2. Goal (Manuel Neuer)

the fifteenth goal

Amelia figured she was dead. But she saw what was happening around her. She felt the familiar muscular arms scoop her up, his heart beat was racing against her sweaty face.

"Thomas, call an ambulance!" Manuel yelled out with urgency. Thomas stood in shock, his eyes wide open and his mouth hanging in an O.

"THOMAS DO IT NOW!" Libby pushed Thomas towards the phone, who shook his head, which was turning a deep shade of red, and dialed the numbers for an ambulance.

Amelia tried to sit up, but the sharp pains lashed as she lay limp in Manuel's arms. He started checking for signs of life in Amelia's face. He could feel her breaths, that were sharp and quick.

He wiped the sweat off of her face with his hand and whispered to her.

"Mia, please be okay," he repeated over and over again. Amelia wanted to scream out that she was okay, but she seized in pain, convulsing once and then twice. 

Amelia moved her hand to grip Manuel's hand. He immediately picked it up and held it lightly, as the sirens approached and Manuel picked Amelia up, careful to not bump her head on anything.

There was a bunch of shouting, mostly from Manuel, who would not leave her side as the paramedics pushed her into the large Ambulance.

"Sir, we can only have family members in this car, you have to sit in the front," the paramedic explained simply. Manuel pushed past him, still holding the sweaty hand of Amelia.

"Sir, you aren't family, are you?" The man repeated himself.

"I'm her husband," Manuel said without hesitation. The man froze but nodded, running to the front to drive. 

Thomas and Libby watched as Manuel and Amelia drove away, the loud sirens blaring for a good 5 minutes.

Libby grabbed Thomas's hand, who looked at her.

"Ich liebe dich, Thomas," Libby said with a scared face. Thomas forced a weak smile on his face and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I love joo, Liebe," he hugged her tightly. They both were thinking about themselves in Manuel's situation.

After they stood for a moment, they rushed to their car to go meet Manuel, who was rapidly pacing the hall of the hospital as Amelia was taken into an emergency room.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I'll pay whatever you want to make sure she's okay!" Manuel said to the nurse, who shook her head.

"Keep your money, we are doing our best..." the nurse looked away and walked past Manuel.

Manuel's hands ran through his hair in frustration as he waited for another hour, waiting and waiting. There was no response. Just silence with a slight buzzing that drove him crazy in the waiting room.

Thomas and Libby had been trying to calm him down, but not even Nutella made him stop pacing around, muttering words to himself.

"Did she seem weird to you?" The nurse questioned them after a while. Manuel shook his head, glancing behind her for any sign of Amelia. 

Libby looked up and spoke in broken German, "She was acting giddy, strangely happy, actually."

"No, no, she's always happy, okay?" Manuel said angrily. Libby looked at the nurse with frustration. The nurse nodded and looked at Manuel.

"Sir, you say you are her husband?" The nurse questioned. Manuel hesitated, noticing the look in the nurse's eyes.

"Whatever gets me inside of the room..." Manuel looked at his feet and then at the nurse with a desperate expression. The nurse looked at him for a moment and then motioned for him to come with her.