You can't be my mum (a Lucy Bronze fanfic) - Book 1

Chapter 43 - left in the dark

A/N - absolutely gutted for Beth Mead and her injury, wishing her a quick recovery

Lucy Bronze's POV:

My phone was placed on the table on speaker as Keira and I sat on the sofas listening attentively to what Leah was saying, "when Ro told me about England withdrawing their offer, I knew something wasn't right. Despite her not playing, they know how good she is from last season and they wouldn't have even offered it if they didn't think she deserved it". Keira's knee was bouncing up and down next to me, "Leah get to the point". I could picture Leah rolling her eyes over the phone, "okay okay, it's important I set the scene first". Keira threw her hands up in the air out of confusion and frustration, "Leah, I love you but please just tell us who the hell withdrew Rosie's offer". Leah replied, calmly as ever, "I'd be able to tell you if you didn't keep interrupting me". I placed a hand on Keira's knee, silently telling her to not ask any questions and let Leah explain, "we won't interrupt anymore". 

Leah began to explain once again until she stopped, "wait, is Rosie there? She should hear this too". Looking at eachother, we were mentally fighting over who was going to tell Leah that Rosie was in fact down in London. Keira stuttered out, "oh...err...she's not here at the moment". Almost as if she could pick up on Keira's uncertainty, she questioned, "where is she?". I decided to just tell Leah the truth, "well, the thing is...she's actually down in London, with Beth". Leah was silent for a moment before exasperating, "Rosie is in my city and i'm the last one to hear about it?". Keira replied slowly, "yep...". Leah sighed, "I think I should talk to her about this first. I'll call you back I promise". Both Keira and I desperately shouted Leah's name down the phone, trying to get her to stay and tell us, but it was no use. She was gone. 

We agreed that Rosie probably should hear about Leah's discovery first as it concerns her directly. However, it still didn't make it any less annoying that Leah had told us half a story and left us on a bloody cliffhanger. Keira turned to face me, "who could it be?". I looked at her in confusion, "it's probably just a mix-up of some kind". She frowned, "you don't think that someone did this on purpose?". I realised what she was getting at, "what?...do you think someone rejected Rosie's offer for her?". Keira nodded, "yep, and I can have a pretty good guess at who". Sinking into my seat, I sighed, "I guess you could be right". She stood up, "well the only way to find out is if we call England up directly". I reached out an arm and pulled her back down onto the sofa, "Kei, we don't know for sure. We can't go round accusing people of anything until we have proof". She sighed in defeat, "I suppose you're right. We'll wait for Leah to call back. She might have some sort of concrete evidence".

What an eventful evening. First Man City accept Barcelona's offer for Keira and now Rosie's offer at England has been turned down by someone. 

The next day - Sunday 3rd October

Beth, Viv and me were sat in front of the fire watching Man City V Liverpool on the TV. It was an awful day to be playing football and we were all thankful that it wasn't us running about in the pouring rain and gusts of wind. Beth sighed, "at least you got to see London yesterday. It's a shame we can't do anything much today". I shrugged my shoulders, "don't worry about it. Just being down here is enough for me". Viv lit a candle and warned, "be careful Beth, remember what happened the last time I lit a candle". Beth laughed and explained to me, "the other week Viv lit a candle but I didn't realise so I came bouncing into the room with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Long story short, the blanket somehow floated into the candle and was set on fire". Viv frowned, "it was my favourite blanket as well...". Beth put a hand on her shoulder, "i'll buy you a new one". Viv seemed satisfied and told Beth, "don't move while this candle is still on. I don't want to have to explain why you burnt Rosie, especially not to Lucy". I chuckled, "you know, even though she comes across as quite scary, she's actually not that bad". Beth asked, looking very eager for the answer, "when has she been the most annoyed at you?". It took me a second or two to think about it, but when I remembered, I told them, "probably when she thought I was drinking coke but I was actually drinking vodka. She was pissed off at me for days after that". Beth questioned, "when did that happen and how have I only just found out now you little rebel?". Shrugging my shoulders, I answered, "it was New Year's Eve. The worst part was that she had friends round as well". Beth looked shocked, "shit...I can't believe i'm only finding out now". I continued talking, "actually, she was probably more mad at me when I threw a party and she didn't know until I was suspended from Man City". Both Beth and Viv's faces dropped and Beth exclaimed, "when was there a party and why wasn't I invited?". Viv laughed, "let me guess, you were drinking that time too and she was even more annoyed when she found that out". I sighed, remembering those few traumatic days, "yep, exactly. Thinking back now, that was probably the thing that just pushed my mental health over the edge". Beth frowned and placed a hand on my leg, "I didn't know that was one of the main reasons for your attempt". I smiled gently, "it sort of was the last straw for me. After I was suspended, I didn't know what to do and in the end, I ended up in hospital. Maybe if I didn't have that party, I wouldn't have tried to commit suicide". Viv shuffled closer to me, "you can't go back into the past and change what happened. What you need to be doing is focusing on your mental health now to try and prevent it from happening again" Beth came closer on my other side, "things happen for a reason, maybe your attempt not working was a sign from the universe telling you that you need to stay here". I chuckled, "how do you always know the right thing to say?". She shrugged, "I have had a lot of experience".