The Things People Notice
Miami — Day Three
Leah woke slowly to sunlight and the sound of waves.
Warm ocean air drifted through the open balcony doors while the yacht moved gently beneath them somewhere out on open water.
For a second she stayed still.
Just listening.
Then she turned slightly and smiled immediately.
Elle sat cross-legged at the end of the bed wearing one of Leah's white shirts, curls messy from sleep, completely absorbed in a book.
Leah frowned slightly.
"...Is that Alex's book?"
Elle looked up instantly, smiling. "Maybe."
Leah laughed softly into the pillow. "You're reading my best friend's memoir on a yacht in Miami."
"It's very good."
Leah pushed herself up against the headboard slowly, still sleepy.
"Traitor behaviour honestly."
Elle grinned and held the book up properly.
"How have I only started this now?"
Leah smiled automatically seeing Alex's face on the cover.
Because Alex mattered to her deeply.
One of the constants.
One of the people who stayed through every version of Leah — academy kid, England captain, ACL recovery disaster.
"She sent it to me before release," Leah admitted quietly.
Elle's expression softened immediately. "That's actually really sweet."
Leah shrugged lightly but couldn't hide the smile.
"She's protective."
"That's obvious."
Elle glanced back down at the page before laughing softly.
"You know she talks about you a lot?"
Leah groaned dramatically. "Oh no."
"She adores you."
Leah dropped back against the pillows. "This is a set-up."
Elle laughed quietly.
The room shifted slightly after that.
Morning sunlight stretched across white sheets while ocean water glittered outside.
Leah looked down briefly at her hands.
"Alex hated seeing me like that," she admitted quietly.
Elle closed the book gently.
Because even here, even happy, certain parts of recovery still lived just beneath Leah's skin.
"You know what's strange?" Leah murmured after a moment.
"What?"
"I barely remember parts of that year properly."
Her voice had gone quieter now.
"Everything felt like survival."
The honesty in it made Elle's chest ache slightly.
Because people always praised athletes for physical recovery.
Nobody really talked about the emotional wreckage underneath it.
The fear.
The isolation.
The feeling that your own body had betrayed you.
"She says you pushed people away," Elle said softly.
Leah laughed quietly under her breath. "That sounds like Alex."
"She sounds protective of you."
Leah smiled faintly. "Very."
Then she looked back toward Elle sitting there in soft ocean light holding pieces of Leah's life gently in her hands.
And God.
That did something dangerous to her heart every single time.
"You know what Alex is going to do when she finds out you're reading that?" Leah asked lightly.
"What?"
"She's going to emotionally adopt you."
Elle laughed. "I think I can handle that."
"No," Leah smiled softly, "I genuinely don't think you understand how intense she is."
The room settled quiet again after that.
Comfortable.
Easy.
Elle reopened the book while Leah just watched her for a moment.
The concentration in her face. The way morning sunlight caught in her curls. The fact she looked completely at home here beside Leah now.
And suddenly the thought hit her again — terrifying and certain all at once:
she wanted this forever.