Little Do They Know

Chapter 29 - Parents

Over the next few days, I stayed in my apartment. I didn't want to be out on the street. I knew I was being delusional but something about being vulnerable, without protection, wasn't something I enjoyed. Jackie came over multiple times, to dig through newspapers and to just talk about life.

"Do you miss your parents?" Jackie asked me, one afternoon after training. We were sitting on my sofa, watching some highlights from the premier league games earlier that week.

"Yeah, I do," I replied, smiling softly.

"Do you think things would be different if they were still here?"

"Maybe," I replied, "but, I'll never know. Sometimes I wonder if I would even have been able to become a professional player if my parents were still here."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I moved around so much as a kid, that I never really got to settle down. When I finally moved back to Boston, I was able to settle down. I was able to join a club, and become a player in the national team."

"Guess things do sometimes turn out for the best?" Jackie said.

"Yeah, I guess."

As we just sat on the sofa, beside one another, I got a message from Josie.

Josie: Hi darling, I just found these very old photos of you and your mom and dad in my basement. Thought I might just send them over. They may be useful in whatever you're doing at the moment... and before you deny it, I know you're doing something. Just be careful xx

When I opened the link to the photos, I came across multiple family photos of me, Mom and Dad. They were taken from when I was probably four years old to when I was eight. I didn't recognise many of the locations, but I could see the bridges of Amsterdam in one and the buildings of Madrid in another.

"That's Oosterpark," Jackie said, peering over my phone and pointing towards a picture of me and Dad. My face was nuzzling into Dad's shoulder, as he protected my body from the wind.

"In Amsterdam?" I asked.

"Yeah, right in the centre basically." Jackie kept looking at the picture, very intensely, I could only wonder what was going through her brain .

"What are you thinking?" I asked her.

"Not sure," Jackie replied, reaching for the phone, and zooming in on the background, "how old do you think you were in this photo?"

"Probably seven," I replied.

"Maybe you should take a trip back to Amsterdam?"
"Why?"
"Maybe to figure it out? Figure out what happened." I knew she was right, and it sounded like a smart idea, but I wasn't sure.

"I went to Lyon last year, and it did nothing. In the end, I just ended up spilling my secret to Emily and it all ended up being for nothing."

"Amsterdam may be a better bet though? You were there for longer and you may find something."

"I wouldn't even know where to start though, Jack," I said to her.

"I do," she replied, "you would start right here." As she said this, she pointed towards the photo and the park.

We had a game against Chelsea, and it was always going to be a tough game. We had got the win against Arsenal a few weeks earlier, but Chelsea were a different breed.

When we headed down to London, it was quite intimidating. I sat beside Jackie on the bus, and our friendship was becoming something so special to me. I really adored her, and knew that I needed her, more than I thought.