SUNSHINE

forty-six

The last two weeks had been a dream come true. Alex had come home and they had plenty to catch up on from their couple months of barely seeing one another. Casey had finished her rehab and she was completely cleared to play, and they were off to training for the She Believes Cup. Alex had heard all about her adventure of almost freezing to death and luckily not having any major issues with her recovery. Casey heard about all the fun she had with her husband in Los Angeles and the several mini adventures they had gone on.

"So Alessio might be opening a new chain in Orlando?" Alex asked on their way to the airport.

"Yeah, and I'm kind of hoping he does. That would mean I'd get to see him way more than I do now." She said in response, a small smile forming on her face.

"You're completely in love with this guys, aren't you?" She commented as they pulled into the parking lot. Casey just chuckled as she parked in the lot.

"Yeah, I guess so. He gave me a promise ring, did I mention that?" She answered, and Alex was grinning.

"He's fallen for you too then. You two make a great couple. I'm glad you two found each other." She said sincerely, and Casey nodded.

"Yeah. If he hadn't ran into me, I don't think we would have paid a second eye to each other. Maybe it was fate." She sighed, saying the last part a little more mockingly of Alex.

"Everything happens for a reason!" She defended, and they both just chuckled as they grabbed their bags from the trunk to head to the shuttle that would take them to the airport.

—

They arrived in Arlington later that evening, and they were going to have a light training to get them loosened up for the next two weeks before the She Believes Cup began. They were one of the last flights to get in, so as soon as they settled into their hotel room, they grabbed whatever they needed for training and headed down to get on the bus. They loaded their gear underneath and went to the steps, getting on the bus to go to their unassigned assigned seats.

There was a face in hers that she never thought she would have to see again.

"You're in my seat." She said with gritted teeth. Anger had flooded her entire stature, but she kept her cool. Only Casey, Ali, and Ashyln probably remembered or even knew who Riley Turner even was.

"Sorry, didn't mean to." She responded coolly, getting up and going to an unoccupied seat in the front of the bus. Alex and Casey both sat down, Casey bubbling with rage.

"Is that?" Alex asked, and all she could do was nod in response.

"I didn't think I'd ever have to see that bitch again." She muttered. "Why didn't Vlatko tell us? Usually he lets us know when someone gets added to camp."

"I don't know. Maybe she told him about your history and decided it was better not to say anything." She responded. Now Ali and Ashlyn had turned in their seats to talk with them.

"So I wasn't hallucinating. That is Riley." Ashlyn said.

"No, you weren't." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I think I'm gonna be sick." She said, resting her head against Ali's seat.

"Hey, you're over Jackson. You've got Alessio and he's so much better for you. It isn't worth it." Ali said in her motherly manner, patting her back. The bus began moving and that was when their coach stood up at the front to talk with them.

"Good evening ladies, welcome back to camp. I'm excited to get to work, but we're just gonna go kick the ball around and get loosened up for the coming week. I'd like to introduce my last minute addition to our camp, Riley Rhodes. She's a defender and a Stanford alum, so I believe she'll be a good fit on our back line." Vlatko announced to all of them. Casey stopped listening when he said her name.