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

Chapter 29 - Another one

A/N - thank you sooo much for the love on both of my books recently. Nearly at 100k reads on this one!

Rosie's POV:

"Another one?" Frido laughed towards me as I sent the ball flying past Sandra's eyes and into the back of the net once again. After our 1-1 draw against Chelsea two days ago, Jonatan decided that we weren't clinical enough in front of goal. If we wanted to win the Champion's League, we would have to do better. As part of our pre-match warm-up for the potential title winning game, he made some of us focus on shooting. It also meant the goalkeepers had a chance to save some shots before the game even though we suspected that they wouldn't have much to do. Sporting Huelva are a decent side, but nothing compared to our side.

Jonatan also wanted to rest the starting eleven who had played the game against Cheslea. This meant that I was starting for the very first time. Caro would come on in place of me if I became tired or if the game needed fresh legs to win the match for us. Jonatan trusted the usual substitutes to win the game comfortably, this gave me a lot of confidence. Up front with me was Geyse in the middle and Salma on the left. 

Sandra chucked a water bottle to me and huffed, "You're so good it's actually infuriating. I wouldn't be surprised if you win the golden boot at the Euros". Shrugging my shoulders, I threw the bottle across to Claudia who was red in the face after doing some intense sprints. She complained jokingly, "Why can't I do shooting instead of running?...". Jana teased, "Because you need the exercise obviously". 

A hand was placed on my shoulder and I looked up to see the Barcelona captain, Alexia Putellas. She gave me a comforting smile, "Your first start! Proud of you Ro Ro". Rolling my eyes at her nickname for me, I mimicked her tone, "Your first game after injury! Proud of you Ale". She gently punched my shoulder, but then moved her arm to my lower back - pulling me into a side hug, "I suppose it's a special day for both of us...I can't wait to be back on the pitch again. And it'll be the first time we've played together in a match". I laughed, "Yep and I'm not looking forward to all the shouting you're going to be doing the minute you get the captain's armband". She grinned, "Hey! I'm not that bad. I'll go easy on you if you score some goals". I tilted my head so I was facing her, "Maybe, only if you provide me the assist though". Nodding her head, she rested it against mine, "Deal".

We only stayed like that for a few seconds before Jonatan called over towards us, "Rosie! Ale! Less hugging, more shooting ". We both laughed and went to collect a few balls from the huge pile in the middle of the area where we were doing warm-ups.

When we all lined up in the tunnel, there were 11 mascots also lined up next to us. A wide grin crept up onto my face when I saw them standing nervously in their own Barcelona kits. The little girl who I was paired up with smiled up at me, "I've got your shirt on". Stepping back a little bit, I saw that she did indeed have R.Bronze 35 on her back. My eyes lit up, not quite believing that she chose to wear my shirt out of all my incredible teammates. She continued to talk, "My friend has Lucy's on". My eyes fixed on where she was pointing to - a small blonde girl deep in conversation with Ingrid. Smiling gently down to the small girl beside me, I told her, "You both look amazing".

Normally I'm not a big fan of children, but she was so sweet and lovely that it was hard not to like her. The way her small hand gripped mine before we walked out onto the pitch made my heart swell. I asked her, "What's your name?". She brushed some of her brunette hair out of her face, "I'm Maria". I smiled, "Ah, that's a lovely name. My friend's called Maria León, do you know her?". She instantly nodded, "Mapi!". 

We walked out together before all of the mascots had to go and take their seats for the match. She gently tugged on my arm, making me look down to her hopeful face. Maria asked me, "Can you sign my shirt after the match?". Kneeling on the floor so I was her height, I looked into her eyes, "Of course!". She smiled and I watched her run off towards her seat. My eyes followed her until she was sat down looking at the pitch with a focused expression. When she locked her eyes with mine, I threw her a small wave and took my place in the group huddle.