*ON HOLD* You are my mums (a Lucy Bronze fanfic) - Book 2

Chapter 4 - Ballon d'Or

Rosie's POV:

The Ballon d'Or. An award presented to one man and one woman who have had an outstanding football season. Only the best players will receive it. The likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Benzema, Kerr, Hegerberg and Miedema are all nominees who could potentially win it. Lucy has also been nominated. In 2019, she came second to Megan Rapinoe who was awarded first place. Many fans also believe Keira should've also been nominated, but sadly she wasn't. It's a proud moment for the whole family and I'm so excited that I get to see my mum in contendment for one of the most prestigious awards in the footballing world.

Lucy and Keira are flying to France to see the actual awards ceremony and I'm going to stay with Ingrid because they don't want me to be on my own for 2 days. I don't really mind, but I guess it'll be nice to have some company. Alexia has also been nominated and she's taking Mapi as her guest. I want her to win so much, but i'm torn because Beth is also in the running.

 Beth has had one hell of a year. From being left out of the Olympics squad to proving herself in front of millions. Her awards list in the past year is long - very, very long. BBC women's footballer of the year, World Soccer World Player of the Year, England Player of the Year, FSA Player of the Year, UEFA Player of the Year, IFFHS World's Best Player, the Guardian 100 Best Footballers  and many, many more. If anyone deserves the Ballon d'Or, it's her. After hearing that her mum had terminal cancer, she put all of those negative emotions into making herself the best player that she could possibly be and I respect that massively. Her journey has been far from smooth but she has fought to be where she is today and I will back her with admiration and pride.

Lucy poked her head around my door, "I'm just going to the shop to get some paracetamol for Keira, do you need anything?". I shook my head and asked caringly, "is she okay?". A couple of days ago, Keira developed a light cough and a cold. At first, we thought it might be COVID, but after numerous negative tests, we could rule that out. From then, she had only become worse with headaches, a high temperature and muscle aches. Her and Lucy were supposed to be getting on a flight to France that afternoon, but at the minute it looked fairly likely that Lucy would be the only one to board that plane. 

Not wanting Keira to be alone and ill downstairs, I picked up a blanket that was actually Lucy's and skipped down the stairs. Hearing the sound of Lucy's car engine as she drove off the drive, I entered the living room as quietly as I could. She was sat on the sofa, propped up with pillows, while she aimlessly scrolled through her phone. I could tell she needed a distraction so I began to talk to her, "how are you?". She croaked out, "not great". I was shocked at how bad she sounded compared to the last time I had heard her that morning. It didn't seem that numerous packets of paracetamol and bottles of cough medicine were helping her in the slightest.

She reached for her bottle of water on the coffee table and slurped it slowly while I continued to talk, "I brought you a blanket". She gladly took it off me and wrapped it around her body the best she could, pointing out, "it smells of Lucy". I laughed lightly, "yeah, it's hers. Do you need anything?". Shaking her head, she snuggled deeper into the blanket, inhaling the familiar scent. 

I decided to stay and keep her company for a bit because I didn't have anything I needed to be doing. Finding the time to relax was difficult in Manchester. Whether I was at training, doing schoolwork or at a game, I was always busy. So far, everything in Barcelona has been calm. Even the people don't have a sense of urgency, they just take their time. 

A little while later, the front door opened - indicating that Lucy was home. Keira, obviously not having the energy, didn't even react. Normally if Lucy's been away for a short while, Keira would jump up to greet lovingly her as she came home - but not today. I remained seated on the beanbag as my mum entered the living room - carrying a single bag and holding something behind her back suspiciously. Both me and Keira eyed her carefully as she shuffled towards her girlfriend, but smiled widely when Lucy brandished a colourful, beautiful bouqet of flowers. Keira produced a high-pitched squeal, forgetting all about being ill for a minute, but then felt the effects of her sudden action and started to cough. Lucy placed the flowers on the coffee table and began taking everything out of the bag. There was a few bottles of water, some chocolate and a couple of packets of paracetamol. I smiled at how good Lucy was at caring for people when they are ill.