I didn't choose her, my heart did

The rehabilitation

Keira's POV
The morning sun pierced through the curtains as the sound of Lucy's alarm slowly roused me from sleep. My eyes opened with a sense of excitement and nervousness for the day ahead - my first day of rehabilitation.

"Luce, it's time to get up," I said, my voice still a little hoarse from sleep.

Lucy responded with her sleepy morning voice, a sound that always made me smile. "Give me five more minutes," she murmured, her eyes still closed as she rolled over to hold me again.

This time I quickly pulled away. Her reaction was predictable, with one eye half-open as she looked at me with a surprised expression. "Since when did you wake up so quickly? Normally I'm the one who has to drag you out of bed."

I smiled gently and looked at her, her face illuminated by the morning sun shining through the room. "Not this morning, Luce," I replied, slowly getting out of bed and making my way to the bathroom.

It was a new day, a day of hope and recovery. And although the road was still long, I was determined to take the first steps on my journey to healing.

Lucy's POV
Hearing the sound of the shower, I decided to grab my phone and scroll through my social media. But when I got a reminder that Keira was starting her rehab today, I immediately felt guilty for forgetting. How could something so important escape my mind?

Just as I was about to get out of bed to make breakfast, Keira appeared from the bathroom. Her golden hair was still wet from the shower and she was wearing a sports bra with one of my shorts. She looked beautiful, even this early in the morning. Her presence filled the room with a strange warmth and I could not take my eyes off her, caught up in her beauty.

Keira broke through my thoughts with a comment that left me confused. "Take a picture, Bronze, it will last longer," she said with a smile and a wink. Her playful tone made my heart jump. Was she flirting with me? No, she couldn't have been. We were just friends, right?

My head was spinning as I struggled to formulate an answer. "I-I uh g- I'm going to prepare breakfast for us," I finally stammered, and I rushed out of the room, my heart pounding like crazy, and my cheeks red with confusion and excitement.

As I stood downstairs in the kitchen, I let the events of the morning run through my mind again. There was something about the way Keira was looking at me, something that made my heart beat faster and my mind race. But I couldn't accept that there was more than friendship between us. It was just my imagination, right?

Keira's POV
When I came out of the bathroom, I felt Lucy's gaze resting on me, like a soft breeze caressing my skin. Her eyes followed every move I made, and I could feel the heat of her gaze on my skin. I knew I didn't look bad, but her intensity made me blush, my heart rate accelerating.

I don't know where I got the courage to utter that particular sentence, but Lucy's reaction was amazing. I just made the Lucy Bronze stumble over her words. Did I have this effect on her or was she just not fully awake yet?

I could not deny that something hung between us, something that went beyond friendship. A wave of confusion engulfed me, and I struggled to make sense of my feelings. Lucy was my best friend, but her presence made my heart race and my mind wander to unknown depths.

But somewhere deep inside, I knew it could be nothing more than friendship. There was no room for anything else, no room for the illusion of something more.

The age gap between us was too big, too noticeable to ignore. Six years felt like a gap that was insurmountable. Lucy was a professional athlete, a world-famous footballer with fans all over the world. And me? I was just a girl trying to find her way through life, with my own dreams but without the shine and glory that surrounded Lucy.