How Will I Know

Chapter Thirty-Six: Old Friends

Robin turned back to his wall and vowed that Elena would have a good Christmas.

***

Elena furrowed her brow hearing the doorbell ring as she prepared lunch for Shaqueel and Dina; Robin had popped out to get some milk from the shops, leaving her alone for a few minutes. 

Elena wiped her hands on a cloth before heading to answer it, it wouldn't be Coleen or Roxanne since the two were spending the afternoon with their husbands and their children. 

Opening the door, Elena couldn't stop herself from grinning as she was swiftly pulled into a hug and the squealing started; it took Elena a minute to realise who was hugging her. 

"I can't believe you've so big," Lydia exclaimed pulling back from her friend making David chuckle at his fiancée's words; they had wanted to surprise Elena so they hadn't told her that they were coming up from London. 

Elena opened and closed her mouth not sure what to say, she really hadn't been expecting this visit; she was so happy that Lydia had come to see her. 

"You don't call a pregnant woman fat Lydia," David teased making the dark haired woman glare at him; Elena grinned at the sight of her old London friends, she couldn't believe that they were here. 

Elena allowed them into her home and closed the door, the press saw enough of her life and she didn't want them seeing more; she doubted that she would ever get used to having her entire life watched constantly. 

"Some woman called Coleen phoned, something to do with a baby shower," David said moving further into the house and eyed the television making Lydia roll her eyes at him; they hadn't come to admire Elena's massive television. 

Elena spotted the look on David's face, she was so used to her home now that nothing surprised her when it came to her home now. 

"I'm just making lunch for Shaqueel and Dina, you're welcome to use the television David," Elena said amused making him grin at her as he headed into the living room; the two women headed into the kitchen once they were sure that David was distracted.

Shaqueel tilted his head looking at the woman that was with his step-mother, he hadn't seen her before and it made him a little wary of why she was here; he didn't want to see Elena cry again. 

"I heard about what Ashlee did, I can't believe that she did that to you," Lydia murmured annoyed at what had happened, it was clear that Ashlee was jealous that Elena had ended up being the WAG and not her. 

Lydia had no idea what Ashlee had expected to happen but it had all blown up in her face, she had lost all the money that she was meant to have earnt from her interviews about what had happened since she couldn't find any proof. 

"Kain dumped her, you know after what happened with you and some other things I won't mention now, Kain said she wasn't the woman for him anymore," Lydia said starting to help Elena with lunch; the brunette raised an eyebrow at her friend's words. 

A part of Elena was happy that Kain now knew what his ex-girlfriend was capable of; she doubted that he was aware that she'd been with multiply men while they had dated. 

"Good for him, he deserves to be happy," Elena replied hearing Robin returning from the shop, it was clear that he wasn't alone either; the two women looked at the door as Elena's husband entered the kitchen with Ryan following him looking concerned. 

"I saw a car that I didn't recognise and I got worried," Ryan explained eyeing Lydia warily as Robin recognised the dark haired woman and smiled at her. 

Robin was pleased to see that some of Elena's old friends were still there for her, he didn't want her to miss out on anything and Lydia had been such a good friend to Elena since they had gotten married. 

"That would be me and David, we're friends of Elena's from London," Lydia said making Ryan look at her suspiciously; he didn't trust the dark haired woman for one moment not after what had happened with Ashlee.

There was a sudden knock at the front door, making Robin roll his eyes as he looked at Ryan, who shrugged innocently; it was clear he wasn't going to be the only one turning up. 

"I thought I might need back up," Ryan explained making Elena laugh softly as she looked at him amused, she knew that everyone wanted things to calm down and things had been far from peaceful lately. 

The team had become very protective of the brunette as her pregnancy progressed; the press were now starting to play a lot more attention to her now that her bump was showing. 

Robin moved to answer the door while Elena handed Shaqueel and Dina their lunches; the house was suddenly filled with voices of the Manchester United squad making Lydia grin at Elena. 

"If I knew this would happen, I would have come to visit you sooner," Lydia teased as Roxanne hurried into the kitchen looking concerned, she had received a text from her father about a strange car outside of Elena's home and had gotten worried that it was Ashlee. 

Roxanne wouldn't put it past Ashlee to try and cause more trouble for Elena and Robin, she had lost out on a lot when her story had fallen through; she had no idea when they would have to deal with the blonde again. 

Roxanne glared at Lydia, who raised an eyebrow at her wondering what she might have done to upset the other woman in some way. 

"Roxy this is Lydia, she's my best friend from London," Elena said noting the look on Roxanne's face as Coleen stepped into the kitchen and smiled; she had a feeling that everyone was going to be wary of her friends. 

Ryan raised an eyebrow at Coleen, who waved at him before moving to greet the dark haired woman; he wondered how she knew her and he guessed that she had something to do with this.

Elena brushed some hair from her face, she was a little curious about why Lydia had come all the way to Manchester; she knew that it wasn't just for a visit since it was a pretty long way to come. 

"Lydia it's a pleasure to meet you... I'm happy that you could make it," Coleen said making Roxanne look at her confused before Coleen explained that she had invited Lydia up to Manchester for the baby shower. 

Coleen wanted to share the moment with everyone and Lydia had been Elena's friend longer than any of them had; she had been there when Elena had needed someone and she was always going to be a big part of a life. 

Elena glanced at Roxanne and then at Ryan, it was perfectly clear that they didn't trust Lydia because of what had happened with Ashlee; she didn't blame them but Lydia wasn't going to do what Ashlee had done. 

Robin wrapped his arms around Elena and held her close, his fingers brushed over the bump that she was carrying and he knew that it wouldn't be long now until their daughter was born. 

It was getting pretty close to Christmas and their daughter was due in April, it didn't seem that far away now and Robin knew that it would fly by. 

Elena cuddled into his arms and watched their friends, things might not have been perfect right now and she wished her parents would see how happy she was with Robin and their family. 

Allison and David had been a little upset with how things had actually worked out and had pleaded with Elena to get a divorce and come back to London; they didn't want her deal with the mess and hate that had come about because of this. 

Robin kissed the top of Elena's head, he wanted nothing more than for everything to get better but there was little that he could do to fix things right now; all he could do was focus on making Elena happy.