THE PLAYERS SERIES : S.M. {book 2}

X

Lucy was highly alarmed, as she was speaking to Kristie on the phone right next to me:

"Babe... I swear I had no idea she signed a contract here... no, Kristie, listen, this doesn't change anything. We're in a better place now, I guess she's changed, like this summer she didn't mess with me during the whole tournament, and- (...) Yes, baby, I swear. I love you. Bye."

Hanging up, Lucy lets herself fall back on my bed, sighing loudly.

Apart from another midfielder signing for Barcelona - which means, even less playtime than I already have - Keira's arrival also meant that drama was following along. Indeed, she and Lucy have been an item for several years, before Lucy broke things off right before she met Kristie and fell in love with her. Keira did manage to mess with their relationship back to when they were Manchester City teammates, before disappearing from Lucy's life after a few months.

Right now, this felt like a jump in the past for Lucy, who groans:

"I mean, she could've signed with any other club, but she had to be a bitch and come here... Without even telling me!"

"I thought you guys weren't talking outside of the national team?" I ask, confused.

"Yeah, obviously."

"Then she couldn't have told you"

Lucy rolls her eyes at me, before adding:

"Whose side are you on, Sammy?"

"Yours, of course - but all I am saying is that, now that she's here, maybe don't expect the worst in her. Maybe she did change, and maybe she's gonna get out of your hair."

"You don't know her, trust me" Lucy insists, smirking, "Keira's not the kind of girl to just give up. Each time you think she's out of the picture, she finds a way to come right back into your life and mess things up. And I am afraid Kristie-"

"You and my sister love each other, Luce. There is no reason Keira will mess with anything. Besides, I can try and talk to her, convince her to leave you alone with my amazing charisma. Uh?"

Smirking, the Brit says:

"Maybe you're right, but I wanna be careful."

Nodding my head, I just grab my phone and frown: alexiaputellas shared a post. Immediately clocking on the link, I just get redirected on my Instagram DMs, before seeing the video she actually sent me: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ciu_shHJudz/ (if you can't copy past, it's a soccer video where a girl passes the ball too roughly)

With it, as a message, she wrote: you at training when you pass the ball to me vs. how you pass it to everybody else. Rolling my eyes, I just don't answer and close the application, putting my phone face down on the cupboard.

Raising her eyebrows, Lucy asks:

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just Putellas being her usual bitch, I guess. Plus, Pat coming tomorrow just doesn't feel like a blessing right now."

Nodding her head comprehensively, Lucy just says:

"Whatever happens, you gotta be honest with him. What happens next, you will deal with it later and in the good way."

"I hope you're right" I say, thoughtful.

***

Alone on the rooftop of our hotel, I just look at the void in front of me, with only two bars taking me away from falling 23 floors.

I jump when I hear a voice behind me say:

"You've stolen my spot, Mewis."

Rolling my eyes, but somehow relieved not to be alone, I don't have to turn around to know who it is. Alexia leans against the barrier, right next to me, looking at the view ahead of us.

Smirking, I just respond:

"Didn't realize you privatized the spot."

"Well, I am willing to share if you tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can try and cheer you up."

Frowning, I just stare at her, but she doesn't stare back.

"Why do you think something's wrong?"

"'Cause, if cemeteries were personified into an human being, that would be you right now" Alexia declares, half-amused, half-serious. She waits for my reaction to add: "Don't worry, most of our teammates aren't sensitive to facial signs, so they probably did not even realize you're not okay."

Rolling my eyes, I just say:

"It's just, most of them aren't as curious as you are."

"Fair point" she says, finally turning her face toward me.

Sighing, and without really knowing why but feeling suddenly pretty comfortable actually talking to this half-stranger, I admit:

"My husband is coming to Barcelona tomorrow, and I don't wanna see him."

"Why?" Alexia asks, truly interested.

"Because I think I will ask him to divorce me."

It's the first time I actually said those words out loud, and suddenly I feel anxiety taking over my whole body. I have spent a third of my life with Pat by my side, and suddenly the perspective of not having him around was terrifying. But it wasn't for the good reasons - it wasn't because I love him, but because I got used to him - and those were terrible reasons to stay with someone that still loves you.

Raising her eyebrows, visibly surprised by my big reveal, Alexia ends up saying:

"It must be really hard."

"Not shit, Putellas" I let out, bitter.

Of course it wasn't her fault, and she was just trying to be nice, but I just couldn't help but push her away.

Smirking, she only says:

"I know what you're doing, Mewis - I'm the same. But pushing people away won't work - you need 'em, no matter what you want to believe."

"Oh, yeah?" I ask, amused, "because you're one to talk about your problems. Maybe you wanna tell me what last night's phone call was all about?"

Shaking her head, Alexia only says:

"You're unbelievable" and, on her way to the door, she turns and adds: "I hope you make the choice that makes you happy tomorrow when you see your husband."

As soon as she's gone, I bury my face inside my hand: I am terrified of change, and I had this horrific impression that big ones were just ahead of me...

But, deep inside my heart, I knew the choice about Pat was already made.

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