Family away from family

Chapter 22. Red is my favourite colour

5 September 2021

Since Lucy and I cleared the air, our relationship is back in business. A business that is closed during the weekends but it's a start. During our time off from each other, we unintentionally refrained from interacting on social media. We didn't like or commented on posts anymore, which fuelled rumours among our fans that we might have broken up after the Olympics.

Reading those speculations made me question whether Lucy and I were truly on the same page. Did the fans know something I didn't? Of course not, but the reactions and TikTok edits got the better of me. Leah had often advised me not to pay attention to them, but my 'for you page' had quickly turned into a breakup drama about us.

To be fair, they weren't entirely wrong. We were physically apart and weren't on communicating terms, but the core of our relationship was still intact. Despite our off time.

Lucy was the one to shut up all the speculations, by posting a picture she took during her visit some days back. It featured me and Leah standing at the kitchen counter, sharing a laugh at something Leah had said. Captioning it in her story with; 'Can't get between these gals'.

I decided to repost it, adding; 'Don't tell Leah, but you're my favourite'. Just like that, the breakup speculations vanished into thin air.

That day it felt as if we were two teenagers just beginning to fall in love. Always giggly, sitting close next to each other on purpose, sometimes to the point of making Leah cringe. She later told me she was happy to see us finding our way back to each other again.

Which brings me back to our "business" being closed on the weekends, we are still working hard, really hard, to rebuild what we had. Lucy had understandably lost some trust in me and I need to show her that she can trust me again. It's a challenging task because how do you regain someone's trust? What will eventually convince her I'm trustworthy?

It's not like she expects me to avoid Beth, she doesn't want me to sacrifice a friendship like that. In fact, she has her own connection with Beth. They aren't the closest of friends, but Lucy believes in Beth's potential and wants to support her in achieving her goals. Lucy holds onto that belief and is determined to help Beth break out of her shell and excel. Talk about, taking one for the team. Lucy really is doing just that.

I believe we are on the right path, but we haven't reached our ultimate destination just yet...

I'm still sleeping when Leah enters my bedroom and rudely wakes me up. "Sleeping beauty, time to wake up! We've got a season opener to play, vriendin!" She exclaims opening the curtains with enthusiasm.

I groan and roll over as Leah's enthusiastic voice fills the room. The morning sunlight shines through the room, casting a warm glow across the walls. I rub my eyes and yawn, feeling the remains of a peaceful dream slip away.

"Must you be so energetic this early, Le?" I mumble, burying my head under the pillow, but a smile tugs at the corners of my lips. I can't stay mad at her for too long and besides I love season opener days.

She chuckles and playfully pulls the pillow from my head. "Come on sleepyhead, it's game day!" Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement.

I groan again, this time more dramatically, though my own anticipation begins to stir. "I know, I know. Good day to be a Gooner, am I right?" I start to sit up in my bed.

"Yea dude, London will be red." She tackles me back onto the bed with a hug.

We both laugh at our antics. Boy, do I love our friendship.

Due to us playing at the Emirates we gather at London Colney and from there take the coach to the stadium. It's part of the fans experience, they will see the entire team arrive together.