You are my mums (a Lucy Bronze fanfic) - Book 2

Chapter 24 - Just getting started

A/N - the fact that England won the Euros a year ago today wtfff

How are you all feeling about the World Cup so far? I think tomorrow might be another 1-0 win 😂 but a win is a win and we'll be through to the knockouts 🤷🏻‍♀️

Rosie's POV:

"You seem calm..." My mother spoke while approaching me with a cup of coffee in her hand. She sat on the seat next to me and we observed the room fill with more people. I shrugged my shoulders, "I am". Maybe she expected me to be nervous ahead of the lineup announcement. Perhaps I would be if I didn't already know what was about to happen. Mapi loudly pulled a chair up to the other side of me, "Where were you before breakfast Mini Bronze?". I explained, "Me and Ale went on a walk". She raised an eyebrow, "And why wasn't I invited?". Laughing slighltly, I told her, "Because you were still asleep when we left". She huffed and began swinging back and forth on her chair - it would make my day if the chair slipped and she fell off.

I turned back to Lucy, "Beth and Viv are coming to the game". Keira sat herself down next to Lucy and joined in the conversation, "Leah was supposed to be coming as well so now they've got a spare ticket. I wonder who they'll give it to". Lucy laughed, "Probably some random person they pick up off the street on the way here". That did sound like something Beth would do. She's too generous at times. Lucy paused before speaking gently, "How is Beth?". I sighed, "She seemed okay but I don't really know". It had been a horrendous few months for Beth and her family. When her mum died early January, we didn't hear from her for weeks - which is understandable. We all kept regularly contacting her with messages of support but we weren't bothered about the lack of replies. Although a few months have passed by, I still don't think that anything has got any easier for Beth and her family.

I met June Mead at one of the games at the Euros. Upon talking to her, I realised that she wasn't letting her illness rule her. She was still trying to live her life and be there for her children. From even just the short conversation I had with her and the rest of Meado's family, it was clear how much they loved and supported eachother. Whenever I looked over at June, she always had a smile on her face. Maybe she was putting on a brave face for her family, or maybe she was genuinely happy that she was experiencing such amazing things in what was the end of her life. I can't even begin to imagine what their family felt knowing that they had such a short amount of time with her. For that reason, Beth is one of the strongest people I know. To have suffered a career-pausing injury and a death in only a few months and still be smiling is incredible. She continued her rehab, and in her words, she told me, "Mum would have wanted me to continue with my life and get back to doing what I love". Although it must've been imensely difficult resuming rehab, she was now recovering for her mum.

Jonatan entered the room, walked up the front and cleared his throat to get our attention - immediately everyone fell silent. He addressed us all, "Good morning, I hope you all got lots of rest last night because you're going to need it for today's game. It won't be easy but I have confidence we will go into the second leg back at home with the advantage". He looked around to ensure everyone understood and heard him before resuming, "So, in goal Sandra. A back four of Lucy, Irene, Mapi and Frido. In midfield there will be Aitana, Patri and Keira. Up front Geyse, Caroline and Salma. Understood?". We all nodded in response and he moved onto the substitutes. My heart began to race. Even though I knew my name would be called, it was still slightly nerve-wracking. He moved on, "Subs are Jana, Claudia, Ana, Marta, Ingrid, Vicky, Mariona and Rosie. Any questions?". Mapi immediately jabbed me in the ribs and whispered, "You did it!". Jonatan wrapped up the meeting and told us that we needed to be on the bus by 10:45. Even though the stadium was only a short walk away from the hotel, we travelled by bus. We didn't want to be bombarded by fans just before we were about to play.