Friday afternoons were almost always reserved for some mother-daughter time between Pamela and Olivia. Now that her eldest daughter had moved out, Pamela was stuck at home with just her husband and son, Robbie. Football was always on the TV and as much as Pamela loved her two boys, she sometimes felt like she had no escape. She needed some girl time and that was exactly what Olivia provided for her.

Olivia loved being able to have real quality time with her mother. It enabled her to maintain a work-life balance. Olivia had always been a hard worker. It had been drilled into her ever since she was a kid. Hard work was what got people places and it was hard work that got Olivia to where she was today.

"Hey Mum, I'm just leaving the house now. I'll be with you in fifteen minutes." The brunette told her mother down the line, locking the door to her house behind her.

Olivia started the walk to her car, her ponytail catching the wind and blowing all over the place. She was glad that she had decided not to wear her hair down that day because, in Olivia's mind, there was nothing worse than a windy day and having to brush out all of the knots that the wind created later on in the day.

Just as the girl reached out to open the car door, she received a text message from none other than Matty Cash.

SOS. Don't freak out but the media are on to us. If you need to talk, call me or give me a time and place and I'll be there x

attached_file170248

Olivia's heart pounded in her chest as she opened the attached file and realised that it was an article by The Sun, detailing how she and Matty were growing close and looked to be a real couple. It made her nervous. Part of Olivia's online brand was about being honest and open with her audience. She wanted to show everyone the bad parts as well as the good parts. She didn't want to have to hide or lie about her relationship status but until she was honest with her family, she couldn't be honest with her audience and that killed her.

She sent a quick reply to Matty:

I'm meeting my Mum for lunch. Can I call you after? I'm already late x

She didn't wait for a reply, instead getting straight into her car and driving to the cafe where she had planned to meet her mum for afternoon tea.

***

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Pamela reached forward for her daughter's hand and encasing it in her own. The familiar warmth of her mother's touch calmed Olivia down and made her feel safe. She couldn't tell her mother the full story but knowing that she was there and ready to listen to what she could tell her.

"The media. They've got pictures and stories of Matty and me already." She sighed and Pamela frowned at her daughter's words.

Pamela couldn't work out what the problem was. Matty was a great guy in her eyes. He was kind, caring towards her daughter and he was attractive. He was the complete package. Olivia had nothing to hide when it came to Matty. They were both in the public eye and should be proud to have each other by their sides.

"I don't see what the problem is here. Why don't you try and explain it to me." The same, sickeningly sweet smile was on Pamela's face as she waited for her daughter to explain the situation.

Although not always the most up to date person when it came to the world of technology and gossip, Pamela tried to understand. She was never going to know what it was like for her daughter to have so much of her life posted online and people always having an opinion on what it was that she did with her life but Pamela always made an effort to try and put herself in her daughter's shoes and see things from her point of view.

"I'm not ready for the whole world to know about us yet. I wanted to keep this to myself for a bit longer." Pamela nodded her head at her daughter's words. She could see where she was coming from but wasn't fully understanding yet.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think. It worked for Jordan and-" That was Pamela's mistake. Bringing up Olivia's ex-boyfriend in front of her in combination with the pressure that she felt from the media about everything caused her daughter to snap and it was not a pretty sight.

"Can you please stop bringing up my ex-boyfriend like he's some saint? He cheated on me! He is the definition of scum and I really don't need you comparing me to him all the time. I get it, you loved him and I loved him too but he betrayed me, your daughter for god sake and you can't seem to let it go." Olivia yelled, causing a scene within the small cafe. Some customers gave her sympathetic looks, others giving her looks of disgust for disrupting the peaceful atmosphere and their afternoon tea. At that moment in time though, Olivia could not have cared less about what it was those people were thinking. She only had one thing on her mind as she stormed out of the cafe, the wind picking up and slamming the door behind her, resulting in an even more dramatic exit than the one that she had initially planned.

She walked through the bustling streets of Birmingham, everyone seeming to be in a rush to get to certain places. The roads were gridlocked, some drivers getting a dose of road rage and honking their horns at the stationary traffic even though nobody could go anywhere.

Olivia pulled her phone out from her pocket as she was walking in the direction of the house that she knew wasn't too far away from the cafe. She sent a text to the one person that she wanted to see the most because Olivia knew that they would understand more than anyone.

Forget what I said earlier. Can I meet you at your place? I really need someone right now and you seemed like the best person to ask x

Written: 7th January 2021
Published: 14th June 2022
Word Count: 1066

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
a/n: I'm finally back! Apologies for being so absent lately. University and placement kicked my ass this year but now I'm off until September and I'm feeling motivated to get writing again and turn this account back into what it was during 2020.

How has everyone been? It's been such a long time :( I've also noticed how much the football community on wattpad has grown recently so if you're new, hi!

I've recently decided that I'm going to focus on finishing uploading this book because it's been a year and a half since I wrote it as well as finishing up Paris and I'm Only My Way and bringing back Wasabi.

If you have a book that I haven't checked out yet, please promote it here! I'd love to check them out.

My question for today is: does anyone know of some really good Charles Leclerc books? I'm obsessed with him and I really love the sort of hidden gems of wattpad.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Lots of love, e x