Oblivion {James Rodriguez} {Book ONE}

the phone call

James

I couldn't take it anymore. She's been haunting my thoughts for the past two days, and it has deprived me of concentrating on more important things like how the Hell we were going to move from 2nd to 1st place in La Liga.

We're four points behind Barcelona... That bastard club. I hate them with every fibre of my being. If they win La Liga, two things will happen: Ancelotti will get sacked, and Barcelona's already-full ego would be further fed even more.

We needed to get back up on top, and our match against Granada in seven days will be the defining line.

But, for now, to call or not to call? Was two days enough time? I think so. I hope so.

My thumb hovered over her name that was in my phone.

Screw it, I thought. Miracles only happen once.

I clutched the ringing phone to my ear. It rang three times before she picked up. I swear, I thought I would have a heart attack.

"Hello?" She said with an unsure tone.

"Hey," I tried to be smooth.

"James?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"Oh wow, thanks for calling back!" She said gratefully. I could tell she was trying to suppress extreme joy.

"I had to." I said, smiling to myself. She was so cute.

"What's up?" Mia asked. The question came out light, but I knew there were a lot of undertones to it.

"I just wanted to properly get to know who you are," I replied.

"Well, ditto." She laughed.

I eased up a little.

"Okay, let's start with your name." I suggested. I hoped I wasn't being too forward.

"My name's Mia." She simply replied.

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's what you asked me."

"Well, tell me more about you!" I laughed.

"I'm a lawyer, I like to read, and I think I know who you are."

"Go on..." I urged.

"Envigado? Ring a bell?" She asked.

At first, the name sounded foreign to me. It was Spanish, but still foreign. For a long time I tried really hard to make a bell ring inside my head, but I couldn't.

"What do you mean?" I asked, defeated.

"The drug scandal." She simply said.

Wait... What? How did she know about that? It was many years ago, and we paid a lot of people to shut up about it. The fact that she knew it meant that she was involved in a really high position somehow. This made me look at her in a whole new light.

"Woah, how do you know that?"

"I was your lawyer, silly." Mia laughed nervously.

"No, it was a girl named Maya or someth- oh my God!" I stopped myself halfway through my irrelevant train of thought.

It was her! All these years I've been thankful to her for getting me out of the scandal. Not that I had anything to do with it anyway, but it could have still interfered with my very important transfer to Real Madrid. I tried to trace her down and thank her personally after the success of the case, but apparently she had moved away and changed all her details. And now... I found her!

But, there was silence on the other line. It was as if she was purposely quiet to give me time to realize. For how long has she known this but haven't told me? Is it quiet a secret to keep.

"You were my lawyer? As in the lawyer Mia McKinley?" I asked for confirmation. I've studied her last name by heart. All those sleepless nights back then spent calling her to double-check made sure that her name was secured on the tip of my tongue.

She could have just introduced me to herself by her last name, and I would have remembered her straight away. We didn't have to beat around the bush like before. Now that I knew who she was, I felt a strong, inexplainable connection to her. She guarded my career and ensured my safety, how could I not?

"Yes," was the awkward reply. She paused for a couple of seconds. "Maya? Really?" She cut the tension by chuckling a bit.

"They sound the same, you can't blame me!" I defended as I smiled to myself.

"True," she said. "And that's my story. Your turn."

I shifted to a more comfortable position on my couch.

"Well, my name is James. Pronounced Ham-es. I like football, and I play for Real Madrid. Enough?"

"Nope. Girlfriends? Wives? Children?" She asked jokingly.

"Girlfriends, used to be multiple at a time. Wives, one ex. Children, one. Good enough?"

"You've been through it all, haven't you? Cheeky one." She teased me.

"Experience is key." I replied smugly.

I didn't know why, but I felt kind of bad that I told her this much about my love life. It's been a very personal topic for me throughout the years. My ex-wife, Daniela, only married me so she can divorce me a year later and take more than half of my money. And my child, too.

I've been extremely weary about relationships ever since, and avoiding them like the plague was a normal occurrence for me. I didn't need history to repeat itself again.

For some reason, I felt like me telling her about my disastrous love live burdened her somehow. I also felt that it would drive her away from me, as it looked like I was just an immature fool with way too much money who doesn't know how to settle down and raise a normal family.

I also didn't know why I was overthinking this much. I mean, she's was just an acquaintance who happened to pop up again a few years later, right? Why fret?

Except that this particular person isn't just a normal acquaintance. She's one that I shared very important history with. And I was willing to see where this is going to go.

"I should get going," she spoke up with a sad tone. "I have something cooking in the stove."

I didn't want our conversation to end this way, but I also didn't want to seem clingy and demanding. Mia was amazing so far, and I didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize or spoil this new ground between us. I was determined to take this friendship to a new level.

"It's alright. It's been great talking to you," I tried to charm.

"Thanks for calling, though." Mia added.

"It's my pleasure. So, I'll see you soon?" I asked. And I meant it. I really did want to see her soon.

"Of course." Mia answered straight away. "Just call me anytime."

"Great. Have a good night." I wished her.

"You too, James."