Don't Look Back In Anger ~ J.R.

Chapter 11

Bayern Munich, 2018

It was the 11th of December, and Juno felt homesick. 

It wasn't because she had been far from home for a long time now. She talked to her family often on her phone, and even if it wasn't the same, it kept them close.

The reason for the uneasy feeling that had settled on her stomach for a few days now, was because it was her mother's birthday, and she was not there to celebrate with her.

Lucia's birthdays had always been a big deal to Juno. She claimed she didn't know why she cared much more than a usual daughter would in their mum's birthday, but deep down, she knew exactly why.

Buried inside the crevices of her heart, Juno still felt guilty for her father leaving. In her head, she had torn the family apart, her siblings were left without a father and her mother without a husband.

She contemplated for years after he left: she would have endured his ignorance and abandonment, specifically to her, every day for the rest of her life if it meant that the family stayed together.

She could've survived a few years more without causing trouble or getting on his nerves and maybe he would have accepted her at some point.

Right?

Today, Juno's mother was going to be at home with a toddler and a few of her close friends. And to Juno that didn't even sound like a celebration.

Lucas wasn't there to buy a cake, he was studying at Durham. James wasn't there to take care of Cata so that their mum wasn't driven crazy by her cries, he was finishing off his studies, waiting for his life to start. And Juno was not there to accompany her. To remind her that her children haven't abandoned her, that they are coming back, that she won't be left alone again.

But that was exactly what they had done.

And so, Juno called her mother and they talked for hours. Lucia was not the type to resent her children for living life, she wasn't even the type to ask for presents on her birthday, and she made Juno worry a little less. 

She sometimes forgot that her mother had always been independent, so independent that she actually loved being alone from time to time, even if Cata didn't really help her fulfil this wish.

She'll be fine, thought Juno. She realised that things were changing, and that she wasn't the kid sibling that stayed with mum anymore. 

And maybe that was more than fine.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Inside the Bayern training grounds sat Sydney, Jill and Jacintha, talking amongst themselves in hurried whispers.

As Juno entered the room, she spotted them and went over, but was stunned at the silence that surrounded her when they immediately stopped talking.

Confused, Juno greeted them, "Hello...? Is everything okay?"

She was answered by a chorus of "yep's", "yes's" and "totally's". She was even more confused.

While hanging her bags and getting out her training kit she continued, "Okay then."

But then, Sydney spoke up, "Juno, we were just wondering if we could take you out today or do something fun together, because we know that you might be feeling a bit down today, seeing as it is your mum's birthday and all."