right where you left me

Chapter 26 - Game of the Century

Drinking. Sipping. Hurting. Loving.

That was my life.

Drinking. Sipping. Hurting. Loving.

"How did it happen?" Eden asked me, as we sat together in a coffee shop the day of the final. She was going to watch, having been given a ticket by some of the Wolfsburg girls. She wanted to meet, to talk about him. To talk about our father.

"Eden-"

"Just tell me," she replied.

"I- I don't really know. He was found dead, in the house, in December. It was ruled a suicide, but, I don't think it was on purpose."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I don't think he was smart enough to know how to actually die... and honestly, he didn't seem like the kind of guy to want to, you know? He was greedy, and selfish, and would've tried to make everyone's life miserable for as long as-"

"Okay, I get it," Eden said, cutting me off.

"Sorry, I don't like to-"

"Talk about him? Neither," she answered, finishing my sentence.

"But, I just don't think it was suicide," I then said.

"But that was what it was ruled as?" Eden clarified.

"Yes."

"Maybe it was then? He had been alone for many years, right"

"Yeah, from what I know," I replied.

"He probably just drank himself to death," Eden suspected.

"Probably."

"What was the funeral like?" Eden asked.

"Didn't go. I thought I told you?"

"Possibly," she replied.

"Bindi and Darcy, like the fucking good girls they are, went and spoke and everything. I just can't stand them," I said, putting my hands through my hair.

"Neither could I," Eden laughed. "Still can't. It was years since I had seen them and they still annoyed me just as much as they did when we were kids." I chuckled at this memory, always remembering the arguments Eden would have with both the twins.

"But, who are you going with, today?" I asked her.

"Jill, Mila, and Lynn," she replied. "You?"

"Caitlin, Lia, Jordan, Viv, Katie," I answered.

"Predictions?" she asked.

"England," I said, cheekily.

"I'll go Germany then," Eden answered. We both soon stood up, giving the other a soft hug as a gesture of our, I guess, inherent love we both had. Even throughout everything, I loved her. And I know you should never compare the love you have for your siblings, but my love for her trumped anything I felt toward Bindi or Darcy.

"We talk soon?" Eden said, walking out.

"We talk soon," I replied back, waving softly.

We were soon on our way to Wembley. I had never played in this stadium before, and I knew that, before I retired, I wanted at least one game here. Whether it was for an FA cup final, or a friendly, or the final of a tournament, I knew I belonged here. It was the home of English football, and I loved it as soon as I stepped inside.

"This is incredible," I said, as I walked through.

"Have you never been here before?" Katie asked me.