Castles Crumbling

Visitor? (Chapter 27)

I woke up next to Leah. With both cats curled up next to me and a familiar purr filled the room. That small sound filled me with pure happiness. Even though the cats would wake me up every single night, I still loved them.

I couldn't imagine life without them, to be honest.

Leah was curled up right next to me, her hands around my waist and her breath warming up my neck. She was fast asleep, her breath slow, and she was almost snoring. Or at least breathing very heavy.

I checked my phone, which was right next to me on the bedside table. 8 a.m., that meant I needed to get up in half an hour. That also meant half an hour of cuddling with the cats.

The alarm sounded loudly, and that wasn't mine. Mine was soft and quiet, connected to Spotify. Playing a sweet song every morning. It was perfect.

No, this was Leahs. "Can you turn it off?" She asked me drowsy from the sleep she was just brought out of. "It's on your side, and the cats are lying on me. You know the rules. Lagd katt ligger." I answered her with a smile. "What the fuck did you just say?" Leah asked me. "Laid cat is lying, which means you can't move the cat." I responded. Because to me it was totally obvious that it was like that.

She finally turned it off, and we both enjoyed the silence for a minute before we got up. Sofia was still on the couch, fast asleep, and I decided to cook us all breakfast.

"What do you want?" I asked Leah before continuing with."I have almost everything except eggs, can't eat them, and never use them. I only buy them when I want to make pancakes." I could see on her face that she was taking it all in. She was in a half-asleep stage and it took some time to understand what I had just said.

"I shouldn't have slept here. We were supposed to take it slow and go to dinner first." Leah said, suddenly brought out of her half-asleep stage. "You slept here as a friend Leah, it's fine. We can go to dinner like we planned and still take it slow." I answered her, telling her what I thought was true. "That is great. Thank you!" Leah said, letting out a small sigh.

I had made avocado toast for the three of us. With bacon instead of eggs on top. It probably wasn't the best meal I had ever made. Leah took the plates and put them on the table, as well as made tea. All of that while I woke up Sofia.

"It's time to wake up, sweetie." I said as I lightly shook Sofia awake. "Fucking hell mate. Get me back to sleep." She said, punching me jokingly. Sofia got up a second later, smelling the toast that was sitting on the table.

Even Leah ate the avocado toast. That was a surprise since she was really picky. "It's delicious, Sparkles" Leah mumbled. I could barely make out the words she said, her mouth full of food.

"Sparkles?" Sofia asked. "What kind of name is that?" She continued. "Because she looks so girly and then when you get to know her, she is the sweetest person alive. And she always sparkles, especially when we go out." Leah explained, earning a big laugh from Sofia and an angry look from me. "I didn't say anything bad. It was all good stuff." Leah continued, looking a bit ashamed. "It's fine Leah, butI should probably come up with an annoying nickname for you too." I answeredher, smiling now. "Fuck off mate." She responded jokingly, smiling big at me.  

Since Sofia hadn't helped with cooking, we left her with the dishes. I changed into my football kit and packed my bag with my boots and a water bottle. Then I was on my way to the training grounds. It was a lot longer now, and even more traffic than before. That meant I spent way too much time yelling at people and being angry at everyone. What can I say? People suck at driving, and it makes me so mad.

"You look mad Otto, what happened?" Katie asked as soon as I got into the changing room. "London traffic happened. Why can't people just drive like you're supposed to? And why do you all drive on the wrong side?" I asked her defeated. "I have no idea why. But wait with the defeated feeling until I beat you at practice today." Katie said. Bringing out a smile and all the anger that I had built up from the drive was gone. "Before I forget, I'm coming to your place tonight." The Irish girl continued. "Why? I got a visitor Katie." I asked her, fearing I already knew the answer. "The cats, obviously. And tell me about the visitor. Is she your girlfriend." Katie asked, her accent stronger than ever. 

"She is not my girlfriend, just a very close friend." I told her, sharper than I needed to. I could see Katie take a step back, that was never good. She was always confident. "I didn't know that, I'm sorry for asking." Katie said apologetically. "You shouldn't be sorry Katie, I overreacted. It's all in the media, and it is just lies. It got a bit too much to handle. I should be the one apologising." I said before continuing with."I'm so sorry Katie."

I really needed to talk to someone about everything. It had proven to be difficult keeping everything in. It wasn't surprising. My castle always came crumbling down.

Also, I'm literally feeling so bad, that is why updates have been slow. I have been busy with school and have had no time to write. At the same time I have been struggling a bit with my mental health. Being rejected from the team I applied for, I wasn't good enough. I'm almost an adult and should be able to handle rejection, but I'm not that good at that.

Also saw the Taylor Swift movie and cried in the theatre when Marjorie was playing. Blaming it on the trauma from losing my grandparents during Covid and not being able to say goodbye.

Anyways, here you all go.