The Soccer Star’s Lucky Charm Walked Away

I spent six years loving Chase Donovan, the Storm’s star striker and the boy next door. The night before a crucial conference game, he called me his lucky charm. After scoring the winner, he mocked me to his teammates and publicly chose Vanessa. I accepted a funded soccer analysis program in Paris and began cutting him out of my life. But as I pulled away, Chase unraveled. While he fought to reclaim our thirteen-year bond, my quiet study partner Julien showed me what it felt like to be respected. Three days before I left, Chase finally realized I was really going.