Born to Run Free

Celia sat in the living room at the hotel suite, her feet impatiently tapping on the floor. Cooper had called her a few hours ago saying that he was flying out to Chicago. He wouldn’t tell her why he had decided to make the sudden trip, but Celia knew it couldn’t be good, especially given the fact he kept telling her he’d explain everything when he saw her.

“Nervous much?” Sean joked, pointing towards her tapping feet as he sat down in the chair next to her, grabbing the remote and turning the television on.

“You don’t get it,” Celia told him, watching as he changed the channel to ESPN. “Coop’s not telling me why he’s coming here. That’s not a good sign. That means something really bad has happened,” Celia said.

“Or something really good has happened,” Sean suggested.

“When does anything good happen to me?” she asked.

“True,” Sean laughed, and Celia glared at him. “Seriously, though, just don’t think about it. When Cooper gets here, he’ll explain everything. Until then, calm down before you give yourself an ulcer.”

Celia opened her mouth to respond when she heard her name come from an announcer on television. Her head snapped around to see what they were discussing, and her eyes went wide when she saw herself on the screen. “Turn it up,” she ordered, and Sean did as she asked. Celia watched on in horror as the sports announcer talked.

”The United States Women’s National Soccer Team has spoken out on the pictures of Celia McCall. And, they are now considering suspending her from the team.”

The man continued talking, but Celia ignored everything else. Sean looked over at her, but she was staring straight ahead of her, still in shock. Suddenly, she grabbed her cell phone, saying, “I’ve gotta call Coop.” She dialed the number, and was furious when it went to his voicemail. “Why the hell is he not picking up right now?” she questioned to no one in particular.

“He’s on a plane right now,” Sean reminded her. “He can’t have his phone on.”

“Well, that’s bullshit!” she exclaimed, throwing her phone on the couch next to her.

“Celia, do you want to talk?” he asked her.

“No,” she said, standing up. “I’ve gotta get out of here, get some fresh air. If Coop gets here before I get back, tell him I went for a walk, and I shouldn’t be too much longer,” she told Sean.

“Okay,” Sean said, watching as Celia walked out the front door.

Celia walked out of the lobby, randomly turning the corner, not caring where she was going. She needed to clear her mind, but nothing was working. She couldn’t believe that the National Team was actually thinking of suspending her. She had done a lot of stupid things before, and they had never done anything. Sure, they had told her that she needed to clean up her act, but they had never even threatened to bench her. And, now they were thinking of suspending her?

She didn’t know what to do. She hated herself for being in the situation in the first place. She wished she could go back and do everything over. She never would have drunk at the club. She never would have even gone to the club in the first place. And, she never would have told Sean her true feelings.

Sure, he had acted differently towards her since he found out that she truly liked him. He was nicer and more considerate. But, Celia could never know for sure if it was because of her confession or because he had saved her that night at the club. In a week and a half, they would be off on their separate ways, and most likely they would never speak to each other ever again.

She continued walking for another half an hour, eventually stopping when her cell phone rang. She grabbed it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen to see it was Cooper. “Hey, Coop,” she said.

“Sean said you found out about the National Team,” he said.

“Yeah,” Celia sighed. “You at the hotel?”

“Yeah. Where are you?”

Celia looked around her, trying to pinpoint her location. “In all honesty, I have no idea,” she admitted.

“Cel, please tell me you’re not in some bar,” Cooper begged.

“I put that lifestyle behind me,” she reminded him. “No, I’m in the middle of Chicago somewhere. I’ll catch a taxi and I’ll meet you back at the hotel as soon as I can.”

“Celia, we’ll figure this all out,” he promised her.

“I hope,” she said, hanging up the phone and sticking her hand out to try to flag down a cab. One eventually pulled up to the curb, and she hopped in, telling the driver the name of the hotel they were staying at.

She walked down the hallway to her room, sliding the key into the door. When she opened it, she saw Cooper sitting on the couch, waiting on her, and Sean was nowhere in sight. “He decided to let us talk in private,” Cooper answered her unasked question.

Celia nodded, walking over and sitting in the unoccupied chair. “So, I’m assuming you came to talk to me about the National Team?” Celia asked.

Cooper nodded his head. “I didn’t think it’d be on the news yet, or I would have told you over the phone. But, I really wanted to tell you in person. Cel, I really don’t believe that they’re going to suspend you.”

“How can you be so sure?” Celia questioned. “Coop, it’s all over ESPN. Obviously, they’re really considering it. I don’t know what I’m going to do if they suspend me. Soccer’s my life. If I can’t play, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said, realization suddenly hitting her that she really could get dropped from the team.

“We’re going to fight it, Celia. I promise you, I am not going to let you get suspended,” Cooper told her. Celia just wished that she could believe him.

***

Cooper had decided that the best thing that Celia could do would be to have a press conference, apologizing for the pictures and the aftermath they had caused. He hoped that if she expressed remorse for what she had done that the National Team would be more lenient on her.

So, now Celia stood in front of a podium, staring down at her note cards, getting ready to speak. Her hands were shaking as she realized that this could make or break her playing career. She opened her mouth, staring out at all of the reporters and then looked back at Cooper.

“Thank you for coming today,” she said, looking out at the audience once again. “I asked for this press conference so I could discuss the pictures of me that have been floating around recently. Those pictures were never meant to be out in public, and I do not know who took them. However, it doesn’t matter. I should never have put myself in any situation for those pictures to be taken in the first place. I apologize to everyone. I am sorry for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team and all of my teammates. I realize I have disgraced all of you. And, for anyone that looked up to me. I’m not perfect, and either is anyone else. However, I should have never acted in this manner. I realize that I have numerous girls looking up to me, and I feel I have let them all down. I will try to regain all of your trust in the future, and I hope to redeem myself. Thank you,” she said, stepping off of the podium and walking straight into Cooper’s arms.

“You did good,” he whispered into her ear.

“Can we just get out of here?” she begged, and he nodded his head, directing her outside and back to her hotel. She walked inside to see Sean sitting there.

When he saw her and Cooper come into the suite, he lifted his head. “How’d it go?” he asked cautiously, not wanting to upset her. He knew that Celia hadn’t wanted to do the press conference, but she had no choice.

“Okay,” she said, avoiding looking at him as she made her way back to her room.

Sean looked up at Cooper, wondering what he had done. “She’s just worried,” Cooper said, sitting down next to Sean. “It’s all up to the National Team now.”

“Between you and me, do you think that they’re really going to suspend her?” Sean questioned.

“Between us?” Cooper asked, and Sean nodded his head. “There’s a good chance. They’re pissed at the pictures. It gives them bad press, and that’s the last thing they want right now. But, hopefully they can see how remorseful she is and won’t do anything too bad.”

“Don’t they get that these pictures aren’t her fault? I mean, she was drugged!” Sean exclaimed.

“She was drugged? I mean, I assumed, but she wouldn’t tell me for sure,” Cooper commented.

“She doesn’t know for sure. But, she keeps swearing that she only had two drinks, and there’s no way that much alcohol could have caused her to pass out. And, when I got her, she was completely unconscious. There was no way she was going to wake up.”

“She was drugged,” Cooper concluded.

“Can’t you tell the team that or something? I mean, would they really suspend her for something that really isn’t her fault?” Sean asked.

Cooper looked at him for a moment. “You really care about Celia, don’t you?”

“I feel like it’s partly my fault that this is happening to her,” Sean admitted. “She went out that night to the club because I had rejected her. She told me how she felt about me, and I told her we couldn’t be together.”

“And, what about now?” Cooper asked.

“What about now?”

“Do you still feel the same way? That you and Celia can’t be together?”

“I don’t know,” Sean admitted. “She’s definitely changed since that night. And, I think I kind of have, too. But, I don’t know.”

“Well, you think about that one,” Cooper said, standing up and going back to Celia’s room to check on her, leaving Sean contemplating Cooper’s words.