Sunsets and footballers

Lucy Bronze x Reader (16)

Lucy was paying when she heard the yelling. Usually, she wouldn't think much of it, but in that moment, her body reacted instinctively as her head whipped around. She couldn't see outside but at the distinctive smashing of glass, she ran before she knew she was. Her knee complained as she negotiated the corner of the restaurant to the front door at pace, and the cold night hit her hard, but not harder than the sight of her girlfriend, limp in the front seat of her car, covered in glass and... blood. Lucy was shoved backwards as three girls took off up the street, but Lucy couldn't give a fuck, she was at YFN's door in a heartbeat, grabbing at the handle. The door was locked, fuck. She was starting to panic out of pure fear for her little Australian splattered in blood, tears welling in her eyes. She reached her hand through the broken glass, earning herself a few scrapes but not caring. She pulled the lock and almost wrenched the door off its fucking hinges.

"No! No - little one.. fuck....fuck!"

Her head was tilted, almost resting on her shoulder, and the blood. It was everywhere. She spotted the brick on the driver's seat and her stomach dropped.

"No - please no..." She was crying as her hand found the far side of her head, hoping her spine wasn't damaged. YFN shifted, lifting her head a little and Lucy let herself breathe the smallest sigh of relief. No neck injury. She gently lifted her head. The brick had left a gash just above her eyebrow, though the impact area had been slightly larger. Lucy ripped off her shirt and pressed it to the wound, trying to stop the blood running like a river down her face. Lucy was covered in blood and was shaking, terrified.

"Please wake up... please.. I'm so sorry. I..."

As if she'd heard the words, YFN groaned, her lips trembling as she slowly became conscious again. Her eyes fluttered open for a second and shut immediately, squeezing tight from the pain.

"L....Luce..."

"Right here. I'm right here, I'm so sorry my love. This is all my fault. I'm sorry-" Her voice broke. "Please stay awake. Please."

"I f..feel sick. It hurts."

"I know, my love. Stay strong for me, please. We'll be at the hospital soon."

A crowd had gathered around but they were all useless, standing back and taking photos rather than helping. Especially when they realised it was Lucy Bronze.

"I'm going to get you to the hospital. Little one, do you think you can hold this to your head for a second?"

She helped to lift YFN's trembling hand to the shirt on her head and ran around to the driver's side, throwing the brick in the back seat and jumping in. She placed her hand over YFN's, pressing it down and pushing her head into the seat. She whimpered.

"Sorry... sorry my love, we need to keep your head up. We need to keep the pressure on. Stay awake for me please.." She tried to sound calm under pressure but everything she said was rushed with fear. She's just glad her neck wasn't broken.

Lucy sped towards the hospital, not giving a fuck about traffic or lights or laws. She picked up the little Australian who'd stolen her heart and again, ignoring the pain throbbing through her knee, she carried her into the Emergency Department, shouting.

Several hours, scans and stitches later, they were in a private room. YFN was unconscious. They'd made her stay awake for several hours during the questions from staff and police, treatments and for monitoring purposes afterwards, but now she was sleeping softly, a bandage covering the stitches across the top of her left eyebrow. Lucy couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop her thoughts. Her eyes drifted over YFN. Here she was, the woman who'd dropped into her life out of absolutely nowhere. She'd had no idea who Lucy was. No idea about football. Nothing beyond that big, kind and caring heart of hers that always wanted the best for the people around her, regardless of herself. She'd seen Lucy at her best, and her worst, and loved her through all of it. But better than that, she'd understood her through all of it. Lucy would be lying to herself if she hadn't thought about ending it, purely for YFN's own sake. But that was just a flicker of an option she knew she'd never have the strength to do. The baggage that came with Lucy was significant, and she knew that, but she could never have expected something as dramatic as this. God, she loved the woman. She loved her. And she hadn't even had a chance to tell her yet. She wanted to go to sleep next to her and wake next to her every day. She wanted to travel with her, experience new things, new foods, new movies... anything. Anything. With her. And no, they hadn't known each other long at all, but Lucy knew. She'd been around. She understood. This was it, this was her home, her future. She'd accomplished a lot in life, football having been the most important thing to her, but she knew she'd drop it in a heartbeat for her. The tears fell silently as she thought about YFN and all she'd been through. She struggled to comprehend how she was single, and so closed off from letting people into her life. But she'd let Lucy in, and Lucy took that seriously. She wasn't going anywhere.