ғᴏᴏᴛsᴛᴇᴘs | ᴋᴍ ✔︎

Hope x Cody

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new."
- Socrates

"Up next, we join former US Women's National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo as she spends the day with Cody Morgan to talk family, soccer and her road to recovery."

Jack sighs as she flops on the the bed in her room of the hotel where the Dash players are staying while in Orlando, "I miss her."

"Cody?" Kristie asks as she sips her coffee from her bed beside Jack's. She was rooming with Jack for the first time.

"Well, yeah but I meant Hope."

The two women settled into a comfortable silence as the ad break ends and the segment with Cody begins. It was rumored to be the most in-depth interview that Cody has given, making many close to the young woman wonder why she agreed. Most of those questions were aimed at Hope, who was hesitant to conduct the interview but when approached by Cody she agreed.

One way or another Cody was taking part, and Hope knew it was better that she had someone she knew and trusted asking the questions.

The portion starts with footage of Cody on the field, a montage of her time in high school, to Arsenal and then to Portland, with some clips of her training with the National team before showing her and Alex grinning at each other like mad men, the resemblence clear to all, before she's wrapped up in her mother's arms.

The narrator begins, "Many people know Cody Maxwell Morgan because of her mother," Jack grimaces. "But she's far more than just her mother's daughter. Cody, in her own right, has become a standout player in each of the teams she has represented. Our own Hope Solo went behind the scenes to find out what makes this young player tick."

On the screen, Hope is shown walking up to a grinning Cody and embracing the girl, she pulls away but leaves a hand on Cody's shoulder, "It's so good to see you again."

"You too." Cody continues to grin as she and Hope begin to walk across the turf of Providence Park.

"Let's get right to it," Hope starts. "Why soccer? I mean, I know why but for those that don't-"

Cody cuts Hope off with a breathy chuckle having never witnessed the older woman fumble over her words.

"It started when I was young," Cody begins and pictures of her childhood flash across the screen. Jack bites her lip, she knows the pictures are Cody but she knows that they're not filled with genuine happiness. From the age of five, to sixteen, in each Cody had a ball in her hands or at her feet, Jack alongside her in most of them. "I can't explain it, really. It was an escape."

"From homelife?" Hope asks softly and Cody smiles sadly.

"Jesus," Kristie mutters, "They weren't kidding when they said this would be personal."

Jack nods but doesn't tear her eyes from the screen.

"Yeah. Growing up was rough. There were moments when I just didn't want to live anymore," Cody inhales before sighing. "Soccer was always the source of hope in my life, without it I wouldn't have met my best friend–"

"Woo!" Jack cheers from her bed, "Shoutout, I'm famous now."

"–I wouldn't have met my mom, and I wouldn't be where I am right now."

Hope nods, "We're all glad you're here, Codes. So, pursuing soccer was obviously a personal choice, but was it anything to do with Alex?"

"You mean did I continue playing to be like my mom?" Cody chuckles but the amusement doesn't reach her eyes.

"It's on the cards," Hope replies, showing Cody the list of questions she has to ask, "Sorry."

The amusement finally reaches the blue eyes of the young Morgan, "It's cool. But no. My mom was never part of why I chose to go pro. If I'm being honest, and my mom knows this, but she was the reason I almost quit soccer completely."

"Go on," Hope encouraged as the two continued to walk around the field, the sun beating down on them.

"I hated being compared to my mom, in some ways I still do. Sorry mom," Cody smiles at the camera. "It's a lot of pressure, she's an incredible woman and an amazing player...to find out aged sixteen that she's my mom...it was hard. All of a sudden I was told that I'm only getting the opportunities that were offered to me because of my last name."

Hope nods slowly, having already heard this from Cody. It was one of the main reasons she didn't want Jack to have her last name. The other two were that Jack wanted to honor her biological mother, and the name 'Jack Solo' opens doors to a lot of masturbation jokes.

"What about now? You're a little older, a little wiser," Cody chuckles as Hope smiles, "Have your thoughts or feelings changed?"

"Not really," Cody admits. "But the way that I face those thoughts and feelings and assumptions from others and myself has changed. A few years ago it consumed me, but now I use it as motivation to prove to anyone that doubts me that I deserve to be where I am, I've worked my ass off and I've earned everything I've got."

"I have to say, it's been an honor watching you grow into a headstrong young woman," Hope nudges Cody before becoming serious again. "Around six months ago you got injured. You're first, and hopefully last, serious injury. How did you cope with that?"

The screen cuts to footage of the double tackle that almost ruined Cody's career. The station does well in cutting from the tackle at the moment of impact, not wanting to distress any viewers, and shows footage that Jack hadn't seen before. It showed Alex yelling at the two Pride rookies before sliding to her daughter's side. Jack didn't notice at the time, but now she can clearly see tears in Alex's eyes.

Cody bites her lip, "I didn't. It's no secret that I've struggled in the past and well...I fell back into bad habits. I was told that I'd very probably never play again. Just hearing that was enough to shatter my world. I pushed people away, put on a happy face so that nobody would ask if I was okay," Hope nods as Cody continues, "It was a really dark time."

"What got you through that?"

"I had someone incredibly important to me basically tell me that I need to get my act together. She told me that doctors can be wrong, but that I'll never know if I can play again unless I get off my ass and work for it."

Jack looked at Kristie, "You were that blunt?"

"No, but it's basically what I said," Kristie mumbles as she focuses on the screen.

"Who was that?" Hope asks.

"Uh...a friend," Cody laughs but a light blush covers her face. "Anyway, I spoke to Mark and we worked out a plan that if I'm serious about my recovery then the club would help me."

"What was the plan?"

"I went to Houston, to see specialists. I was there for about a month, put in all the effort I could. I linked up with a recovery group, too."

"For substance misuse?" Hope asks, trying to word it carefully.

"You can say addiction," Cody chuckles. "But yep. It's not something I'm proud of, obviously, but it's something that I have to live with and if I ignore my problems then they'll only continue to resurface. I enjoyed my time in Houston, I was helping others as I helped myself. That's why when I came back to Portland I started working with a charity that caters to youths with addiction issues, whether that's due to abuse, homelessness, injury. No matter the root of the issue, I wanted to be able to stand in front of these young people, not matter their gender, race, age, whatever, and say that life does get better. To say that it won't be easy, some days will be harder than others, but if they're willing to put in the work then it'll all be worth it."

The screen cuts to footage of Cody standing in front of a classroom of young people, the footage is silent but Cody is donning a shirt with the name of her charity on it before it cuts to Cody on the sidelines of a high school soccer field as the group enjoy a pickup game. Before the camera cuts back to the interview, Cody is seen high-fiving and hugging the group of youths, each one smiling brightly as she hands out Portland swag, jerseys, hats etc.

"Sounds admirable, kiddo," Hope hugs Cody, breaking the persona of interviewer. "Now, something that we all want to know. Can you play again?"

Jack and Kristie lean forward on their respective beds as Cody inhales, "Well..."