Don't Give Up, I Won't Give Up On You

Chapter 2

Riley was angry. She didn't want to be. This was supposed to be a good day, first day on the new job, first day getting to know all these people she admired. But now it was spoilt by her ex-girlfriend's presence. Stacey wasn't even here physically and Riley hadn't seen her for nearly six months but she still knew how to ruin her day. She probably would have sat there for a long time, contemplating over what she was going to do with this new information Sam had provided her, but her stomach growled loudly which broke her out of her daydream.

Yeah, that's right, food. It was becoming more aware now that she had skipped lunch today and she remembered that she'd promised Ellen she would be joining them for dinner. With one last sigh, she stood up and exited her room. No need to focus on this now, she could worry about it later.

Even though this complex was huge it didn't take Riley long to find where everyone was. She let herself into the dining hall and was relieved to see that no one turned their attention to her as she walked in, she didn't know if she could handle that twice in one day. She liked to go by unnoticed. She got herself some food from the buffet, a lot she loved her food, and took a quick glance around the room to see if she could find Ellen. But before she could find her, she felt a soft hand on her arm. 

"Hey. You're over here with us." 

Riley turned her head to the side to see Jodie Taylor, big smile on her face, pointing to the table behind her. At which Ellen was sitting at, she did keep her promise. Riley followed Jodie to the table and sat down in the empty seat in between her and Beth Mead. "We were worried about where you'd gotten to." Jodie said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you'd gotten lost though." Ellen smiled softly at her from over the other side of the table.

Riley let out a little laugh and shook her head. "No, no. I just had a phone call I had to answer. My friend just wanted to see how I was getting on." Which was true, Sam did care. But it still left a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought back to their conversation. 

She ate in silence, listening to the girls talk among themselves and answering the few questions that were thrown her way. Riley was a quiet person, this was true, but she wasn't really in the mood to talk anyway.

Once they had finished eating there was nothing else planned for the rest of the night. Phil had addressed everyone and informed them of what was happening tomorrow. Media day. There was a couple of groans and sighs that went around the room, but most of the players seemed pretty happy. 

"That's going to be a lot of work for you right?" Kaz Carney called across the table to Riley. 

Riley nodded in response, but couldn't help the grin starting to creep on her face. "Yeah I'm going to be following you around again, helping journalists and companies get some good pics." This was going to be fun, probably chaotic, but lots of fun. Her inner child was very excited. 

"It's going to be a long day." Jill muttered through a yawn. 

"Early morning coffee run then Jill?" Steph asked, raising a brow.

"Of course!" The taller girl was starting to brighten up now at the thought of coffee. "CT! Set the alarm!" She banged the table with her fists.

Carly shook her head firmly. "It's not a training day, so I'm not getting up any earlier than I have to." She stated, causing everyone to laugh.

"What's your coffee order Riley?" Ellen asked.

"Oh, I don't drink coffee."

Big mistake. The table fell silent. Riley looked around at everyone who were staring at her, Jill's mouth was wide open. Then everyone starting talking over each other as they tried to get a good answer out of her about why she didn't like coffee.