🎶 Jet Black Heart — 5 Seconds of Summer 🎶
My trip back to Barcelona wasn't really planned, but when Luis texted me that it was the soonest appointment possible on which he had been able to get a private tryout for Hamza, I hopped on the first flight from Frankfurt back home.
"Thanks again for doing this, Luis" I told him as we were walking away from the football pitch after the tryout and our uncomfortable encounter with Pablo.
"Sure, don't worry. Want me to drive you home?" he asked.
"I wish I had time for that. I'm meeting with my publisher to tell him my final decision about that last chapter and then I'm taking the last train to Madrid as I have to fly out to Miami from there tomorrow. It's all just... a mess" I sighed.
"You need to take a holiday, girl" he just said and looked at me incredulously, with wide eyes.
"Again, I wish I had time for that" I huffed.
After saying goodbye to him, me and my huge ass suitcase took a taxi to the Vanguardia offices.
"Vicky, you look awful" I was greeted by Irene, when I made a quick pit stop at my desk to gather some papers and mail.
"Wow, the stuff you love to hear from your best friend" I chuckled, knowing that she wasn't being mean.
"You know what I mean. You need some time off." she said and I groaned annoyedly.
"Not you too! I have to go now" I huffed, but still walked over to kiss her head before heading off to my meeting.
"Hello Miss Hernandez" Mr Robles greeted me friendly.
"Good evening" I replied and sat down on the seat in front of him.
"Have you decided about your chapter? We would like to go into print next week..." he asked and I nodded.
"I have." I replied and told him my definitive answer.
——————————————
My Iberia flight landed in Miami around noon and I was thankful for having accumulated enough points to buy myself an upgrade to Business Class or else I would have arrived completely destroyed. A taxi took me to the Chase Stadium, Inter Miami's home, which was in Fort Lauderdale. I really wished I had some holidays as I soaked in the rays of sunlight and saw the people enjoying their time at the beach. Instead, my mind was already in London, which was probably going to be cold and rainy.
As usual, I took my place in the media zone and typed the introduction to tonight's article into my computer. The game was actually pretty entertaining, even though Italy was mostly attacking, and it all ended in a 1-2 for the Europeans. I saw Chiesa in the media panel after the game and he walked over to greet me.
"Hi, how are you?" he asked friendly.
"Could be better, but I'm pushing through" I replied truthfully.
"And Ga-, your boyfriend?" he asked, stopping himself from saying the name that could attract some attention here.
"He's not my boyfriend. Unfortunately. Or maybe it's better like this, I don't know" I huffed.
"Oh no, I'm sorry, maybe you should take a holiday to-" he started, but I cut him off.
"I KNOW!" I shouted and everyone turned around and he looked a bit taken aback. "Sorry, I just... can't anymore with these comments. Let's talk about the game" I sighed and hit him with the questions I had prepared.
When I was all done with my post-game interviews and my article, I got a taxi back to the airport where I checked in my large suitcase and proceeded with my small trolley.
📍 Miami International Airport - MIA
vicky.hernandez International b̵r̵e̵a̵k̵ stress ✌🏼
fabriziorom Me during transfer window 😄
ferrantorres Bruv it's warm in Miami whatcha doin' with a coat?!
Replying to ferrantorres:
vicky.hernandez It's for when I land in LDN bruv
user1 what does it feel like to live my dream? 😩
chiara2203 How about a holiday? 😉
clairecollins Can't wait to see uuuuuuuu 💝
After the overnight flight, I landed on Friday around noon at Heathrow, where I had to wait two hours for my damn suitcase. I was almost panicking that it got lost, because knowing my luck, that was pretty likely, but it was finally the very last one to arrive, all the other passengers having already left except for me. And then I finally set foot outside, in the city that I had called home for two years during my master's degree.
I took the tube to the city center and arrived at my hotel, where I checked in, before finally seeing a bed in over 24 hours. Needless to say, I immediately threw myself on it and napped for unfortunately only two hours as I had to start getting ready for the game tonight. Spain vs Colombia, only a friendly, but obviously I still wanted Spain to win and bring home a good result. However, we were humbled by the South Americans who won with a well-deserved 0-1, even though Spain had had more chances all in all. Never underestimate South American football - that was the headline of my article. But in the end, it was only a friendly and I was happy for Pau who had made his debut with the national team.
The next morning, I met with my best friend from uni times, Claire, for breakfast at a nice café she had suggested.
"Hey, I'm so happy that you're alive" she said as she greeted me with a tight hug.
"I'm not always happy I am, but I know I should be" I sighed, being completely honest.
"Don't say that. Your life is worth living" she mumbled and stroked my upper arm before we sat down at a table. "You need to tell me everything" she then said and I took a deep breath before starting. I left out no detail, telling her also about my secret affair with Pablo, my book deal and the talk with my father.
"You don't need a book, you need a TV series, this shit is... whew" she commented when I was finished.
"Even the Kardashians are probably at a higher intellectual level than the bad soap opera that is my life" I huffed and stuffed a piece of toast into my mouth.
"I'm totally rooting for this Luis guy. Who the fuck needs a footballer when you can literally have the son of a Duchess? Who looks hot in his perfectly tailored suits and is loaded with money on top of that?" she giggled, swooning over Luis' Instagram profile that I had shown her for context.
"I'm the granddaughter and niece of a Duke, it's not like that is something special for me" I said and rolled my eyes, she was being so British and stuck-up about stuff like that.
"Ok, whatever, but he doesn't treat you like shit" she commented and I sighed.
"It's not easy for Pablo. He's still learning about life and is going through a rough patch too. And I haven't been a Saint either towards him..." I justified the situation.
"Well, in the end my opinion doesn't matter, because only you know what's best for you" she said softly and smiled. "However, I don't think your Dad's idea is the worst. A colleague of mine in the politics section is retiring in summer - I could put in a word for you..." she offered.
"At... The Times? Here in London?" I gasped. This was one of the most prestigious newspapers in the whole world.
"Well, yes, it's kind of the only place I work at" she chuckled.
"Wow! I mean... I'll think about it and let you know" I told her and she nodded.
📍 The Ivy Market Grill Covent Garden
vicky.hernandez Breakfast in London 🇬🇧
_ferminlopez 🫡🫡🫡
user1 That ring is bomb wow omg
ireneee.gc Outfit always on point 👌🏼
paola_hrnndz Can't keep up with your travels
cami_rdrgz Very pretty Vicky 😊
joaofelix79 Gotta love London! 💙
"It's a shame you're not reporting on England versus Brazil..." Claire sighed as we walked out of the café again.
"Yeah, it was a close one, but my boss ultimately decided to send me to Lyon. France versus Germany is quite a cool game too..." I replied.
"And then? Back home?" she asked.
"Gosh, no, I wish. I'll fly to New York tomorrow for the friendly between Ecuador and Italy, then I'm flying back to Madrid that same evening so that I can be at Spain's game against Brazil on Monday, then-" I blabbered but she cut me off.
"Hold on, hold on, is that even legal?" she asked me with wide eyes.
"Uh... yes...? I have days off in between games, it's just that international breaks are really stressful and... I don't know, I suppose it's an escape from the problems in my private life, being away all the time... I guess" I muttered.
"Girl, you need to pull the plug. You'll burn out if you continue like this" she said concernedly.
"Everything is better than dealing with my feelings for Pablo. Which is literally my biggest problem. So please spare the holiday talk, everyone is telling me about it." I huffed annoyedly. We walked together for a while and engaged in some small talk, and I felt sorry that I had snapped at her like that, but she was just being sooooo... British.
"Our ways part here... Remember what I said about the job, you can always call me" she said and smiled at me.
"Thanks Claire... Sorry about earlier. I do believe you'll hear from me if things go on like this" I sighed.
"You're a great person, Vicky. Don't sell yourself for any lower than your market value" she mumbled as she hugged me.
"Gosh, you couldn't be any more British" I chuckled.
"And you love me for that" she replied and winked at me before we walked away from each other.
After a quick stop at my hotel to pick up all my luggage again, I took the freaking bus to Gatwick because the trains weren't working once again in this bloody country. There, I boarded my flight to Lyon and arrived in the late afternoon at my hotel in which I checked in for what was going to be a very short night. After a quick shower, I got ready and going again. The atmosphere on the way to the stadium was already pretty heated, France and Germany had always been rivals in not only football history, and that showed.
To say that the game was entertaining was an understatement. Germany won with two goals and I was so happy for Ter Stegen that he had finally gotten the opportunity to step up as goalkeeper - it was definitely hard for him to live in Neuer's shadow. Mbappe got a taste of the wall he would have to face if he came to Madrid next season. There were so many great players to interview after the game and I got lucky knowing some of them already so that they took their time with me in the sea of journalists that also waited for them in the media zone. Two hours after the final whistle I was finally done with work, wrapping everything up and taking a taxi back to my hotel for some very few hours of sleep.
📍 Lyon
vicky.hernandez Au revoir, France! 🇫🇷 Big Apple next 🍎
luislaporta Cute x
jkeeey4 Great to see you again, Vicky ✌🏼
user1 Looooove her style!!!!
aurorapaezg Wowwww!!! Jealous of all your travels 😍
Gavi POV
Finally. There's just no place like home. And even though most of my life memories were made in Barcelona, I still saw Seville as my hometown. It was always great to be back and see all my friends and family. Right now, I was chilling at Ale's place and we were catching up about the past weeks, mostly me blabbering about Vicky and everything that had happened between us. I even had the courage to tell them about our ridiculous fuck buddy thing and was currently talking in detail about our fall-out over her book, when my phone dinged. As always, I was quick to check it and saw a weird message from a number I hadn't saved.
My friends must have noticed my weird expression, because Ale was quick to ask: "What is it?"
I turned my phone around for them to see and they raised their eyebrows, jaws dropping.
"Wait a minute, is this Vicky's cousin?" Mario asked.
"Must be her? I'm saving her number so I can see her profile pic" I mumbled and quickly did so. And indeed, her profile picture was her, dressed in a flamenco dress. Such a classic Sevillan.
"And she invited her to her house? Does she have a city apartment or does she mean... her parent's house house??" Ale asked excitedly.
"I don't know, why?" I asked annoyedly.
"Dude, this is Sevilla's richest family, if you're invited to their Palacio, I want to go!" Mario replied excitedly.
"Ask her! And ask if you can bring us along!" Ale added.
"Gavi, do you even want to go? Don't you find it weird that her cousin is texting you? You made the error once of falling for someone close to Vicky!" I said with a sarcastic, high-pitched voice.
"Dude, we're talking about Paola Hernandez here! The hottest and probably richest single girl in Seville!" Mario clapped back.
"You have a girlfriend!" I hissed at him.
"Ale doesn't. And technically, you don't have one either..." he replied.
"Pleeeease Gavi! I just want to see their home!" Ale whined.
"Ugh, fine" I mumbled, but the truth is, I was curious too. Vicky had always told me how close her and her cousins were and I saw on Instagram that she was seeing them very often now, but back when we were together, she never talked much about them, only snippets here and there.
"You happy now?" I asked my friends and they nodded excitedly. They immediately got up and started looking for something to wear, they were so chuffed about this. I looked down at my jeans and sweater - I always showed up at Vicky's like this, I guess I don't have to change.
"Do you think I should put my suit on?" Ale asked. The first and last time he wore that was probably at his graduation.
"It's a party! Just dress normally" I told them and rolled my eyes.
"A party. In a palace. Oh my, imagine her Dad is there, we'll meet a Duke!" Mario shrieked.
"Pull yourself together, both of you, or I won't be taking you anywhere!" I shouted and they quickly obliged. Truth is, I was nervous as hell myself. Why on earth did she invite me?!
An hour and a half later, we stood in front of the impressive building and gulped. Sure, I had been in rich people's houses often now, but this... I had some jitters when I was about to ring the bell, but instead, the main door was opened up by an older guy in a suit.
"Good evening. Party is up the stairs and then on the right. Enjoy!" he said friendly and bowed his head a little. Me and my two friends stood there mortified. We walked up like he told us and admired the building, it was very old and there were paintings on the walls. The music got louder when we arrived on the first floor and we turned right to walk into some sort of living space.
"Gavi!" I heard a girl shout and saw this Paola person walk towards me. "So nice that you came. I'm Paola, Vicky's cousin. My sister Blanca must be here somewhere too with her... lover or whatever he is, you know him. My brother Carlos is the one over there, showing off his new torero jacket, he'll debut as matador at the Feria shortly and couldn't be more excited. Anyways, this is us and welcome to our home!" she blabbered happily, with a bright smile on her face. All her informations were going through my head... her sister's lover was someone I knew?
"Cool. These are Ale and Mario, my best friends from back home" I managed to say and pointed at the two idiots next to me. Ale looked like he had seen the Madonna and sent her a faint wave, while Mario seemed more mature and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. Drinks are over there, I have to greet some more people now, but I'll see you around!" she said before disappearing.
I had expected to be swarmed by people, as I usually was at every party, but no. Of course, everyone looked me up and down and knew who I was, but there was no one freaking out or wanting a picture, not even the girls. They probably were all friends with Vicky and hated me.
"You're just not interesting enough for the people here" Ale snickered, having noticed the exact same thing. But then my eye fell on a familiar person, his arm slung around a girl's shoulder, that looked very similar to Paola. This must be Blanca then.
"Gavi!" the girl shouted and waved me over, Roro Riquelme now also noticing me.
"Hello" I said to him coldly. What the hell was he doing here? Of course I had read and seen and heard about his crush on Vicky and my blood was boiling.
"Oh right, you two know each other. I'm Blanca!" the girl said friendly and stood up to shake my hand, as well as my friends'. "Come sit with us!" she said excitedly and got glasses for the three of us, in which she started pouring a wild-looking mix of alcohol.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Roro.
"I'm... kind of seeing Blanca" he replied.
"Oh, that's your strategy now to get into Vicky's pants?" I spat, not caring about my attitude at all.
He laughed and threw his head back. "Gosh, stop being such a child. Yeah, I fancied Vicky, but she made it clear to me that I was never going to be anything for her. She still loves you, by the way. She introduced me to Blanca and... what can I say, she's amazing" he swooned.
"What would you know about Vicky? She's got a fun way of showing her 'love'" I snorted.
"I'm seeing her cousin, I know a lot about Vicky now" he chuckled and took a sip of his drink.
Gosh, why did I always have to be surrounded by my ex-girlfriend's suitors. First Laporta who was basically somehow a boss of mine and I had to endure him EVERYWHERE Barca-related, now Roro, as well as all my friends and teammates who would never admit they had a crush on her, but they so had. Even the kids: Lamine, Pau, Marc,... they all looked at her the same way. I stood up and walked around the rooms, trying to find someplace quieter. Suddenly, I found myself alone in a room in the back where a sideboard with lots of framed pictures on it caught my eye, especially one of them.
"That's my older brother, Fernando" I heard a girl say and saw Paola leaning in the doorframe.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to pry" I mumbled and quickly put the picture back down. She walked over however, and took it into her hands.
"Did Vicky tell you about him?" she asked.
"A bit, not much." I replied.
"Fernando was the firstborn. He would have been 35 now. When he was 18, he enrolled in the military academy in Zaragoza, gosh, my parents were so proud. I was only 6, I can't remember it very well, but Blanca and Vicky, they were 8. Vicky spent so much time with us and Fernando was like a big brother to her too, she does feel like a sister to all of us. My mum had some miscarriages after him, until she finally gave birth to Blanca ten years later - that's why she was so precious to Fer - finally a sibling - and since her and Vicky were inseparable, he was so close with her too. After five years of studies, he was called up to a NATO operation in Afghanistan. He survived, but... he wasn't the same when he came back. His best friend died in his arms over there... and he was struggling so much mentally. He always assured us he was ok and didn't want to talk about it. We should have pressed more... He overdosed on painkillers and anti-depressants..." she said and caressed the glass of the picture.
"I'm so sorry..." I mumbled.
"Vicky was left quite devastated. We all had problems coping with it, but she... I mean, you can see it now: she puts up these walls of ice around her and pretends she's fine, when she's really not. I guess she went over there to... feel closer to him, I don't know if she's ever really gotten over him..." Paola sighed.
"Ha! Look at this" she chuckled and took another framed picture into her hands to show me.
"That's Dad here, the picture was taken in the next room - come, I'll show you" she said and walked ahead, opening a door with me following her. I had never seen a room like this. There were so many paintings and pictures of uniformed men in here, as well as knight armours, rifles hanging on the walls, all sorts of medieval weapons displayed.
"This is Dad's whole pride. He's a military man through and through - he was so proud when Felipe and Leonor came to visit" she explained and showed me the exact table at which the picture was taken.
"Felipe and Leonor?" I asked and raised my eyebrows.
"We've known them all our lives, we're on first-name basis" she chuckled and smiled. "I'm sure you could be too, if you wanted" she joked and poked me in my ribs.
"I've only ever wanted Vicky. I didn't know this... her family... was all so... grand... Sorry if this comes off weird..." I stammered, a bit overwhelmed by everything here.
"No, it's not weird. Vicky isn't like us at all, I mean, we get along so well and are like sisters, but... she never really identified with... all of this" she said and gestured around with her hands.
"She's very much like her Dad, she probably told you more about him than about us. Her Dad was always all about accomplishing things yourself, being self-made. She very much got that from him and she was always determined to make her own name in journalism. While Blanca and I live more off our family's name, she never did that, I very much admire that about her, she's so amazing. I guess she made her name now in the world of journalism, but the price she had to pay for that..." she mumbled.
"Listen, I invited you tonight because I guess... I hope - you can understand her, us better. She loves you so much. When she told us she was dating you... her eyes lit up, she got that sparkle back that she had before Fer died. You were her source of happiness, you can't even imagine. You showed her that the world isn't divided into political camps that only go to war with each other, you showed her what it means to be loved, to be happy... I... I don't know how to explain it. I guess I just wanted to meet you in person to tell you all of this." she mumbled and looked down at the floor.
"Paola... I know I've made a mistake, a huge one, and if I could turn back time, I would, trust me. When I met Vicky, I knew I was done. In some sense, I was relieved to have found my great love so early, knowing that I would have her for the rest of my life and being able to build my career next to her. But I've realised that I'm very much still a boy too, and... everything that happened was too much for a 19-year-old like me. I shouldn't be going to court against my ex because she breached her NDA, I shouldn't have had to deal with the thought of her dying, I... I need time to process all that too, it's not just all about Vicky, you know?" I told her.
"And I understand that. You are both such great people with promising careers and alone... each of you is really good, no doubt. But imagine what greatness you could achieve if you were together" she said and patted my shoulder before walking away from me, leaving me alone with my thoughts... next to a very frightening knight armour which made me take two steps back, just in case it would magically jump on me anytime.
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Wow! The longest chapter I have ever written!
What do you guys think?
Do you like Paola and her side of the family?