AN: Hi guys. This is getting harder to write. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for the reviews. (Zyah.F noo, I'm not from Lyon, I just know they have a good women's soccer team. Hugs.)
Chapter 13
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This is an announcement for passengers on flight 275 to Miami, Florida. The flight has been delayed due to weather...
Alex turned around and glanced at the large distal monitors behind her, displaying flight departure and arrival times. The airport was crowded on this early morning of March. Sun rays entered trough the big glass windows, giving the objects inside an aureate appearance. Heels clicking against the floor, names being called over the intercom, luggage wheels thudding as they hit the spaces between tiles, babies crying... every noise combined to make reading an almost impossible task right now.
She pushed her glasses up to her hair, and placed the book on top of the small table beside her. Her eyes rested on a little girl who was pulling her mother's green dress, begging for her to buy a Recipe's book. Alex chuckled. She reminded her of Debbie when she was younger, all frisky and stubborn.
A loud thump on the chair next to her startled her. But surprise didn't took long to turn into annoyance, as she gathered who was the drinking coffee woman sitting next to her.
Natalie.
Alex rolled her eyes.
What the fuck is she doing here.
"So it's true. The misbehaving prodigy is returning from the valley of shadows".
The woman spoke confidently while placing her big red purse on the table.
Alex couldn't believe her luck. So many days to flight, and their schedules had to overlap today.
"Wow, Natalie. I know that Joe will never please you the way I did, but this stalking of yours really has to stop now".
The woman scoffed, crossing her legs.
"Not everything revolves around you, sweetheart. Although I heard that you are clearly in desperate need of guidance from a truly competent agent".
The brunette raised her eyebrows.
"And why would I need that?"
"Oh please, cut the act". Natalie retorted. "I know you are meeting Michigan's manager today. Who hooked you up? Jeremy? Thiago?"
Alex remained silent, shooting darts at the woman in front of her.
"Are you seriously considering a low-key contract in one of the worst teams in the country?".
She pushed her sunglasses up to her hair and continued with the rant.
"Baby, you are Alex fucking Vause. You need to aim for the stars, not settle to the first pitiful offer that comes your way. Take this as a friendly advice, because believe it or not, I care about your future. Almost every team would kill to have you on their roster, that's for sure. They just need a small warranty that you are not going to be a liability for them, and that mostly consists of making them hear what they want to hear".
After hearing the little speech, Alex spoke as calm as her rage allowed her.
"Listen you nagging witch. I don't want any other team. I'm choosing this one and it is my decision to make. Piper it's studying medicine there, and me playing in Michigan will make things much more easier for us".
The woman gave her a dismissive nod, and remained quiet, holding her cup of coffee nonchalantly.
For a few seconds they stared into each other's eyes, which portrayed so dissimilar emotions. Impatience began taking over Alex, and she just wanted to get out of there as soon as she could. For Natalie it was smug, as she swore she could hear a hint of doubt in Alex's response.
She chose to push it further.
"Diane wouldn't want this for you Alex... after all she went trough for you and your sister".
At the mention of her mother's name the brunette leaned forward abruptly, shaken by the turmoil of emotions swirling inside her chest.
"Don't you dare". She spoke while shaking her head. "Don't you ever mention her name again"
Natalie took advantage of the unease and continued, completely undisturbed by Alex's reaction.
"If you choose to accept this deplorable proposition from a bottom-table team which is almost certainly descending this season... oh Vause you are regressing. You are not moving forward".
She grabbed a napkin and crumpled it into a ball, holding it in her hand and showing it to Alex.
"I'll tell you what's going to happen, by watching this crystal ball".
"You dumbly agree to this contract. Along with the team, you play an embarrassing season enough to sent you girls directly into the second division, but you choose to renew with them because it takes four years for your girlfriend to complete med-school. So you wait".
"Then when she graduates, you have successfully finished throwing away the peak years of your career trying to no avail, to ascend your team back into the first division. Your girlfriend realizes that she is now a well formed doctor, who happens to be wasting her time with a mediocre soccer player whom not a single team is interesting in, and who doesn't do anything else besides playing soccer".
"And she lefts you, so now you are single".
She took a sip of her coffee.
"And poor".
Attention passengers of Flight 296 to Detroit, Michigan. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers...
Alex didn't replied.
She silently grabbed her backpack and walked to the gate, leaving Natalie with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
It was almost midnight and Debbie had just finished taking a long warm shower after an exhausting practice session. The new season was approaching by leaps and bounds, and the teams were slowly increasing their practice time and intensity. She came out of the bathroom, briskly wringing her hair with an olive green towel, while approaching her dorm room in long strides.
When arriving at the door frame, she heard the phone ringing and quickly walked inside, picking it up.
It was Alex.
"Hey Lex, What's going on? You arrived already."
"Um, yeah... I just checked in at the hotel a couple of minutes ago".
Debbie walked towards the mirror and grabbed the hair comb, contorting herself into the old copan bench in front of it.
She put the phone on speaker and placed it on the drawer beside.
"Well that's great, at which time is the meeting tomorrow?"
"10 am"
"Perfect, you can have a good night sleep then".
The line went silent.
A few seconds later she heard Alex's voice.
"Do you think this is a step back?"
Debbie had no idea what her sister was talking about. She continued unraveling her hair.
"What do you mean?"
She heard Alex taking a long, heavy breath.
"Do you think that signing with Michigan would be a step back? Like in my career. Do you think it would affect it?"
Debbie flinched her head back slightly, unsure of how to respond to the unexpected question.
"Uh... I don't think so. No."
She replied in an uncertain tone.
A few minutes later her sister spoke again, this time more loudly.
"What do you think mom would say?"
Debbie's movements slowly receded as she processed Alex's question.
"What?"
"You know, if I can never get to my best version again, what do you think she would say? Do you think she would be mad? Or disappointed?
Ok, something definitely was off. Suddenly it felt like she was talking to the Alex of six or eight months ago, confused and conflicted. Concern began flooding Debbie's mind. She grabbed the phone and replied emphatically in a serious tone.
"Lex, mom would want you to be happy, more than anything in this world. That's why she practically gave everything she had so we could play soccer professionally. She would be incredibly proud to see that you are striving to get back on track".
There was silence on the other line.
"Alex where did this came from?"
The shift in attitude towards this opportunity was too big to go unnoticed, and Debbie was sure something must had happened that triggered this sudden doubts in her sister's mind.
"What do you mean by "this"? Can't I be allowed to think about my future, about the decisions I'm making?"
Alex spat.
"Absolutely. And that's what you've been doing since they gave you the offer hasn't it? You sounded pretty damn sure to me this morning when you left. And what? Six hours later you are suddenly questioning everything?"
"Yeah you are right" Alex replied in a bitter tone. "I'll call you tomorrow"
The next thing Debbie heard was the short sound her cellphone made indicating the call was over. And she stayed there, utterly perplexed.
What the fuck happened?
Next morning the meeting took place smoothly. The president of the club and the managers presented a full disclosure of their proposition to Alex Vause, and what they expected from her. The offer was thirty-five grand. A greatly modest deal compared to what she was earning with OL last year. But right now money was the last thing on her mind. She kept replaying Natalie's words in her head.
What if this was the grave for her career? I mean, nobody can tell what will happen. What if truly, signing with Michigan was going to be her biggest mistake?
And what about Piper? Could she understand if her girlfriend didn't picked Michigan after Alex herself told her to apply to this school?
Time was running out and there were more doubts that certainties.
All this thoughts clouded her mind when she left the meeting and went on the plane back to her hometown. She was supposed to fly back here in a few weeks to sign the contract and take the physical examinations...
If all went as planned she was going to be presented officially as a Michigan player soon.
The clock was ticking.
"And what did you told them?"
"To leave me the fuck alone. Jeez! I don't even have a dog. I told them that if they called one more time with the same bullshit, I would personally report them to the police."
At this point Alex could barely breath, laughing so hard at her sister's recount of the annoying salesman who wanted to persuade her into buying a "Pet High Chair" to make her life easier.
She wiped the tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes, while resting her neck on the back of her seat. Her cheeks hurt from so much laughter.
"And even if I had a dog, I wouldn't by him that ridiculous thing. I would let him be a pet and eat in the floor, not force him into a chair to encourage a 'more refined behavior' ".
Just then Alex's phone rang, and she stretched her arm to grab it from the kitchen table.
She read the words at the screen.
Unknown number
Alex glimpsed at her sister who was finishing eating a sandwich.
"You didn't happened to give this salesman my number did you?"
Debbie almost choked with her food trying to suppress a laugher, she shook her head with her mouth full.
The younger sister pick it up, unsure of what to expect.
"Hello?"
"Hi, am I speaking with Alex Vause?"
"That depends, who is this?"
"Danny Pearson from the Houston Women's Soccer Team".
Alex furrowed her eyebrows.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"Sure, can you let us in?"
The brunette straightened on her chair, not sure if she heard well.
"Pardon me?"
"We are outside, in front of your house. Can you let us in?"
Alex jumped from her chair and rushed towards the window, followed by Debbie's confused gaze. The brunette peeked through the curtains and saw a black SUV parked beside her car.
"Vause? Are you still there?"
Alex turned around bewildered, mouthing a "What the fuck?" to her sister in the kitchen table.
She spoke properly to the man in the phone now.
"Um, yeah, yes. Just a second"
A couple of minutes later the sisters were sitting in the living room with two men in front of them. The one to whom Alex spoke in the phone with, Pearson, was white and seemed a bit clumsy. He was wearing black joggers and a jacket, with a red polo below. He looked like he was an ex-soccer player. The other one was short and black, a bit older than his parter. He was wearing a more formal attire which included a brown coat and leather shoes. This one remained silent trough the conversation, which consisted mostly on inquiries about Alex's health and training sessions.
After a few minutes Danny took out a small envelope from his jacket.
"We know other teams have shown interest in you Vause, and that is good I mean.. it means that you are back in the game".
The brunette smiled politely, and the young man continued.
"Sorry that we came without a heads up. We understand you don't have an agent at the moment, so we had to come and talk personally"
He raised the envelope placed it on the table.
"This is a contract, to play soccer for Houston. The offer is ninety grand. We recognize your capacity and talent, and we are assuring you, you'll be a starter on the team since day one".
At Pearson's words Alex's mouth dropped, unsure if she was hearing correctly. Houston was the current Champion. Hell, Nicky played there, and they were one of the top clubs in the world. The fact of they considering giving her a chance as a starter was inconceivable a couple of months ago.
"Wow, Um.. This was... unexpected. I mean..."
Alex was lost for words.
"Could you gentlemen give us a moment please"
Debbie blurted, grabbing her sister's hand.
"Sure, you go ahead" Pearson said calmly, while resting his back against the sofa.
The girls stood up and walked to the kitchen, where they stared at each other for a few seconds, before Alex broke the silence.
"What?"
Debbie crossed her arms, a serious expression on her face.
"You are not even remotely considering accepting this offer right?"
The brunette remained silent and Debbie widened her eyes.
"Are you insane ?"
The older sister whisper-shouted, completely shocked by Alex's demeanor.
"Alex, you have a girlfriend to whom you specifically requested to apply to this Med-School in Michigan. She is the whole reason you are playing again, the whole reason why there are two men from Houston sitting in the living room in the first place. And you are planning on accepting this offer? Going to fucking Houston, which is thirteen hundred miles away from where Piper is going to be?".
Alex opened her mouth to reply but close it quickly, not knowing how to respond.
Debbie shook her head astonished and continued in an uneasy tone.
"I can't believe you. I can't. You thi-"
Her sister cut her off before she started another rant.
"You are right. Ok? You are right. This is insane, I don't think tha-
A deep voice from across the hall interrupted their argument.
"Vause?"
Alex pursed her lips and took a deep breath, pleading with Debbie's eyes.
She walked back to the living room with her sister following behind.
The older man who hadn't spoke more than two words in the evening, leaned forward in his seat when he saw the sisters.
"Miss Vause, we know that you want to get back on business and pick up your career, and in Houston we want to give you the chance to unleash your full potential again. We are clearly on the same page here. If you chose to accept propositions from bottom-table teams, it would only take you right back to square one, and for such a talented player like yourself, that would be a real disgrace".
"I guarantee you that you won't receive another offer like the one we are presenting to you here".
He pulled out a pen from his pocket and released its tip, making a clicking sound.
"This should be a no-brainer Alex. Come on, we'll complete the physical back in Houston next week."
The man placed the pen on top of the now opened envelope on the table in front of them, and slide it towards the brunette.
"It's your decision. What do you say?"
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AN: Thanks for reading. XO