Fever Dream ~ Neymar Jr

Chapter 32

2015

The moment Neymar was handed the red card at the end of the game, I shut my computer down. I couldn't believe this happened. This meant he would miss the next game, and that could have serious implications to Brazil's advancement in the tournament.

Sure, Neymar shouldn't have lost his cool and sent that ball towards his opponent, but in his defense, they had been provoking him for the entire game. I sent him a text to call me when he'd return to his hotel, no matter the time, since our current 11-hour difference would meant that it would be in the middle of the night for me anyway.

Indeed, when the phone rang a few hours later it was about 4 in the morning. "Hey baby." I told him.

"Hi." He said. He looked tired on the video call. He looked to be somewhere outside and it was very sunny. "You saw?"

I nodded. "I'm so sorry this happened. I know it's not what you or the team wanted."

"I shouldn't have been so... I shouldn't have lost it."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." I told him, even if I knew it wasn't going to help. It was always like this with Neymar. It seemed like the tactic to defend against him was always by fouling him extensively, and also trying to provoke him. And this time, this being the first game he played against Colombia after the World Cup where he was injured, it was especially unfair.

"I miss you. I'd be able to deal with this better if you were here." He told me and it felt like a pang in the chest, like I let him down again.

"I know baby. I'm sorry I'm not there. It's only one game though. If Brazil does well, you'll be back in no time."

"It was two games at first. Then they reduced it one and now they decided to deliberate some more. They'll announce the decision soon."

"Why?"

"Because... There was a little incident with the ref in the tunnels. And they're saying I headbutted Murillo. Have they seen what a headbutt looks like? This wasn't that."

"When did this happen? I didn't see it."

"Exactly! Even the second yellow I got was a joke! It was an accidental contact with my arm, the ball bounced off of the goalie to me. Wait." He said, checking his phone. "Damnit!"

"What happened?"

"It's a four-game suspension."

"What? That means the rest of the tournament."

"Fuck. Dunga is gonna be livid." Neymar said about his new coach, disappointed. "It looks like my holidays are starting early this year."

"That is so unfair." I lamented. "How are they allowed to do that?"

"We'll appeal, it seems. I don't know how much good that's gonna do." He said, still looking at his phone. "This is not what I thought our summer would be like. I hope at least things are better there."

"Yeah, it's going good here. We—" I started saying but I yawned.

"Crap Liv, I forgot. What time is it there?"

"4."

"Okay, go back to bed. I'll talk to you when you get up."

I nodded. "I'm sorry this is happening."

"It'll be alright. Maybe we'll win the appeal." He said, but he didn't look very sure. Then he looked up from his phone and his face relaxed into a smile. "Sweet dreams, dream girl."

2017

When the Christmas break arrived, both the men's and women's teams finished mid-season at the top of their respective leagues. The men's team had also advanced to the knockout stages of the Champions League and were scheduled to play Real Madrid in the new year. As for us, we had also advanced to the quarter finals and were scheduled to play Chelsea there in March. So, all in all, the execs were super happy with all of us, so much so that they allowed two extra days of holidays, which was especially welcomed by all international players that were looking to travel abroad.