The Rising Star - Alexia Putellas

Part 15

"Uhm hey?" She shyly waved at us. "Uhm, I'm really sorry for my outburst today. It shouldn't have happened so I'm really sorry."

Chris was the first to respond. Without a word she walked up to her and wrapped her up in a hug. Soon the rest followed.

"Don't worry about it. We've all been there." I heard Kelley whisper to her. Turns out we wouldn't have the slightest idea of what she was going through and none of us would understand.

Back to the normal pov

The end of camp came sooner than I'd hoped. Over the span of 2 and a half weeks we had prepared ourselves for the upcoming world cup and played 3 games in total for the She Believes Cup.

Our first game was against Germany and as I predicted, Jill didn't play me the full 90 minutes because she was still skeptical about my health. The game itself was really tough with both teams fighting for that desired win. I assisted Pinoe with the only goal of the game.

We weren't that lucky in the game against France which ended in a draw. Afterwards in the locker room, you could've cut the tension with a knife. We were all disappointed with this outcome. We came here to win and for nothing less. Now we had to settle for a draw. Lucky for us England didn't do much better against Germany with their game also ending in a draw, so everything came down to the last game against England.

Going into the game, the whole team was quite nervous. The pressure was on and it was very clear that losing was no option. Definitely not against a team like England because of the small rivalry going on between the two teams.

For the spectators, it was a great game. For the players it was just nerve-wracking. Both teams had numerous chances in scoring a goal but weren't successful until the 58 minute. I had received the ball from Carli and I made my way up field along the sideline. Once I almost reached the back line I dropped the ball in front of the goal where Alex easily capitalized the assist. That goal was enough to secure the win and our second time winning the She Believes Cup.

That evening we had celebrated a little but nothing too much considering I would leave early in the morning back to London with some of the English girls. During the flight home I tried to get some sleep but nothing was really working. I was so nervous about what was going to happen. There was no way to predict how he was going to react to the break up. I know that I had promised Jill not to go alone but I just couldn't risk it.

So when I arrived home with Leah, Beth and Jordan, I waited for the right moment to go to Jacob's house. I figured that if I would do it there alone at least my friends would be safe.

I didn't even have to wait long. The moment I got home, he was waiting at my door. He was casually leaning against the house, his hands in his pocket. The expression on his face was hard to read and I had no idea in what mood he was in.

We didn't exchange a lot of words. Just a simple Hey and a kiss. He let me put my bags in my room and say goodbye to my housemates. I told them I would be back later in the evening and made my way back to the car.

The car ride itself was relatively quiet. Not a lot was said which I was glad for. So long he was looking to be in a good mood which definitely would be in my favor. I just had to wait for the right moment even though I knew that would never come.

When we arrived at his home, all my hopes for an understanding break up vanished. The moment he closed the door he cornered me with a hard look on his face.

"I don't want to see you with her again." He said firmly.

It took me a second to register what he was saying. "Excuse me?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "Who are you talking about?"

"You know who. I don't want to see you with her again. Understood?" He was talking about Emily.

"How do you want me to do that?! She's my teammate for crying out loud and not to mention my fucking best friend!"

Something in me snapped. I was done with him dictating my life, telling me who to hang out with and who not. Sonnet was and is my best friend. I've known her longer than I've known him. She was by my side for all of it and now because he's jealous I have to cut all ties with her? It took me a long time to realize it but that's not happening!

"I don't care if she is your teammate or not and I certainly don't care that she is your best friend. I don't want to see you with her and that's final! So find a way, maybe it's time for you to stop with all this silliness of wanting to be a pro footballer. It's time for you to realize that this isn't for girls anyway!" He yelled at me this time.

"No." I looked at him with a look of determination. This was it. I was done.

"Excuse me? Say that again and I swear to god!" He said. It was very clear that he was very angry but at the same time he had a shocked look on his face, not expecting me to stand up to him.

"You swear what to god? What are you gonna do Jacob? Hit me? Push me against the wall? Drag me by my hair or your personal favorite, hold a lighter against my skin or pour boiling water over my arms or legs? Cause that's not new. You've already done that. There's nothing you can do to me anymore cause you've already broken me."

"Shut up"

"What are you ashamed of what you've done? You belittled me, called me names, beat me, pushed me, You made me believe my friends hated me only so I would push them away and you wanna know the worst part of it? It is that I let you." Usually, when we had a face off I would take a step back but I was feeling way too confident. Deep down I knew that one way or another I was gonna pay for that but at that moment I simply didn't care anymore, Jill's warning of not going alone shoved somewhere far in the back of my mind, but I was done. I was completely done with the way he treated me, the way he belittled me. I worked so hard in my still young career for the respect as a football player and as a person in general and all he did was make me feel useless.

"The worst part of it is that I let you do those things to me. There was a time that I thought you loved me but this is not the way to love someone and I know that now so I'm done. I'm done being your daily punching bag. So you wanna hit me? Hit me cause I don't care anymore. I'm already broken."

For a moment it was quiet. No one said anything, no one moved. It was like he needed time to process what I just had said and he probably did, considering that he was very surprised with my outburst and with my sudden boost in confidence to stand up to him. However it didn't take long for him to process the news. His face instantly changed from shock to anger to determination when he walked towards me.

"No you're not."