You can't be my mum (a Lucy Bronze fanfic) - Book 1

Chapter 11 - you don't have a problem with that do you?

Despite the soreness of my body, I raced through reception and up the back stairs. I didn't have time to wait for the lift. I almost knocked Ellen down as I ran through the corridor, "woah mini Bronze, slow down". I shouted back,"sorry, can't talk!" As I came closer to my room, I slowed down, preparing what I would say. When I arrived, I hesitantly brought my hand up and knocked on the door. Keira answered it with a smile. She gave me a quick hug before whispering, "I knew you'd come back". I didn't even wait to be greeted by the rest of the group who were all still in mine and Lucy's room. I just burst out, "I'm so so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it at all. I just react like that whenever I feel trapped. I know you weren't intentionally trying to enclose me, but it felt like it." I could see Steph trying to apologise but I didn't let her, "you don't need to apologise. I shouldn't have said what I said, and I'm sorry.",. I guessed that my apology had gone down well by everyone because they all looked satisfied and relieved that I had returned.

Before they left  Leah, Jordan, Steph and Keira were laughing with me, telling me how shocked they were when I swore, "we've never heard you that annoyed before" Leah exclaimed. Jordan cut in, "and you swore, for the first time". I laughed at how innocent they thought I was, "I wouldn't exactly class it as the first time, just ask Millie and Rach".  When they left, I shut the door and turned round to face Lucy for the first time since my apology. She motioned for me to come towards her. I sat next to her on the bed and she threw her arms around me. I felt bad because I must have upset her the most, "I'm sorry" I whispered into her shoulder. "Shhhh it's fine, don't worry, just no more swearing please" she replied. I laughed at the last bit. "Will you tell me what happened? Maybe on the long drive down to Manchester the afternoon?" She questioned me. My immediate reaction was to shut her down and become defensive, but I didn't. Instead I said, "fine, as long as you share your Percy Pig sweets I can see on the table". She laughed at my unexpected response, "deal".

After lunch, Serena gave a closing speech to the team. She explained that the next camp would be in February and all the team would get emails if they were selected. It felt sad to be leaving the people who had become like family in such a short space of time. I hoped the time would fly by. We all went up to our individual rooms to get our suitcases and bags and then we met in reception for final goodbyes. Rachel left first because she had to get her airport for her flight back to America that afternoon. The Chelsea and Arsenal players had hired a minibus to take them all back to London. Steph had brought her car, so her, Lauren, Ellen and Keira drove down to Manchester together. There wasn't space for me and Lucy so we were hiring a car. When it arrived, we both said goodbye to everyone. I thanked Serena for letting me stay with the team and she told me that I was welcome anytime. It felt nice to be wanted. I was busy saying goodbye to everyone when Lucy beeped the horn from the car, "come on Rosie, you'll see them soon. We need to leave now to avoid rush hour traffic." I smiled and said a final goodbye before I ran over to the car.

For the majority of the drive, it was quite relaxing. We took the A1 from Sunderland all the way to Leeds, and then we followed another motorway into Manchester city centre. There wasn't too much traffic about. I was excited to finally break free of the city that had held me back from escaping. The way Lucy drove was also surprisingly calming. At first, I had been apprehensive of being in a car with someone new. When my parents used to take me places, my dad would always drive roughly. He would go 70 in a 40 or he would pull out in front of cars, forcing them to break hard. I would hang onto the seat and close my eyes, hoping it would all be over soon. Him and my mother seemed to enjoy the excitement of going ridiculously fast, being stopped by the police, and then lying and making up some excuse that we were rushing to see my dying grandmother in hospital. Lucy noticed immediately that I was slightly hesitant. She assured me that she wouldn't put me in any danger, "I'm also a pretty good driver if I do say so myself" she joked. This made me smile, putting me at ease. I trusted her. We stopped at the services because I needed the bathroom. I told Lucy it was because I hadn't had time to go because I was busy saying goodbye, but the truth was, me and Georgia Stanway were seeing who could drink a 2 litre bottle the fastest. She also bought me my first ever Starbucks. My ex-parents had never given me pocket money or even allowed me to have coffee, so this was another new thing I was trying. Lucy lived and breathed coffee, so I wasn't surprised when I loved the taste of it. She also let me buy another few packs of Percy Pig sweets to entertain me for the rest of the journey.

During the journey, I texted Amelia for a bit. I had phoned her the day before to tell her the whole story. She was shocked but also happy for me that I had found my true, loving family. It was sad to be leaving her behind but she understood that Lucy lived in Manchester so I had to go with her. Without Amelia, I wouldn't have even found Lucy, I will forever be grateful to her that she brought us together. I would miss her, but I hoped she would come and visit me, Lucy and Keira in Manchester. I couldn't even imagine going back there voluntarily.

Lucy Bronze's POV:
Half way through the journey, I noticed Rosie smiling at her phone. I guessed it was probably some boy she liked at school, but I asked her anyway, "what are you smiling at? You don't even smile like that towards me" I joked. She looked at me and said with a poker face, "I wasn't smiling". I just shook my head and laughed, returning my attention to the road. I still wanted to know who she was texting though, so I asked, "so...do you have any crushes I should know about?". She looked at me, shocked and laughed, "what? Noo of course not". She was clearly trying to be convincing but I wasn't buying into it. I still wasn't giving up, "are you certain there aren't any boys you've got your eyes on?". She replied bluntly, "who said I like boys?". I was shocked as I had just presumed that she would be the opposite to me and go and find a nice husband. I began to speak before she cut me off, "you don't have a problem with that do you?". I immediately replied, "no of course not. Are you forgetting that I'm also gay?" She laughed and said, "ohh yehh". I continued, "I mean, it makes things easier. At least I don't have to talk to you about using protection". She looked mortified at what I had just said, "ok that's enough please, too much information". I laughed and shrugged my shoulders, "just saying".

It got dark at around 4pm because it was December. We were nearing Manchester and I could tell Rosie was anxious to get home. Keira was staying at Steph's house for a few nights, she wanted to give Rosie some time to settle into the house with me. We were both a little bit concerned that Rosie might find the whole concept a bit overwhelming. So far, she didn't seem too bothered, she was just very excited. I had decided that we were going to have a takeaway for dinner so to take Rosie's mind off Manchester I asked her, "what takeaway do you want for tonight?". She thought about the question for a bit before answering, "dominos definitely. I've never actually been allowed a takeaway but on the last day of term last year, we ordered a dominos to the school and it was so good". Chinese was my favourite but there was just something about a dominos pizza that you couldn't resist. I made a mental note to show Rosie all the different types of food that were available in Manchester. After seeing her reaction to coffee, I had also planned to visit Jill's coffee shop. There were so many things and places I couldn't wait to show her.

When we finally emerged from Manchester's busy city centre traffic, we arrived at mine and Keira's house. When I pulled on the drive, I could see Rosie taking it all in. I turned the engine off, got out the car and walked over to Rosie's door to open it for her. She got out, not taking her gaze away from my house. I got the cases out of the boot and got my house keys out of my pocket. I turned the key and pushed the door open, giving a wide view down my hallway. Normally, my dog, Narla, would greet me, but she was staying with a friend while I was away at camp so I would collect her the next day. I urged Rosie to go inside, "come on then, it's freezing out here". I laughed. This broke her out of her trance and she stepped inside. I shut the door behind her, looked at her and said, "welcome home!". She gave me a big hug and whispered, "it's only taken me 15 years, but I'm glad to be home".

Once I had shown Rosie around and let her choose which bedroom she wanted, I ordered a dominos pizza. We settled on the sofa and began to watch match of the day. When the door bell rang, I ran towards the front door to answer the delivery driver. I returned to the sofa with a huge pepperoni pizza, garlic bread, wedges and a bottle of pepsi. Rosie immediately greeted me, or rather the food, with a massive smile.

We each took a glass of pepsi and Rosie toasted, "to my new life!". I smiled at how happy she was that she had been given the chance to leave Sunderland and begin again in Manchester, far far away from the people who hurt her.