A/N: Happy monday guys! Hope you are all doing good!
Tobin's pov
"No!"
At first I thought it was a fidget of my imagination, that I had just imagined it so I rolled around and ignored it. I buried my face deeper in my pillow and pulled my blanket higher up.
For a minute I thought I would fall back asleep but a scream made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. My eyes shot open and in an instant I sat upwards, frantically looking around the room.
"No!" I heard yet again but this time I was fully awake and aware where the scream and the yelling came from.
In the bed next to me, Ellie was frantically tossing and turning, waving her arms around, kicking at whatever made her so scared. Her screams and the volume of her pleas only increased.
Over the last few days I had noticed that she didn't sleep that well, that she was dealing with nightmares again, and that she woke up at early hours in the morning. She thought I hadn't noticed, but I had, the only difference is that the previous nights were nothing compared to this.
I rushed out of the bed and was by her side immediately, trying to shake her awake.
"Ellie, wake up." I said over and over again but the girl kept tossing and turning.
"Eleanore. Wake up!" I said more forcefully but again she didn't wake up.
A light bulb went on in my head. Chris. She would know what to do. I rushed out of the room and to Chris's room, banging on the door.
"Chris, wake up! Now! Please!" I kept on banging on the door, hoping she would wake up soon.
Much to my relief the door finally opened. In it stood a very confused looking Christen Press, still half asleep.
"What the hell, Tobin" She sleepingly rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes or at least tried to.
"It's Eleanore." Was all I needed to say to wake her up fully.
Without another word being said the forward jumped into action. She sprinted to my room and rushed straight to the girl who was still tossing like crazy.
"Hey, baby, shhh. I'm here." She kneeled in front of the bed, brushing the sweaty forehead of the frightened girl.
"Ellie, please wake up baby." She shook her lightly but once again it was no use. The pleas from Ellie only increased in volume, breaking our hearts.
"Ellie! Wake up." Chris said more forcefully this time. She shook the girl harder and the next time she tried to wake her up she finally succeeded.
"Ellie, wak-"
"NO!" Ellie screamed out, jumping up straight. The girl scrambled up and tucked her legs to her chest.
The sight of her sitting there, looking so frightened and fragile, broke my heart. She was pressed up against the headboard of the bed, her knees tucked up against her chest, her eyes wide in fear. It was like she had just seen a ghost or something much worse. The girl was shaking uncontrollably.
Chris, who was still kneeled in front of the bed, looked up at me with the same broken look in her eyes, even she didn't know what to do.
"Hey, baby it's me." She said very gently and reluctantly went to sit on the bed but it didn't have the desired effect. To the contrary, Ellie tried to press herself even further into the headboard.
"Hey, you're safe." Chris tried again and very slowly held out her hand, trying to place it on her knee.
"No, please don't hurt me!" Ellie flinched when Chris's hand touched her knee causing the forward to immediately pull away.
"Baby, I would never hurt you." Chris's voice wavered when she said it and for a second she looked up at me, completely lost on what to do. It broke the older woman that Ellie would even think she would hurt her, but the sight of the frightened girl would be something neither one of us would forget.
I took a step forward and stood behind Chris. Ellie's eyes followed my every move. She was wide awake now but it was like she hadn't snapped out of her nightmare just yet and that was when I realized.
She was still dreaming.
Gently I pushed Chris to the side a bit so I could position myself in front of Ellie and grabbed her face in my hands. Ellie started resisting and thrashing around.
"Tobin, what are you doing?!" Chris yelled out alarmed but I ignored my girlfriend and focused on the girl in front of me.
"Ellie, focus on me." I told the young midfielder but she refused. She kept thrashing around and her eyes were everywhere except on me.
"Ellie!" I snapped on her and that seemed to do the trick, I finally had her attention.
"Focus!" Was all I said. Her breathing had obviously picked up so I slowed mine down in hopes she would imitate it and calm down.
I kept eye contact with the girl and even though she was calming down, the clouded look in her eyes told me she still hadn't woken up till her frightened look turned into confusion.
"Why are you holding my face?" Her eyebrows were knitted together in confusion when suddenly she stopped shaking.
She had finally awoken from her nightmare. I let out a sigh of relief and a small smile formed on my lips. Chris however was less than calm. The forward was still sporting that worried look and in a flash she was holding the young midfielder in her arms, pushing me away in the process.
"God. You're okay." She breathed out and mumbled more to herself.
Ellie still had to move, her arms still next to her body.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ellie finally wrapped her arms loosely around Christen's body, leaning into her more.
"You don't remember." The forward was rather surprised and let go of the hug.
"Remember what?" Ellie asked and looked between me and Christen for answers.
"You had a nightmare." Christen immediately stated not giving me a chance to answer.
"I'm so sorry I woke you guys. It won't happen again." Ellie's frightened look returned. The girl was scared of our reactions and felt guilty that she had woken us.
"Hey, it's fine. Are you okay going back to sleep?" I checked with the girl.
I saw the small hesitation in her eyes but nonetheless the girl agreed to it and told us she'd be fine. Chris and I looked at each other again but the girl kept on reassuring us and layed down with a forced smile, closing her eyes.
Chris wished the girl goodnight and kissed her head. She told her that if there was anything, she could always wake her up. Then I walked my girlfriend to the door.
Before she could actually leave, I grabbed her by the arm. Chris spun around to face me and gave me a confused look. I looked back inside, checking if Ellie was still in her bed and then closed the door a bit.
"This was not the first nightmare she had this week." I elaborated why I stopped her from leaving.
Ellie hadn't been sleeping since she arrived at camp. She thought she was hiding it well but I had noticed and Chris needed to know that.
"What?" The forward furrowed her eyebrows. Deep down she wasn't really surprised by my statement but she had hoped that she was wrong.
"She had tons before." I sighed out, clenching my jaw a bit, still worried for the girl.
"Why didn't she say anything?" Christen asked more to herself than me. She closed her eyes and then looked up, suppressing her tears from welling up in her eyes, the adrenaline wearing off and the tiredness catching up with her.
"Because she thinks I haven't noticed." I gently placed a hand on Chris's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
"Chris," I sighed out again, thinking about what I was gonna say next. "She hasn't had a proper night of sleep since she got here."
I could see the panic rise within Christen. She knew how bad it could get with Ellie, how isolated she could be. But most of all she blamed herself.
She blamed herself for not noticing. After Jacob she made a promise to herself to protect her at all costs and now she felt like she had failed.
"You think she's having them again?" She asked barely above whisper. When she looked at me she had tears in her eyes, impossible to suppress them any longer.
"I don't know but this was bad." I lightly shook my head, trying to rid myself from the images of Ellie so frightened on the bed.
Suddenly Chris seemed to remember something and looked very curious. There was one question that had been on her mind since Ellie woke up from her nightmare.
"How did you know how to wake her up?" She asked me curiously.
"I did some research when she started having those nightmares after the whole Jacob incident. What she experienced just now is called a false awakening. It basically means that it seems the person is awake and they think they are but they aren't. The line between reality and dreams is gone." I explained what had just happened.
Christen looked shocked. First of all she was surprised that I had done some research and second of all she had never heard of the phenomenon.
"How do you get her to wake up?" The forward asked me intrigued.
"Either you make them close their eyes or make them focus. That should be able to wake up that specific part of the brain that is responsible for dreaming." I continued my explanation to Chris. The black haired woman nodded along, listening very carefully and taking notes for if it were to happen again.
"I'm calling Jenni tomorrow to see if she has noticed anything." Chris said determinedly.
"Mmh, could work. I doubt she had shown them that side of her already though." I said not sure if it was the best course of action.
Ellie is a survivor. She rarely asks for help and always pushes through. Even if she is that close with the Barca girls, I doubt she has shown them that side of her, a side that even we rarely get to see.
"It's worth a shot. The very least Jenni knows and can keep an eye on her." Christen still had all hope in her plan so I decided to go along with it. It wasn't a bad plan.
I knew Jenni and Ellie got along great. It wasn't that surprising either but I think there is another person who would be a better option and I had a slight feeling who that could be.
Ellie's pov
Before I could even walk into the dining hall the next morning, someone forcefully grabbed my wrist causing me to yelp and dragged me into one of the nearby rooms. When I got pushed in and turned around, I came face to face with a serious looking Christen.
"You're having nightmares again." She stood in front of me. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a stern look on her face.
"No, I don't. Who told you that?" I tried to play it dumb but there was no way that she would let it go.
"The bags under your eyes." She sarcastically pointed out with an eye roll.
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. She had a point, I couldn't argue with that. I took a deep breath and let my arms fall down next to my body. The forward looked at me intently, waiting for a reply.
"I had a rough night." I played it cool but again she wasn't having it.
"That's not just from one night." She waved her finger in front of my eyes.
"Chris, it's fine." I breathed out. "It's just a new environment. No big deal."
"It is a big deal!" The girl said, raising her voice and throwing her arms in the air. Obviously she wasn't gonna let it go that easy. A small glare painted on her face.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes for a second. The breath that I released, effectively helped me to calm my rising frustrations down a bit.
"Yesterday was the first nightmare I had in a long time and it's probably the stress of tomorrow's game. I'm fine and if I'm not I'll talk to you. Happy?" I tried to explain as calmly as possible.
Chris simply stood there, the glare still on her face while I stared at her. She was able to hold her ground for a little, clenching her jaws and fists but eventually she cracked, letting out a sigh.
"Promise me." She softly spoke. It wasn't really a question, it was more of a statement but I could feel her emotions behind it. Now it was me who was getting the stare.
"Fine." I groaned when I broke. "I promise. Can I go eat now?" I asked like I was a teenager who was annoyed with her mom.
"Go." Chris chuckled and let me rush out the door.
When I was out of her sight, I let the small smile that was threatening to show finally grow. Although I was slightly annoyed with her ambush, I knew she meant well. It felt nice to know that she'd always be in my corner.
We had a little more time before we actually had to leave for the game so after breakfast everyone went to their rooms to get ready and to chill a bit.
Tobin was lounging on her bed, scrolling through her phone while I was grabbing all my stuff. The sound of my phone made me drop everything and once I read the text, I couldn't help the smile from growing.
Queen ❤️
Good luck mi amor. We'll definitely celebrate when you get home 😏
"You're mom again?" Tobin didn't even look up from her phone but a smirk was plastered on her lips.
"Nope, definitely not my mom." I swallowed a bit, doing my absolute best not to think about ways Ale wanted to celebrate when I got home.
"So who is it then?" Tobin looked up from her phone but I refused to meet her eyes. She was onto something, I could hear the amusement in her voice.
"Just someone." I shrugged my gaze locked on my phone once I plopped down on my own bed next to her.
"Someone?" The brunette raised her eyebrow and continued on. "That someone makes you smile." It wasn't a question or a joke, it was a statement.
I couldn't help but think of my time in Barcelona. I hadn't been there for too long but I already couldn't picture my life anywhere else anymore and a certain midfielder had a lot to do with that.
A smile made itself present on my face when I thought of her and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Yeah, she sure does. She has helped a lot too." I hummed. Tobin stayed quiet and waited for me to continue.
"Moving clubs was scary. I had to leave everything behind that I knew, not only that but also I moved to a new country, a new city, I had to learn a new language." I explained to Tobin and this time I did look her way. The first thing she really noticed was my smile.
"She helped?" She asked, trying to understand the story more. We were both on our bed, facing each other.
"She showed me around the city, introduced me to my teammates, helped me out with the language when I didn't understand a drill, she would pair up with me." I listed some of the things she had done for me and Tobin's smirk turned into a satisfied smile.
She had a hunch of who it was and secretly she hoped that she was right. After all she had seen, the interactions between Ale and I during the world cup, hopelessly pinning for one and other.
"It seems that she has helped you get settled in Barcelona quite well." Tobin hummed, relieved that I had someone in Barcelona to fall back to.
"She did. Like I said, I was really scared, not sure if I'd made the right call by moving but she definitely made it a lot easier and helped wherever she could." I shifted my gaze from the winger to the lockscreen of my phone that held a picture of Nala.
Tobin kept looking at me. Besides the nightmares and the lack of sleep, she had noticed a shift in my mood.
"I'm glad. Does she make you happy?" I looked up again to meet Tobin's eyes. I was a bit surprised by her question but I recovered quickly.
"Yeah. She does." I smiled at the winger. A smile broke out on the wingers face.
"That's all I want. Then I'm happy for you. You deserve that." Tobin gave me a loving smile.
I chuckled softly, happy with the talk I'd shared with Tobin. Although I'm convinced she knows more, she didn't pressure me to talk about it. Instead she let me do the talking while she simply listened and I'm grateful she did.
"Come on, let's go. The captain can't be late." Tobin chuckled and got up from her bed. She grabbed my held out arm and pulled me up.
Meanwhile a little down the hall a certain black haired woman was on a mission. Even though she had promised me that she was gonna let it go, she simply couldn't. She made that mistake once, she wasn't gonna make it again.
"Press, to what do I owe this pleasure?" A heavy Spanish accent flowed through the phone.
"I need to ask you something." Christen immediately cut to the case. The woman was currently pacing her hotel room. She needed to know from a trustful Barcelona source that I was actually doing okay.
"Okay, shoot." Jenni sensed Christen's distress so decided against teasing the woman in any kind.
"It's about Ellie." That was the only sentence that Christen needed to say to put the forward on high alert.
The Spanish forward was currently lounging in her hotel room with Alexia. Both women were mindlessly scrolling on their phones when Christen called.
"What's wrong with Ellie?!" Jenni shot up from her bed, alerting Alexia in the process. The midfielder sitting up as well, dread filling her body.
"Nothing, I think." Chris was quick enough to ease the growing pit inside the forward's stomach.
"It's just, she hasn't been sleeping well and last night the nightmare got really bad Jenni, like real bad." The American breathed out.
A shiver ran down her spine, thinking back about last night. She never had witnessed anything like that. The scared look on my face. It reminded her of a trapped animal in danger.
"Is she alright?" Jenni asked with her voice filled with worry.
"She says she's fine." Chris sighed out but she wasn't that convinced. She knew that I wouldn't accept help that easily.
"Do you believe her?" Jenni skeptically raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know. Have you noticed something in Barcelona?" Chris asked, desperate to ease her worrying mind and plopped down on the bed, with her elbow resting on her knee, her head in her hand.
"No. No, I haven't. She seems fine. She's cheerful, bubbly, smiling all the time. I haven't noticed anything." Jenni was wrecking her brain, going over any interaction she had with me. She glanced over to Alexia who was very alerted but just as Jenni, she shook her head.
"Are you sure?" Chris pleaded with her ex teammate again. She needed to know for sure.
"Yeah, I." The Barcelona forward stopped herself mid sentence. Chris' head shot up, immediately picking up on the shift in the forward's mood.
"What?!" Chris said maybe a bit too loud.
"Now that I think about it. She was acting weird after our game before she left for camp." Jenni suddenly remembered.
"What do you mean by weird?" Chris got up and started pacing the floor again. She couldn't help but feel helpless and worried.
"After our last game she was more quiet than usual, acting weird. An older man had run into her and he kept apologizing and she simply stared at him. It was like she was zoned out but that's the only thing I can think of." Jenni shrugged her shoulders in disappointment.
Chris stopped her pacing and let out a shaky breath. It was getting hard for her to keep her emotions in check. She knew I wouldn't ask for help and that forcing me would not work but it was hard for her not too.
"Jenni, can you please do me a favor?" The American breathed out but before she had even asked her question Jenni beat her to it.
"I'll look after her." Jenni answered, holding eye contact with Alexia. Not only was she trying to reassure Chris and herself but Alexia as well.
"Please." Chris closed her eyes, hoping that would be enough.
"She made some very good friends here, Chris. She has settled in well. We're like a family and she's now part of it. We all will look after her." Jenni's eyes never once left Ale's, who nodded in thank you to her best friend.
"Thanks Jenni." Chris thanked her friend one more time before saying goodbye and getting ready to go to the bus.
When Chris and Jenni had said their goodbyes and hung up the phone, Alexia jumped up immediately. The whole phone call she had to listen and stay quiet, trying to piece together what the other two were talking about.
"Was that Chris as in Christen Press?!" She immediately asked, not even giving her friend the time to explain.
"It wa-" Jenni tried to say but once again before she could finish her sentence, Alexia had already interrupted her.
"What's wrong?" My girlfriend frantically asked.
"What makes you think something is wrong?" Jenni tried to lighten the mood but it had the opposite effect.
"Jenni, I swear to God." Alexia glared at the forward and pointed at Jenni, daring her to play it cool again.
"Ellie has not been sleeping well." She sighed out, a defeated look on her face. She knew Ale would worry about it and that was the last thing she wanted. Besides, it wasn't that her best friend could do anything about it. They were literally on opposite ends of the world.
"She's having nightmares again?" Ale asked but to Jenni's surprise the midfielder wasn't as shocked as she thought she would be.
"Again?" Jenni was confused by her best friend's phrasing and waited for Ale's explanation.
"Before she came to Barcelona, and I guess in the beginning she was dealing with a lot of nightmares but it has gotten better. She rarely has them now." Ale told Jenni about the troubles I had with sleeping.
Jenni obviously had no idea. No one did, except the ones that I lived with. The fact that no one knew about Jacob or at least the extent of it all contributed to my Barca teammates not knowing.
"Well, apparently not." Jenni deadpanned, finally clueying in on why Chris was so worried, she probably knew about my history with nightmares.
"I'm calling her." Alexia suddenly got up, her phone in hand. She was almost out on the balcony before a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her back inside.
"No! You're not." Jenni grabbed Ale's phone and held it behind her back.
"You and I both know she's gonna brush you off. Besides, I promised Chris I wouldn't tell anyone." The dark haired forward tried to reason with my girlfriend.
"I'm her girlfriend." The brunette said sternly and had a hard look on her face. One that would make you shiver and doubt any decision that would make it worse but Jenni didn't budge.
"And Chris doesn't know that, remember?" Jenni countered much to Alexia's frustration.
She knew that her best friend was right. She knew that I would brush it off, definitely over the phone and that she would expose our relationship, even if she would play it off as the concerned friend.
"I can't just ignore this, Jenni." Alexia breathed out. She didn't know what to do anymore. She felt so helpless, something Jenni noticed.
"Yes you can and you will. You know Ellie better than anyone. The girl hates people worrying about her. Let's keep an eye on her and when she needs it, we'll be there for her, okay?" Jenni took a step closer to her friend and pulled her into a tight embrace, doing everything she could to console the midfielder.
"Okay." Alexia mumbled to Jenni's shoulder and closed her eyes.
"I promise Ale, we got her." Jenni promised the brunette but it was more to reassure herself. She would do her absolute best to protect me.