Shit, Marina thought, still looking at the door that had just closed behind Ty. She felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. She ran to the bathroom, washed the tears from her face and took a deep breath. She took her keys, phone and coat and headed outside, desperate for fresh air.
It was a beautiful day, so in contrast with the way Marina felt. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She took out her phone and called Lydia.
"Hey it's me. I changed my mind, I'm coming after all." She said.
"Oh Mari I'm sorry. Peter left when he heard you weren't coming." Lydia said apologetically. "Are you okay? Where's Ty?"
"Ty's gone."
"Do you want me to come back?" Lydia asked.
"No, no don't. Have a good time with Alex." Marina said hanging up. She felt bad she stood Alex's friend up. She had wanted to meet him, she had seen him around campus with Alex a few times. But as it seemed it wasn't meant to be.
Damn you Ty, she thought. Coming all the way here just to hurt me all over again.
"Are you alright?" Marina heard and turned to see a girl sitting next to her on the bench.
"What?" She asked.
"You're crying." The girl said.
Marina raised her hand to her cheek and realized the tears had started flowing again without her realizing.
"I'm okay, thanks." She said, wiping her cheeks with her hands. "My stupid ex—"
"Ty?" The girl asked.
"How do you know his name? Did he sleep with you too?" Marina asked angrily.
The girl chuckled. "Oh that's what it's about. He cheated on you." She said. "I don't know him and to my knowledge I've not slept with him." Marina kept looking at her questioningly. "Before you said 'Damn you Ty'. At first I thought you said 'damn your tie' but I wasn't wearing a tie and there was no one else here..."
"I said that out loud?" Marina asked, ignoring the bad joke.
The girl nodded. "So what happened?" She asked.
Marina eyed her for a second not sure if she should say anything. But she really wanted to get it off her chest and there was something about this girl that made her want to talk to her.
"He's my high school boyfriend. We lasted two years in college, that's not bad right?" Marina said.
"Until he cheated?"
"Pretty much. And then he came here and he acted all sorry and regretful and I... I took him back! What an idiot right?" Marina said.
"Well, when you love someone you tend to forgive them a lot of stuff."
"Yeah, I did! And then I found out he didn't break it off with her! He came here to get back together with me while he was still seeing her! Can you believe that? And I've been with him for more than 3 years... How could he do that?"
"I don't know... Who knows why anyone does what they do? Maybe they don't even know themselves."
"And what's worse," Marina continued, ignoring her comment once again, "my friend set me up with this great guy and I didn't go because of stupid Ty! And now that ship has sailed."
"You never know..."
"I do. I just called my friend. Peter's gone."
"Peter?" The girl asked, suddenly smiling. "That Peter?"
Marina looked up to where the girl was pointing. She saw Peter crossing the street in front of them.
"You know him?" Marina asked.
"Yeah, I know you too."
"You do? And why don't I know you?" Marina asked, confused. She looked from the girl to Peter and back again. He was walking away, towards the other side of the campus.
"You should hurry." The girl said.
Marina realized she was right. "But..." She started saying, eyeing the girl carefully. "Thanks." She conceded before turning to leave.
"No problem." The girl smiled.
~*~
So this was the last of the "Before The World Cup" miniseries and I really enjoyed writing it and giving some background on secondary –sometimes hated- characters.
There is a little bit of history between Peter and Marina that hadn't been addressed and I think it helps make sense of both of them. The extent to which they knew each other before the World Cup isn't explicitly stated but it will be addressed in the new chapters.
Alex to me was always one of the most sensible and laid back characters – maybe second to Thiago in calmness and maturity - and I think the flashbacks show he was always a well-rounded person who had a clear idea of what he wanted.
When it comes to Liv, through the flashbacks we meet her family briefly and see that she was having a tough time before coming to Brazil. Throughout DMOL she was anxious, guilty and short-tempered. Liv was always that person, but in the last few years she was even more erratic, having trouble identifying and controlling her emotions. Meeting Neymar brought her much needed happiness and peace and for a time she could push all the negative feelings out of her mind. But the troubles of her past are catching up to her and she can't escape them forever.
Also, if you didn't guess, in the last chapter the girl Marina was talking to in the bench was Liv.
As DMOL is coming to a close all of those things will be addressed and I hope you will enjoy reading the rest of the story. Thank you so much for your votes, comments and reads! They mean the world to me!