Death Row

11 months #2

Mallory Pugh and Jordan Marceñez-Costello go way back. Barley kids, they were connected by their love of...

"Mummmy?" Four year old Jordan whined. "Do you think there's anyone who like fútbol?"
Her mum briefly looked at her in the rear mirror. "I'm sure there is honey."
Of course Jordan knew her mother's mind wasn't really on her.

They had arrived. "Oh look Chiqa!" Cristína called for her daughter. "The neighbours are here to greet us!"
A man and a woman stood just outside their house that was next to theirs with their two daughters, one of whom was cowering behind her dad. Instantly the man stepped forward to greet them when they got out. "Horace Pugh and this is my wife Karen." Cristína shook the adults hands. "Pleased to meet you."
The three grown ups headed into the house and the older daughter followed,leaving the two girls alone in the front yard.
The girl stuck out her hand. "Mal Pugh." She introduced herself. Wincing she added "I get called Mallory but I don't really prefer that." Jordan nodded. She realised this girl was far more talkative than her. Mal looked to the soccer ball Jordan had been hiding behind her back. "You play Soccer." Shyly nodding Jordan admitted "I'd like to become one for real." To her surprise, a massive beam lit up her new neighbours face. "Me too!" She squealed. Cheekily kicking the ball out Jordan's hand, Mal asked "So...you wanna play?"

Since then, the duo were inseparable. Not even their secrets could tear them apart. Why? Well Mal decided that as best friends, they could never hide anything from another . Which was the hardest thing both players had to face but always did.

Until now.

Mal frowned. "Francesco? I just-" Jordan shook her head and her bestie instantly got the hint. Her eyes widened and face went pale. "Oh...it's your..." Jordan decided to help her out. "My biological dad." She winced while saying this. Mentioning the man she never considered anything more as her sperm donor always stung.
And it was a bit of tricky ground navigating what to tell about him to Mal.
Here's what she knows:
Alejandro Sanz and Cristína Costello ended their engagement when Jordan was four
Alejandro was always very passionate about his daughter becoming a soccer player
Alejandro did truly adore his daughter
Alejandro has had very limited contact with Jordan

So as you can tell...Mallory Pugh doesn't really know that much about her best friend's father.
So she didn't really know how to react to the sudden news. "I'm sorry Jords." The quiet mumble did reassure Jordan. "It's ok."
Mal made full eye contact with her. "It's not. You should be able to have a good relationship with your actual dad. He's fucked things up hasn't he?"
It hurt Jordan to hear that but it was the truth and what she needed to hear.
"So..." Mal picked up the courage to ask "what is he in jail for?" Jordan shrugged. "Just drug related terms I guess."
Nodding, Pugh delivered another question, that was more painful. "How long does he have?"
Now this wasn't exactly a lie. "Eleven months."
Mal appeared confused. "Well then...that's not too bad is it?"

If only. After all, Alejandro wasn't really her father. He hadn't watched Jordan grow up, take her to games, help her up when she was down like Francesco did.
Yet there was still this...feeling of loss. Whatever she thought of him, Jordan would always be connected to her dad in some way. The fact that he wanted to connect with her in the time they had length, further evidenced that Jordan's dad still wanted to have something meaningful in his daughters life. Even if it was the last few months of his.
Which meant a lot to Jordan.
So when Mal left, Jordan picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes this is Alejandro Sanz's daughter. Am I able to in any way arrange an appointment with him?"

So they were back. Again. Sitting opposite each other with a solitary glass pane between them. The tension was a lot more smoother without Jordan's mum there. Jordan lied to her and said she never wanted to see her dad again.
"I understand Chiqa," her mum said sadly. "If only he was a better father to you."
Could he have been?
What if they could start over? If they forgot everything about their past and turned over a new page. Yes this chapter would be short, but it's the final one. So it had to count.

Plastering a new smile on her face, Jordan looked at her dad with an unfamiliar warm look.
"My name is Jordan Marisa Marceñez-Costello. I was born in Queens, New York on the 30th December 1998. That makes me 21 years old. I play attacking midfielder for Arsenal Football Club and the U.S Women's National Team . Y usted es?"