We couldn't stay in bed for very long. I had a meeting with Nike about the sponsorship. They wanted me to appear in ads, and for me to take photos for them at a later occasion. That was what the meeting would be about, and I was not excited to spend that much time negotiating pay and what to do. Maybe I should get myself someone that could do this for me. Alexia probably had one.
I got up, and suddenly remembered that I was naked. I mean she had seen me naked before, but it was kind of embarrassing. Instead of doing the rational thing, I threw myself down on the floor. This earned me a loud laugh from Alexia. She threw the comforter down at me, and I went through her wardrobe to find me something else to wear. "I can't stay long Ale, I have an important meeting" I said while grabbing yesterday's clothes from the floor. "Come here and kiss me goodbye before you leave" she said with a smile, and I could do nothing else but to kiss her.
"Hasta luego" I said with a smile as I closed the door to her apartment. My car was parked right outside my apartment, I had driven it here yesterday and then never had to use it. Right now, it was great, I didn't have to take the bus back home and could save some time.
I changed into an outfit consisting of a pair of shorts and a vintage Nike sweatshirt. I wore higher socks, along with a pair of sneakers that were sponsored. A walking advertisement, but Nike would probably like it. Every mark on my neck was thoroughly covered with concealer. I had done my usual makeup routine, and thought I looked good. My hair was pulled up into a slicked back bun and I was ready for the meeting. Before leaving I heated up some leftovers and ate lunch.
The drive was quite long, and I sang along to the music playing in the car. The meeting was also long. We discussed what they wanted me to do, and what I would get for doing it. They wanted to pay me more now that I had gotten recognition, just so I wouldn't consider working with another company. I was happy about that, even though I had money it was always nice to have some more. I didn't earn a lot from football. It was enough to make sure I could live, but two trips in less than a month had drained the account I had for fun expenses.
On the way back home, I called my sister. We talked about my news, and then we talked about how Sofia was doing. Dani asked if I could babysit Sofia for the night. Their regular babysitter had cancelled, and she needed someone to look after Sofia. I happily agreed, it had been a while since I last spent time alone with Sofia and I missed her.
I drove to their house directly instead of going home. "Thank you so much for doing this, Li. It had been so long since me and Marcus were last out alone" Daniela said while hugging me. "It is not a problem. I can't wait to spend some time with Sofia" I answered with a smile. "There is food in the fridge, and snacks in the cupboards. Sofia can eat the same as you do and remember to have her in bed by eight" Daniela instructed. "I'll do that Dani, don't worry" I answered.
She handed me Sofia and the two of them left to go out. A note was left on the table and on it was some more instructions and when they would get home. "What do you want to do Sofia?" I asked. "I want to play family, Isa" she said in the way only a small child could do. "Then let us do that" I answered. Sofia led me into her room and started explaining the very complicated rules of the game. I would be the dad and she would be the mom. Her many dolls would be our children, and the gigantic bear I had gifted her would be the aunt who played football for a living.
We played for almost an hour before I had to start with dinner. Sofia was sitting right next to me at the counter and helped with whatever she could. I had gotten out the ingredients for a sauce, and she made that for me. It was more stirring than anything else. All the ingredients were already measured out and she just added everything. While she did that, I reheated a pasta sauce and cooked the pasta for us.
Twenty minutes later we sat down at the table and ate our meal. Sofia could eat on her own, I just needed to watch and make sure everything got down. When we were done with dinner, I started the TV for her while doing the dishes. As soon as I was done, I sat down next to her.
"When we are done with this program, we can get you ready for bed. After you are ready, we can continue watching some TV" I explained. Sofia had no sense of time, and I could not tell her five more minutes because she wouldn't understand when does minutes were up. I chose to use a task being done instead. I found that she reacted better to that then to time. "Okay" she responded, totally focused on the TV in front of her.
When the time was up, we headed into the bathroom to take a bath, go to the toilet, brush her teeth and then change into pyjamas. It took me half an hour to get her ready, and now there was only thirty minutes until she needed to be in bed. I explained how everything was going to go and an hour later she was soundly asleep while I watched something on the TV.
Ale<3
How did the meeting go?
Me
It went well
Ale<3
I'm glad!
Ale<3
Want to come over for a movie?
Me
I would love that, but I'm babysitting my niece
Ale<3
Maybe some other day then
Me
How do you feel about tomorrow?
Me
If you're not too tired from training
Ale<3
I would love that
Ale<3
My place or yours?
Me
Yours
Ale<3
Opinionated
Me
And you love that
Ale<3
Maybe I do
I fell asleep watching TV that night. Luckily, my alarm was set, so I woke up in time. I left their house quickly to go back home and get changed for training.
When I got back home, I was insanely tired from the day. We had been doing long laps at a high speed for a long time. Of course, I was tired. I would drive myself to Alexia later that night and had a chance to write another letter.
Dear mom
I have missed you a lot. I played in the U-20 World Championships this summer. We managed to get to the final but lost it there. Going back home with a silver was defeating, we all had fought so hard, and we wanted to win so badly. Dani came and watched several games along with Marcus. Felix even spent a couple of days there with Maria and Alicia. It was great to have their support, but I missed having you there, cheering me on.
I still don't speak to dad. He made an appearance at Felix's place when I was there, but I could not face him. I left without talking to you, which I regret.
Alexia and I have grown tighter. We went on a day a couple of days ago, and tonight I am going to her place again. She came and watched two of my games, and I really love having her there. Whenever I spend time with her, I feel incredibly safe and love, which is strange since we have not made anything official yet. I think you would have liked her, she is thoughtful, kind, and an incredible football player. If you were here, I would have spent hours talking about her to you. I know how much you loved our conversations, and I loved them just as much. Even if I didn't always show it.
I still hate how I acted in the end. It scared me to see you so weak, and whenever I saw you, it was a reminder that I would soon be losing you. You are one of the strongest people I have ever know, and no one will be able to replace you.
Thank you for doing your absolute best with me.
Love Elisa García
1st of September 2018
I felt tears filling my eyes. It sucked to not have my mom here, and with my dad being the person he was I was not going to let him back into my life. You need to pull yourself together Isa. Deep breaths and focused eyes.
After writing the letter I headed to Alexia. My outfit was not pretty, a pair of sweatpants and a shirt with long sleeves. No makeup covered my face, only concealer covered the marks Alexia had left.
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Filler chapter guys!!
Can we get 30 votes for the next chapter?
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