ғᴏᴏᴛsᴛᴇᴘs | ᴋᴍ ✔︎

Jeri The Sitter

"They say love is blind, we see each other fine."
- Eminem

It had been two weeks since Cody was discharged from hospital. After coming down from her surgery buzz, Cody felt the brunt of her despair. She wanted so desperately to fulfil her career - her dream - of playing soccer professionally.

She was told by doctors, by family, by Jack and Kristie, that she may not play, ever again.

Nobody told her about what she said before  she passed out that day, about wanting to put a ring on it.

Alex was conflicted about the current situation. She was upset, angry and irritated that Cody had been injured, especially to such a serious extent. The conflict arises from the fact that she found herself happy. Happy that she finally had her daughter living under her roof. Happy that she could take care of her daughter, even if it's only for a few weeks - which it would be, as Portland wanted Cody back as soon as she was comfortable enough to fly to the other side of the country.

Like a bad cold, Jeri had decided not to leave. She was as determined as ever to get the addresses of the two rookies that injured her favorite relative. They were on her list, right above Kristie; who was only getting a pass because she was in Cody's good books.

Bedsides attempting to be the reincarnation of vengence herself, Jeri helped around the house. She was there for Cody when Alex had to go to work, whether that was training or flying out for games.

"Boom!" Jeri yelled, catching Alex by surprised, despite not being in the same room. "That's gin motherfu-"

"JERI!" Alex yelled.

"Wait...we're playing gin?!" Cody asked, looking down at the cards in her hand. Her leg was propped up on a chair as she sat at the kitchen table with her aunt.

"Duh." The so-called adult rolled her eyes.

"You told me we were playing-" Cody had begun to accuse her aunt of cheating when her mother entered the kitchen.

"Settle down, children," Alex joked, receiving glares from the two.

"I am not a child!" Both Jeri and Cody groaned as Alex shook her head. She grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator before kissing Cody's forehead.

"I'm leaving for my flight to meet up with the girls, will you be okay?" Alex asked, running her fingers through her child's soft hair. She had quickly learned that the downside of having Cody under her roof was leaving her behind when she had to travel, especially when it was for the national team.

"She'll be fine." Jeri waved off. "I'm here!" 

Considering the manic grin on her sister's face, Alex was undoubtedly concerned.

"I'll call Jen-"

"No, I got this." Jeri stood from the chair, ignoring the small chuckle that leaves Cody's lips. "Go meet up with the girls, score and come home." Jeri smiled.

"When you say score, do you mea-"

"Yes." Jeri smirked.

"Gross." Cody mumbled, shuffling the deck of cards.

Alex ignored her sister, saying goodbye to her daughter, before heading to the door where her bags were waiting for her. Her Uber arrived moments later and Jeri helped her sister, all in hopes of getting her out the door quicker.

Turning on her heel after closing the door, Jeri made eye contact with Cody and let out a crazed laugh, "You're all mine now, kiddo!"

"That's fucking creepy..." Cody trailed off, eyeing her aunt carefully.

"I know, but I've always wanted to say it." Jeri shrugged, sitting back down at the table. "Is she still coming over later?"

"I think so." Cody mumbled before letting out a small yawn.

"Okay, lets get you to bed." Jeri stood and put her hands up in surrender when Cody threw her a questioning look. "Shut up and let me help you."

When Cody woke from her slumber it was already dark out, and her aunt was standing at the foot of her bed, wide eyed and grinning.

"What the fucking hell?!" Cody yelled, as Jeri starting laughing.

"You should have seen your face!"

"I'm starting to see why mom doesn't like leaving me alone with you..." Cody trailed off as her heartbeat begins to slow down.

"I know, she's pretty smart." Jeri sighs. "You gotta get up, it's almost time."

"Yes ma'am."

Twenty minutes later, Cody is laying on the couch when the door goes. She doesn't bother moving as seconds later a speeding Jeri rushes to the door. She trips just before the door but manages not to fall.

"I'm fine!" Cody heard her aunt yell, making her chuckle. It was quiet for a few minutes until the sound of footsteps approaching began to echo in the large room. "I'll leave you two alone."

Cody smiled at her suddenly calm aunt, as she slowly walked away. She turned halfway to the kitchen and made an 'I'm-watching-you' sign behind the visitor's back. The youngster internally rolled her eyes at her relatives behavior, but focused on her guest.

"Hey Krissy."

"Hi, beautiful." the Dash player smiled, taking a seat beside the injured Cody.

Jeri was true to her word - she was watching Kristie.

She was, to say the least, the eccentric one of the Morgan sisters.

She made it her mission while in Orlando to make sure her niece was safe, well fed and happy. Unless she was scaring the shit out of her, but other than that, yeah...safe.

And with the track record of Cody and Kristie, she wasn't about to let the Houston resident waltz in the door, swoop her niece off her feet just to drop her on her ass.

So she watched.

She watched as the two chatted, giggling quietly with each other. She watched as they watched a movie on Netflix. She watched as they inched closer to one another until Cody was wrapped up in Kristie's arms. She watched as the movie ended and Cody had fallen asleep while cuddling into Kristie's body.

She watched as Kristie kissed her niece's head before carefully freeing herself from Cody's hold, laying her down, putting a blanket over her and turning off the TV.

All in all, she watched as her own reservations about Kristie crumbled.

"You can stop watching now." Jeri snapped out of her daze to see Kristie leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her body, but a small smile dancing on her lips.

"I wasn't-"

"It's okay, I get it." Kristie motioned for Jeri to sit at the table. "I know why you're...hesitant for me to be around Cody." Kristie begins to clear the air, instinctively looking over at Cody making Jeri smile. The smile disappears before Mewis can see it. "I was horrible. I treated her like she wasn't worth anything, when in reality she's the most important person in my life. I know these are just words, and I can talk all day and night about how much I love Cody, but I'll prove it to you, and Alex and anyone else who doubts me or how I feel about that girl. She's it  for me."

Kristie stands from the table, and walks to the front door without another word. Jeri follows behind the girl, ready to lock the door for the night.

"I guess we'll see you tomorrow after the game. Good luck." Jeri states, seemingly giving up on potentially keeping Cody away from the Dash pro. She shares a small smile with Kristie, who gets in the team rental and drives away.

"Okay. How can I scare her in the morning..." Jeri mumbles to herself. She was happy that Cody was happy, that her relationship with Kristie was slowly improving. In all honesty, she was tired of all the happiness and wanted to bring her giddy niece down a level. She opened her laptop and began Googling. "Oh, this is gonna be great..."