A/N - sorry it's been so long since an upload, I've just had a really busy week. I have decided to write a slightly longer chapter to make up for it, so enjoy :)
Rosie's POV:
I woke up to the faint scratching noise of Narla's paws up against my bedroom door. Not thinking about that she was a dog, incapable of opening a full sized door, I shouted from my warm and comfortable bed, "come in!". Nothing happened for a few seconds. Still waking up from my slumber, I was confused why she didn't just come in. Eventually, the door slowly opened with Lucy carrying Narla in her arms. She laughed and announced, "you just told a dog to open a door". It was only then that I realised how oblivious I had been. At the sight of me, Narla immediately tried to escape Lucy's strong grip, desperate to greet me. Lucy let go of her, and she pounced straight onto my bed. I gave her a lot of cuddles before turning my attention to Lucy. She said, "Narla missed you, it's nearly 12 but I let you sleep in because you clearly needed it". I smiled at the fact that Narla, or rather Lucy, missed me. Normally, I didn't sleep past 8, but there was something special about my new bed that forced me to have the first most relaxing, uninterrupted sleep I had had in a while.
After talking to Lucy for a bit, I rolled out of bed. I hadn't even realised my mistake until Lucy's eyes were fixed on the self inflicted scars that scattered my legs. Due to my sleeping position, my shorts had rolled up, causing my skin to be exposed. I was thankful when Lucy didn't say anything, however, I knew it was another conversation that we needed to have. But that would all happen later. In a rush to ensure the conversation didn't happen now, I walked towards the bathroom, grabbing Lucy's spare dressing gown and sliding some slippers on. She seemed to have brushed off what has just happened, because she called out to me, "hurry up, I have something to show you". I was anxious for what she was going to show me. Every time my ex-parents had strung those same words together, it was never a good thing, but I knew that Lucy would never do anything like that to me.
I walked out of the bathroom with her dressing gown wrapped tight around me, I didn't want a repeat of what has just happened. Lucy was sat on my bed, petting Narla. When she saw me, she looked like a 7 year old on their birthday, eagerly waiting for their presents, "come onnn, you were ages" she said, dragging out the 'ages'. She ushered me out of my bedroom and down the stairs. She followed me, still holding Narla, "do you always carry her like that?" I laughed. This made her give me a small lecture on how small Narla's legs were and how she struggled to walk upstairs. When I got to the downstairs hallway, I paused before letting Lucy go In front of me, because I was unsure of where this 'thing' was going to be. She grabbed my hand before leading me into the kitchen. On the table was an envelope and two presents. They each had a bow on and there was a balloon that read out welcome home!. I smiled at how much effort Lucy had gone to for me. I walked towards the presents and saw that they were both wrapped in wrapping paper with Lucy's face on. I looked at her confused, "it was the only wrapping paper I had. Keira bought me it for Christmas one year". She explained. I laughed and said, "it's nice". I didn't care what the wrapping paper was, the fact that she had even thought about getting me a gift made me heart grow.
I sat down at the table whilst Lucy busied herself in the kitchen, preparing something for us to drink, "coffee?" She called across to me. Without thinking, "am I allowed?", Slipped out of my mouth faster than I could stop it. It was such a natural response, after been denied so many things for the last 15 years. As soon as I had said it, I could see Lucy freeze. I tried to understand how hard this whole situation must be for her and I wasn't making it any easier by dragging up the past, even unintentionally. Like before, she didn't react or say anything. She just wore a concerned look. I mumbled, "sorry" before turning my phone on and going on Instagram. I was doing anything to distract myself from the awkward tension. When Lucy has finished making the coffees, she brought them across to the table with a smile, clearly trying to block out the events that keep happening. She sat down next to me, picked up the envelope and handed it to me, "open this first, then the presents". She seemed to have her happy and excited mood back. I carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the card inside. On the front read, Welcome home!. In white writing, standing out against the pale grey background. I opened it and read the message inside out loud,
To Rosie,
I missed you every single day that I was without you, and now I can finally say welcome home.
Love Lucy xx
It was a simple but effective message, bringing a slight tear to my eye knowing that she never forgot about me. I said thank you before she handed me one of the presents. It was fairly big and soft, I guessed clothes. I was right. Inside were multiple individual bags of clothes from Nike. I'm guessing she contacted them and they sent her a whole range of items that weren't even out to the public yet. I looked at the pile of new clothes in awe. I had never had this amount of decent, new clothes ever in my life. When I lived with my "parents" I would have to wear my dad's old t shirts and jeans. They never even bought me shoes. I remember when Amelia bought me a pair of converse for my 13th birthday, I treasured them and kept them clean for as long as I could, but over use drove them from pure white to a dirty grey. At the bottom of the pile was a crisp white England shirt. On the front was the number 2 and on the back was BRONZE in bold red lettering. A wide smile was immediately formed on my face as I brought it up to my chest. It meant the world to me that I could have something I had wanted for so long. Lucy just watched me in shock, "i presumed the shirt you wore to the game was your friends as you didn't bring it with you so I got you one for yourself" she said with a smile, happy that I appreciated her gift. I laughed lightly and said, "thank you so much. I love it". After that gift, I wasn't sure how Lucy could top it, but of course she did. She handed me the present that looked a lot like some sort of box. I tore open the wrapping paper and saw a crisp, Nike shoe box. Open-mouthed, I looked over to Lucy, who just shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't already know what was in it. Carefully, I lifted the lid and peered inside. Bold white mercurials. My dream football boots. I gasped and questioned, "how did you know I wanted these?". Once again, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Leah mentioned that you complimented hers. She said that either I bought them for you or she did for Christmas". I smiled, remembering how obsessed I was over her boots, now I had my own. I reached across the table and gave Lucy a big hug while saying repeatedly, "thank you so much". She seemed relieved that I loved her presents. I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't use the boots for a few more weeks due to my injury, but at least I had them.
After Lucy gave me her presents, we talked for a bit while I ate a huge breakfast, despite it being 12.30. That was another thing I wasn't used to. I would always leave the house as early as possible to avoid confrontation. It finally dawned on me that I would no longer have to do that. I would no longer have to fear what I was waking up to or coming home to on a night. When I had eventually finished my breakfast, Lucy lead me to the bathroom. She showed me how the shower worked, it was a fancy one with lots of buttons and turny things. I didn't quite manage to grasp it though, because every 5 seconds, the water would change from scalding hot to ice cold. I decided that from then on, I would stick to baths, but even that looked complicated.
Once I had got out the shower and dressed into a simple outfit of leggings and a hoodie, Lucy announced that she needed to drop a few things of at the Manchester City training academy. There was also a cafe there, so we could eat a late lunch.
When we arrived, Lucy spent 15 minutes talking to these people who I didn't know in the car park. They were all asking about how the England camp had gone and if she would be at training the next day. I busied myself counting the amount of cracks on the pavement until someone with a Canadian accent brought me into the conversation, "so, you must be Rosie?" She asked. I looked up at her, smiled politely and nodded. She held out a hand, "nice to meet you, I'm Janine". I shook her hand and we all talked for a bit more before she had to leave. As we were walking into the building, I announced to Lucy, "she was nice". She laughed lightly and replied, "she's nice until you get past her in training".
Despite all the new faces, I recognised some familiar ones inside. I saw Steph across the reception area and she waved towards me, which I reciprocated. Alex and Ellie were also there having something to eat in the cafe. The both smiled at us when we walked past them.
Even though Lucy just had to hand some forms in to the Man City nurse, she insisted on giving me a full scale tour. She took me to the changing rooms, the medical rooms, the indoor pitch, the outdoor pitch, the gym, even where she would sit during team meetings. It was nice that she wanted to share this all with me. As we were leaving the gym, we bumped into a man with dark brown hair. He recognised Lucy immediately and greeted her, "Lucy! How are you? How was the England camp? Who's this?". Lucy replied, "hi coach good to see you. Camp was great but I'm glad to be returning to my normal routine." She moved on to answer the last question, "and this is my daughter, Rosie". He looked shocked, "I wasn't aware that you had a daughter". Clearly Lucy hadn't told many people about me returning back into her life. However, she answered the question calmly, "we've been separated for a while but now we're reunited permanently". After that last bit, she slung an arm around my waist before continuing, "she's living with me and Keira". He smiled and looked happy for us, "I'm glad that everything has sorted itself out even though I don't know the situation" He turned his body to talk to me and introduced himself as Gareth Taylor, the Man City Women's coach. He questioned, "the true test to see if you're actually Lucy's daughter is how good you are on the ball". I laughed lightly at how desperate he was to know whether I played or not. I was about to say something before Lucy jumped in, "she's very good for only 15. Serena let her join in with us for a few days at camp this last week and she didn't fall behind one single time". Gareth looked impressed as he said, "well we'll have to trial you out for our U16s here at Man City. How does that sound?". I finally got the chance to speak, "it sounds great but I am currently injured. It'll have to wait until the new year before I can start playing again". He looked disappointed at the setback, but seemed happy enough that it was only a few weeks, "I'll organise a trial for you around the middle of January. Then you'll hopefully be fit and well enough to play. I have no doubt about how quickly you will be at your best again, knowing Lucy and her intense training and meal plans". We all laughed at his end statement. Lucy was beaming with pride, "thank you. I was hoping to get her into an academy soon ,anyway we best be going, we're having lunch in the cafe downstairs. See you tomorrow". We all said our goodbyes before me and Lucy headed to the stairs.
Throughout lunch, Lucy was giving me a walk through of what would happen if I got accepted, "you'll get all your training kit and then you'll have to decide which name you want on the back of your shirt when you play games, then you'll meet everyone and introduce yourself. I know that the U16 training schedule is similar to the first team's, so we'll both be here at the same time." I was ecstatic that I had already been, pretty much, offered a place at Man City. Despite my injury, I already knew that with Lucy's help, I would be back fitter and stronger for the rest of the season. I had also already decided that I would have Bronze on the back of my shirt, but I wasn't going to tell Lucy that just yet. It would make her become too complacent. Changing my name to Bronze had got me thinking...
Lucy Bronze's POV:
Towards the end of lunch, Rosie had become quieter and I could tell that something was bothering her. I decided to question her about it. I had a feeling I knew what it was about, but I wanted to be certain "are you okay? You've been quiet ever since I mentioned the name on the back of your shirt". She considered telling me, before slowly explaining, "I know it's a pretty big question for a lunch time but, why did you leave me?". The question took me aback as it wasn't at all what I thought she was going to tell me. I thought about her question for a bit and then answered truthfully, "even though the explanation is going to sound simple, it was a lot more complicated when it happened.". I took a deep breath before continuing, "when I was 15, I was with this boy. I didn't realise it at the time, but being with him was just a way of denying to myself that I was gay. It wasn't anything serious until he got me pregnant. I know you probably don't want to hear this, but you deserve the truth. We hadn't planned starting a family together, it was more of a friends with benefits situation, so when I found out I was pregnant, he panicked. He was at a party and he let one of his very drunk friends drive him to my house. He was in a car crash and unfortunately his injuries were so bad that neither him or his friend survived." Telling this story brought up a whole load of memories I didn't even know existed. I could see the pain in Rosie's eyes but I wasn't finished, "when you were born 9 months later, on the 4th of December, I didn't have time to balance out school, football and looking after a newborn just before Christmas, so I put you up for adoption. Please don't think that I did that because I didn't want you, I always had the intention of finding you again. I was the same age you are now, and it was just too mentally exhausting for me to handle, and I'm sorry". I looked up from the table to see Rosie's face. She looked hurt, but almost relieved that she finally knew the truth she had been silently begging to know over the past 15 years. She finally breathed out 2 words, "I understand". She hasn't said that she accepted my apology for leaving her, and I understood that. I had abandoned her and she has been forced to live in such a traumatic household for her childhood and the start of her teenage years. I was just relieved that she understood. That was enough. I could make it up to her over the coming years, but if she didn't understand why I had left her, the issue would never really be fixed.
I tried to lighten the mood by saying, "you were right. It was a pretty big question for a lunch time".