Make It or Break It

Chapter Seven: Getting Lost at the Park

Riley smiled at Aiden as she sat down on the park bench as he moved to the playground; she pulled out her book and started to read.

It had been a week since she had stopped working for Chelsea FC; Riley hadn’t been able to find herself another job and she was seriously considering asking her father if she could have her job back at Chelsea.

Riley’s focus was pulled from her book as she heard a child crying; looking up she spotted a little girl sitting by herself.

Riley frowned and looked around before she stood and moved to speak to the little girl, she was careful as she approached to make sure she didn’t upset the girl further.

“Are you okay?” Riley asked making the little girl look at her sniffing, her face was covered in her tears and her dress was dirty.

Taking a tissue from her pocket, Riley offered it to the little girl wondering why she was all alone.

“Where are your parents?” she asked as she looked around trying to see anyone looking for a child.

The little girl shook her head making the brunette frown concerned for her.

“Mama left me here because she says I’m a bad girl,” the little girl sobbed pulling at Riley’s heart strings; she didn’t believe that a mother could do that to her own daughter.

She wondered if the little girl had misunderstood what her mother had said; Riley sighed and pulled the child to her to comfort her.

“I’m Riley… what’s your name?” she asked as she comforted the little girl who clung to her as she cried, Riley sighed wondering where her mother could be.

“Nora,” the little girl said making Riley look down at her.

“My name is Nora,” she said making the brunette smile at her as she glanced over at Aiden who was making his way back to his mother. Brushing away Nora’s tears, Riley smiled at her.

“It will be okay… let’s see if we can find your mummy,” she said wondering why the child’s name sounded familiar to her. Aiden stared at his mother then at Nora, as Riley stood up and brushed off her jeans.

“Aiden, this is Nora… we’re going to help her find her mummy,” she said as she took both of the children’s hands.

***

Fernando stared at his wife in disbelief, he couldn’t believe she had been so stupid and now Nora was missing.

“You left her at the park?” he asked raising his voice, as Olalla cooed at Leo and smiled at the little boy; he had just returned home from training when Olalla told him, she couldn’t find Nora.

When Fernando had asked when Olalla had last seen the two year old, he felt sick when Olalla admitted that it had been at the park.

Rolling her eyes, Olalla fussed over Leo who gargled at his mother while Fernando stared at her in disbelief.

“Olalla?” he asked her wondering why his wife would do such a thing.

However she refused to answer instead, she continued to fuss over Leo as Fernando picked up his car keys and stormed out of the house; hoping that he would be able to find Nora.

Olalla watched him drive the family car out of the front garden before she sighed in relief as she watched him leave, she turned and smiled at the man that came to stand behind her.

“That was close,” he said taking Leo from her and smiling at him, Olalla smiled at the two; she didn’t know what she would do if Fernando were to discover the truth about her and Damien Lopez.

Leo smiled up at him as the two of them left Leo’s bedroom and headed down to the living room.

“You don’t think Nora will tell him?” Damien asked knowing that the two year old was well aware of what her mother was doing behind her father’s back with him.

***

Riley sighed as Nora and Aiden talked happily between them, as they searched for Nora’s mother.

“What does your mother do for a living?” Riley asked hoping to find a clue about where to possibly find Nora’s mother. Nora looked up at the brunette and smiled.

“She’s a WAG… my papa is a footballer,” she said proudly making Riley smile at her as she finally realised why she recognised the little girl’s name.

Biting her lip, she wondered if she had gotten around to removing any of the footballers numbers from her mobile, so she could call Fernando.

Stopping walking, Riley pulled her mobile out of her pocket and sighed in relief as she found Fernando’s number.

“Luckily I know your Papa,” she said making Nora smile up at her.

Riley allowed the two of them to play as she dialled the number, she smiled as she watched the two of them play; she wondered what had lead Olalla to leave her daughter at the park.

“Hola?” she heard Fernando answer his mobile breathlessly, making her frown knowing he was probably worried about Nora; she could tell from their sessions that he adored his children.

“Fernando… it’s Riley Montez,” she said, she could hear him running around in the background, she knew that she never wanted to be in his situation; she didn’t know what she would ever do if she lost Aiden.

“Riley now isn’t a good time… I’m looking for Nora,” Fernando said as she glanced over at the two children who were happily talking to one another.

“I’ve found Nora,” she said as she heard Fernando sigh in relief, the brunette was quick to tell him where they were and arranged for him to meet them so that he could come and collect Nora.

The brunette looked up at the cloudy sky and hoped that it would stay dry.

“Nora… your papa’s coming to get you,” Riley said as she looked down at the little girl, who looked sad at the news that she would have to go home.

Nora nodded her head as she looked down at her small hands making the brunette’s heart ache.

“I don’t want to go home to her… I want you as my mummy,” Nora cried making Riley look at her confused, she didn’t know why a child would say such a thing but it made the brunette curious about what was going on back home.

“Nora,” Fernando cried relieved as he ran forward, he pulled the young girl into his arms and held her close; he smiled thankfully at Riley as a roar of thunder made them all jump.

Aiden quickly clambered into the brunette’s arms as the rain started to pour down; Riley held back a curse as she wondered why she had chosen to walk to the park.

“Do you need a lift?” Fernando offered catching the look on Riley’s face as the rain started to fall harder, she nodded as Fernando pulled off his jacket and offered it to Riley so she could cover her and Aiden.

Riley took it gratefully before they started towards his Audi Q7 as quickly as they could; she smiled at Fernando as they all clambered inside.

“Thank you,” she said before telling him, her address which wasn’t far from the park but he shook his head.

“It’s the least I could do after you found Nora,” Fernando said as they pulled up outside of her building. Nora looked at the brunette sadly, not wanting her to leave.

“Why don’t you come in from some coffee… it’s not the best weather to be driving in plus your clothes are soaked,” Riley offered.

Fernando smiled at her before he agreed; he didn’t want to return home just yet to his wife who still had some explaining to do.