endearment (Jesse Lingard & Marcus Rashford)

The sequel | part 17

Jesse pov
After lots more talking with Lils I discovered completely how she kept him secret and god she was smart.
It was him that she was expecting to arrive with the babysitter at 5pm last night.
And anytime she was on FaceTime with me she would have him with the babysitter also.
She hid her bump on her Instagram by not taking photos of it and wearing baggy clothes, or posting old photos.
I stayed at her house last night and helped with him in the night.
I still can't quite believe that I have a child.
I actually have a child.
I have a bloody child.
A child. A mini me. A mini Jesse. A mini lingard.
Feels so surreal.
I just wish I could've been there to help her through pregnancy and the birth.
I would've treated her like a princess.

Delilah pov
I walk into the doorway of Ellis' room to see Jesse cradling him in his arms.
"You're so handsome" he whispers down to Ellis.
I smile at the picture presented in front of me, Jesse holding our baby.
He turns around slowly and jumps slightly when he sees me.
"God you scared me" he says smiling taking a deep breath.
I let out a light laugh and lean against the doorway.
"Mummy is sneaking up on daddy and scaring him! we can't be having that now can we?" He says sweetly down to Ellis.
I'm so surprised and happy how well he's adapting to this HUGE bombshell to be honest.
He begins to place Ellis back down in the cot.
"Are you going to tell Kirsty?" I ask gently
"I was thinking of telling her today before she finds out from anyone else" he says as he looks up from the cot to face me.
"You can take her to him or she can come here, it's up to you" I say shrugging
"I won't disturb him, I'll leave him here and she can come to him" he says walking over to me in the doorway.
He stops right in front of me.
We are now centimetres apart.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you" he says looking deep into my eyes.
I can see the sadness and regret filling his eyes.
"It's fine, I'm a strong girl. And You're here now anyway. That's the main thing" I smile
"Come here" he says and he randomly pulls me into a hug.
I don't reject the hug as I hug back wrapping my arms around him as he embraces me.
We get interrupted by Jesse's phone vibrating and ringing in his pocket.
He pulls away from our hug and gives me an apologetic look.
"It's fine you go take it" I say shrugging
"You sure?" He asks taking his phone out of his pocket.
I nod and smile and he looks down at the caller ID.
He slides his finger across the screen and walks out onto the landing holding his phone to his ear.
I step inside Ellis' room and walk over to his cot.
"Let's get you changed mister" I say stroking his tiny nose with my finger causing him to giggle.

Jesse appears in the doorway of Ellis' room and leans against the doorway as I am doing up the last few buttons on Ellis' outfit for the day.
"Who was it?" I ask not looking up from Ellis
"Oh just Louie" he shrugs
"Did you tell him?" I ask curiously
"No, I'll tell me mum first" he says
I don't reply.
"Are you okay with him for just 10 minutes?" He asks
"Yeah why?" I ask looking up
"I think I will nip round to me mums and tell her" he says already turning around to leave.
"Wait!" I call out
He turns around and looks at me confused
I quickly look around the room.
"We will come" I smile
"Are you sure? I don't want to disturb him" he says shoving his hands in his pockets.
"It's fine" I smile as I pick up Ellis.
"The car seat is in the kitchen" I shout as Jesse is walking down the stairs.
I grab the 'going out bag' as I like to call it, packed with all the essentials like wipes and nappies etc.
"Come here you" I say scooping up Ellis.
He really is beautiful, he has lots of Jesse's features, it's like looking at a tiny Jesse.
"God you look like your dad" I say to Ellis as I'm walking down the stairs.
"Good or bad?" Jesse laughs standing at the bottom of the stairs holding the car seat.
I smirk at him as I reach the bottom of the stairs.
"Good" I smile
Jesse then looks so proud and smug as we walk out to his car.

I wait in the car as Jesse knocks on his mum's door.
She opens the door and embraces him in a hug.

Jesse pov
"Hi mum" I say into our hug
"Hello darling" she says as we pull out of our hug.
"Now mum I don't know how else to say this but I have something to tell you" I say scratching the back of my neck.
She looks behind me at my car and spots Delilah.
"Is that Delilah?" She says smiling
"Why haven't you let her come see me Jesse?" She says making her way over to the car
I try to obstruct her
"No you see that's the thing" I say awkwardly as I'm trying to stop her from going to the car.
My mum makes her way to the car and looks into the backseat through the window
She looks astonished
"Who's child is that?" She asks shocked
"Mum this is your grandson" I say pausing putting my arm around her shoulder
"Ellis Jeremiah Lingard" I smile
She places her hands on her cheeks and looks like she's about to cry.
Delilah gently opens the car door and removes the car seat.
"Ellis this is grandma" Lils says smiling down to Ellis Presenting him to my mum.
"I don't know what to say" my mum says looking down at him
"How and when did this happen?" She asks
"That's a long story" I laugh
"How Old is he?" She asks curiously
"Coming up to one" Lils says sounding regret
"What?!" My mum exclaims
"How long have you known about this jess?" My mum asks me sternly
"Well I just found out in the last 24 hours" I admit
"So you kept him secret this whole time?" My mum asks Lils with slight anger in her tone of voice
Lils just looks to the ground as she holds the car seat
"Why would you do that?" My mum asks folding her arms.
"Mum it's fine" I say reassuring her
"No jesse! You have had a kid for almost a year and she didn't think to tell you. I thought better of you Delilah" she says turning to Lils
"Mum that's enough" I say trying to calm her down as I notice Lils becoming uncomfortable
"Jesse it's fine" Lils says smiling weakly at me
"I'm sorry Kirsty. I understand how you feel but I had my reasons and Jesse and I have already discussed this as parents" she says smiling weakly at my mum.
My mum looks unconvinced.
She turns to me and raises her eyebrow.
"Well?" She asks
"I understand why she did it Mum and I don't have an issue with it" I say smiling down at my mum
"You do know how lucky you are to have Jesse right? Because any other guy would've flipped" my mum says to Lils with her arms crossed
"Yes. I'm so grateful as to how Jesse has taken it. And I'm even more grateful that he gave me a chance to explain and has actually forgiven me, I know I wouldn't of forgiven me if I was him" Lils laughs
I smile at her.
I remove my arm from around my mums shoulders.
"Lils keeps saying he looks the double of me" I say scratching the back of my neck
Lils smiles at me as she senses I am trying to make my mum a bit more relaxed and less tensed up.
"Gosh he is" she says looking down at him
"Do you want to hold him?" Lils asks smiling
"Let's take him inside first" my mum smiles and leads us inside
I walk side by side with Delilah as she carries the car seat with Ellis in it inside.
"I think we've won her over" I whisper in Delilah's ear as I drape my arm over her shoulders.
She smiles and nods.
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imagine tho if Jesse one day had a kid...
I've seen lots of videos of him with young fans and he's so good with them 🤧
Also thanks for making this book the #1 book under 'Manchester United'
Means a lot! Thank youuuu