Young Love (Patri Guijarro x OC)

Girlfriend Is Back

The girls leave me alone and go back to the team to listen to Jona and the staff. I quickly go to the shower and relax a bit. Once I'm done, I get dressed in my Barcelona outfit and go back to the bench with the big ice pack our medical staff gave me. I sit between Lieke and the wall behind the bench and watch my team getting outplayed by the Germans.

"How bad is it?" Someone asks behind me and I turn around surprised. Carla. "It looked bad from up here." She shows me where she is sitting with some of her friends.

"It's bruised but I'll survive." I smile sadly to Patri's ex-girlfriend.

"You're strong, I bet it'll be okay." She reassures me and I can't help but feeling bad, she is a good person.

"Thank you." I nod and she goes back to her place.

"Not awkward at all." Lieke whispers to me so I'm the only one who hears it.

"What?" I fake not knowing.

"Don't try to fool me, Ju, I know you." Lieke chuckles. "And I know Patri, something has changed. She can try to save her relationship and you can try to flirt with Lynn all you want; it won't change the connection you two have."

I don't say a word and focus back on the game just to see Jill scoring Wolfsburg's second goal. Damn it, it's going to be harder than expected. I watch the end of the game and unfortunately, we lose. I can't be mad at my teammates, but I blame myself for not being able to help them much. Yet, good point, we are going to Turin. I walk to the field with Ana hugging my side. We don't jump because of our ankles but we enjoy the moment. Then, Jill walks to me worriedly and hugs me.

"Don't blame yourself." She whispers against my hair, and I feel the tears coming to my eyes. "You couldn't even walk out here, and even if you were a nightmare to play against, it was for the best you came out. No one will blame you for the loss."

"Why did I need to show off?" I sigh. "I should have done better and easier, so she wouldn't have to tackle me..."

"She lost her mind for a second, it's not on you." Jill looks at me with a stern yet comforting look. "I mean it. It's not on you."

"Thank you..." I sigh and hug her more.

Then, I go with my team to celebrate the win with our fans, and once we are done, we walk back to the bench to see the families and friends. Since no one came for me today, I just stay with Lieke on the side and her Dutch teammates join us.

"Sorry, again." Lynn hugs me tightly. "I really didn't mean it."

"I know, it's okay." I smile quickly and she looks at my ankle.

"Oh God..." She closes her eyes. "Good thing you jumped."

"None of us would have appreciated it otherwise." I chuckle sadly thinking of how bad it could have been.

"Next time we see each other, I'll buy you a drink or something, to make it better." Lynn suggests and I agree.

We hand check each other and she kisses my temple before going back to her locker room. Jill stays a bit more and we end up talking about Patri once again.

"She just can't stop starring, can she?" Jill smirks and Lieke laughs.

"I can see the frustration in her eyes." Lieke comments as they are both facing our bench.

"Stop it." I try to make them stop.

"Carla definitely sees something is wrong. She is telling her to come to you and make sure you're okay if she is this worried about you." Lieke explains to me what is happening behind me.

"Patri doesn't really want to come, though." Jill frowns. "Oh, they are fighting. Carla doesn't understand what is wrong with Patri."

"And Patri keeps on telling her everything is fine, which frustrated Carla even more because she knows Patri by heart." Lieke keeps on commenting.

"Can you stop doing that, please?" I plead.

"Okay." Jill smiles. "Just know Patri is coming this way, and we're leaving, right, Lieke?"

"Guys...." I growl.

"We're already gone, see?" Lieke smiles falsely to me and leaves.

"Great..." I sigh and feel someone walking to me.

"Is everything okay?" Patri wonders shyly. "Does your ankle still hurt?"

"Same as before, thanks for asking." I send her a small smile.

"Yeah..." Patri sighs loudly. "Can you stop pretending it's not awkward at all?"

"What is awkward?" I frown.

"Julie..." Patri rolls her eyes in frustration. "Since you've heard Carla is coming you don't talk to me, you're back to the ignorance stage even if I told you I need you as my friend, you're letting that Dutch girl hug you, kiss you and flirt with you, even if you know it's killing me inside."

"What's killing you inside is to see you don't want Carla anymore, it has nothing to do with me, or Lynn, or anyone else." I state. "You need to take time to decide what you truly want, and I'm not going to pretend it's not weird for me. You know I appreciate Carla very much. She always has been amazing with me, and I just can't stand there as if nothing changed. I can't do that to her."

"Oh okay, great, I see, now you're doing this for her?" Patri chuckles madly. "You know what? You're just scared to see we're more than just good friends. You can't accept to be just friends with me now and you know you won't be able to keep it friendly."

"Yeah, right, because you're such an unbelievable person, Patri..." I laugh not believing she is telling me that. "Go to hell."

I walk back to the locker room angrily and I feel my friends' eyes on me. I don't mind them until Jill stops me in the hallway.

"What's up?" She asks worriedly.

"Apparently, I'm the one in the wrong because I'm scared not to be able to contain myself around her." I speak with anger in my voice.

"Did she say that?" Jill chuckles amused and I glare at her. "She likes you a lot, it shows. She wants you to feel the same."

"By saying things like that?" I raise my eyebrow.

"She just doesn't know how to do it..." Jill calms me down. "She'll need time, and you have to talk calmly to her."

"Sure..." I sigh and she hugs me.

"I'll be quick to the shower, wait for me, okay?" Jill points at me.

"I'm not going anywhere." I nod and lean against the wall scrolling through my phone.

"What was that about?" Alexia stops in front of me not happy.

"What?" I roll my eyes.

"You and Patri fighting in the middle of the pitch in front of everyone." She locks my phone forcing me to look at her.

"She is being unreasonable, Ale." I sigh. "Carla is here, I'm not going to ruin everything and I'm not going to stop myself from living. It's not my fault Patri can't decide, and Lynn likes me. I didn't ask for any of it."

"Patri wants you, it shows." Alexia states. "I think Carla saw that too. We were watching you from afar and she told me she always thought Patri had a soft spot for you, since the Youth Teams."

"And? What did she say?" I clench my jaw slightly.

"She is sad, but she knows things aren't good anymore between them." Ale explains. "She blames herself for not listening to Patri's needs before."

"I see..." I let a long sigh escaping my mouth making Alexia hug me.

"You need to let yourself go, cariño." She whispers in my ear. "She is no danger. She can make you happy."

"I need time, Ale." I relax against her chest.

"I know." She kisses my hair and I hear our teammates coming back to the locker-room. "Let's celebrate, we are going to Turin."

I nod and we join our friends.