Our Kiddo

It's not worth it

The girls walked in, happy with the win but also concerned for their friend.

Jonas's feedback was mostly positive but then he turned on her.

"Evie do not get sent off like that again. It was stupid and reckless and very unnecessary."

She wasn't usually one to argue with bosses but she wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"I was just playing passionately. I wanted to win so I tried hard. That's what you asked of me when I came so don't get all shitty when that's what I do," Evie said, her voice raising as she spoke. The changing room was dead silent.

"Can I speak to you outside?" Jonas asked, the anger on his face very evident.

She wanted to say no but decided against it and stalked from the room.

Once they were outside, Jonas seemed more relaxed.

"What's going on? There's something more, I know it. You always play passionately but that means running with a big smile on your face not kicking people's legs out from under them."

Evie thought about it. She could tell him.

"My brother just turned up the other day and I was reminded of stuff I don't want to be reminded of."

"I'm sorry. Do you need time to sort stuff out?"

"Maybe. I don't know what's best."

"How about I give you compassionate leave? You go sort what you need to sort out and come back for training a few days before the game against Brighton."

"Yeah that sounds good."

Jonas opened his arms for Evie to step into. She did so and felt herself calming down.

"You come first. Not football. You," he said. They stayed like that for a few moments before breaking apart.

"Now let's go sort your hand out," he told her, looking at how nasty and red it looked.

They re entered the changing room and Evie walked over to the medic who bandaged up her hand. It stung and she winced as he did it.

"You okay?" Leah whispered so no one else could hear. Evie nodded.

"Yeah."

***

The drive home was relatively quiet. They were pretty tired after the game and were just grateful to be peacefully going along.

When they got back, they went inside and flopped down on the sofa.

"I'm taking a break for a while. Jonas thinks it will be best," Evie said.

"Break? Why? Because of your brother?" Leah asked, surprised that such a small interaction had affected her this badly.

"Yeah."

"You only saw him for five seconds. Why are you letting him affect your career?" Leah asked. This was an innocent question that infuriated Evie.

"Why!?! Because seeing him is enough to bring up shit I'd forgotten about. You wouldn't get what it's like to have broken family. You're so lucky. You've got people who love you and hand everything to you on a plate. I had to work for it all. No parents. Nothing. I didn't have a normal childhood. You wouldn't fucking understand that because whenever things got rough mummy was there to help!"

Leah was taken a back at what she'd just said. She was also pretty pissed off. She'd worked hard too.

"I didn't get handed everything! I worked my arse off to be here today. It's not my fault that your family was the way it was. I'm sorry that it happened but don't blame me because your parents were bastards! Everyone has their problems."

"Oh yeah because I'm sure your one bad break up was really similar to being beaten the shit out of!"

"Don't bring things I've trusted you with into arguments!"

They were both tired and this was fuelling their bad moods. Neither of them felt very considerate of the other and it was getting nasty.

"Oh just fuck off!" Evie shouted, unable to think of anything else and storming from the room.

Leah watched her go, her heart beating fast from shouting.

The next morning, they ignored each other. Leah left for football much earlier than needed and then Evie was alone. She got a text from Freya but ignored it. She wanted to be alone.

It went on like this. The next day being the same. Both of them ignored each other and the house that was usually bright and full of laughter was now cold.

They reached the evening before Leah was going to play Birmingham before Evie couldn't handle it anymore. She felt terrible and she hated it like this. The house was depressing and she needed Leah more than anything.

She walked into the kitchen and saw Leah just finishing her meal. She got up to go but Evie stopped her.

"Leah, please I just want to talk to you," Evie begged. Leah didn't say anything but sat down, allowing her to speak.

Now she had actually been presented with the opportunity to tell the truth she didn't know what to say. It was hard admitting this.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. You work hard. I know you do. It's not your fault that bad things happened and I'm sorry if I made you feel like it was. Seeing my brother brought back something I really did bottle up. I never wanted to think about it again and seeing him brought it back."

Evie was looking down, not wanting to see Leah's reaction.

"My-my," she stuttered before taking a deep breath to calm herself, "My dad sexually assaulted me when I was younger and my brother would just let it happen. I know this doesn't excuse what I said and I understand if you don't like me but-"

Her rambling was interrupted by a strong pair of arms wrapping around her.

"Baby of I course I like you," Leah said, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head to show that she was there. She didn't know what to say about what she'd just been told. Her heart was breaking but she didn't know how to react.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked after a few minutes.

"I've never told anyone," Evie admitted, tears rolling down her cheeks. That made Leah hold her just a little bit tighter.

"Evie! Come here!" her dad yelled from his room. Evie froze. She knew what this meant. The door burst open and there stood her dad. She tried to back herself into the corner, anything to get away.

"Please daddy no," she begged. She hated this more than anything. She'd rather be hit repeatedly than what he made her do.

He didn't listen and yanked her up by her arm.

"Please! I don't want to," she cried as he dragged her along. Jamie was in the corridor.

"Help!" Evie called, desperate for her brother to save her. He knew what happened but he didn't stop it. How could he?

She couldn't free herself from his grip and then the door was slammed shut and she was stuck.

The pair of them walked through to the living room and cuddled up on the sofa. They lay in silence but it was a nice silence, very different to the past few days.

"I'm going to go to Southampton for a few days. To see if I can find Jamie and see what he wants," Evie said. Her head was resting on Leah's chest.

"Okay if that's what you want but please be safe."

"It is. Ava says I can stay with her so I'll be okay."

***