Don't Leave Me (Erling Haaland)

two

I take my bag and I go downstairs. The coach is waiting for me in his car. I get in and he drives to the soccer field. I put my bag in the changing room and I join the coach. The team hasn't arrived yet, but the coach shows me everything. I try to stay calm because I feel so nervous. 

"When does the team arrive ?" - I asked, nervously

"Soon." - The coach says, "it will be alright," he adds, seeing how I am. 

I hope he is right. I sit next to him on the bench and he asks questions about my life in France. I tell him everything about my family, my friends and of course where I was before I moved. I miss everything so much. I was so happy in France, it was just so great. Now, it is a new chapter of my life and I hope it will be great as well. We hear noises and it is the team. I start to feel anxious. I stay calm and we wait for them. The team appears and the coach introduces me to the players. I think I recognized Avery Lopez. The players introduce themselves and I was right, I recognized Avery. 

Avery is taller than me, perhaps 180 cm. She has blond and long hair, she has blue eyes. She stares at me badly, I'm going to hate her. I ignore her and I listen to the coach. He tells us what we have to do in the training. Yeah, we already have a match next week, but I don't play. I will be on the substitutes' bench. During training, Avery keeps staring at me and she often laughs while looking at me. Her friends, named Alyssa Torrès, Maya Raynal, and Ciara Rey, look at me almost laughing as well. I try to do my best to ignore them but it's hard. 

The training ends in 5 minutes but we are already putting everything away. I come back to the changing room and I grab my bag before I leave. I say bye to the team and the coach. I grab my earphones and I start to listen to music. I enter my apartment and I go to the bathroom. I hated this first training. I take a shower and I get dressed quickly. I walk to my room and I slump on my bed. I sigh and I feel so tired. I receive some texts from one of my friends but I don't reply. I want to stay alone and I know if I reply, she will want to call me. I grab my earphones and I start to listen to music. One of my favorite songs is After Dark, by Mr.Kitty. In the end, I fall asleep without eating. 

I wake up crying in the middle of the night. Just because of a nightmare. The last time it happened was when I was in primary school. I can't fall asleep anymore so I decided to leave my apartment. I grab my keys and I leave. I walk in the streets of Dortmund. I see a lot of drunk people going out of bars. They don't pay attention to me and it is better like that. I smile at some people who smile at me. My smile disappears when I continue walking. I sit on a bench in a park. I start to cry without wanting it. Some minutes later, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head and I see someone very famous: Robert Lewandowski. I'm surprised.  I take my earphones off my ears and I look at Robert who is sitting next to me. I don't know how to react. I think he noticed it because he is the first to talk.

"I know you know me only because I'm a soccer player but I saw you coming here and I saw you crying so I wanted to keep you company." - Robert says

"Well, thank you Robert." - I reply

"Are you the new player in Dortmund ?" 

"Yeah."

"What's your name ?"

"Ashley. I'm Ashley Garcia."

"Your names are beautiful."

"Thank you."

"Do you want to talk about what makes you cry ?"

"I arrived here a few days ago but I never wanted to move on. We had a training and it was the first with the team. It was so bad and some girls of the team made fun of me. To be honest, I'm not happy."

"I know it is hard but it is going to be okay and I can help you if you need help. Those girls are stupid because they judge how you play and your difficulties. Try to ignore them, I know it is also hard but try."

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Robert hugs me and he gets up of the bench. 

"By the way, where do you live? I don't want you to be alone at this time, especially in the streets."

"I have to walk 10 minutes."

Well, I didn't imagine that!

I also get up and we walk to my apartment. We talked about his team, I asked questions about him and he did the same. 

"Do you want to sleep here or do you want to come back to your home ?" - I ask

"Is it okay if I stay here tonight ?" - Robert asked, nervously

"Yeah, I can lend you my room if you want to."

"Are you sure ?"

"Yeah."

I show him my apartment and I take some clothes for tomorrow. 

"Good night Ashley !"

"Good night Robert !"

I lay on the couch, I sigh and I start to overthink. Again. I grab my teddy and I try to sleep. In the end, I open my eyes realizing I can't sleep. I get up and I go on the balcony. I lean on the wall and I look at the stars. I start to feel better but I still don't feel tired. I still can't believe Robert is sleeping at my apartment. I come back inside without making noises and I lay on the couch. I fall asleep slowly. 

                             *Next Day*

I wake up early and Robert isn't awake yet. I get dressed quickly and I brush my hair. There is no training today so I won't see Avery. I hear a door being opened and footsteps approaching.

"Good morning Ashley." - Robert says, still sleepy

"Good morning Robert. Did you sleep well ?" - I reply

"Yeah, I did. What about you ?" 

"Not really but it's okay. I'm fine."

"Are you sure ?" 

"Yeah. Do you want to eat something ?"

"Do you have bread and butter ?"

"Yeah sure."

I get up and I walk to the kitchen. I grab the bread and I take the butter into the fridge. I come back into the living room and I see Robert on the couch.

"Do you want to drink something?" I ask, putting the butter and the bread on the table

"Is there orange juice please ?" - Robert asks, smiling

"Yes." 

I come back to the fridge and I grab the orange juice. I also grab a glass and I put them on the table in the living room. 

"Thank you Ashley." - Robert says

"You're welcome." - I reply, sitting next to him

"You don't want to eat ?"

"I never eat in the morning."

"Okay."

"Do you have training today ?"

"No. What about you?"

"Yeah, at 5 pm. You want to come ?"

"Why not. It can be great."

Robert smiles when I accepted to come with him to his training. To be honest, I'm so happy to go to one of his training. 

"By the way, it is near Munich so we have to leave early but we can take the airplane. Do you have training tomorrow ?"

"No. The next training is in two days."

"Great."

Robert finishes eating and he puts everything away. I put clothes in my bag, I also take my earphones and my phone's charger. I grab the key to my apartment and we leave.