𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 | l.messi

eighty-one.

present.

Emily stared at her father with wide eyes as they looked at her , wanting a response. "what do you mean you're quitting football?" Emily asked. she had no idea why he wanted to quit football. something that he had done ever since he was little. something that meant a lot to him. something that he loved so much.

Leo sighed as tangled his fingers together. "It hasn't been easy, i can assure you that and unfortunately it's not in my hands." he began.  i'm getting old , Em. and no matter how much i want to keep playing , i can't" he said.

"i have to leave Barcelona behind and focus on you guys" he spoke. Emily still couldn't understand. "but you can't stop. so many people depend on you. how are you going to just leave it all behind?" she asked with scrunched brows.

"i don't want to , but i have to. the club wanted this and i don't have a say in it. i'm not leaving football behind , trust me. but i just can't play it anymore" he spoke as tears were in the corners of his eyes.

Emily's eyes softened and Antonella rubbed her hand on her husband's back. "when did you decide?" Emily asked softly. "like...two months ago. they had to let me go and they offered me to go to PSG but...i don't want to play for another club that isn't Barca" he said which was true.

he dedicated his life to Barça it wouldn't feel right if he played for another club. "what about International?" she asked and he nodded his head.

"i'm quitting that too. I already did what i needed to do and completed my dream by winning the world cup two years ago" he spoke and Emily sat back in the chair.

"but we're going to stay here , right?" Emily asked and Anto shook her head. "your papa thought it would be great if we moved back to Buenos Aires" she spoke.

"but what about my friends here?" Emily asked with furrowed brows. she had gotten way toi attached to them and didn't know what she would do if she left now.

Emily sighed and just stared at the table before looking up and meeting their eyes. "at the end of the day , it's your decision and i can't do anything ti change it" she said softly.

"i'm sorry , Em. but we need to do what's best for our family" Leo spoke as he took his daughter's hand in his. "okay , well...when are we leaveing?" Emily asked , since she knew she still had to go to Gavi's birthday party.

"in October" Leo said softly. Emily knew he was sad and devastated that he had to leave Barcelona because that was the place he felt like was home.

Emily sighed in relief when she realised that she was going to make it to Gavi's birthday since it was in September and they were only now in July.

Emily stood up and gave her father a hug. no matter how much she wanted to stay here , she knew she had to respect their choices since they've already done so much for her.

Leo was the one hurting badly from all this so she had no reason to make it more worse than it already is.

Leo accepted his daughter's hug and Anto smiled , letting them enjoy their moment. "i'm sorry you have to leave. I know the club was your everything" she spoke and Leo nodded his head , not letting his tears fall.

"it had to have happened sometime since i'm getting older" he spoke and they let go of their hug. "that's all we wanted to say. I'm so glad i got it off my chest" Leo said ,chuckling and Anto nodded her head.

"yeah , it was hard on all of us when we heard the news. Leo wanted to tell you right away but we wanted you to enjoy your weekend with your friends" Antonella said and Emily smiled.

"just know that no matter how much i don't want to leave Barcelona , i'm always going to respect your decisions" Emily said and they both smiled widely.

"mama!" Ciro came in , running into the kitchen. "I'm hungry" Ciro said with a pout and that caused Anto to smiled and Leo to chuckle.

Anto picked the little one up and held him close to her. "come on, we have to meet Anna and Robert in and hour atleast" Anto said.

"I'm going to get ready then. what should i wear?" Emily asked as she looked at her stepmom
"nothing too much since it's only lunch. just wear whatever you're comfortable in" Anto said and Emily nodded her head before walking up the stairs towards her room.

the girl let out the biggest breath she didn't even know she held in and closed her bedroom door behind her.

she really thought they were sending her back and that would've hurt but somehow , this hurt so much more. she didn't know she'd have to leave her best friends behind but she knew she had no other choice. she also knew that Delfi and Junior would always be there whenever she needed them and vice versa.

Emily went into her big closet and picked out some high waisted flared jeans with a white knitted sweater. she paired it with some white and gray Nike's and her nude coloured Chanel bag.

she went into her shower and began scrubbing her body and hair with her berry flavoured products.

she dried herself and began putting on her outfit and brushng through her hair. she blow dried and straightened it very fast and put some lipgloss on her lips before putting it in her bag, aswell as her phone , airpods and her cards.

she walked out of her bedroom , seeing the boys were already dressed for the lunch and so were the grown ups. Emily hadn't told Delfi about what her father told her yet but she knew Leo told Luis and Sofi so Delfi most likely knew.

she grabbed her phone out of her bag and scrolled through it while she waited for Anto and Leo to come out. 

"ready?" Emily heard Leo's voice and she nodded her head and put her phone back in her bag. Leo put his arms around her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss to her forehead.

they all walked towards the car and Emily made sure that her siblings were all seated and strapped in before climbing in herself.

"who is that?" Emily heard Thiago asked as he peeked over at her phone's lockscreen. it was a photo of her and her mom and suddenly , she got reminded of the time when Mateo asked her that question.

"it's my mami" Emily replied and he looked at her. "oh the one in Argentina?" he asked , knowing he saw her pictures when they went to Argentina for Valentina's birthday and Emily nodded her head. "can she be mine too? then i'll also have two mami's" Thiago said excitedly , causng Emily to laugh and smile.

"of course she can be" Emily said and Thiago nodded his head. "she's pretty" he said and sat back in his seat and went on his ipad. Emily ruffled his hair and scrolled through her phone , seeing that she had gained more followers and that meant that more people were starting to recognise her.

she listened to some songs and watched some videos to pass the time and as soon as she knew , they were infront of the restaurant.

they all exited the car in a private parking lot and they all walked towards the entrance. "it's beautiful" Emily said as soon as they walked in. "yes , this is actually Anna and Robert's place that they bought last year" Anto said and Emily raised her brows.

they soon spotted Anna , Robert and three blonde little girls at the table. they all walked inside the restuarant and sat around the table , talking to the people and all Emily could think about was leaving Barcelona.

———

A/N:
— yes ik Gavi's birthday
is not in September,i just made it up

— also , what was your very first
impression on this book? i'd
love to know 😭😭

— sorry for any grammar or spelling
mistakes.