Chapter Text
Tobin woke with a start. She glanced over at her clock and 4:21 etched in bright red stared back at her. She knew that she had fallen asleep crying again based on how her pillow was still damp. It wasn’t the first time tonight she had woken up, and she knew that this time would just be a repeat of last time. It had been a rough few weeks. She had finally gotten together with her friend Alex after she and her boyfriend, Servando, had broken up. They were together for quite a few months and everything was going smoothly. She had begun to think that maybe someday she would get the courage to buy Alex a ring. Then Alex had been traded to the newly formed Orlando Pride. They had promised each other that they would do the long distance thing.
The only problem was that Servando, also lived in Orlando. Tobin had seen him over at Alex’s apartment when they were on FaceTime and Alex had told Tobin that she didn’t love her anymore. Que the weeks of sadness and self-loathing that Tobin was feeling. To make matters worse tomorrow she flew to Phoenix for her first national team camp since her break-up with Alex. She was incredibly nervous about it, which was unlike her. She never lost her cool. But Alex did that to her.
She finally got to sleep again after who knows how long. All she knew was that she had to be at the airport at 9 and that new tears were slowly tracing their way down her cheeks and onto her pillow.
*********
When she finally got to Phoenix, the warm air hit her in the face. Of course it was in the middle of winter and the weather in Portland was very different. She supposed it wasn’t really that hot, but the temperature difference between the two cities was very noticeable. She noticed the person who was supposed to meet her and she walked over to where he waited.
“Are we waiting for anyone else?” she asked
“Nope your the only one at this time.”
Internally grateful that she wouldn’t have to talk to any of her teammates yet, she got into the car and they sped away to the hotel where the team was staying. On the way to the hotel she thought about who her roommate was going to be. She knew that she would be a mess if it was Alex. But she also sort of hoped that she didn’t have Kelley as a roommate either, because she knew about the whole mess. Somewhat cynically she was glad that Lauren and A-rod weren’t at camp. Lauren because she retired and A-rod because she was pregnant again. She was happy for her friends but she was conflicted on about them not being here. They would want to talk about it, which she wasn’t sure if she was ready for. On the flip side they would have been supportive of her.
Once they reached the hotel Tobin grabbed her suitcase and lugged into the lobby. She was met by another USWNT coach and was informed that she would be in Room 218 with Christen Press. Breathing a sigh of relief she went up the elevator to her room. When she opened the door she could tell that Press wasn’t here yet. Which was fine. She started unpacking her things and putting them in the limited space that the hotel rooms had for clothes and personal belongings.
An hour after Tobin was all unpacked and she had just started to watch some TV, the door to her room opened and Christen walked in.
“Hey Tobin how was your flight here?” she asked.
“Pretty good. Excited to start training for qualifiers.”
“Yeah me too! Gotta defend our gold medals!”
Tobin smiled at the comment. It was going to be nice having Press as a roommate. She was very enthusiastic about soccer and life. Qualities that she shared. Well before Alex broke her. She needed to find a solid ground and get back to her normal self.
********
The team went out to dinner that night. Tobin decided that she should sit the Press, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian. As she sat down Press quirked her eyebrow at Tobin.
“Thought you’d be sitting with Alex.”
Tobin’s stomach flipped inside of her. “Thought maybe I’d try and sit with you guys to build my tolerance for you up.” she joked.
Christen laughed, while Meghan gave her a fake glare. Instantly she knew that she could get along with these girls. She looked up and caught Kelley’s eye and smiled. Kelley winked back and returned to her conversation with Alex and Hope. When their food arrived Tobin realized exactly how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten all day.
“Slow down Tobs, or you’ll choke. And I’m not the best at the heimlich maneuver,” Christen said.
This made Tobin laugh and she barely swallowed her food before she started to choke. This camp might not be so bad after all she thought to herself.
**********
The next morning came bright and early. They started training today and Coach Ellis wanted to start at 8. Tobin was not used to getting up this early so she barely remembers getting up and showering and going to breakfast.
“Hey you ok? You see like your not even here.” Christen asked.
“Yeah I’m fine Press, just not used to getting up so early anymore.”
Christen winked at her and walked over to a table to sit. Tobin decided that she wanted to eat her breakfast in her room so she did that. After she was finished she got ready for practice.
Practice was relatively easy for national team camp. But it was the first one in quite a while, so Tobin understood. They did some ball control drills and then did some cardio workouts to get them fit for the next couple of weeks. Tobin lost herself in her work and before she knew it the practice was over. When she got back to the hotel she decided that an ice bath wouldn’t be a bad idea. She filled the tub with cold water and ran to the ice machine at the end of their hallway and grabbed a few buckets of ice and dumped them into the water.
The water felt good on her sore muscles. She set the timer on her phone for fifteen minutes and closed her eyes. She thought about the events of the past few weeks and she thought about Christen. How she was being super nice and how she seemed to be going out of her way to talk to Tobin. Maybe she should tell Christen. Or maybe she shouldn’t, she didn’t have to decide right now. Just thinking about Alex and Servando made her upset.
Suddenly the door to the bathroom opened and Christen walked in.
“Oh crap Tobin, I’m so sorry. I didn't realize you were in her!”
“It’s ok. Just taking an ice bath.”
Christen sighed in relief. “Ok I’ll just come back in when your done.”
As Christen was leaving, Tobin saw her eyes look her up and down. Is she checking me out? Tobin thought to herself. When Christen noticed that Tobin had caught her she turned a bright shade of red before exiting the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
“Maybe I really need to talk to her about what happened with Alex.” Tobin thought.