Inevitable

Alessia

Alessia has finished unpacking. Well, as much as you can unpack in a hotel room that you will be living out of for the next two weeks.

Georgia’s version of unpacking involves dumping out her suitcase into the chest of drawers with no obvious organisational system. Alessia on the other hand wants to keep her new training kit as pristine as possible. Both the girls have reclined on their respective beds and are scrolling through social media.

‘You have a right scowl on your face,’ Alessia laughs as she turns her phone to show Georgia the video of her arrival to the camp that the England page has posted.

‘Well you look as if you have seen a ghost,’ Georgia retorts, ‘who were you even looking at that made you go all heart eyed?’

‘What? No one! It was just the excitement of arriving at my first camp!’

‘Suuuuure Russo whatever you say but I for one have never looked at a building like I wanted to rip its clothes off.’ Georgia giggled again as Alessia threw a pillow over at the other girl. Georgia ducks and the pillow flies past her hitting the wall over her shoulder.

"Remind me to tell the coach that you should never take a throw-in if that's your level of aim-’ Georgia laughs again but is soon hit right in the middle of her face with another pillow.

‘My aim is perfect thank you very much.’ Alessia replies now giggling too.

They both return to scrolling until Alessia gets a notification. Leah Williamson has liked your picture. Alessia gets a lump in her throat but she pushes it down. Why would a notification of a like on her picture, that she already had thousands of likes on, make her pause. Leah was a friend and friends like each other's posts. There’s nothing more to it.

She rolled on to her side, placed her phone down and looked at Georgia, ‘so is this all we do until dinner?’

‘Na normally someone will send a message into the group chat and arrange a kick about or a game or something.’

‘Oooh what kind of game?’

‘Anything really. Sometimes someone brings playing cards or Uno or we’ll just play ‘would you rather’ or ‘dare or dare’.’

‘Dare or dare?’

‘Yeah it makes it more fun and you can still dare someone to tell the truth about something.’

Alessia rolls back over onto her back and stares up at the ceiling.

Georgia continues, ‘I brought Uno though so we could see if anyone else wants to join?’

‘That sounds like a good idea.’

‘Ok I’m going to use the bathroom quickly but why don’t you go knock on Lucy and Keira’s door and see if they want to join?’

Alessia nods and walks towards the door of their room. Quickly putting on her slides and grabbing her room key off the side unit before making her way across the hall. She knocks on the door and it's Lucy that comes to the door.

‘Bonjour mon amour.’ she says in a sultry French and slightly northern English accent.

Alessia scowls playfully, ‘I see that your time in France is being put to good use.’

Lucy laughs hard. ‘I can’t help it, it's the language of love.’

Now it's Alessia's time to laugh. She continues, ‘Me and Georgia were thinking of going down and playing a game of Uno if you and Keira wanted to join?’

‘That sounds delightful mon amore,’ Lucy is grinning again, ‘give us 2 minutes and we’ll meet you down there.’

Alessia nods and goes to turn away but she hears Keira shout from inside the room.

‘Less go ask Leah if she wants to join too?’

Lucy and Keira's door closes with a small thud and Alessia is left alone in the hallway again.

She pauses and turns to walk towards Leah’s room. As she approaches she takes a deep breath. Raises her closed fist to the door and taps lightly. There is no sound coming from inside.

She knocks again, this time with slightly more vigour. Still nothing from inside. She thinks that Leah must have fallen asleep or something. She stands there for a moment longer and then goes to turn around. Before she gets a chance to, she hears a voice behind her. Right behind her.

‘Rude of her to not answer the door isn’t it?’

The person is standing so close behind her she can almost feel their breath on her neck. Alessia shivers lightly before spinning around fast and is suddenly face to face with Leah. Alessia takes a moment to regain her composure after such a fright. A good fright but a fright nonetheless.

‘Yeah it is rude isn’t it,’ Alessia replies playfully starting to smirk, ‘and all i wanted to do was ask her if she wanted to play uno!’

They are standing mere inches apart now. Alessia can see the flecks of green in Leah’s eyes. Leah is searching Alessia’s face. Leah lifts up her arm to reveal a large bag filled with Ice.

‘I was just grabbing some Ice from there.’ She gestured to the door of the room with the Ice machine inside.

‘Ah I see,’ Alessia replies without breaking eye contact.

‘But I would love to come play Uno,’ Leah continues, ‘just give me a minute to put the ice in my room?’

‘No problem you can meet us downstairs?’

‘Na it's all good just come in, I'll only be two minutes.’

Leah leans in and reaches her arm around Alessia's side. Alessia’s heart starts racing and she can feel her cheeks flushing. Leah's hand gently grazes her waist but keeps going past until Alessia hears a faint beep and then the click of the door being unlocked.

Leah had reached around her to press her key pass to the door.

Their eye contact still had not broken. An electric magnetism in the air between them.

‘So, shall we?’ Leah says finally breaking the silence and gesturing towards the door.

Alessia turns around, pushes the door open and steps inside with Leah still following right behind her. They are barely inside for a minute while Leah puts down the ice bucket and turns around again gesturing for Alessia to go back towards the door. Alessia barely had a chance to take in her surroundings. She did notice however that there was only one person's belongings.

‘Jordan still hasn't arrived?’ Alessia questions.

‘She’s not coming any more. Looks like I've got my own room for this camp.’

‘Oh, that's nice.’