Lost and Found

nine

We didn't waste any time and the next afternoon, we got on the plane to travel to Spain for our second friendly of camp. The Spain match much better than the previous France one had. I didn't get to make my debut against Spain as Jill was still concerned over me but I did manage to get through the whole match without any panic attacks and actually get to enjoy the match.

Alex played the entire ninety minutes this time but eventually Pressy scored the only goal of the match at the start of the second half to secure us a well needed win and boost the team's morale.

The last couple of days with the team I had began bonding more and feeling at ease especially with Alex, Lindsey, Mal and Kelley as they were the people I was around the most. Mal and I were especially close now since we were still roomed together and she was determined to make up for the rocky start to our friendship. 

Standing in the airport, however, I didn't expect to be as upset over leaving as I was. Luckily for me, the league's preseason was still a while off so Alex was flying out to LA as well meaning I would have her with me the whole time. Tobin, Press and Sonnett were coming too before making their way back to Portland. I thought Lindsey would have been flying with the rest of the Portland girls but she had decided to go back and visit her parents due to it still being part of the off season.

Mal hugged me first and promised me she would phone and text me all the time. She had already added me to their group chats so we could stay in touch and she was slowly becoming one of my best friends. We already used the group chats like crazy and that was when we were all with each other so god knows how much it will blow up once we're all apart.

 Next was Kelley who I had obviously got close to while she was rooming with Alex. Kelley was surprisingly quiet but just held me tightly. She, after my panic attack, had followed Alex in taking a protective role over me and making sure I was okay. She also took it upon herself to constantly make me laugh and smile, a role she had appointed herself. The feeling of having people care was one I hadn't felt overwhelmingly in a long time but I very much welcomed it. 

Lastly, Lindsey came over and I could help put jump into her open arms and cuddle tightly into her. Lindsey had no issues holding me up and hugged me back just as tightly. All too quickly she put me down but continued to hug me and rested her chin on my head. Lindsey was significantly taller than me so I just cuddled into her chest. I could hear murmurs from the team as I don't think the majority knew that we had gotten close but I just wanted to ignore them and focus on our goodbye.

"We'll be back together in a month okay? For She Believes? And we'll speak every day once you're done with school and practice." She whispered into my ear.

I wanted to reply but I didn't have the words so I just hugged her tighter hoping she would understand.

"Addie we need to go to our gate now." I heard Alex say and slowly I let go and walked away without saying anything to any of the girls.

The flight was incredibly long and boring and seemed to drag on forever. I was sat in between Christen and Alex but both were getting increasingly annoyed at my inability to sit still in my seat. Eventually, Alex moved both hers and the armrest separating Christen and I's seat up and let me stretch out between them. I leant back and Alex held me in her arms while Christen rubbed my legs until I fell asleep and they could finally relax on the flight. 

When we arrived we said goodbye to the other three and Alex picked up her car before insisting she dropped me off at my apartment where I knew Mary and Scarlett would be waiting for me to arrive.

"I'm not going to come in okay? I'll let you get back to normal with Scarlett and then when you're both ready, I'll come meet her on a day when her mommy isn't exhausted and been travelling all day. I love you both and I'm only a phone call away if you need me." Alex told me as she helped me get my stuff out the car.

Walking up the flights of stairs to my tiny apartment, my excitement grew. I'd never spent this long away from Scarlett and I couldn't wait to just hold her and be with her. 

"MAMA!" Was the first thing I heard as I walked in the door. She run, albeit slightly off balanced, straight towards me I scooped my baby up and just held her tightly.

"Mama has missed you so, so much baby girl." 

I was crying slightly and Mary came over and hugged me before deciding, much like Alex, to give me some alone time with my daughter. Having a baby as young as I did was extremely hard work but god, was it rewarding. Scarlett was such a content, cuddly baby so she was happy just for me to sit down and hold her while telling her stories and singing songs to her for a while.

We sat for ages until I realised it was starting to get late and all my travelling was starting to catch up with me. Luckily, Mary, being the angel that she was, had gone a picked up a few groceries for me getting back meaning I didn't need to go to the shops. Deciding we just needed a quick dinner tonight, I simply grilled some chicken and added rice before eating with Scarlett. 

Scarlett's bed time routine was my favourite time of the day and something I had really missed at camp. It was such a relaxing time for both of us and I just got to spend time with her. I loved the close bond we had when I was getting her ready to sleep and how cuddly she could be when she was tired. 

After we had both finished eating, I left Scarlett safely in her highchair and went a started to run her a bath. Coming back into the kitchen, I was greeted my messy daughter, covered in tiny pieces of rice, smiling in her highchair. 

"Smile for Mama baby." I told her taking a picture and sending it to Alex. 

As soon as I put my phone down to grab a baby wipe for Scarlett, my phoned dinged again, alerting me of a message. Of course it was Alex immediately replying, asking if she could Facetime her so she could speak to Scarlett. Deciding not to keep her waiting, I phoned her as I wiped the food off Scarlett.

"Hey Al, we're just getting ready for bath time. Aren't we Scarley? Can you say hi to Auntie Alex?" I asked Scarlett as I lifted her up and onto my hip. 

"Hey there gorgeous girl. Did you miss your mama?" Alex said speaking to Scarlett while I carried on grabbing what I needed for her bath. 

Scarlett babbled away incoherently to Alex sat on the bathroom floor. Although she did have a few words she used regularly, she was only just starting to expand and start to use two or three words together.

"Okay monkey say ba-bye to Auntie Lex, Your bath is ready." I told her as I started to strip her clothes off. 

"Mama bath?" Scarley asked me.

I couldn't say no to her and agreed, saying goodbye to Alex before getting into the water with Scarlett. Normally she loved to be in water, playing and splashing around but tonight, she just wanted to cuddle into me and I washed the warm water over her small body. 

We didn't stay in the bath for any length of time due to us both being tired and just needing to go to bed. As I lay in my bed, snuggling into the dead weight that was my daughter, I was suddenly unable to sleep. In a literal week, my life and completely changed and all while I was being a teen mom in high school. 

I took the next day off to try and beat my jet lag but after that I needed to get back to school and my club soccer practice and Scarlett needed to get back to daycare. Going back to school had been easy enough. I had already spoken to Mal and she said when she went back after her first national camp, so many people had tried to be her friend but when I got back to school, no-one seemed to have noticed I'd even been gone. Although the girls had stayed true to their word and phoned and text me all the time, I still felt lonelier than ever.