A/N: What's up everyone? Hope you're all having a good Monday? Me, not so much. Stress is getting to me and driving me crazy. Anyway, how excited is anyone for Ona to return home?! I love it! Although I think we have amazing defenders enough but for Ona I make an exception!
Enjoy the chapter!
Alexia's pov
Waking up before Ella is a rare thing. No matter the time she went to bed, she would almost always wake up before me so now that the roles were reversed, I would savor every second of it.
I admired the girl's beauty. She had her face almost buried deep into the pillow, laying on her stomach, her right arm loosely draped around my waist.
She laid there so peacefully. The tranquility around her amazed me. It was hard to believe that she could be a menace on the field and a troublemaker off it with just the right people around her.
After a while of simply laying there, watching her sleep, enjoying the small moment, I gently took a hold of her arm and carefully lifted it off me. I slipped out from under her hold and got out of bed. Her face immediately scrunched up in a cute way and she started to stir, stopping me in my tracks.
"No." She whined with her eyes still closed. "Don't go."
It was barely audible and subconsciously she reached out, making grabby hands. I held out my hand for her to grab. She immediately wrapped her hand around my wrist and tugged me back on the bed, making me chuckle.
I let myself fall on the bed, supporting my weight on my right arm while I softly brushed some hair that had fallen in front of her face out of the way. I left my left hand to rest on her cheek and gently caressed it.
"Go back to sleep, mi amor." I whispered in her ear before I left a sweet kiss at her temple.
She just hummed in content and snuggled closer to my pillow. Soft snores were heard again, indicating that she drifted off to sleep. I slowly pulled away and tip-toed out of the room.
"Oh hey." The American midfielder greeted me with a smile once I entered the kitchen.
"Hey." I smiled back and took a seat at the table.
"Hope you slept well." I looked at the American who held out a pot with presumably coffee. I nodded at her and she poured me some.
"I did. The week had flown by. I can't believe I'm flying back today." Kristie said and took a sip from her own cup while she sat down opposite me.
"She loved you being here. She hasn't said it out loud but she really missed you." I told the midfielder honestly.
Kristie looked up at me with a smile but it soon faded. She cleared her throat and placed her cup down.
"I need to apologize." She briefly clenched her jaw, clearly nervous about what she was going to say.
"Why?" I asked, confused. "You haven't done anything."
"For acting the way I did when I first met you." She explained but I shook my head at the girl.
I couldn't blame her. It must have been a surprise when she found out.
"You really shouldn't." I assured the girl but she wasn't having it
"Yes I should." She sternly said.
"I acted like a bitch. It's just that when I saw you standing there in your bra it wasn't that hard to put two and two together and the thought of Ellie dating scared me. She doesn't have the best track record when it comes to dating and I was determined that I would protect her this time." She looked me right in the eyes, never once did she look away while explaining herself, making sure that I saw her sincerity.
"Don't worry about it. I get it." I shook my head trying to make her feel better.
"No you don't. You can't. What did she tell you about Jacob?" She sighed out and closed her eyes for a second before looking at me again with a look that only could be described as pure sadness.
Ella had told me about Jacob once. It was very early in our friendship and she told me the whole story or at least so I thought.
"That he was abusive. That one night he snapped and had hit her, she ran and got involved in a car crash causing her injuries." I summed up what Ella had told me back then.
I thought that was the whole story but boy was I wrong. Kristie let out a deep sigh again, she was clearly struggling with the memories she had from that time.
"The car crash didn't cause her injuries, it disguised them." She said, almost in a whisper.
"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head confused, trying to process what Kristie just told me.
"He didn't just hit her, Alexia, he used her as his rackdoll. One night he did snap and he hit her but he never stopped. He kept hitting her and kicking her until her skull broke. Her femur, her ribs." She shook her head.
It was like she was desperately trying to get rid of the images that had haunted her in her sleep, images of Ellie barely recognizable, laying there broken in a hospital bed. And God, that God awful beeping sound that was the only proof that Ellie was still alive.
I remembered when Lieke got the call. It was during training, she dropped everything and was on the first flight to London. When she came back, it was like she had seen a ghost.
"Then he drugged her and placed her behind the wheel in the hope she would crash and it would look like an accident. She was in a coma for weeks." Tears started to form behind Kristie's eyes.
My face held no emotion, I was in too big of a shock. I sat there frozen, not able to move, I only stared at Kristie. Ella had told me about Jacob, in fact I was one of the first ones she opened up too. I genuinely had thought she had told me everything. It never occurred to me that she had left key details out even, Lieke had never said anything.
"I didn't know." I whispered still in shock, staring ahead of me.
"You couldn't have." Kristie got up from her seat and walked over to the otherside so she was standing next to me. She placed her hand on my back to try and comfort me.
"Why didn't she say anything?" This time tears welled up in my eyes. The shock slowly wore off.
"Because she thinks she has to carry it all on her own. She's used to people leaving her that she just does it all alone." Kristie told me with a sad smile.
"How do I make her see that?" I looked up at the midfielder with determination.
She might think she's alone but I will show her that she's not. I will not leave.
"Be there for her." She simply said but gave me no time to say anything.
"Show her that you're gonna stay, that you're not gonna leave, not even when it gets rough or scary or real because shits gonna get real." Kristie breathlessly chucke.
The midfielder knew enough about life herself because she had her fair share of setbacks and heartbreak to understand how it all worked.
"She hasn't dealt with the things she's been through, it's gonna catch up with her. She'll close herself off and push you away, she's gonna put everyone else's needs before hers and it's gonna frustrate you till no end but if you love her and I know you do, it's all gonna be worth it." A small smile broke out on my face, mirroring Kristie's.
"Look, I wanted to hate you so bad, I wanted to scare you away so she wouldn't be at risk of getting hurt again but when I saw you two together I knew you actually love her, flaws and all. She's happy. She's finally truly happy and that's partly because of you." Her hand was placed on my shoulders and she gave it a gentle squeeze.
"That means a lot, Kristie really. Definitely coming from you. You're important to her." I smiled at the blonde and stood up as well.
Kristie pulled me into a hug that we both needed after this conversation. Ella meant a lot to us both and talking about what she had been through was hard on the both of us.
"Please take care of her. I can't take her being hurt again." She mumbled into my shoulder.
"I'll do my best."
Ellie's pov
For the first time in a while I woke up quite late. Alexia was already up and doing God knows what and I only vaguely remembered her getting up.
Once I was up and dressed Kristie, Alexia and I had breakfast together. There was a chill atmosphere hanging around the kitchen, even Kristie and Ale were laughing and goofing off, both girls had warmth up to each other.
Sadly the time had come to say goodbye. Kristie had to go back to the States to finish her rehab and to continue her season.
Ale and I would drop her off at the airport. There was no way I would let her get a taxi and that way I could spend more time with her before she actually had to leave.
"Is it selfish that I want you to stay?" I mumbled into her shoulder.
We were standing in the middle of the airport and it was now officially time to say goodbye. I had my arms tightly wrapped around her shoulders and my head buried in them. She kisses the top of my head.
"No, because I want to stay as well but I have to go." She sighed out sadly. I fought the tears that were welling up in my eyes and I knew she was doing the same while she dragged her hand up and down my back to calm me down.
"I know. I'm gonna miss you though." I whispered, tightening my hold on her.
"I'm gonna miss you too." She said as she tightened the hug as well before tapping on my back, indicating to let go.
I did as I was told but she didn't let go completely. She grabbed both my shoulders and held me at arms length, looking at me with an intense stare.
"Call me. Every week and I'll be cheering you on okay?" She sternly told me and stared directly into my eyes.
"I will. Text me when you land?" I nodded and asked her in return.
"I will. Keep her around will ya? She's a good one. I approve. Not that you need my approval." She gestured with her head to Alexia's direction and ruffled up my hair.
I swatted her hand away and glared at her for a few seconds before my glare turned into a small smile.
"Thanks Kristie. It means a lot." I pulled her in for one last hug.
"I really have to go." She mumbled into my shoulder and gave me one last squeeze.
"Take care." She pulled away gently and I could see the tears in her eyes well up.
"You too." I sadly smiled at her.
Kristie moved over to Alexia and pulled her into a brief hug. They shared a few words and a sweet goodbye. It made my heart swell seeing them get along so well. Once they parted as well, Kristie waved one final time before I watched her walk away, disappearing into the crowd.
"You're okay?" I felt a strong arm wrap around my shoulder, immediately melting into Ale's embrace.
I couldn't help but feel down. Living in Barcelona, with Alexia is a dream but there are times I really missed my family. This was one of these times. Kristie leaving made it painfully obvious again that I wasn't able to see them all that much.
"I'm okay." I let out a shaking breath. I knew Ale had picked up on my sadness but I was glad she didn't push it either.
She placed a soft kiss to the side of my head and we went back to the car. Ale grabbed the keys from my hand and got behind the wheel. I didn't complain though.
We were halfway through our ride home when I noticed that she took a turn in a different direction. I scrunched up my nose in confusion, trying to work out how Ale was going.
"This is not the way home?" I looked up at my girlfriend who had a small smirk on her face.
"That's correct." She hummed without further explanation.
"Babe, I'm not in the mood. I just wanna go home." I slouched back into my seat with a defeated look but Ale wasn't done. She had some more tricks up her sleeves.
"So no coffee?" She kept her focus on the road but she had this challenging look on her face. She knew I wasn't going to say no to a coffee.
"Okay I'm in the mood for coffee." I perked up a bit.
Alexia's smile only grew, satisfied with the outcome of her plan. She had made it her mission to make me smile today.
We stopped at our local Cafe, a place that we visited quite frequently over the last couple of months. It's one of the small routines Ale and I had picked up since I moved here. In our free days we would take Nala for a walk and usually end up here.
Ale told me to take our usual spot in the back while she would place our order. A couple minutes later she came back with our coffees and a piece of very delicious looking cake.
The last hour was spent sitting at the Cafe, laughing and talking. Ale went out of her way to cheer me up and succeeded for the most part but I couldn't help but stay in my sulking mood just a little bit. Nevertheless I was very grateful for her effort.
Ale was in the midst of telling a very animated story when I realized I was staring at her. I was admiring everything about her. Her cute smile, the freckle on her right cheek, the way her eyes sparkled in the light and how she used her hands to help explain her story better.
"Thank you." I reached out and gave her hand a soft squeeze. A loving smile slowly grew on my face, silently thanking my lucky star to have her in my life.
"You're very welcome." She returned the smile and continued her story.
Alexia's pov
When Kristie left earlier this morning, Ella had been in a mood. She tried her hardest to not let it show but after some time living with her I could spot her tells.
Fiddling with her hands, the unfocused and sad looks when she thought I wasn't watching. Those were all small signs that she was struggling with something and I had no doubt it was about her missing her family.
I can't even begin to imagine what it's like. I've done it for one season when I went to Lavente but soon realized it wasn't for me.
Ella is a family person, that much is clear. She calls her parents and siblings a couple of times a week, trying to stay up to date with each other's lives. It was a routine she had built over the years but no doubt it takes a toll on her from time to time.
After our small coffee date we walked into our apartment. Ella dropped her bag near our bedroom door and sighed. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and kissed her behind her ear.
She placed her hands over mine and closed her eyes for a brief minute. The girl tried to savor the moment as best as she could.
"How about I cook for you tonight?" I murmured in her ear.
She swiftly turned around and looked up at me. Once again she tried to pull up that facade, trying to convince me that she was fine even though I knew she wasn't.
"Babe, you don't have to." She gave me the best smile she could muster but it wouldn't reach her eyes.
"I want too. I'm gonna run you a bath, set up the laptop so you can go and enjoy yourself. I'll fix dinner." I bumped my nose against hers. The girl hummed satisfied, her hands sneaking under my hoodie.
"Are you sure? I can help." She placed her lips on mine for a quick kiss.
"Go." I kissed her once more before I fully pulled away and pushed her towards the couch.
"I've got this." I told her and gently pushed her down on the couch.
"Okay, if you say so." She chuckled.
Like I had told her I ran her a bath and set up the laptop so she could watch friends from in the tub and relax.
While Ella was taking a bath I took a chance at cooking. I grabbed my phone and looked up some recipes that looked doable and that I knew she would like. My eyes soon landed on paella.
"Alright. I got this." I clicked on the recipe and started inspecting it, checking if I had all the ingredients which luckily I did.
"How hard can it be?" I started reading through the steps but apparently that was a stupid question and the answer to that stupid question was 'hard'. Very hard.
"Okay I totally don't got this." I deadpanned when I read over the recipe again trying to make sense of it but after a short while I had to admit defeat.
I refused to give up completely though. I needed to find a way to actually cook a proper meal for her so I turned to the only source that could help me now.
"Hola carino." The woman on the other line greeted me with her usual enthusiasm.
"Hola Madre, I need your help." I said, cutting right to the case, slightly pacing the kitchen floor.
"Sure, how can I help?" She said without hesitating. She wasn't worried but the fact that I called her and asked her for help without any small talk first did worry her a bit even though she didn't show it.
"How do you make paella?" I asked, looking at the recipe on my Ipad again for the fifteenth time.
"Paella?" My mom asked, confused.
"Ella and I made that last week. She knows how to make it."
"It's not her, it's me." I clarified, rolling my eyes even though she couldn't see it.
"You? Alone?" She asked slowly, trying to make sense of the situation.
I can cook but let's be honest I was never a very good one and my mom knew that very well. Now with Ella, I rarely cooked alone because the girl was an amazing cook and she loved to do it.
"Yes, why?" I responded a bit agitated with the lack of trust.
"Oh mija." My mom chuckled, making her thoughts very clear. The woman thought I would be a disaster and even though I wanted to deny it, I couldn't.
"What?" I looked up from the iPad annoyed, waiting for my mom's response.
"You're sure that's a good idea?" She tried not to laugh at the thought of me cooking such a typical dish.
Giving up on trying to justify my cooking skills, I decided to simply explain why I wanted to make her dinner.
"Kristie went home today and now Ella's sad and misses her family so I wanted to cook dinner for her to cheer her up." I rambled on.
My mom knew better than to interrupt me so she just let me be and once I was done she spoke up.
"Well that's very sweet but you giving her possible food poisoning isn't gonna cheer her up. How about I help you make something more simple?" She chuckled again and offered some help.
Although the comment made me roll my eyes, I accepted her help.
"Fine."
Ellie's pov:
The bath was more relaxing than I thought it would be. Once I walked out of the bathroom, my hair still wet, Alexia was busy finishing up dinner.
As she noticed me, she told me to take a seat and placed down a plate with some delicious looking pasta in front of me. The two of us dug in and had a lovely dinner together, making me miss my family a bit less.
"Dinner was delicious." I placed down my fork after I took the last bite. A loving smile on my lips.
Ale looked up from her plate, almost finished as well with an unsure expression. Cooking wasn't really her strong suit so the girl was a bit weary about the outcome.
"You thought so?" She asked, hopeful with the cutest look on her face.
"Yes, I loved it. You should cook more often." I smirked at the Spaniard and took a sip from my wine.
Ale simply rolled her eyes and furiously shook her head.
"No thank you. That was enough stress for a whole year but if you really want me too I guess I can." She gave in immediately, making my heart swell.
Even though she didn't like to cook and I'm sure it did give her some stress, she would do it again if I'd ask her too.
We cleaned up the kitchen and then moved over to the couch. We were all cuddled up with some wine and a movie but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't focus. Instead I tried to focus on Ale's heartbeat.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ale broke me out of my trance.
She had her arm wrapped around me and I had my head resting on her chest. I shifted a bit so I could look up at her for a brief second before gazing back to the TV.
"No." I breathed out.
Usually I was fine with not seeing my family a lot but there are days when it just gets the better of me. Then I simply needed to push though.
"Do you miss them?" Ale asked cautiously, scared that she would only make it worse.
"I do." I mumbled, my gaze looked on the TV because if I would look up at her again, I would for sure break down crying.
"Do you regret living here?" You could hear the worried tone in her voice. I sat up and faced the brunette fully this time. Yes, I miss my family but I would never regret moving to Spain.
"No. I love Barcelona. I love living here and I love you." I looked her straight in the eyes and pointed at her.
"I love you too." A smile broke out on her face. One she couldn't contain.
"Sometimes it sucks living so far away from them and most of the time I'm fine with it, I mean I have Mapi, Leila and Jana. I have you." I poked her chest, making her chu
ckle but I sighed thinking about my next words.
"I guess Kristie leaving today just made it real again. But it'll pass. I'm sad, yes but I have you and that's all I want." I leaned in a bit closer.
"Good," ale hummed. "cause that's all I want too." She closed the distance between us and placed her lips on mine.