SUNSHINE

sixty-one

[ If you did not get my announcement- please, please, please go check it out! I know I give more warning, but this is the last chapter of SUNSHINE! ]

Time continued to go on. Casey was back playing with both her NWSL club and for her country as they began to gear up for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. They had a successful Victory Tour, going to ten different cities against five different teams. She had missed some games with the Orlando Pride, but she was able to aid with another playoff berth. They had been working nonstop, and she had barely been home, but Alessio made sure they had a big celebration for their one year anniversary and her twenty-second birthday. He had taken her out for a night on the town, and it was one of the first nights she had not thought about her parents, which was a step in the right direction. They remained in the back of her mind, of course, but they were not right there staring her down. A few days later marked the one year anniversary of her mother's death, which was difficult, but she knew she had a support system to rely on.

She spent Thanksgiving with his family back in Chicago, which was one of the few times he had returned home. His mother had come to Patrick's funeral, and that was the last time either one of them had seen her. They remained in Chicago until just after Christmas, celebrating the last month with his family. The New Year came and they were back home, both of them ringing in the year of 2024 at the Orlando branch of Howl at the Moon. It was packed and one of the biggest parties she had ever been to, and they had the times of their lives.

They went through the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament brackets with ease, the only difficult part being the weather. It was cold, but they managed to top the tournament to secure their spot in Paris, and they were excited to be going to the Olympics once again.

A few weeks later she was back in camp with the U.S. Women's National Team as they geared up for the She Believes Cup that was being held in about a month, but they needed to get into shape and conditioned for their upcoming season. They were excited to be back, for there were some new faces. Carli and Alyssa had both retired from the international spotlight, but they wanted to continue playing at the club level for as long as they could. They were bringing in some players fresh of their first season playing professional soccer, wanting to get their toes wet at the international level and play against some tougher opponents. Vlatko wanted to see what they were capable of.

The tournament came and went, the USA women coming out on top after facing some of their most difficult opponents. They were given a little time off to recuperate from their last couple of weeks of playing almost nonstop soccer, and it was not time for preseason with their club teams just yet, so all the players were able to just head home and relax. Casey had gotten back into her regular routine of running some miles in the morning, coming home to make breakfast for her and Alessio by eight before he went to work. Without soccer during the day, she was restless and always ended up either going for another run or doing some strength training at the Orlando Pride training center. On days she went out to Orlando she would spend the rest of the afternoon bothering Alex at her home, where they would entertain one another under Casey went home to meet Alessio for dinner before he went to the bar. Some nights she would go with him to have a night out, but most of the time she stayed home with Atlas and watched Law and Order: SVU or Criminal Minds on Netflix.

For the next couple of months, Casey had been in and out of national team camps and with the Orlando Pride, for their season had finally begun and they wanted to build the beginning of their season up before they took an international break for the opening weeks of the Olympics. The United States had games set up for the next few weeks before they went into their send-off series, which was when Casey, Alex, and the rest of the NWSL members were to report to the US Women's National Team only. After they were constricted to the national team, their training schedules had died down but they were traveling more frequently to play for their country, which they loved.