Chains

Chapter 4

In my ideal universe, my magnificent morning at the beach would be followed by an evening of relaxation. My legs outstretched as I leaned back in a pool lounge chair. My eyes glued to the latest John green novel I've been meaning to read for weeks, my lips occasionally meeting the cool refreshing lemonade in my glass. My ears would be greeted by the different sounds nature had to offer.

But once again the universe didn't care about what I preferred. I cringed at the noise flowing through the air. Eager fans blew their vuvuzelas, adding to the constant chatter that filled the stadium. The biggest headache of them all had to be the short blond standing next to me.

'Let's go out this afternoon' shes says. 'It'll be a fun bonding time for us ' she says. Foolishness! Bonding time? More like let me ignore my sister as I watched Gerard and his team play.

I should've payed more attention to her warning signs, probably then I wouldn't have been in this predicament. But in my defense, her subtle hint was found on little Milan as she decked him out in his own personalized FC Barcelona jersey that he wore frequently.

The noise around me increased in decibels (frankly, i thought that was impossible) as Barcelona scored their second goal of the match . Shakira stood up screaming, her hands instantly in the air cheering. It was a good thing that she had given Milan to me as I realized that she has absolutely no self-control when she gets excited. The scattered food on the ground can testify to that.

30 minutes and a million of Shakira's expressive outbursts later, we found ourselves dressed in formal wear dining in a restaurant to celebrate the team's win.

As much as i didn't want to admit it, it felt good to reconnect with these people, especially Antonella since she was the only other girl here a part from Shakira.The three of us were deep in conversation as I told Antonella about the pastry shop i owned back home in Colombia along with the plans I had of opening a 'La Dulce Vida' here in Barcelona. That was in fact the real reason why I was here ; expanding my pastry business and to be closer to Shakira.

"Hey guys!" My eyes widened at the sound of that familiar voice.

"Rafaella!" Shakira and Antonella screamed in unison, followed by a fit of giggles. I on the other hand remained silent, my back still turned to the familiar stranger behind me. I knew this would happen sooner or later since the whole team was invited to dinner but i had hoped that he would've had another engagement. I knew that was highly unlikely but it did provide me with the false sense of hope that i terribly needed.

"Louisa! Look who's here" I closed my eyes tightly as i mentally gave Shakira a good slap for exposing me. I had hoped to remain unnoticed by the siblings I was trying to avoid but of course Shakira had other plans for me. I slowly turned around in my seat to meet the gaze of Rafaella. Her eyes widened as she scanned me over, a huge smile tugged on her lips.

"Lou!" she screamed,allowing her arms to wrap around me in a warm hug. I found myself returning the friendly gesture happily despite the fact that I had plotted ways to avoid her a few minutes ago. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away from me , her eyes scanning me over once more.

"I can't believe its you" she exclaimed,jumping a bit, "Its been so long"

I gave her a surprisingly genuine smile. As much as i didn't want to admit it, Rafaella was innocent in all this, and didn't deserve me kicking her out of my life like that just because she was his sister. We had some good times together.We shared many of the same interests including our love for food. Many of the times that i was putting my budding professional baker skills to the test, she was always there to help me and critique my work.

"I know" i finally replied adding a quiet "sorry about that" at the end. She was about to answer when Gerard's voice rang through the restaurant.

"Finalmente !" Gerard shouted dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air. "We were gonna start eating without you two!"

"Well you should've. I know I would"

I froze for a moment as I heard him greet his friends, slowly approaching the end of the table where Shakira and I were.

"Antonella!" He said, giving her a short hug and a kiss on the cheek. I held my breath as he did the same for Shakira, hoping that he would ignore me completely. But the way his eyes watched me as he hugged Shakira said otherwise.

I mentally rejoiced a bit as Shakira made small talk with him, buying me some time to calm myself.

"Is this seat taken?" Rafaella asked, pointing to the last chair to my right. I finally let out the breath I was holding and turned my attention to her.

"No" I said offering her a small smile. I turned my head and watched as she sat beside me. I mentally slapped myself at how creepy my actions were but it did provide an excuse for not looking in his direction.

I forced myself to continue the conversation Rafaella and I were having in hopes of him not interrupting me but my plan came crumbling to pieces when I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. Rafaella paused the conversation, flashing me a small smile then looked up at her brother behind me.

I reluctantly turned around to meet those familiar hazel eyes. A wide grin tugged on his lips as he looked down at me. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity until he place my hand in his, slowing bring it up to his lips. He marked my hand with a soft kiss, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Mi amor, Louisa "

My breath hitched as he slowly lowered my hand, that wide grin seemingly increased in size. The words he spoke were laced with emotion, something I seemed to have a lack of at the moment. I didn't smile nor did I glare. I just stared at him. He waited patiently for my reply but my flustered brain couldn't muster anything up. And the not so discrete worried glances from Shakira and Antonella weren't really helping my situation.

"Dinner will now be served" I let out a sigh of relief as the waiter caught everyone's attention , allowing me to finally breathe easily as Neymar moved to an empty seat at the other side of the table which so happened to be infront of Rafaella. I was hoping for him to sit with the boys at the other end but I was still grateful that he wasn't directly in front of me.

The food had proved to be less of a distraction than I thought it would be. Normally I would of been devouring the gourmet meal in front of me but all I was capable of doing doing now was moving the pasta around on the plate.

I didn't like how much of an effect Neymar still had on me. It wasn't normal. 2 years should've done the trick. 2 years should've ripped and broken all the chains he had placed around me. But it didn't. I thought for sure that I had moved on but obviously my mind was lying to me.

I felt his eyes on my again, watching me play with my overpriced food. I glanced at him for a second to see his expression. Just as I had suspected, worry was written all over his face . After such a long time he still read me like a book. Shakira also noticed my unnatural behavior and gave me a soft nudge. I turned my attention to her, forcing a small smile to which she raised her brows. But thankfully she didn't say anything to me.

I remained silent for the rest of time up until it was time to say our goodbyes. I quickly made my way out of the restaurant in an attempt to avoid the hugs and goodbyes. As I made my way to Gerard's car, I mentally scolded myself for letting him affect me like that, so much to the point where I felt myself getting a bit angry.

"Louisa!"

I ignored his calls, my eyes set in the direction of the car. If ignored him long enough I'd be able to lock myself in the car before he could catch me up. But then again I was as unfit as a rock while he was a professional athlete ; he could catch me with ease. And so said so done.

His warm hand grabbed my arm pulling me to a stop, forcing me to turn around to face him.

"Louisa" he repeated. I avoided his eyes like poison, refusing to look at him. But he wasn't having that. In one swift movement , Neymar placed each of his hands on each of my cheeks, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Louisa" he repeated once more, setting his forehead on mine. "Lo siento "