It's Our Secret

Chapter 54 - Speaking Out

Preathxjindi: this has made my day

Walshtwinslover: they are instagram official! I love love!!

I was relieved that people were happy for us, rather than upset. I knew I shouldn't care what others think, but sometimes it's hard not to.

It was heading towards the end of the season. It was determined that Arsenal had clinched the WSL title from us. It was disheartening, knowing that we could've won it. But, we still had the champions league. We still had the big trophy to try and get. Arsenal played their semi final against Wolfsburg. Arsenal won in a penalty shootout, beating Wolfsburg, and progressing to the final. We were slightly more unlucky. We had to verse Barcelona.

"You played amazingly," I said to Leah when she arrived back from Germany. We were sitting on the couch, Leah lying in between my legs. She was exhausted. I played with her hair, as she closed her eyes.

"Penalties are too stressful," she said.

"Yeah, but at least you made yours." She smiled softly as I said this.

"You going to come tomorrow?" I asked her, referencing my game.
"Of course," she replied, "I think Indi and Kristie might be coming too."

"I'm scared," I said, vulnerably.

"About losing?" she asked, still with her eyes closed.

"Yeah."

"In the end," Leah started to say, "all you can do is go out there and play your heart out. You are good enough to beat them. Heck, you beat them last year. Have confidence in your ability, Ett. You're an amazing player." Leah has this inept ability to always make me feel better. She tells me what I need to hear and I love her even more for it.

"I love you," I said, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you," she answered,

We lay watching the tv, until I knew Leah had drifted off to sleep. I felt her heart slow down, and body became limp. I moved off the couch, careful to not wake her up. As I walked to the kitchen, I felt something in my chest. It wasn't anything painful, but it was there.

Shit I thought to myself.

When we woke up the next day, I couldn't stop jittering. I was nervous. Our offence has always been strong, but today, we needed our defence to shine. We needed to stop the strong attacking presence of Barcelona. We couldn't get complacent.

"Ett," Leah said, grabbing my hand, "stop shaking. It's okay. Don't over stress yourself." The game wasn't the only thing I was stressed about, however.

"I'm just nervous," I said to her, as she held my hand.

"It's okay," Leah replied, "it's okay." She pulled me closer, wrapping her arms around me. Her hugs always settle me. They show me a comfort I have never felt before.

I left the apartment in order to get to Kingsmeadow on time before our game. As I walked into the changing room, the energy was incredible. Music was beating through Erin's speaker and all the girls were laughing and chatting. The calmness all my teammates had, made me feel okay. They made me feel as if we could win. We could beat Barcelona.

"How are you feeling?" Millie asked me, as we sat tying our shoes.

"Fine," I replied to her, "you?"

"I'm ready to win," she answered. I smiled at her confidence, hoping that that would instil some in me.

"Sam and Fran," Erin said, as we were chatting together before heading out, "I expect a hat trick from both of you."