𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 | l.messi

thirty - seven.

present.

"see you tomorrow?" Delfi asked as she glanced at her best friend who nodded her head with a smile. "tomorrow Delfi" Emily said with a smile om her lips and a nod of her head.

the day so far was great. she made new friends with Amelia and Delfina seemed to get along with her just well. Amelia was really open about her famous ,model mom but Emily obviously did not tell the girl about her new father.

a shiny , black range rover stood still infront of her. and if she didn't see the familiar purple Argentina shirt peekimg out of the window that was a bit rolled down , she would've thought she was about to be kidnapped.

Emily opened the passenger seat and climbed in , making sure to close the door firmly behind her. Antonella gave her the girl a big smile.

"well hello there. how was your first day of school?" Antonella squealed as she drove down the street.

Emily smiled. "it was great. i made a new friend , her name is Amelia. she sat with us at lunch" Emily spoke with an adorable smile om her face.

"wow that's great. i'm glad you're making more friends." Antonella said and Emily nodded her head.

"something to eat?" Antonella glanced at the girl as they drive past some restaurants. "yeah , kind off." Emily said shyly.

"what are you craving for?" Antonella spoke , still keeping her eyes trained on the road. "uh , anything...anything is good" Emily said.

Antonella nodded her head and the car drove slowler and slower until it came to a stop.

Emily glanced outside. the place was big.

Anto turned off the engine and took off her seatbelt , causing Emily to do the same.

"come on" Antonella said and opened the door of the car , Emily following close behind.

after making sure the car was locked , Antonella and Emily made their way into the restuarant side by side.

as they entered the place , Emily silently gushed about all the decorations. that's what she wanted to be when she grew up — and interior designer.

Emily learned from a young age how to deck a table and while her eleven year old friends were out playing with their ipads , she was with her mother's friend — Laura , decorating some hotel rooms.

"wow this is gorgeous" she said and Antonella smiled. "it really is" she spoke. the theme was white and gray with a few golden lights hanging on the wall.

"there's one" Antonella pointed to an open seat and the duo made their way over. the table was clothed in white linen and the chairs were silver.

they were sitting outside where some other people was , talking and laughing , and waitresses walking around.

a young , blomde woman with grey eyes walked over to them , a huge smile on her face ,as if she practised this a thousand times over.

"ah , Mrs Rocuzzo , nice seeing you here today" the girl said and Antonella smiled. "nice being here , Marisol" Antonella spoke as she knew the girl.

"what can i get you?" Marisol asked ,taking out a notebook and a pen. after ordering their milkshake and guava juice , the waitress walked away to place their order.

"let me text Leo first to let him know where we are" Antonella spoke and whipped out her phone.
Antonella put her phone down after a couple of seconds and looked up at Emily who was relaxed on her chair , staring at the random people.

"so ,Em..." she spoke and the girl looked towards her. "how are you? like...how are you handling things?" Antonella spoke.

Emily sat upright in her chair , facing the beautiful woman. "surprisingly , good. i've been fitting in really nice. you and Leo are nice. so are the boys. and Delfi has been a great help aswell" Emily said sincerely.

Antonella had a fond smile on her face. "i'm glad you think so. you know the social worker is coming tomorrow evening , right? i don't want you to be nervous about it"

another waitress came , this time a tanned woman with short black hair. she placed the milkshake infront of Emily and the juice infront of Anto before walking away.

"i know." Emily began , going back to their conversation. "there isn't anything to be nervous about. no one is like...mean or excludes me. everyone accepts me here" Emily spoke and took a sip of her strawberry swirled milkshake.

"good , because me and Leo wants you here with us." Antonella said and a smile formed on Emily's lips.

the tanned woman came by again and took their order for some food before walking away again.

there was a comfortable silence over them as they both drank their stuff.

"i don't want to replace her" Antonella spoke and this caused Emily to look up to face the woman. "i can never be your real mom , but i'm here. and i want to help." Antonella said.

"Anto , i know. yeah , no one can ever replace her— she was my mom. but you're special , she would want me to accept you. i'm not doing this because i have to , but because i need to. you've been nothing but good to me"

this caused Antonella's heart to melt at her stepdaughter. "I want to learn everything about you , alright? your likes and dislikes , your favourite songs , your memories with your mom — everything."

"we never got a good chance to bond and i really want to do that with you" Antonella said. Emily gave her a quick nod. "me too. I want that too." she spoke.

the waitress came with Anto's alfredo pasta and Emily's spaghetti bolognese.

"my mom's birthday is next month" Emily said after the waitress walked away. "and you really want to be in Rosarío for that?" Antonella asked and Emily nodded.

"i want to celebrate it to let her know i still love and think about her" Emily said , trying to bit back tears.

she felt Antonella's warm hand on hers. "hey , hey. it's okay to cry. and it's totally okay if you want to go to Rosarío , Em" she spoke and Emily looked up at her.

"but on one comdition" Antonella said and Emily frowned. "we get to come along" the tanned woman said , making the Argentine girl even more confused.

"yeah. me , Leo , the boys and Delfi . we all want to with you and celebrate her birthday." Antonella said.

"you would do that?" Emily asked , tearing up. "of course , Emily. we all would love to. plus , i want to go to the grave of the woman who raised such a beautiful soul" she said and Emily smiled shyly.

"thank you , Anto. it means the world." she spoke and Antonella waved it off. "we do it with pleasure" she smiled.

"now eat your food, before it gets cold , Em" she spoke and Emily picked up the fork and dug into the goodness , putting it in her mouth.

"this is so good" she said and Antonella hummed im agreement as she ate her pasta.

"so , tell me who's your favourite music artist?" Antonella said as she took a gulp out of her juice.

"Ed Sheeran"

"no way , mine too! I can tell we're going to get along more often".

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