The bench // Pedri

Chapter Ten

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Catalina waited, hoping for whoever was at her door to leave. Although it was eleven in the morning, Catalina was lying in bed. She couldn't get herself up today.

It had been a week since she attended her first match as a supporter. She had seen none of her friends since then. She had been mourning the whole week, for this day. Today, it had been a whole year since her parents accident.

She had been crying in bed all day, she had only gotten up to go to the bathroom. She didn't have the courage to do anything else. Although she had moved on, she was upset. She couldn't sleep, and if she succeeded to do so, memories and nightmares of the crash played in her head nonstop.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Catalina grunted, hoping once again that the person would leave. But after a few minutes, she heard it again.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

She got up, opening the door without looking at the peephole first, being too annoyed to do so.

Her jaw dropped as she saw who was standing there. She wondered how he had come here. She didn't have any friends except Sophie and maybe Pedro and Pablo. Only Sophie knew where she lived, as she was the only one who knew the truth.

So, when Catalina saw Pedro at her door, while she was a mascara tear stained in pyjamas version of herself, she regretted telling Sophie her address.

"Hola" she simply said, leaning on the doorframe.

"Hola Catalina" he replied, looking at her blankly.

A few seconds of silence passed before Catalina opened the door more widely, inviting him slightly.

"I'm quickly going to the bathroom" Catalina told him, quickly escaping to clean herself up. She didn't want to take long so she just cleansed her face to remove all the mascara.

When she got out, she saw Pedro sitting on her bed, reading the back of a book she had left on her bedside table. He looked up as he heard her, smiling at her. He put the book back down on the bedside table, before speaking up.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

She nodded slightly before asking politely "Do you want something to drink?"

"Catalina, are you sure you're okay?"

She ignored him, grabbing two cups and tried to change the subject "I've got some still or sparkling water, Coke, apple juice or milk? Or maybe some coffee or tea?" She turned to look at him.

"Catalina, are you really okay? I've not seen you for a week, I've seen no sign of life from you and when I show up at your studio, I find you tear stained" he told her.

Catalina looked towards the floor. He was right, she had been a bad friend, she had completely ignored the three of them. No wonder she didn't have a lot of friends.

When Pedro saw Catalina wasn't going to speak up, he did "I hope you know you don't have to keep things in a cupboard around me" he told her sincerely

Catalina thought for a second, having no idea what Pedro was talking about. "What are you talking about Pedro?" She asked.

"Everyone has a cupboard inside their head. One they stuff everything in, to forget all their problems. You don't have to leave to close it around me" Pedro told her.

Catalina took him into a hug, her chin slightly lifted onto his shoulder. "What if I never want to open the cupboard ever again, even when I'm alone"

Pedro thought for a moment "You have to, otherwise it ends up bursting open. Creating a big mess" he felt Catalina's grip on the hug tighten as her eyes started to flood with tears.

She pulled away, quickly turning around and wiping her tears discreetly, but Pedro noticed. "I'm sorry, it's just that this week has been really hard on me. I didn't mean to ghost you guys. Are you sure you don't want something to drink?" She asked him.

Pedro nodded quietly, before replying to her question "it's okay. I'll have what ever you're having"

She hummed as he sat down at the small table "Is camomile tea okay for you?" She asked him as she turned the kettle on.

"Yes please, it's my favourite" he smiled, he looked around the place more, observing how she had decorated her small studio with out making it look too crowded "I like your studio, it's very cozy" he complimented

"Thanks, i decorated by myself" she replied smiling.

"Look, coming here, i knew something was wrong, so i was wondering if you'd like to come eat dinner with me? Just us two, to cheer you up?" He asked her, nervously waiting for her answer to his proposition

"I'd love to Pedro but, I'm not sure if you'd want to hang out with me today-" before she could continue he cut her off

"I'd hang out with you every chance I'd get, no matter what" he told her, avoiding eye contact as he felt his cheeks burn up slightly.

She noticed this, and she laughed shyly. Pedro made her forget, she made her happy, so she ended up accepting.

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Hey everyone!

I hope you're all doing great! Thanks so much for all your support. I'm getting nervous to write because I don't want to disappoint you guys, so I hope you've enjoyed reading this chapter :)

My chapter updates have already been slower but they might stay like that for a while since my exams are coming up soon.

I also thought I'd clear things up about Catalina's studio. In this case, her studio is basically a one big room and bathroom appartement. Like the ones you'd have for college.

This is what I mean

I hope you're all doing well!

Love, Pedriittaa <3