| Cody |

"Fuck yeah!" I yell as my mom scores in the last few minutes of the game, sending Orlando into a 1-0 lead.

"I thought you'd cheer for Mewis." Tobin says from her seat beside me. I can hear Jack hum in agreement.

"If she's playing against anyone other than Pride. I'll always cheer for my mom." I tell the Pro, not taking my eyes off of my mom, who jogs to our side of the field to celebrate. I smile when she blows a kiss in my direction, knowing it's for me since nobody knows about her and Tobin.

"What about Portland?" Tobin asks and I look at her to find that she's watching me intently.

"Okay, anyone but Pride and Portland." I mumble, hoping she drops it. She does, but not before quietly telling me she 'thought so'.

"Whatever."

The final whistle goes and we applaud the teams off the field after they exchanged hand shakes. I wave back to my mom when she waves at me.

"I'm glad you and Alex are as close as you are." Jack tells me as we stand, along with Tobin, preparing to leave.

"Lets go kids." I raise an eyebrow at Tobin, questioningly.

"You're one to talk." Jack and I mumble in sync, making each other laugh.

"Shut up. Follow me, children."

Jack and I continue to snicker behind Tobin's back, loud enough for her to hear us but she does a good job in ignoring us as we follow along behind her and Hope. We end up in the car and back to the hotel while we wait for the others.

___

"Hey, baby." I hear, and pivot in my place - at the pool table in the hotel game room where I was with Jack. I was losing but I wasn't trying.

"Ew. Please don't call me that."

"Why?" Kristie asks as she closes the distance and leaves a kiss on the corner of my mouth. I lean into her touch as her arms wrap around my waist.

"'Cause Alex calls her it, and it's gross when you say it." Jack answers for me while concentrating on her next shot instead of her tone of voice. Luckily Kristie doesn't seem fazed. I'm guessing because she's well versed in Jack's rude behavior, she was on the receiving end earlier in our...friendship.

"You had a good game." I compliment, eager to shift the conversation forward, and away from Jack.

"We lost..." Mewis trails off while I smirk at her.

"I had no idea." I sass back. "You can still have a good game and lose. It's not your fault that your 'keeper couldn't stop my mom." I tell her, plastering on the biggest smug grin I could onto my face. It only grows when Kristie narrows her eyes at me.

"Damn right." We hear from the door as Alex, Tobin, Hope, Ali and Ashlyn enter. "And get your hands off my daughter."

I laugh as Kristie immediately removes her hands as if I'm on fire. My mom wraps me up in her arms instead while she kisses my temple.

"I heard you were annoying Tobin." She whispers in my ear.

"Duh."

"That's my girl." I laugh as she kisses my forehead before pulling away to stand next to Tobin.

"You had a great game, mom." I beam at her and she smiles back.

"Yeah, that goal was badass!" I hear Jack yell from the opposite side of the table, where she's standing with Hope.

"What about us?" Ali asks, an eyebrow raised. It would be slightly intimidating if she wasn't smiling. I return her smile before hugging her.

"You had a great game too, Ma." I feel Ali's grip on me tighten significantly, making me wonder why. Then it hits me.

"You called me-"

"I know." I hug her back with the same intensity before making eye contact with my mom who is smiling at me. "You had a good game too Ash." I hug the keeper before Ali pulls me back into her arms, obviously feeling emotional.

Jack and I spend the next few hours with the women who have come to be family in every way, until Krashlyn tell us they're having a double date with my mom and Tobin and they all need to go get ready. Jack also decides she wants to have dinner with Hope and Kelley and that leaves me alone with Kristie.

"So." She trails off, grabbing my attention.

"So?"

"So. Since everyone else has plans, would you like to come back to my room? My roomate is hanging out with Kealia."

"Asking me back to your room?" I raise an eyebrow at her. "You move fast."

"Not really." She wraps her arms around me. "I've been crazy about you for almost a year now." She leans in to whisper in my ear. "That's not very fast at all."

I gulp, audibly, which makes her chuckle and snap me back to reality when she asks me to go back to her room, again. I agree, but stop back at my room and grab some sweats and my Thorns jersey. When we get to her room, it's empty and she lets me change before we both settle into her bed and watch whatever movie is on.

| Alex |

The double date that Tobin and I have with Ali and Ash is never a bad idea, since none of us has come out and said we're dating, it just looks like four friends hanging out.

"Ahh. Our Cody is growing up so fast." Ali states, dreamily, as she rest her head on her hand, perched on the table as we wait for our food. Tobin and Ashlyn chuckle at the defender.

"Our?" I ask her, and she looks at me.

"Yes. You heard me right, our." I only laugh, happy that she has a strong bond with my daughter

"Oh. So grown up. Um, who do you think she's with right now?" Ash asks us, but I can tell it's rhetorical. "And where are they?"

"Well, Jack is with Hope and Kels, so obviously Kristie. And it's a hotel, there's only one place they could be." I smack Tobin upside the head and her smirk dissipates.

"You trust her?" Ali asks, referring to Kristie.

"I...I don't know." I fall over my sentence. I want to say yes, but something in me doesn't quite trust her. "But I trust Cody, and that's enough right now."

They all drop the subject after that, thankfully, and we go on to enjoy our dinner when the food finally arrives.

| Jack |

"So, how are you doing, kid?" Kelley asks me as I sit across the table from her and Hope, both of them watching me closely. I know I could say I'm doing fine and Kelley would probably believe it, but Hope? No. She's spent way to much time with me, and unfortunately for me, she can read me like a book. An easy book, like toddlers read.

"I'm getting there." I take a sip of my ice tea as I glance at the two women. They continue to stare at me, and I begin to wish I had just spent the night with my best friend. "What is it?" I ask, tired of their staring. They glance at each other.

"You know if you need to talk you can talk to either of us, right?" Kelley asks as Hope nods along in agreement.

"Yeah, but why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Jack. Everyone can tell you love her, and breaking up with someone that you're in love with is never easy. It helps to talk about it." Hope finishes Kelley's sentence, but I can tell by the look on Kelley's face that it's exactly what she was going to say.

"Yeah, I know it's not easy." I scoff, having already felt that pain without them verbally informing me. "It's just...I don't find it easy to talk about...things. Feelings and stuff like that." I mumble while twiddling my thumbs and avoiding eye contact. I'm brought out of it when Kelley takes my hand and squeezes it.

"Hope is the same way-"

"Seriously?" Hope groans, interrupting Kelley.

"Yes. Seriously." She answers Hope, before turning back to me. "But it gets easier."

"What does? The pain or talking about it?"

"Both. I know it feels like your drowning and it's never gonna get better, but it does. Eventually the pendulum always swings back, nothing can stay bad forever. You just gotta be strong and wait it out." I try as hard as I can but tears start to fall against my will, and Kelley rises from her seat to pull my into a hug. The second I'm in her arms, I cry harder.

| Cody |

Half way through the worlds worst movie, I end up straddling Kristie as her hands creep up my back, under my shirt as she kisses my jaw. Our makeout session quickly turned heated, and sloppy. It's only a matter of time before clothes get taken off, and I'm happy when one of us has the strength to stop.

"We should-um." Kristie stutters, but it's enough for me to understand what she meant. I climb off her lap, moving back to my original place - cuddled up to her side with my head on her shoulder, our hands intertwined. "So are you ever gonna tell Jack that we're dating?"

"I will. She's just very...anti-relationship right now." I tell her, and she nods along.

"What about your mom?"

"Do you want me to go tell her right now?" I tease, my lips brushing against her ear and I smirk when I see her shiver.

"No-no way in hell." She mutters before clearing her throat. "I'd rather you wait until she's in Orlando. That way she can't kick my ass."

_____

I'm walking through my home, ending up in my bedroom where all my belongings are gone and the walls are white. The carpet is white, and the room has a hospital vibe to it. The only thing left in my room is a mirror that I don't recognize. I slowly approach, feeling antsy for some reason.

"Well, hello."

My brows furrow when I see my reflection talking to me. It's not following my movements, and she looks like death. Sickly pale, heavy bags under her eyes indicating that she hasn't slept in a while. She's thin, too thin, with dried hair. She flashes a manic smile, one that sends a shiver down my spine and my brain tells me to back up and run. But my legs don't move. I continue to study her - her teeth yellow and rotten.

"Who are you?" I finally ask.

"I'm you, of course. Can't you feel it, Cody?" She tilts her head, her smirk growing.

"What happened to you?"

"I embraced my faults, my habits."

"Pills did this?"

"The downfall, sure. I don't look much like mother anymore, but I'm okay with that. You don't see it yet, but you will. Being her daughter only brings pressure and fake friends. Neither of which you can handle. I know you still think about them, I know you Cody. I know you can still taste them on your tongue when you inhale. It's beautiful, is it not?"

"No. It's not." I reply through gritted teeth. "Quitting is the best thing Ive ever done and I don't regret it." I tell my reflection, trying to sound as confident as possible. She just grins as her reflection gets closer.

"Liar. If you don't regret it, why do you think about them all the time?" She asks, holding up a pill bottle and rattling it.

"I don't-"

"Are you sure?" She interrupts, motioning at my hand with her head. I look down to see the pill bottle in my hand, a cup of water in the other. "Are you really sure? Don't you miss it? The numbing? The high?" I look back at my hand and the bottle is gone. In its place, a handful of pills. "The taste?" She asks again, and I'm no longer in control of my body. I want to scream 'no!' and tell her I don't miss it, but I'm helpless to watch as the hand throws the pills into my mouth, to be washed down with water.

I jolt awake from the vivid nightmare, coughing slightly at the taste in my mouth. Even though it was just a dream, it was still right. I do taste them, I do crave them, I seriously did like them. I look to my left and see Kristie still sleeping and I grab my phone from the table and leave the room to dial his number. I wait for it to connect as I pace in the hallway.

"Hello?" The male voice asks, sounding as if I'd just woken him up.

"Um...hi. It's Cody." I mumble.

"Ah. I was wondering when I'd hear from you."