“Five minutes,” Lia said, folding her arms tightly across her chest. “Not a second more.”
“That’s fair. I just wanted to say again that I’m sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn’t ever want to hurt you, even though I know I did. I drove you away from the team you love. I asked not to play today because I didn’t think it was fair to you, but the new coach made me. He said there’s no room on the pitch for personal lives.”
The words made Lia think of Erin, and she nearly made the mistake of smiling. “At least that should mean he won’t get fired for sleeping with one of his players.”
Hannah winced. “I know there’s no way I can make any of this up to you. I can’t say anything to make it better. I just wanted to be able to apologise to you again. Properly. I fucked up, and you deserved so much better.”
Behind Hannah’s shoulder, Erin and Maisie strode toward the changing room. Erin caught Lia’s gaze, her eyebrows rising as she glanced at Hannah. At least she was the one to spot them. If Adrianna or one of the other gossip-hungry members of the team saw her and Hannah talking, Lia would never hear the end of it.
Turning back toward Hannah, Lia drew herself up to her full height. “Yeah, you’re right. I did deserve so much better. I do deserve so much better. Even now, I’m still haunted by you. Every week, there’s a new article about how it must have been me Carol was sleeping with. I’ve had to deactivate most of my social media because I keep getting harassed on there for something I would never do. And you’re just walking around like nothing ever happened. You haven’t faced even a single consequence. Carol got fired, as she should have been, but you haven’t been punished at all. But I have, and the rest of Wanderers have, because I swear, Hannah, I will not rest until I and the rest of my team beat you to every single trophy this season. It’s great that you want to feel better about yourself by saying sorry to me, but we both know it’s for selfish reasons. Because you’re a selfish person. You only care about yourself. You and Carol deserve each other.”
Before Hannah had the chance to say another word, Lia headed for the changing room door, trying to school her expression into something neutral. A cheer erupted as Lia stepped inside, and she smiled in spite of herself as an excited nine-year-old barrelled into her side and wrapped her arms around Lia’s waist.
“You were amazing.” Maisie peered at her with wide eyes, full to the brim with admiration.
“Thanks, kiddo.” Lia rested a hand on Maisie’s back, feeling more grounded with her close. “You enjoy the game?”
“I liked the second half more.”
“Me, too.” Alex appeared out of nowhere and narrowed their eyes at Maisie. “I used to be the first one you ran to. Am I not your favourite anymore?”
“Aunt Erin will always be my favourite,” Maisie said. She released Lia to hug Alex’s waist. “But you can both be equal seconds.”
“Equal second, huh?” Alex lifted a squealing Maisie over their shoulder. “I don’t know how I feel about that.” Alex glanced at Lia. “I didn’t know you two knew one another.”
“We ran into one another after training one day.” Lia didn’t know why she felt defensive with Alex’s gaze on her.
“And now we’re friends,” Maisie said into Alex’s shoulder. “Put me down!”
“How about I spin you around instead?” Alex whirled Maisie around, their laughs echoing off the walls. Lia watched them for a few moments before a warm presence appeared at her side and she smelled the familiar scent of Erin’s perfume.
“Glad you managed to get out of your own head.”
Lia tilted her head to meet Erin’s gaze. “Wouldn’t have been able to without your help. Thank you.” She reached out to squeeze Erin’s hand, the moment of contact fleeting but enough to make her skin feel like it was burning.
“It was for the good of the team.”
“Sure.”
“Although you looked pretty cosy in the tunnel just now.”
Lia had wondered if Erin would bring it up. It seemed out of character, but given she’d seen the state of Lia earlier in the match, she supposed Erin had a right to ask about it. “She was just trying to make herself feel better.”
“As long as she didn’t make you feel worse.”
“Careful, Finch.” Lia smiled, the memory of Hannah chased away by Erin’s narrowed eyes. “That almost sounds like you care.”
“Like I said, for the good of the team.”
It sounded even less convincing the second time Erin said it, but Lia took pity on her and let it go. Across the room, Maisie was now perched on Alex’s shoulders and talking to Shanice. “She seems at home here.”
“She is.” Erin’s lips curled into a smile. “She’s been coming here for years—they’ve watched her grow.”
“Does your sister never come to your games?”
“She usually brings Maisie when I’m playing, but with me out injured, I’ve been bringing her instead. Jessica hates football.”
“How?”
