersey girl, but that doesn't mean a thing. I despise the cold. I was kinda tempted to look for summer homes here, well, winter homes for my American self, but you get what I mean.