Foolish one

Chapter 60

The next few weeks passed in a blur. I was constantly sick and there were some foods we could no longer keep in our kitchen because of that. Anything with oats were out of the question, so was fish, and dairy. Alexia hated having to get accustomed to what I would no longer eat, but she handled it gracefully.

However, my sickness was under control, and I was able to return to playing after a two-week break. Alexia was a bit annoyed that I was playing since I was still very nauseous most of the time.

I was now six weeks pregnant, and it was my first away game since getting pregnant. We were on a bus for over four hours. I sat next to Alexia, spending most of the drive being sick. Way sicker than I usually was. My motion sickness combined with morning sickness was a lethal combo. Luckily, for both me and my teammates, I managed to fall asleep after an hour, which brought peace to everyone.

"Are you sure you are good to play Isa?" Aitana asked from the row behind us. "You look a bit a pale and have been throwing up the entire time you have been awake" she continued. "I am doing fine. Thank you for asking" I answered, my voice slightly ironic. My nausea was prominent, but just having Alexia by my side helped slightly, but I was sure that it was only the placebo effect.

"I am just worried, most of the team is" Aitana said. It was nice that she cared, but I had no energy to answer her. Alexia took the part and engaged in a small conversation with Aitana and Mariona. I leaned against Alexia's shoulder and listened to their quiet conversation.

Most of the girls were asleep. The usual loud volume in the bus had quieted down to a whisper. Alexia rested her hand high up on my thigh, moving it slightly. It was a gesture that was meant to comfort me, and it did. I grabbed her wandering hand and held it in mine, bringing her hand up to place a small kiss on it.

As I did that, Alexia kissed my forehead, with her usual softness. "You have made La Reina soft" Mapí yelled from the other side of the bus. Alexia threw her slipper in that way, hitting Mapí in the head. "Fuck off Ale" she yelled which caused half of the bus to laugh and the other half to groan after they had been awoken from their slumber.

We arrived at the hotel and got our room assignments. I was sharing with Aitana, and Alexia was sharing with Mapí. "Just like old times" Aitana said as we walked to the room.

During the afternoon we had one final practice before we all made our way to dinner.

"A plate for you, love" Alexia said and put a plate down in front of me. She had made sure to hand me something without oats, dairy, and fish. "I talked to the chefs, so no dairy has been used for anyone" she whispered, only loud enough for me to hear. "I love you" I whispered back.

The rest of the team joined us for dinner. Loud conversation filled the room, and so did the laughter. We were all excited about the game tomorrow and it was obvious to anyone watching us interact. "Are you excited to be back after your spell with the flu?" Mapí asked. "Very excited. I learned that I have to be grateful for my time on the pitch because of how fragile it is" I answered. That was too much information shared.

"I love to have you back with me in the backline. Don't tell anyone else though" Mapí said, but the last sentence was a whisper. "I won't" I whispered back. Mapí hugged me tight. Laughter escaped her mouth. The kind of laughter that was contagious and soon enough I was laughing loudly with her. A smile lined Alexia's mouth before she also joined in with our laughter.

The night went fine, but as the morning sun rose, I was awoken from my sleep. I spent the morning in the bathroom, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Should you play today, Isa?" Aitana asked. I had no idea she had joined me in the bathroom. I must have forgotten to lock the door. "I am fine" I answered with a weak smile. "You are not fine. You literally spent the entire morning throwing up. What is going on?" Aitana continued. I couldn't tell her the truth, right?