Audrey's POV
"You know." Daan says as we walk towards the pitch to resume the second half. "I prefer seeing you in a red jersey."
We're playing the Dutch today in our second game of SheBelieves and this round of games are taking place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
"I prefer seeing you without a jersey." I say with a smirk.
"Audi." Daan says while blushing.
"Good luck Princess." I say as we get to the pitch
"Good luck Audi." Daan says with a smirk. "You're gonna need it."
My girlfriend and I split up and I jog to my position on the right wing then a couple seconds later Alex kicks off the second half.
The first 12 or so minutes of the second half are a bit boring for me since nothing happens on my side of the field.
In the 58th minute Christen pulls a Christen and beats three Dutch players then Bloodworth clears the ball out for a corner.
Christen runs over to take the corner while I get in the box and wait for Christen to take the corner. A couple seconds later the whistle blows so Christen does her little run up then she floats the ball into the box. I get a running start then I out jump Viv, get my head on the ball, and send it towards goal. I then watch as the ball goes past the outstretched glove of Lize Kop making the score 1-0.
Once the ball hits the back of the net I kiss the tattoo of my Mom's name on my wrist as I run over and hug Christen.
"Nice header Rugrat." Tobin says.
"Thanks Chrissy." I say then I hug my other teammates before we walk up field.
As we're walking up field I try to catch my breath, but nothing's working so I grab Christen's wrist
"What's wrong?" Christen asks.
"Need sub." I quickly say.
"VLATKO." Christen yells as we walk towards the bench.
Vlatko looks at us then Christen makes the sub sign and points at me. Vlatko nods then he calls Tobin down to him as I get to the sideline. Once at the sideline, Balto and one of the trainers meet me and take me from Christen.
"Let's get you to the training room." Jeff, one of our AT's says.
I nod then take my inhaler from Jeff and use it try and alleviate my lungs.
Once in the locker room I sit on the trainer tables while Jeff makes a quick cup of coffee for me.
Weirdly, by drinking coffee I get my breath back a lot easier.
There's some scientific reason for it, but I don't really care to know why as long as it helps.
"Here ya go." Jeff says and hands me the coffee.
I spend a considerable amount of time drinking the coffee until I get my breath back.
"I fucking hate Asthma." I say.
"I know." Jeff says then he checks his watch. "There's a couple minutes left so you wanna go back to the bench or stay here?"
"I may just get my shower now." I say.
Jeff nods then he heads back to the field while I strip and take a shower.
Midway through my shower I hear the team come in so I know the games over.
After my shower I dry off, brush my teeth to get the coffee off my breath, put my necklaces on then put my earrings and nose ring in before I put my clothes on. Once I'm dressed I pack my bag then pet Balto until the bus is open.
"BUS IS OPEN." Someone yells so I grab my stuff then Balto and I head towards the bus.
As Balto and I are walking I see the Dutch girls heading to their bus.
"Balto." I say then my husky looks up at me. "Find Mommy."
Balto yips then he takes off towards the Dutch girls and more importantly towards my girlfriend.
When Balto gets to the Dutch girls he sniffs down the line until he reaches Daan then he sits down and barks.
"Hi bubba." Daan says then she squats down and pets my dog while I approach.
When I get to Daan she picks up Balto then stands up and pecks my lips.
"You okay?" Daan asks.
"I'm fine." I say. "Just my asthma flaring up again."
"Good." Daan says and smiles. "Are you still going with your Mom now?"
"Yeah." I say. "I'm meeting her out by the buses."
"Alright." Daan says. "Call me when you get back and I'll meet you in the lobby with Kelley."
Mom wants Kelley and I to repair our relationship so we're going for a late night dinner to hash everything out.
"Sounds good." I say then I kiss my girlfriend.
"DAAN." Lieke Martens yells from the Dutch Bus.
Daan and I break our kiss then we hug before we separate. Balto and I then walk towards the bus, but I walk past the bus and meet my Mom.
"Hey Babygirl." Mom says as I walk into her arms.
"Hi." I say and revel in the warmth of my favorite person.
"You ready to go?"
"Yeah." I say then Balto Barks.
"Hey Balto." Mom says and scratches Balto's head.
"Who won?" I ask.
"It was a tie." Mom says. "Julie scored then Daan and Viv scored for the Dutch."
"Oh...that kinda sucks." I say.
Mom nods knowingly then we walk to her car and I get in the drivers seat. I then drive us to Mom's house she use to live in.
"Audrey what are we doing here?" Mom asks as we pull up to our old house.
"Before we pack up tomorrow I wanna show you something." I say.
Mom finally found a buyer for the old house in North Carolina so now we have to pack tomorrow which'll be fun.
Luckily Kelley roped the other girls into helping so it shouldn't take that long.
Balto and I lead Mom through the house, to my bedroom where I grab my old computer controlled telescope then we head out to the backyard. Once in the back yard I set the telescope up in the open field then I hook it up to the computer I brought before I put in the coordinates to where I wanna look.
"So." I say then I look at my Mom. "I know we're way past Christmas, but I have a present for you."
"Okay?" Mom says as an image appears on the computer screen.
"Do you know what that is?" I ask and point to the image of the computer screen.
"Uh no." Mom says then I grab a piece of paper out of my bag.
"Mom." I say and smile. "I'd like to be the first to introduce you to the Hope Nebula."
"What?" Mom asks as she reads the paper.
The paper just says the name of the nebula, when it was found, where it was found, and some other scientific stuff.
"You found a nebula?" Mom questions. "And...and named it after me?"
"Mhmm." I say and smile. "You always told me to chase the stars so I thought you deserved to be among them in some capacity."
"Audrey this is the second best gift I have ever gotten." Mom says then she tightly hugs me. "Thank you so much."
"Second?" I question.
"The best gift I have ever gotten." Mom says as she looks me in my eyes. "Is the gift of being your Mom."