The Weight We Carry

She spent years carrying everyone else. He was the first person to ask if she was tired.

Ivy Hart used to love rugby.

She loved the bruises, the early mornings, the roar of the crowd, and the feeling of knowing exactly who she was the moment she stepped onto the field.

Then came the injuries.

One concussion.

One surgery.

One too many chances to prove she could still do it.

Now, at eighteen, Ivy has traded her boots for a clipboard and accepted a position as the welfare manager at Hartwell Sports Academy. Her plan is simple: stay off the field, help the athletes, and keep her past exactly where it belongs.

Buried.

But rugby isn't done with her yet.

Especially when Rowan Hale the first's rugby captain starts noticing the things she tries hardest to hide.

The way she watches training.

The way she understands the game.

The way she flinches whenever someone gets hit too high or lingers to long on the ground.

As old wounds resurface and new connections form, Ivy must decide whether loving rugby again means returning to the field... or finding a new place within the sport she thought she'd lost forever.

A slow-burn sports romance about healing, found family, and learning that sometimes the hardest thing to do is let yourself start again.

This is my first time writing so please be kind and I hope you enjoy!!