Our Kiddo

I'm gonna be sick

She managed to hassle a player for the ball and head up the pitch. All she did was run, her previous nerves gone, replaced with a huge smile. God she loved football.

Keira was free in the middle and she slotted the ball between two Austrian players before heading into space. Her teammates did some nice quick passes in the middle before Ella sent it through to her.

She touched it down before quickly rolling it passed a defender and shooting it at the goal. Manu saved it but it had been a good chance. It felt weird to be playing against her club teammate.

Austria were still very much in it and a brilliant diving save from Mary kept them from going equal. England weren't playing at their best but that was only natural. This was a big moment for all of them.

Ten minutes from the end and Lucy won the ball in defence. She sent it to Georgia who passed it out to Evie. She was off instantly, using her speed to bomb up the field. She could sense a player behind her but she knew she was quicker.

She sent a pass quickly to Less who took sent it to Ella. Tooney spotted Evie making a run and she chopped it over the defenders' heads.

With a burst of speed, Evie got a toe to it, stopping Manu from getting it before using her next touch to power it home.

The stadium erupted and Evie felt a little shell shocked. She'd just scored in a major tournament. Holy fuck.

Her team mobbed her, all of them overjoyed to double their lead.

"Kiddo you fucking beauty!" Georgia screamed as she kissed her on the top of the head. The goal gave them that extra security that they desperately needed.

After resetting, the game was just as tense. When the whistle blew it was a relief. They went around shaking the oppositions hand. Evie stopped for a long chat with Laura and it felt nice to speak to her. It was a good to be away but she was still missing her Arsenal teammates.

There were no hard feelings about the match and after their chat, they hugged goodbye and went round everyone else.

Evie was walking with Beth and they could see Manu approaching.

"Fuck you two," she laughed before pulling them both into a hug. No love had been lost.

They walked around, applauding the fans and dancing along to Sweet Caroline. All of them were feeling positively giddy and had a great time soaking it all in.

When Evie spotted Jamie, she ran straight over and hugged him.

"I am so proud of you," he said as he squeezed her tightly. They stayed like that for a moment. How much their life had changed.

Once she'd had a moment with her brother, she moved over to speak with her friends. Kiyana was positively buzzing and the two of them plus their England peers, Ellie and Sophie, had a chat about everything.

It took a long time for them all to be ready to leave and by the time they got on the bus, Evie was flagging. All the emotions had drained her and once the girls chatting had died down, she fell asleep with her head on Leah's chest.

***

They all had a day off. It started with a few of them going to get a massage. It was very much needed and they enjoyed the relaxation.

"God I love a massage," Less said as she lay on her front.

All of them chattered away, happy to be together and enjoying the break. It was nice to be able to spend so much time around one another. They usually only had a couple of weeks before heading home again but they'd all been together for way over a month already.

Once they were suitably relaxed, they went to join the others, who were all sat out on the patio, soaking up the sun and doing various peaceful activities.

"Like a holiday this," Evie said, enjoying it a lot.

"With a lot less drinking," Leah pointed out.

After they'd all had a nice lunch, they headed down to the river where they had various boats set up. They were all in life jackets and having a good time.

Letting Lauren drive the boat was a bad idea. She put her foot down on the pedal and they began speeding forward back into the building they'd come out of.

"BRIDGE!" Evie screamed as they almost went straight into it. Once they were safely away from getting their heads chopped off, they began to enjoy it a little more.

They went up and down the Thames, taking everything in and nattering away.

Ellie was telling them all a story about something embarrassing Tooney had done when they were younger and they had to park the boat for a few minutes while they all died of laughter.

"I'm not enjoying being outed," Ella said, although she was laughing with the rest of them.

Eventually they calmed down and got going again, soaking in the sun.

"Wanna jump in kiddo?" Beth called over when they'd parked up the boats and were just walking along the bank.

"Why not?" Evie said. It was boiling and she'd do anything to cool herself down.

Once she'd taken off her shoes and jewellery, she grabbed a hold of Beth's hand and the two of them ran down to the bank and leapt into the water.

The relief was brilliant as the cold water encased them. When they resurfaced, everyone on the bank was laughing at them. Evie was distracted as Chloe tried to call something to her and as her attention was elsewhere, Beth took the opportunity to launch a huge wave of water over her head.

"Bitch," Evie said, wiping the water off her face and turning to send water back. They went back and forwards getting each other soaked.

When Sarina went to go and see what her team was up to, she didn't expect to see two members of the squad splashing each other in the river.

"What on earth?" she laughed as she saw them, the other team members sat around on the bank, watching them.

"It was all Evie's idea," Beth said.

"Shut up Meado. It was all your idea," Evie argued.

They went back and forth for a few moments before Sarina did a little cough to get their attention.

"I wanted to speak to you both about something so if you'd both stop having a squabble and get out, that would be much appreciated," she said with a little smirk.

The two of them scrambled out of the water. It was very slippy and Evie fell over.

"Now my clothes are wet and dirty," she grumbled.

Beth and Evie followed Sarina back up to the hotel. The others watched them go, giggling at the sight of their teammates, dripping wet and looking like they were about to be told off by their mum.

***