THE PLAYERS SERIES : K.M. {book 1}

49

The second leg against Lyon is approaching with running steps, and I'm terrified.

Not terrified about that particular game taking place tomorrow in Manchester, but terrified about the three people standing in front of Lucy and I : her family. 

Her mother, Fiona*, can be described as a pretty woman, despite her age. She is wearing a casual brown dress that matches her blonde hair and brown eyes. Her daughter looks much more like her dead father though, even though you can tell she's Lucy's mother miles away. Fiona Bronze probably is someone important and good at what she does, because her apartment looks amazing, even from outside. 

Her sister, Sophie, is what you can call a hipster : she is wearing high-waist jeans with lots of holes in it, a crop top and pineapple pink socks. Her face is not as thin as Lucy's, as she looks a lot more like her mother. When she sees me, she smiles. The way she's looking at her big sister is pretty much the way Sam and I look at each other : with pride. 

At first, I haven't seen the third person because they were hiding somewhere. I frown, surprised that Lucy hasn't told me about her brother being back from Portugal. She rarely talks about him, mostly because he chose to stay in Portugal, in Lisbon, where he was born, along with their father Joaquin. 

I soon understand she had no clue herself, because she jumps into her bother's arm, crying in happiness. The scene is quite moving : I've never seen Lucy be that happy with someone else, and I am glad it's with her brother. 

As the two siblings are finding each other again, Sophie Bronze grabs my arm, a confident smile on. 

"Come on, I'll show you around !"

"Sure !"

I follow her, politely greeting Lucy's mother when I walk by : surprisingly enough, Fiona Bronze hugs me, before honestly smiling at me. 

Then, the tour of the huge apartment begins, and I am quite shocked : there's no way the Bronzes are from a poor background. Everything here looks expensive, even more than the usual middle-class expensive. Sophie brings me in what used to be Lucy's room. 

She smirks.

"As soon as she left, I took it" the youngster says. I start looking around, immediately spotting all the high school stuff on her desk. Following my look, she smiles. "I want to study in the university, probably Cambridge. That's my dream."

"Woah" I let out, impressed. "What do you want to study ?"

"Ethic in Arts" Sophie says, smiling. When she sees I'm thoughtful, she adds : "I know what you're thinking : I am nothing like my sister. Thank God I'm not, because I would be so horrible at soccer compared to her !"

"You think very highly of her, don't you ?" I ask. 

That makes Sophie smile, as she says :

"She's everything I have. She's my pillar in life."

"She's mine too now."

Those words have escaped my mouth and took both Sophie and I off guards. I immediately blush, not knowing if that was a good idea or not, or even what her reaction would be. 

Instead of yelling at me or getting mad, she only nods. 

"Then you better take care of her in America" the youngster says, deadly serious. 

I nod. 

"You know I will."

"I know you will."

After a few seconds, Sophie opens her arms, and we simultaneously hug each other. As my chin is relying on her shoulder, I see Lucy walking into the room. When she sees me with her sister, she smiles.