Rosie's POV:
Suitcase in one hand and my phone in the other, I stepped inside Beth's house. A warm, cosy atmosphere enshrouded me as Beth closed the front door the block the cold from entering. It had only just turned October, but you could definitely tell that winter was on the way.
After I took my coat off, Beth took me down the hallway and left into a large living room. The one and only, Vivianne Miedema was sat casually on a sofa and looked up when she saw us enter. Getting up from her seat to greet me, she said in a Dutch accent, "You must be Rosie, I'm Vivianne but you can call me Viv". She immediately calmed my nerves about meeting one of my idols. Despite having met many of my other childhood idols with no problems, she was definitely one of the ones that I had been most nervous about. Pulling me in for a short hug, I stuttered out, "y-yes...that's me. Nice to meet you". She nodded and indicated for me to sit down on a sofa. Beth also greeted her girlfriend before sitting next to her and telling me, "make yourself comfortable. It's your home as well as ours for the next few days". Viv added on, "it's nice having you here Rosie, it makes a change from only seeing Beth". Beth nudged her and pretended to be hurt but I just laughed, "glad I can make it more bearable".
We talked for a bit until Viv stood up, "you must be exhausted, do you want me to show you your room?". The fact that they had prepared a room for me just made me feel even more at home. I was more than happy with sleeping on the sofa, but it made me smile internally and externally that they actually thought about where I was going to sleep. Nodding, Beth complained, "I was going to show Rosie to her room...". Viv laughed but continued to walk up the stairs, me following close behind her, "too slow Meado". My first impressions of Viv were that I liked her. She seemed fun and had just the right personality to match Beth's.
Their house was very nice. All the little decorations really made it feel homely and personalised to both of them. Viv led me down the upstairs corridor until we got to a door. She opened it while saying, "this will be your room. I hope you like it, but if you don't-..." I cut off her rambling, "I love it...". The walls were painted light grey and a comfy-looking double bed sat proudly in the middle of the room. Despite it only being a guest room, it was decorated very meticulously. One of Beth's framed England shirts was on the wall above the bed. Viv smiled warmly and began to talk again, "there's a bathroom to the right of your room, I've left towels on your bed for you to use because I wasn't sure if you brought your own. There's blankets in that drawer and if you need anything else please don't hesitate to ask". Grinning gratefully up at her, I admired the amount of effort they had put into getting this room ready for me. I thanked her and placed my suitcase on the floor, getting ready to unpack it. She began to exit the room but remembered something, "me and Beth don't have training tomorrow so we can do whatever. We can go into London or stay at home, it's up to you". I nodded my head and she exitted the room.
First, I began to pack the very limited amount of clothes that I had brought into the built-in wardrobes. Looking around at all of my stuff, I realised that I had packed extremely light. After I had done that, I sat down on the bed and opened my phone to text the family groupchat:
Bronze-Walsh household 😎
Me: i've arrived
Lucy ♥😘: how was the train? X
Me: fine. I've also met Beth's girlfriend
Keira 💕: who is she?? Xx
Me: Vivianne Miedema
Lucy ♥😘: bet you were starstruck when you met her😉x
Me: 🤫 i'm going in the shower, speak to u tmrw x
Keira 💕: Goodnight, sleep well xx
Lucy ♥😘: night 😴xx
Beth lightly knocked on my bedroom door and I chuckled, "you don't have to knock on a door in your own house". She entered and shrugged her shoulders, "you going to bed?". I thought about it for a bit before answering, "not yet. I was tired earlier but i'm a bit more awake now". She asked gently, "you want to talk now or tomorrow?". Standing up and picking up a towel for the shower, I replied, "we can after I get out the shower if you're not going to bed". She nodded, "I go to bed later normally so don't worry about me. It'll be like during the Euros when we were the only two awake...". I remembered the numerous nights I spent talking to Beth late into the night when everyone else was fast asleep. Smiling slightly, I responded, "see you in twenty?". She grinned and repeated my words, "see you in twenty".
Everything about Beth's house was nice. Every single room was decorated exactly how I'd imagined it would look. From the flooring to the tiles in the bathroom, it was all Beth-like.
It felt weird to think about that earlier in the afternoon, I was playing football, and now i'm in London never wanting to play football for the forseeable future. However, I am a big believer of everything happens for a reason and everything about my decision feels somehow right.
After taking a relatively short shower, I put on some shorts and a t-shirt. At home I would usually also put on a hoodie, but Beth's house was comfortably warm. I loved going to houses where they were the perfect temperature, not too cold and not too hot.
On my way downstairs, I passed Viv who was walking up the stairs. She told me, "I'm going to bed, see you in the morning". Nodding my head, I said, "good night" and continued my way downstairs. Beth and Viv were the complete opposites. Beth liked to stay up late and Viv liked to go to bed early. I also knew that Beth is definitely not a morning person, and I presumed Viv is. Despite being opposite, they still got on and it seemed like they were in a very happy and loving relationship. I wished for a relationship like theirs or Leah and Jordan's or Lucy and Keira's in the future. As much as I didn't want to admit it, my gut instinct was telling me that my own relationship had gone as far as it could go. There was no doubt that me and Millie liked eachother, it was just the right person, wrong time.
Beth was watching something on TV but when she saw me enter the room, she switched it off. She asked, "do you want a drink?". I answered jokingly, "yeah i'll take a vodka and coke". Lightly shaking her head and smiling at my response she said, also continuing the joke, "I definitely have coke but i'm not sure about the vodka. I think Viv finished it all last night". Laughing, I told her, "I guess a coke will have to do then". She disappeared out of the room, presumably to the kitchen, and I made myself comfortable on the other side of the sofa that she was also sitting on.
Shortly after, Beth returned with two glasses of coke and a box of quality streets, "this year we've got the Christmas chocolates in early because last year they all ran out when we tried to get a box". Taking a glass off her, I replied, "that's probably because you tried to buy them on Christmas Eve". She pointed out, "it was the 23rd actually". I shrugged my shoulders, "still".
We were sat in silence for quite a while. I was figuring out what I was going to say and she was waiting. She eventually broke the lack of noise, "so..I haven't heard from you in ages and then suddenly I get a text asking if you can come down. Why was it so urgent?". Taking a long drink of my coke, hoping it would give me some confidence, I answered, "I walked off the pitch today". Before I could even elaborate on what I said, she interrupted, "you had a game today?". Nodding my head slowly, I replied, "yep, against Liverpool". She looked very confused at why I needed to come down to London only a few hours after my game, "why are you here then? What happened? Why did you walk off?". I understood her masses of questions and tried to answer them the best I could, "things have changed this season with my new coach. He didn't play me at all this season until today. In goal". She took my pause in speech to ask a few more questions, "You haven't played at all until today? Why in goal?" I shook my head and continued to explain, "he hates me. He's been treating me so bad all season and even Lucy didn't believe me until what happened today. I was in goal but then another girl swapped shirts with me so I was playing outfield. I managed to score one goal and I nearly had another. I was one on one with the keeper, no defenders in sight. Everyone on and off the pitch was shouting for me to shoot but my feet just stopped. My coach absolutely lost it when the ball was reclaimed by Liverpool and I was just stood, frozen in place. He was shouting things at me, telling me how bad of a player I am. And then I asked myself, 'do I love what i'm doing?'". Beth finished off my sentence for me, "and the answer is no".
Sighing, I nodded my head in complete agreement with what she said. Shuffling closer towards my end of the large sofa, she placed an arm around my shoulders, "I know how you feel...not loving what you're doing is the worst feeling because you're so scared that you'll let everyone else down". I rested my head on her shoulder, very thankful that she understood and didn't react like Lucy. Explaining my mother's reaction, I frowned remembering how pissed off she had been earlier in the day, "Lucy thought there was something wrong with me. When I told her I didn't want to play anymore, she couldn't accept it. And then she gave me a whole load of shit about setbacks and how I have to overcome them not give up". Beth rubbed my right shoulder with one hand, "don't worry about Lucy, she'll understand in the end I promise". I began to talk, "she was so annoyed, I almost wanted to get back on the pitch just so she would be happy-...". but Beth cut me off, "you can't let other people's opinions influence your decisions for your life. If you did get back on the pitch, it would have been even more damaging to your mental health. You did the right thing and i'm proud of you". She pulled me closer as I mumbled, "I'm glad that someone understands it". Turning her head so she was now looking me in the eyes, she told me, "your mum will understand. It's just a bit of a shock that all of a sudden you don't want to play football".
We sat cuddled on the sofa for a bit as she reassured me that I had done the right thing. Hearing someone tell me that they were proud of me just made me feel more confident in my decision. If I had suffered and not done what I had, anything could have happened.
Sharing what happened with someone who had also experienced something similar made me wonder how Beth coped with it, "what did you do?". She looked at me, confused for a minute until she understood, "I focused on doing things for myself instead of other people. After being left out of the Olympic squad, I was desperate to prove myself but I did it in the way that I wanted to. People tried to tell me that I had to do certain things to get back to being the best footballer I could be, but I had to ignore them and do what I wanted to do". She was one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. Her story from how she was left out of the Olympics to how she slowly became one of the best players in the world. Since then, she has won multiple personal awards, is in the middle of writing a book and is nominated for the ballon d'or later this month. Even when I didn't know her, I looked up to her and admired her strength to bounce back from such a disappointment.
After a while, I began to grow tired. Beth had put something on the television but I wasn't really watching it. My eyes began to ache out of exhaustion and I leant my head further on her shoulder. Somehow she could tell that I was getting tired and said light-heartedly, "time to go to bed, I didn't prepare a room for you just to fall asleep on me". I complained, "can I just stay down here? I'm too tired to move". I felt her body shift as she moved away from me. She had been keeping me warm and now I was beginning to feel slightly cool. Realising that I needed to go to bed to be warm and comfortable, I sat up properly and tried to force my eyes open. Beth simply laughed kindly at my exhaustion but sighed, "I can't believe i'm even offering this but do you want me to carry you do bed". Grinning at her offer, I nodded enthusiastically. Her strong arms wasted no time in picking me up off the sofa and carrying me up the stairs to my bedroom. Thanking her when she placed me on my bed, she said, "see you in the morning Mini Bronze-Walsh". And after such an exhausting day and evening, I fell straight to sleep.
The next day...
Beth Mead's POV:
Viv and I were sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen eating breakfast when Rosie emerged looking very much awake. She greeted us enthusiastically, "good morning". I hadn't expected her to get out of bed until much later after the chaotic day she had just had. Viv immediately offered her almost everything that we had in the house for breakfast until Rosie simply responded, "I'll just have Coco Pops please". Viv stood up from her seat and went to make her a bowl of cereal but Rosie stopped her, "don't worry about it, you sit down and have your breakfast, i'll make it". Drinking my morning coffee, I watched as Rosie got out a bowl, added the cereal and then poured the milk on top. She saw me watching and asked, "what? Have you never seen someone make breakfast before?". Laughing at her response, I replied, "you're the guest, we don't mind doing things for you". She got out a spoon from the drawer and sat next to Viv, "no, it's fine. You're letting me stay here so it only seems fair that I help out as well". Accepting her reason, I replied, "that is such a Lucy Bronze thing to say. You definitely take after her". She smirked and I continued to talk, "she texted me this morning to check that you were still alive and I hadn't done anything stupid". She laughed happily and continued to eat her breakfast while talking to Viv as I finished my coffee before beginning to stack the dishwasher.
Rosie asked nicely after breakfast, "can we go into London? I've never been before". Looking at her stunned I asked, "has Lucy never taken you?". She shook her head, "she's just so busy all of the time". Viv aswered Rosie's first question, "of course we can go into London". She then turned to me, "do you want me to drive?". Nodding my head desperately, she smiled and pulled me in for a hug. She knows how much I hate driving in London due to it being so busy all of the time. Not much gets me stressed, but driving in London definitely does.
As we left the house, I shivered at the freezing temperature, "ah, shit it's cold". Viv joked, "Bethany, don't swear in front of children". Rolling my eyes at her, I could see Rosie just watching our interactions. That reminded me to ask her, "how are things with Millie?". She shrugged her shoulders, "complicated". Viv questioned in her cute Dutch accent, "why complicated?". Rosie sighed as she got in the back seat of the car, "things just aren't the same anymore. She's moving on with her life and it feels like I'm not". Viv reached over and placed a hand on my leg as I suggested to Rosie, "when was the last time you talked about things?". She paused for a minute before answering, "I can't even remember the last time we talked, nevermind about our relationship". Viv joined the conversation again, "communication is the most important thing for a relationship to work". I said before Rosie could say anything, "please don't give up on things just because they're hard at the minute. Just because you're both leading different lives, doesn't mean you can't be together. But also, you have to do what's right for you at the end of the day. She smirked, "wise words Meado". Grinning at her compliment, I responded, "I can be quite clever sometimes you know. I'm not all stupid".
In London, we visited all things that tourists would typically visit. We took a photo on the London Bridge, went on the London Eye, stood outside Buckingham Palace wondering how many rooms it had and sat in Hyde Park with a hot chocolate to warm us up. The weather in the past few weeks had been completely random. Some days it would be freezing cold with rain lashing down, and other days it would be warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt and bright sun. This time of year was always weird and confusing.
When we were in Harrods, Rosie moved suddenly to hide behind Viv's tall body. Shooting her a confusing look, she whispered fairly panicked, "that creepy man from the train who gave me his number is over there". Understanding her fear, I tapped Viv on the arm and indicated that we needed to move from that part of the shop. Safely in a completely different area, I asked Rosie, "you okay?". She smiled half-heartedly and returned to looking at whatever she was interested in.
When we left the restaurant we had eaten in, Rosie said, "i'm beginning to think that man's following me". Even though she tried to make it a joke, I could see that she was genuinely concerned about him. I tried to reassure her that it was just a coincidence and she didn't need to be on edge about some stupid creepy man.
After our very busy, and expensive, day out, we piled all of the bags into the car. Even though Rosie insisted on us not buying her anything, we chose not to listen to her. For the majority of her life she hadn't been bought any types of gifts and I wanted to try and make up for that. She deserved to know how loved and appreciated she was.
Lucy Bronze's POV:
Keira and I were sat eating dinner when her phone made a noise indicating that she had received a notification. She got up to get her phone and I continued eating. It felt weird that it was only the two of us eating. We had been so used to Rosie being here with us that it felt wrong not to have us here.
When Keira returned to the table, she had a mix of emotions on her face. Confusion, excitement and even fear maybe. She breathed, "Luce...". Frowning, I nodded, hoping that she would explain soon. Stuttering out, she eventually told me, "Man City have accepted Barcelona's bid for me". For the past few weeks, every single bid that Barca had sent to Man City, it had been rejected. Me and Keira were starting to lose hope that we would be able to move by the new year, but it seemed that we would have to wait no longer. The money must have been significant if everything had finally gone through. Now, Barcelona wanted, and could officially, sign both of us. All that they needed was our signatures on the dotted line on the bottom of our contracts.
Barely able to string a sentence together, I struggled, "what do we do now?". Keira looked me in the eyes, "tell Rosie. Not over text but as soon as she gets back from London". Nodding my head in agreement, I stood up and pulled Keira in for a hug, "I can't believe that we could be going to Barcelona to sign our contracts next week if Rosie wants to". She held my shoulders tightly, "I know. I can't wait to start this new journey with the both of you".
The only thing that pulled us away from our hug was another text, but this time to my phone:
Leah 😵: we need to talk about Rosie and England. Turns out they didn't reject the offer for her to join them later this month. Someone else did.