Regrets and Mistakes

Twenty - one

Rachel's POV
The dinner is going amazingly well. So far so good at least. Zach's been really quiet but I think it's because of Julie because she keeps glaring at him. I felt my phone vibrate and I wondered who could want me at this hour. I pulled it out to see a text from voicemail. I furrowed my brows in confusion that a call from earlier is only coming through now saying I had a voicemail.

"Is everything alright Rach?"
"Uh yeah. Excuse my for a minute. I've got a call to make."

I stood up and pushed my chair back. I felt them all looking at me but the message has me too worried to care. I walked out of the restaurant and into the lobby and sat on one of the sofas. I went into my contacts and called voicemail and put the phone up to my ear.

"You have one new message left at 18:27 pm. To listen press one."

I brought the phone away from my ear and pressed number one and brought it back to my ear and listened. I immediately heard the sound of gunshots and bombs and gasped knowing who it was.

"Hey princess, it's your uncle Jason. I heard about your news about signing with Man City. Congrats. I'm incredibly proud of you baby girl. As you can probably hear I'm on tour but I needed to call you and hear your voice but I guess you just missed the call. Anyway, good luck in Manchester and know that we'll all be supporting you from here. I hope to see you soon. I love baby girl.... end of voicemail."

The line went dead and I slowly brought the phone away from my ear. I sat in disbelief as I stared at my phone. I felt a tear fall down my face, fast and fell onto the screen. I felt the seat sink next to me and I quickly wiped my eyes and turned my head to see mom. She looked at me worryingly and put her hand on my knee.

"Who was on the phone?"
"Uncle Jason. He called earlier but I didn't answer. He left a voicemail and I just listened to it."
"Oh. Is everything alright? He's not hurt is he?"
"No. I don't know. He just said that he's thrilled that I got a contract here and all that. How proud he is and how much he loves me."
"Aw that's nice of him. Why are you crying then?"
"I guess I didn't realise how much I missed him, uncle T and aunt M until now. I need you to promise me that you'll annoy me to call you at least once a day. I can't risk losing you too."
"I promise. I'll annoy you to FaceTime as well so J and Lys can join too."
"Join what?"

We both looked behind us and saw Jules. I smiled at her and she sat down next to mom.

"Our FaceTime calls."
"Oh please, I expect my own twice a week at the very least."

I chuckled at her. She reached over and wiped my cheeks. Mom handed me a tissue and I thanked her. I wiped my eyes and they smiled.

"I have panda eyes don't I?"
"Just kind of. Go to the bathroom to wash them. I'll go get the make up remover wipes from Ali. She's always carrying them around with her."
"Thank you."

Julie stood up and walked back towards the restaurant. Mom and I stayed put.

"We never got to talk earlier. Look Rach, about what ha-"
"No it's okay."
"It's not. You are an incredible, young player who plays wiser beyond her years. You're nothing like Alex and I and I could not be prouder of everything you've achieved so far. I'm sorry I said those things to you. I was upset that I was losing you and you moving halfway across the world."
"Hey, you could never lose me. Ever. In case you've forgotten, your teammates absolutely adore me and would take me in a heartbeat if you ever gave me up."
"I would never give you up. I made that mistake once and I don't plan on doing it again."