A/N - So sorry for the long wait, I've just had so much going on these past few weeks. Hopefully the updates should be more frequent now. Once you have read it, please let me know how it is and feel free to give any suggestions to anything you would like me to include and what I can improve on. Anyway, enjoy :)
Monday 7th February
Keira's POV:
Today is finally the day that my girls are coming home! I got back from Leah's last night and ever since then, I hadn't known what to do with myself. The relentlessness was growing and growing. I was counting down the hours, the minutes, even the seconds.
They had only been away 2 nights but it felt like much longer. When Lucy played in Lyon, we were away from eachother for weeks, months even. But this felt different. It wasn't just Lucy that I was missing, it was the teenager that had made up mine and Lucy's family. Everything just felt so normal. Me, Lucy, Rosie and Narla.
When Lucy had told me about Rosie, I was skeptical of how she would fit in down her in Manchester with mine and Lucy's never ending schedules. Almost immediately, she just slotted into our busy lives and is now creating her own. It was as if she has been here all along. Both Lucy and I had mentioned multiple times to eachother how visibly relaxed Rosie seemed compared to when we met her. Manchester had abolished the scared, lonely person she was, and brought out the placid and happy side of her. I just couldn't believe how much our lives had changed in a matter of 2 months. Before, it was just me and Lucy in the house. Now, there's a teenage girl who seems to have an eternal amount of energy and crazy erratic mood swings, but, I wouldn't change it for the world.
Lucy also seemed a lot more calm, despite the upcoming Arnold Clark cup, beginning in just 10 days from now. Usually, she would be making sure her fitness was at its best and working hard on the areas she was weaker in. However, she appeared content with how she was playing at this time, and was just enjoying the moment. The only thing that I could see was slowly eating away at her, was all of these endless meetings with her lawyer.
The latest thing Rosie's foster parents had claimed was that Lucy had kidnapped her. Lucy was desperately pleading her case, that she was Rosie's biological mother and deserved to be reunited with her after everything they put her through, but it was a time consuming process that was slowly draining Lucy. There was no real progress in the past 2 months and it was starting to annoy her. The only thing she had managed to accomplish, was persuading the lawyers to allow her to keep Rosie down here. I knew that it would break Lucy and Rosie if she had to return to the north east, and that was something I couldn't bear to see. It was getting to the point where I wished Lucy had just told Rosie what was going on in the beginning. Now, with every day passing, it's growing and growing and Rosie hasn't got even the slightest bit of an idea to what's going on.
It also pains me to see the amount of pressure Lucy is under: fighting for a spot in the starting 11 with England and Man City, trying to look after a teenager, a dog, a girlfriend and enduring long emails and phone calls with lawyers. I just couldn't help but think about the end result of all of this, when Rosie eventually finds out what Lucy has been concealing for so long.
Trying to distract myself, I began making something for me and Narla to eat for lunch. Just as I was getting all the ingredients out to make a chicken caesar salad, the doorbell went. "just my luck" I thought sarcastically. Putting down what I was holding, I shuffled my way down the hallway towards the front door. I unlocked it before widening it to reveal the postman carrying an abundance of parcels, "hi Miss, just need you to sign for all of these" he explained. I was confused, as I didn't know Lucy or Rosie had ordered anything, but signed his little ipad anyway. I thanked him and manouvered myself through the doorway and closed the door with my foot. I looked at the labels on the parcels and it read Miss Lucia Bronze on some of them and on the others it read Miss Rosie Cliff. I cringed at her old last name. Despite having Bronze on the back of her shirt, it hadn't been officially changed. That required Lucy to have full custody over Rosie, which at this moment, she didn't.
After carrying all the parcels into the kitchen/living area, I finally got back to making my salad. The only thing I managed to complete was wash the lettuce before the doorbell went again, "Oh for God's sake" I grumbled outloud. At least it was keeping me busy. Once again, I opened the door. This time to reveal the last person I expected to see on my doorstep, Millie. Joanne, her mum, was in her white BMW parked on the road outside the house with the window down. I greeted Millie and told her she could go inside before walking over to Joanne in a state of confusion. "all she's talked about this weekend is Rosie, so I told her that if she missed her that much she should go and see her when she came back" she explained. I nodded and checked my phone, "unfortunately they aren't back yet, but she can wait with me until they are if that's okay with you. She can stay for dinner too if she wants". Joanne accepted my offer and said, "yes please if that's okay with you and Lucy. I've got a few errands to run anyway so it's best she's out of the house instead of on her silly phone like everyone is these days. I'll come for her around 7?". I laughed guiltily because me, Lucy and Rosie are always on our phones, I suppose that just shows the age gap between a 30 year old parent and a 45 year old parent. I just replied, "yeh 7's fine, there's no rush, she's welcome here for as long as she likes. It's cute that she misses Rosie though". She smiled at the last bit and agreed, "isn't it just. Young love. I thought they would be back by now?". In reply, I said, "so did I. Must be busy on the roads or something". After we said goodbye to eachother, she rolled up her window and drove off down the road. "finally I can finally have my late lunch" I thought.
I went back into the house to see Millie sat on the sofa with her legs up and a glass of water in her hand. I raised my eyebrow and stated, "I see you've made yourself at home already". Her face turned a shade of red in embarrassment and she was quick to apologise, "i'm sorry..I guess I-". I cut her off, sensing she was feeling bad, "it's find, I was only joking". She seemed relieved, but also a little tense. To be honest, this was quite an unusual situation. She was sat with the girl she liked mother's girlfriend. It was almost like meeting the parents. I tried to ease her a little by offering her something to eat, but she just declined.
We passed light conversation for a while until I joined her on the sofa with my salad that I eventually had made. She could obviously tell I wanted to ask her something, because she questioned, "what?" While narrowing my eyes, I apologised, "sorry I was just thinking. Have you and Rosie got together yet". She looked taken a-back with my bluntness and just smirked, "not yet. Anyway I wouldn't tell you because you would tell Lucy and then you'd both go round telling everyone you know". I was about to protest before she interrupted, "don't even try and object. You know you would". I just nodded my head slowly, in agreement with her. The key word sticking in my head "yet". I made a mental note to tell Lucy that later, to prepare her for potential upcoming events.
Rosie's POV:
"What are you thinking about" Lucy questioned from the driver's seat of her car. I thought about it before replying slowly, "nothing...". And that's where she left it for a few minutes before saying directly, "either you tell me what's going on or you don't, but stop staring at me". I rolled my eyes at her and I could tell she saw me because she let out a purposely loud sigh and shook her head.
We had been stuck in not moving traffic for a long time now and both of us were beginning to become increasingly irritated. Every slight move I made, Lucy's eyes were fixed on me like a hawk. Eventually I became tired of it so I said quietly, "and you were the one complaining about me staring at you". She didn't reply, just glared before letting out another sigh and resting her head on the steering wheel. I knew she was tired out from the whole weekend and now driving back in stand-still traffic. It was supposed to be a relaxing getaway, however, Grandma insisted on showing me round their hometown. I found it interesting, but I could see why Lucy was tired of revisiting the places she had been to thousands of times. There were times where she was more energetic than me, acting like she was a child again, but then occasionally I would glance over to her when she thought no one was looking and I would see a blank face - full of mystery and what I thought was worry. I had wondered what she could be worried about: maybe the upcoming international competition? Or maybe she was just missing Keira and Narla?. There were multiple theories but I am too scared to ask, so I guess I'll never know...
"text Keira from my phone and let her know we're stuck in a ridiculously long traffic jam". This was the most she had spoken to me in the last hour. Trying not to irritate her any further, I unlocked her phone and scrolled through her recent messages, trying to find Keira. Eventually I found her and quickly typed in a quick message. I tried not to look at the above messages because I wasn't sure what I would find and I definitely didn't want my innocent eyes seeing that. After I sent it, a text came through at the top of her screen from someone called Neil Leyton. The preview of the text said - Hi Lucy, unfortunately Rosie. I didn't want to breach Lucy's privacy so I just straight up asked her, "who's Neil Leyton?". Her eyes narrowed and became darker at my question, "that is none of your business" she replied simply while taking her phone from my hand, turning it off and putting it in the pocket of her door. I paused for a bit, contemplating whether or not I should push her any further. I decided I would, surely it can't be that much of a secret, "well it is my business when he's talking about me in a text to you". She just glared at me, "stop with the attitude. It doesn't concern you. You shouldn't have been reading my texts anyway, just drop it". I picked up on a hint of stress in her voice, why is this man bringing her anxiety? Unsatisfied, I huffed, "fine, I'll just ask Keira than". Immediately, she shot back, raising her voice, "don't drag Keira into this unnecessarily". I flinched a bit as her voice grew louder but remained intent on finding out who this man was and why she didn't want Keira to know about him, "oh so you're hiding this from Keira too then" I stated. Her voice became pretty much a shout when she replied back to me, closing off the conversation, "i'm not hiding anything from anyone. Just drop it now". I turned to face the window, pissed off. That was the first time Lucy had ever raised her voice at me. Despite all the trauma loud noises and voices brought me, I knew she would have a good reason beneath it all. Tears pricked the back of my eye sockets. I was confused, I wasn't even upset, or maybe I was unknowingly?
The rest of the car ride dragged on so slowly. I couldn't wait to just be back in my own bed cuddling with Narla under a mountain of blankets.
Lucy Bronze's POV:
Immediately as I pulled the car on the drive, Rosie shot out of it like a rocket. She didn't even grab her suitcase and bags on the way up to the house. I felt bad. I had shouted at her and practically forced her to remember all the times she was shouted and screamed at.
Pulling the key out of the car and shutting the engine off, I rested my head on the steering wheel for a bit before I pulled myself together and got out. I heaved out 2 suitcases, 4 bags of stuff that my family had bought Rosie and made my way up to the front door. As soon as I nudged the door open I felt a familiar pair of arms wrapping themselves around my body, Keira. I dropped all of the bags on the floor and we just held eachother for a while until she said, "oh my God, i've missed you so much!". I chuckled and replied, "i've missed you too, but it's only been three days". Finally separating, she said, "i know but it felt like forever. Please take me with you next time". I laughed and shrugged my shoulders, "we'll see".
Making my way into the kitchen, I saw Rosie's friend from football, Millie, sat on one of the sofas. Keira quickly explained that she had come to welcome Rosie back because she missed her, "speaking of Rosie, where is she? You didn't leave her behind did you?" she said laughing at the last bit. I guess she could sense some tension because her facial expression changed to worry when she asked again, "where is she? Luce what's happened". Her immediate sixth sense of knowing that something had occurred surprised me. I replied, "she already came in before me. We had-...we had an argument on the way down and she's pissed off at me. It's fine, she'll get over it and then we can talk about everything". With the last word, Keira looked at me and nodded, almost as if she understood immediately what 'everything' we were about to talk about. That is one of the many things I love about her - she can read me like a book, knowing exactly what i'm thinking about before I've even thought about it. Throughout the past two months, it has been hard going, but I always had Keira by my side through everything. She didn't up and leave when I told her I had a daughter a few years back, she didn't shy away from making a relationship with Rosie - instead she created one of the most beautiful and loving bonds I have ever witnessed. We have been together a little over 6 years, and I intend on making that number a lot bigger.
Throughout mine and Keira's little conversation, Millie was just sat on the sofa - listening but pretending not to. She said awkwardly, "I can go if you want?". I felt bad that she had turned up expecting to give me and Rosie a warm welcome. In comparison, Rosie had ran upstairs probably not even knowing she's here, and me and Keira were having secret conversations making her feel quite excluded. I replied, "no, please stay. Maybe she'll feel a bit happier if she sees that you purposely came to the other side of Manchester just to welcome her home". She smiled at what I said - evidently happy that she could make an impact on Rosie's mood. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, offering Keira and Millie one, before sitting down on the sofa. As Keira placed her legs over my lap, I took a long drink before asking, "so...what's going on with you and Rosie anyway". She gave a self-conscious and awkward laugh, thinking about her response. But before she could give an answer, Keira jutted in, "i've already asked her. They haven't done anything yet". She made sure to put extra emphasis on 'yet'. I raised an eyebrow at the teenage girl sitting opposite us, being pretty much interrogated by two adults "hmm...yet?" I joked with her. Her face went crimson red but confidently said, "yep...not yet". I eyed her, impressed by her confidence. When I was her age, I didn't even speak that assertive to my family, never mind two adults I had barely spoken one sentence to.
All three of us talked for about 15 minutes before I randomly asked Millie, "how old are you?". She seemed so much older than Rosie but must be around the same age because they both play on the U16's together. Both her and Keira seemed confused with my sudden question but she replied, "16. I turn 17 at the end of March". "thats 1 year and 8 months" I stated. Keira turned her head so she was facing me and questioned, "so? There's 5 years between us". I explained, "yes but when we got together, we were both over the legal age to have sex. I don't want to be that really overprotective parent but I just don't think that's the best thing to do now. After Rosie turns 16 in December, sure if that's what you both feel comfortable doing". I paused before continuing, "I understand that you're more than old enough, but Rosie isn't and she's still really vulnerable. I just don't want her doing something acting out of negative emotions". Millie took in everything I had said before answering, "don't worry, I wasn't planning on having sex with her for a while anyway. Also, even if she hasn't told me much about her life in Sunderland, I understand that I might have to wait a while, and i'm more than prepared to do that". I noticed a shade of honesty glazing over her eyes, as she made direct eye contact with me. I nodded my head in thanks for her reassurance.
Keira's POV:
"i'm going to go and check on Rosie" I announced. As I stood up, I felt a hand lightly grip my wrist. I turned around to see Lucy looking directly into my eyes. She said, "can you tell her i'm no longer pissed off at her. Please". I nodded lightly before heading upstairs. Outside Rosie's closed bedroom door, I saw Narla curled up protectively outside like a guard dog. I gave her a pat on the head and knocked gently on the door. I had to strain my ears a bit, but a faint, "go away" emerged from the room. I knocked calmly again and pleaded, "please open the door. It's Keira". I heard shuffling, the sound of blankets been dropped on the floor and the door slowly widened. She was stood there with one of Lucy's blankets wrapped around her shoulders, her hair up in a messy bun, and red, puffy eyes. I sighed gently and pulled her into a comforting hug, pushing the loose strands of hair out of her face and tucking them behind her ears. She gave me a weak and watery smile.
We both went into her room and sat on the edge of her bed, my arm still draped round her shoulders. I began talking, "Lucy's not mad at you anymore. Please come downstairs and let's talk it through. Millie's here". Her face brightened at the mention of Millie, "she's here?" she asked surprised. I nodded my head, smiling. We both stood up and I grabbed her hand as we walked towards the stairs. She paused and I turned around to face her, confused. She stuttered a little before asking, "Keira?....Who's Neil Leyton?". From mine and Lucy's conversation earlier I could tell that she had found something out but I didn't know what. Now I know. I bit my lip, not wanting to betray Lucy's trust but also not wanting to dismiss Rosie. I just gave her hand a squeeze before saying quietly, "You need to ask Lucy that..."