𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 | l.messi

eight.

present.

EMILY STARED AT the people around the table , her eyes wide as she looked at them. she and her grandparents were sitting around the dining table , eating dinner with her mother's lawyer — Joseph King — sitting at the table.

"hija?" Louise softly asked. Emily set her fork and knife down and cleared her throat as she began to process everything.

eventually , she looked up to see the older man. "when...when will he come?" she forced out.

Joseph took a sip of his water and focused on the 14 year old girl again. "sometime next week" he said.

Emily stared at the table again. was she really about to meet her father? the man she only saw in the pictures? was he going to accept her?

the thoughts swirled around in her mind as she took everything in.

"Emily...i know this is a lot to process," Joseph began and Emily mentally scoffed. yeah no shit.

"but he's your legal guardian. he needs to know about you or atleast meet you" Joseph continued.

"can't i just stay here with grams and grandpa?" she softly asked , her voice cracking. will she really be able to leave her family behind to live with her father whom she barely knew?

"Emily , he is your legal guardian , we can't just give you off to anyone" Joseph said. "but they're not everyone!" Emily said.

Louise sighed as she looked at her granddaughter who reminded her so much of her own.

"sweetheart , your mother wanted you to meet him" her grandfather said and she frowned. "what? why? she held me back from seeing him before , why does it matter now?" Emily asked stubbornly.

"your mother wrote that in her will. that's her last wish. to see you with your father and reconnecting with him when she's not there anymore" Joseph said.

this made Emily go silent. suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. all she wanted to do was lay curled up in her bed all weekend and watch YOU.

"grams...i want to go sleep" she softly said. Louise nodded her head. "go then , hija. i'm going to put your food in the microwave" Louise said and stood up 

she kissed Emily's head before taking the plate to the kitchen.

"are you willing to meet him?" the lawyer asked. Emily stared at the brown table. "it's...it's a lot to process..." she trailed off.

Joseph nodded his head and agreed with her. "i know. that's why i'm giving you an entire week to think about it , okay?" Joseph said.

Emily faintly smiled and stood up from her seat. she kissed her grandpa's cheek and waved to Joseph before walking up the stairs.

she just layed in bed , not paying attention to the series playing on the tv. her whole thoughts were consuming her , filling her with thoughts of her biological father.

her mother said he was a footballer and played football for a living. was that even a thing? to kick a ball around and get paid for it?

Emily loved playing football with her mother , but never thought of it as something you can do for a living.

was he going to accept her? what if he has a wife and she asks him to choose? what if he has children and they're mean to her and she becomes like Cinderella?

Emily scoffed at her random thoughts. but then again , Cinderella got her prince , maybe she'll get hers someday.

a knock on the door snapped Emily out of her thoughts and she paused the series before sitting up. "it's open" she said.

Louise walked in and sat next to her. "you okay?" she asked and Emily sighed as she shrugged.

"i really don't know , grams. my mom gets taken away from me and now i'm meeting a man who's my father who i know nothing about" she said and played with the blanket.

"i mean..what if he doesn't like me?" she asked , tears pooling in her eyes. Louise put a strand behind Emily's ear and looked at her with a smile.

"he will , trust me. Leo's a good man. he always has been" Louise said. Emily looked up to her. "how do you know?" she asked.

Louise chuckled. "he dated your madre. of course i know him , hija. he's so sweet and if he isn't...i know for a fact that money had changed him" she spoke.

Emily nodded her head and hugged her grabdma. "te amo , abuela" she spoke and Louise's breath hitched. Emily never really spoke Spanish.

"te amo , hija"

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