Warnings: None.
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Andrea's POV:
I groan in bed when I hear a knock on the door. I slowly sit up as the knocking continues. I stand up, "I'm coming," I say in my mixed British and Spanish accent.
"Hey," Lucy says with a smile as I lean against the entryway.
"Hi, Luce," I say tiredly.
"We have early practice and Phil wants you to take some videos and pictures," she says and I sigh.
"What time is it," I say as I walk into Lucy's arms.
"About eight, we just have recovery at the field since we have the semifinals tomorrow," she says as she wraps her arms around me.
"You're warm," I say as I close my eyes.
Lucy chuckles and let's go. "I want to hug," I whine.
"You have to get ready and grab your equipment," Lucy says with a pointed look.
I sigh, "Fine, I'll see you in a few."
"Sounds good, love you Drea," Lucy says as she walks away.
"Love you, Luce," I say and head back inside to get ready.
I put on some Nike dri-fit pants and an England short sleeve shirt on. I grab my red Nike trainers, put them, on and then put my hair in a bun.
I grab my equipment and head down to the lobby. I grab an apple at the front desk and turn to see Lucy with a plate of food. I send her a grateful smile and walk over to her. "Thank you. Let me go put my things in the car and I'll come eat," I say.
Lucy nods and I walk out and head to the back of the hotel. I put my equipment in the rental car then head back inside.
I see Lucy sitting in the lobby with Rachel and Steph. I go and sit next to Lucy, "Hey, guys," I say as I sit down.
"Hey," Rachel and Steph say with a smile.
I lean my head on Lucy's shoulder and she hands me my food. "Thanks," I say quickly and start eating.
Lucy chuckles. "You're welcome," she says then she starts talking with the other two girls.
Once I finish eating Phil walks into the lobby. "Girls, meeting, let's go. Andrea, you can head to the field to set up what you need," he say with a smile.
I give him a small smile and nod. "See you guys later," I say as I stand up, "Bye Luce," I say and give her a hug.
"Bye, Drea," Lucy says with a smile and walks away with Rachel and Steph.
I head to the car and get in then make my way to the field. Once I get there I grab all my equipment a I go set it up. I set some cameras up by the entrance, sideline, end line, and the goal. I then grab my own camera to take pictures.
When I'm done the girls start to arrive, so I quickly start all the cameras so they are recording. The girls start dancing and messing around so I decide to take some pictures.
Then some of the girls see me and start posing. I laugh quietly and take pictures of them. After their "photoshoot," Phil calls them over for practice. I smile as they walk away and check on the cameras.
While I'm checking the cameras a soccer ball rolls to my feet. I look up and see Lucy looking at me. "I'm not doing anything with it," I say seriously.
"Why not, Drea? You used to love to play," Lucy says as she walks over.
"You know why I don't play anymore," I say and look down.
"Im sorry," Lucy says and pulls me into a hug.
My eyes go wide, "Careful, my camera!"
Lucy chuckles and pulls away. "I'm not gonna break your camera," she says.
I huff and she laughs. She kisses my cheek and runs back to practice. I chuckle slightly as Lucy runs back.
After an hour, training is over and we head back to the hotel. I'm packing up my equipment into the car when Lucy walks over. "What's up," I say as I finish packing my things.
"We should talk," Lucy says and I look at her confused.
"What about," I say and lean against the car.
"You're family," she says and I tense a little.
"You are my family, along with Sophie, Jorge, mum, and dad," I say.
Lucy sighs, "I mean your biological family."
I look at her with a serious look, "I don't like talking about them."
"I know, but we need to talk about how it's affecting you. The anniversary for them putting you up for adoption is coming up and I know how you get," Lucy says as she walks over to me.
Lucy grabs my hands and I look at her, "You told me you used to play all the time. You only open up to me, Drea. I'm the only one that you let call you Drea. Talk to me, please, I know you haven't told me everything."
I sigh and look down. "I used to play soccer with my older sister. I don't remember much about her, only that she cared for me. I don't remember a lot about the family. All I remember is playing soccer and them dropping me off at an orphanage," I say and tears start to fall down my cheeks.
Lucy pulls me into her arms. "They just left me," I cry into her arms, "Like I was nothing."
Lucy holds me tighter. "You are something, Drea. You are my sister and I wouldn't change it for the world," Lucy says then pulls away and wipes my tears away.
I look at her and sniffle, "Thank you, Luce."
"Of course. You're my little sister and I love you Drea," Lucy says quietly.
I smile, "I love you too."
Lucy smiles and walk over the the passenger side of the car. "The team left for the hotel already, Phil said I can come with you, so get in," Lucy says and I chuckle and get in the car.
Once we get back to the hotel the team has a little team bonding. I was invited, but I politely declined. "Have fun at team bonding," I shout to Lucy over my shoulder as I walk to my room.
"I'll try," Lucy says and I laugh once I enter my room.
When I get into my room I set all my equipment down. I take off my shoes and take sigh once I lay on the bed. I look at the bracelet on my wrist. It is black and it says my name. Apparently my biological sister gave this to me when I was dropped off at the orphanage.
I feel tears build up in my eyes and I take it off and put it in my bag. I sit up in bed and think about tomorrow and I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be an intense game.
———
It is the day of the game. I just arrived at the field and I am setting up my camera behind the barricade on the field. I already set up my cameras by the bench, so I'm all set. I put my headphones on because I hate loud noises, I don't have good experiences with loud noises.
As the girls start to go back into the locker room, Lucy runs over to me. "Good luck, Luce. Kick some ass," I say and Lucy chuckles as we do our pregame handshake.
Lucy then runs into the locker room and I prepare my camera. As the team walks out I instantly start taking picture and click the button on my phone to start the cameras by the bench. After the anthems are played the teams gets set and I take more pictures.
The whistle is then blown, let the game begin.
———
It is the eighty ninth minute. We have a penalty kick and we are down two to one. Since the girls are on the other half, I am right next to the goal. Steph steps up and I take pictures of her. The whistle is blown and I take pictures until she kicks the ball. Once she kicks the ball, the U.S. keeper, Alyssa Naeher, saves it. I sigh sadly as the team runs back.
After the last excruciating minutes, the final whistle is blown. I feel tears build up in my eyes and I look at Lucy. My tears fall when she lays on the ground. I show the security guard standing next to me my field access card and I instantly go onto the field with my camera.
I go straight to Lucy and I take my headphones off and set my camera down. "Luce," I say as I kneel next to her and she looks up.
Her eyes are red and watery. I sit her up and pull her into my arms. "It's ok, you all played amazing," I say as I rub her back, "I'm so proud of you big sis."
We pull away and Lucy stands. I grab my camera and stand up with her. "I'm sorry I let you down," Lucy says sadly and I look at her with wide eyes.
"Who said you let me down? You never let me down," I say then Phil calls her over, "Go, I have to pack my things."
Lucy nods and walks away. I look over at the U.S. team and I see that they're all celebrating.
Then my green eyes connect with blue one's. My eyes widen slightly when I realize who it is and they send me a little wave with a smile. I feel a blush rise to my cheeks and I quickly look down.
"Who made my sister blush," I hear and I look up to see Lucy walking towards me.
"No one," I say as my cheeks heat up a little more.
"You sure about that? I saw that little interaction between you and Sauerbrunn," Lucy says once she's in front of me.
"You know how I am Lucy. Even if something did happen, which I'm not saying will, I can't deal with that. There are things wrong with me and no once can deal with it," I say and pick up my camera and headphones off the ground.
I flinch slightly as the stadium roars with cheers again. Lucy sighs and places her hands on my shoulders, "There is nothing wrong with you, Drea. You are special in your own way. Maybe getting to know someone as a friend or possibly more than that will help you."
"I'm not even that comfortable with the team, how will I be comfortable in a relationship," I ask as we start walking around the stadium to grab my other cameras.
"I think you should think about it," Lucy says standing in front of me when we are at the bench.
"Why," I ask as I stop walking.
"Because it gives you a chance to be yourself again. I know you have liked Becky for a while," Lucy says and I sigh and look at the ground.
"We haven't even met each other," I say and look back up, "All I said was that I thought she was cute when you guys played them last year."
"Alright, whatever. By the way, she's coming this way," Lucy says with a smirk and my eyes widen as she starts to walk away.
"Lucy," I say seriously and she just waves and smiles and continues to walk.
"Hey," I hear a soft voice behind me and I tense a little.
I take a deep breath and turn around and I see Becky Sauerbrunn.
"Um, hi," I say shyly and I look at the ground.
I hear Becky chuckle slightly. "I'm Becky," she says and puts her hand out for me to shake it.
I look at her hand for a second. I look up at Becky and she sends me a soft smile. I tentatively shake her hand and I feel calm. Her touch makes me relax slightly. "I'm Andrea."
"It's nice to meet. Just thought I'd introduce myself. Lucy told me about her having a sister and I though it was time to meet her," Becky says kindly and I feel my heart speed up a little.
"You are friends with my sister," I ask.
"Well, some of the girls on the team are. They introduced us and she told me about you," Becky says and I just nod.
"I-I should get going," I say and turn around to walk away.
"Do you think we could meet up again before we both leave France," Becky says as I start to walk.
I stop and turn to face her. "We'll see," I say and turn back around to walk away.
I finish collecting all the cameras and I start to head to the locker room. I feel eyes on me and I turn to see Becky looking at me with a smile. I give her a small smile and continue my way to the locker room.
When I get there all the girls are walking out. Some are talking quietly and some are completely quiet. I see Lucy and I walk straight to her. "So," she asks with a smirk, "How was the talk?"
"She wants to meet before we leave France," I say quietly.
Lucy smile, "I think you should. Like I said, I think it would help you a little going out of your comfort zone."
I just nod. When we get to the bus Lucy places a kiss on my cheek and I walk to the rental car. When I get to the car I put my things inside. As I'm getting into the car I hear a large group of people coming in this direction.
I turn to see the U.S. team. I see Becky talking to Alyssa Naeher and my heart flutters a little. I shake my head, I can't be feeling like this, I get hurt every time.
I get into the car and make my way back to the hotel. I get back before the girls arrive. I quickly grab my equipment and head to my room.
When I get to my room I set my equipment down and take a shower. Once I finish I put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I lay on the bed and I think about what happened.
I don't want to get hurt again.
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Hello, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Unexpected Love. Please give me some feedback on how you think of it so far. Don't forget to comment, vote, and stay safe!