SUNSHINE

forty-six

Riley Rhodes. It sickened her.

Casey kept her mouth shut the entire ride. She was still boiling and angry with the fact that her best friend had cheated with her boyfriend. It was something she would never get over because of how heartbroken she was. She thought she had gotten over the whole situation, and she had. She moved on to bigger and better things with the U.S Women's National Team and the Orlando Pride and finding the love of her life Alessio Miller. However, to know the two of them got married frustrated her immensely. She did not know how to feel. Angry? Happy? She was glad they found each other, but she wished it had been any other way. She wished her and Jackson had never been together so she did not have to feel this anger she was feeling.

"Casey, come on. We're at the field." Alex said, nudging her. She snapped out of her trance and nodded, following her off the bus and grabbing their backpacks. The staff already had their training gear set up in the locker room, so they all changed and went out to the field to get their legs moving.

"Casey can I speak with you?" Vlatko asked as soon as she came out of the locker room to join the rest of her teammates.

"What's up coach?" She asked, trying not to sound as cold to him as she wanted to.

"I know you and Riley go back, and I'm sorry I didn't warn you, but we need to start looking at some players for the future. We need some depth, and she's it." He explained to her, and she just chuckled.

"Did she tell you what happened between us?" Casey asked him.

"She just said that you two had some history and used to be friends." He answered.

"Figures." She scoffed, rubbing her face.

"What exactly happened between the two of you? You don't seem happy to see her whatsoever."

"She was my best friend growing up and she went and slept with my boyfriend when she knew how much I loved him. They had been sleeping with each other behind my back for weeks. So yeah, I'm not exactly happy to see her, and to hear she and Jackson got married."

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"Only Ali, Ashlyn, and Alex. They were the only ones that really knew me at the time it all happened,"

"I'd like to keep it that way. I know you don't like her, and I understand that, but I need you to put your differences aside for now."

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them.

"Fine, but don't blame me if you end this training with one less player."

Vlatko just nodded, knowing she was not happy with him at the moment, but he knew she would do the right thing, and sadly, so did she. She knew that Riley and she had amazing chemistry on the field, even though they had not played with one another since high school. It would be a great asset, and she knew if she was going to be a good teammate, on the field they were friends. She could hate Riley with her entire being, but while they were on the field, she would set her feelings aside and play the game they both loved.

Casey did just that. She might have made Riley work at a more frustrating rate than the rest of them, but other than that they respected each other and played with the chemistry they used to have. Sure it was a little rusty, but they still had it. Their light training ended and they loaded everyone back onto the bus, leaving their equipment and uniforms since they were going to be using the locker room for the next week and a half.

"That went surprisingly well." Alex said softly when they sat down in their seats.

"Yeah, well, Vlatko told me not to say anything about our history and just play. He knows you three know, and he wants to keep it that way, so don't go blabbering to everyone how much I hate Riley." Casey explained to the three of them. They all nodded in agreement, and Alex just pat her knee.

"You guys played great together." Ali sighed.

"That doesn't mean I have to like her."

—

They kept their distance from one another when they could, and everyone could sense a tension between the two of them. They played amazingly together on the field, but there was something off in that connection. Casey had been ranting and venting after every practice to the three who knew about the whole ordeal as well as Alessio in the evenings when he could FaceTime.

"It's been two weeks and I still can't believe that I have to train with her." She grumbled to Alessio as they spoke the final evening of preseason camp before they had their first game against Japan the following afternoon.

"I'm surprised she's not buried under the field already." He commented in response.

"We're forced to play on turf. There's no way." She answered sarcastically.

"Alright missy, no need to get sassy. How is the game gonna go tomorrow?" He questioned her, trying to get her off topic.

"I'm hoping it's a good match up. It usually is, but we've continued getting better so it should be a good game." She responded as Alex opened and shut the door, entering the room with a frustrated look on her face. "Hey babe, I'll call you back in a few."

"Alright, I'll talk to you in a bit. Love you." He said, understanding.

"Love you too." She said before she hung up, now her full attention on Alex. "Alright let me guess what's wrong."

"I think... I think I just saw Jackson in the lobby." She said, her face still contorted with confusion and frustration. This got her attention, but then she sighed.

"You know what? Even though he broke my heart and screed me up for a long time, I am over him. Does that mean I want to see him? No, absolutely not. But he's with Riley and-" Casey got cut off.

"Case, you didn't let me finish. I saw Jackson in the lobby with a child." Alex said, and Casey shrunk down on the bed.

"So that's why they got married so young." She commented softly.

"He looked about two." She informed, sitting next to her.

"So they were both juniors when she got pregnant. Shit." Casey sighed.

"Maybe you should-" Alex started, but it was her turn to interrupt.

"No I'm not making up with her. She still slept with my boyfriend at the time. There's no going back from that." She said firmly, and Alex nodded.

"That's understandable." She sighed. "So how are things with you and Alessio?" She asked, changing the subject. When she said his name she could feel butterflies flutter in her stomach.

"He's so amazing Alex. He said he's finalizing things for a new bar to open in Orlando, and he said he's moving." Casey responded with the biggest grin on her face.

"So when are you moving out?" She asked her, and she received a playful shove from Casey.

"He hasn't asked me to move in with him, so not anytime soon." She answered with a laugh, but Alex rolled her eyes.

"He's moving to be with you, Case. He's gonna ask you to move in with him when he gets his place in Orlando." She sighed, and they both laughed.

"Well when that time comes I'll let you know. Hey, you wanna go get dinner? We've still got a few hours before we're supposed to be back in the hotel." Casey suggested, and she nodded.

"Yeah I was on my way to ask you that before I saw Jackson in the lobby." She chuckled, and Casey slid on her Birkenstocks and grabbed a hoodie.

"Then let's go, I'm starving." She said, and they both left the hotel room to venture out for dinner.