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

Chapter 42 - A difference

Rosie's POV:

I had always wanted to make a difference in football. A proper difference. An off the pitch difference. Something that would help to make the world a better place. All I wanted was to make the smallest difference, then I would be satisfied.

Nothing about my childhood was normal. I was raped, abused, attacked. There had been too many moments where I had thought to myself that I wasn't going to survive. The human body can only withstand so much trauma. Collectively, the beatings, the lack of food, the sleep deprivation were all enough to end my life.

Thankfully, I survived. Being only a child, I was weak, vulnerable, taken advantage of. My abusers knew I wouldn't ever leave them. Simply because I couldn't. Where would I go? How would I support myself? It just wasn't possible.

I hate asking for help. In basically every situation. Whether it's during training or while i'm attempting to make me and Georgia some food. It's not something I'm used to doing. Even after 6 years of living with Lucy and Keira, I still want to do everything for myself and by myself. I'm learning, and getting better with it every day, that it's okay to ask for help.

When Lucy rescued me, I didn't ask for help. She gave it to me. Something that I will be eternally greatful for. I escaped. I'm one of the few domestic abuse survivors who escape. But my abusers weren't prosecuted. There wasn't enough evidence. And as they were foster parents, I can't bare to think about how many innocent children also went through the same as me. So many young, helpless people having every single emotion in their body broken and turned numb. But who saved them? Did they also have coincidences happen where they met their footballing mother at a match? Probably not. I'm lucky. One of the very few lucky ones to have escaped, found a loving family, and mostly recovered. I bet the majority don't even survive - the abuse becoming too much to handle, and them eventually seeing no other way out.

Leah Williamson isn't just my best friend. She is an incredible role model to millions of people - including myself. I am very grateful for having her in my life. When I still lived in England and was going through an uncertain time in my life, she would always tell me to dream big and to make a difference wherever I went. Those are the two most important pieces of advice I use whenever I find myself lacking motivation.

I am lucky enough to be in a long term relationship with a strong, independant woman who has the same life goals as me. She also wants to make a difference. Both of our incredibly competitive personalities create that spark between us. We understand eachother due to how similar we are.

And I suppose that's how all of this came about.

An idea said in passing while I was tipsy in Leah's living room had somehow turned into something massive in the space of 6 months.

"How do I look?", I nervously asked Georgia. Her focused gaze turned into a soft one, "Beautiful as always". She wandered up to me and placed her hands in mine, looking deep into my eyes, "You are going to be amazing. Remember, you're doing this for younger Rosie". Nodding my head, she continued, "Me and Leah will be in the audience clapping the loudest for you when you arrive on stage".

I have walked onto football pitches in front of up to 90,000 spectators and yet the level of those nerves are nothing compared to this.

Within six months, we had set up the Rosie Bronze Foundation. I hated that my name was front and central, but after professional advisory guidance, Leah and Georgia decided it was perfect. They were the brains of what we had created. I was the face of the brand and had come up with the initial idea but they had made it work. With Georgia's long time experience in media and branding, mixed with Leah's intelligence about everything, they worked very well together. Without them, it wouldn't have happened. They took one of my craziest ideas that seemed impossible to achieve, and made it achievable.