Still➛Declan Rice

E I G H T E E N

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september 30th, 2023
moving into a new home

Natalia hummed quietly as she slipped her key into the door of her new home, turning it around and pushing the handle down, kicking the door open with her foot to let Tails in whilst she carried boxes from her flat in her hands. She placed them down on the floor before shutting the door behind her, the cold air nipping at her bare arms as she finally explored the place she was living.

She'd been living in a temporary flat whilst her house was being built and thankfully it was now complete, meaning she lived only 5 minutes down the road from Jesse and Marcus. Now she was actually inside the house, it felt way too big for just her and Tails, but that just meant she could get more pets to fill up the space.

Talia let Tails roam around as she went back out to her car and started to take all the boxes inside, mind completely blank apart from the occasional thought about where things were going to go.

She hadn't really spoken to anyone since Delilah messaged her the other day, she barely spoke a word in training and it was concerning everybody. Jesse hated letting her dwell in her thoughts for too long because she became a completely different person and it put her in a really bad state.

Natalia busied herself by unpacking boxes and putting things out, experimenting with a few things here and there and before she knew it, she was done decorating. The house already had all the furniture needed thanks to her interior designer, but something still felt like it was missing.

She walked back into the hallway to make sure her door was locked when her eyes settled onto the box she hadn't realised was there, so she got distracted and decided to see what was in it.

"Oh." Talia hums in defeat when she slices through the tape to see a box of Declan's things she never gave back. She told herself to put it back, not to delve into the memories she shared with him, but she let her curiosity get the best of her. 

"Hey baby." She smiled weakly at Tails who lay beside her on the sofa, head resting on her thigh as she took things out of the box one by one.

Somewhere between looking through everything she found herself crying, eventually discarding the box to pull her knees to her chest and cry that way instead. Tails was concerned as she sat up, nudging Talia's leg with her nose to try and get her attention but it was simply no use.

Neither of them had realised that Jesse had walked in to surprise Nat with a bottle of champagne and a balloon as a housewarming present, so when he walked into the living room to see her crying, he panicked.

"Nat, hey, what's up?" Jesse questions, immediately putting everything down to stand in front of her. She shakes her head as she pulls her face away from her legs, looking up at her teammate with bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" Jesse asks, wiping her cheeks that felt like they were on fire.

"I feel so alone Jess." She admits in a broken sob, relishing in his comfort when he pulled her up from the sofa and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Don't be an idiot, Nat. You've got us lads, the whole team, Delilah and Mason, the England Squad. You don't have to be alone, you just keep shutting people out because you're afraid of being hurt again." Jesse whispers, smoothing her hair down with his hand as her sobs became quieter.

"I miss him Jess." She admits quietly.

Jesse understood who she was talking about almost immediately, sighing deeply at the thought of it. He needed to find a way to get them back together, find a way for Natalia to stop being so stubborn and let him talk, and he was going to need some help.

"Why don't you just talk to him Nat?" He questions as they sit on the sofa, the older man giving some attention to the Goldendoodle who was excited to see him.

"Every time I do it just ends up an argument and I can't deal with it." She responds, moving some hair out of her face as she plays with the rings on her fingers.

"Then maybe argue with him, Nat. Maybe that's what you need." He hums, looking at her as she continued to fiddle with that Cartier ring she'd had for a while now. Truth be told, he had no idea where it had come from, but he had some sort of incline to the fact it had something to do with Declan.

"Did you bring champagne?" Natalia questions, changing the subjects of the conversation as she wiped her cheeks on the sleeve of her hoodie.

"I did."

"Good, now let's get drunk."

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