Fragile

Chapter 2 - Number Swap

The scene from that night replayed in my head for the hundredth time, maybe the thousandth. I stirred the spoon in my tea cup absentmindedly, the clinking against the porcelain grounding me for a moment. Beth sat across from me, scrolling through her phone, her relaxed posture a stark contrast to the restlessness I couldn't seem to shake.

It wasn't just the game—though I'd replayed that too, over and over, analyzing every pass, every decision. It was her. Evelyn. I didn't even know her name at the time. Just a woman with a quietness about her who had crouched beside me when I went down, assessing my ankle with cold hands. And her son, Riggs, who had stared at me like I was something larger than life before eagerly thrusting a notepad at me for an autograph.

Her son.

I shook my head, trying to focus. But even now, sitting in a cozy café on a break from training, I could see her kneeling next to me, calm and composed despite the chaos around us. She wasn't like the others.

She made the world go quiet for just a moment.

"You're not even listening to me, are you?" Beth's voice cut through my thoughts.

"Hm?" I glanced up, feigning interest.

"I was saying we should go shopping later. You need some new trainers."

I nodded automatically, though I barely registered her words. My mind was already elsewhere again.

Her eyes. They'd stayed with me. Dark and steady, like she could see through every carefully built layer I'd spent years constructing. She looked at me the way no one else did—as if I wasn't just a footballer or a captain, but... me. Leah.

And Riggs. The way he had grinned up at me, the pure delight in his face when I scrawled my name onto his crumpled notepad—it had been a long time since I'd felt that kind of unfiltered joy from someone meeting me. It had reminded me why I fell in love with football in the first place.

"Leah," Beth said again, snapping her fingers this time. "What's going on with you? You've been off all morning."

I sighed, shoving my hands into my pockets as we walked. If I were honest, I didn't fully comprehend we'd gotten up and began walking through this mall until now. "Nothing. Just... tired, I guess."

She squinted at me like she didn't believe a word of it, but thankfully, she let it drop.

I stared through windows, watching people shop, but my thoughts drifted back to Evelyn and Riggs again. How could a moment so brief, so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, shake me like this?

Then, as if the universe wanted to test my composure, I saw her.

Evelyn.

She was in the same store Beth had just dragged me into, her attention focused on something in the aisle ahead, Riggs tugging at her hand excitedly. My stomach flipped.

Beth noticed my change in posture immediately. "Wait—who are you looking at?" She followed my gaze before a slow smirk spread across her face. "Oh. Oh."

I glared at her. "Don't."

But she was already making a beeline for Evelyn before I could stop her.

"Hi! Sorry to barge in, but aren't you the one who helped Leah with her ankle?" Beth's tone was light, friendly, completely unbothered by the fact that she was ambushing a near stranger.

Evelyn turned, surprise flickering in her eyes before recognition settled. "Oh—yes. Hi."

I exhaled sharply, stepping up beside Beth. "Hey."