You'll Be in My Heart

Chapter Eleven: Spain vs Chile

Adriana chewed on her lip as she stared at herself in the mirror, she was so nervous for the match against Chile and she prayed that Spain could do this; she could only imagine how devastated Iker would be if they lost and were knocked out.

Adriana felt sick with nerves and she knew that the footballers were probably feeling the same, they needed to win this if they wanted a chance of being able to make it into the next round.

"Are you ready Adi?" Kate called banging on the bathroom door, she didn't want to be late for the match and they needed to get going; they had to make it to the stadium and she had a fussy Junior with them.

Adriana stared at herself in the mirror for a moment longer, she moved to tie her hair out of her face and nodded to herself; she wasn't going to give up and she was sure the team could do better than they did last time.

Moving to leave the bathroom, Adriana blinked surprised as she opened the door and found Kate and Jenny waiting for her just outside of the door.

"You okay?" Jenny asked smiling at her friend, she knew that the team could do this and she was going to be proud of them no matter what happened; she just hoped that they could pull together for this match.

Adriana nodded her head and moved to get her bag, she wanted nothing more than to relax and she was sure that this match was going to be okay.

Kate and Jenny shared a look, they had stopped pushing for Adriana to come to her senses; they would have nine months to do so when she found out if the insemination took hold.

Adriana and Iker were meant to be together, everyone was sure about that and no one was going to let this go before the two of them made a mistake that would hurt them both.

***

Fanning herself with a piece of paper, Adriana sipped on a bottle of water and tried to ease her stomach as the match continued before her; this wasn't going well and she overheating in the crowded stadium.

"It's so hot," Jenny whined trying to cool herself down, she couldn't believe the scorching temperature and she wondered how the footballers all did it while they were running up and down the pitch.

Kate settled Junior on her lap, she tugged his little hat down so the sun wasn't in his face and chewed on her lip as they watched the second half of the match play.

The team were losing 2:0 and Kate had no idea how Spain were playing so bad, she gritted her teeth hoping Vicente wouldn't find a way to blame her for all of this.

Kate had kept out of the way mostly after their fight, she stayed with Adriana and Jenny and the three had gone out every day to enjoy what Brazil had to offer while they were there.

"I think my feet are melting," Jenny muttered peeking down at her trainers, she had put them on since it was a long walk from the hotel to the stadium and she wanted to be comfortable; she hadn't considered that her feet would overheat in them.

Adriana and Kate shared a look and laughed softly, they had both opted to wear sandals for the trip and they were glad that they had; the weather only seemed to be getting hotter.

"Do you think that they can do it?" Adriana asked looking to Kate, time was slowly running down and she didn't want to think about how disappointed and upset the team would be if they couldn't change this around.

Kate didn't reply, she had a sinking feeling that Spain wouldn't be able to do it and Sergio was going to be devastated if they didn't; she would have to deal with her stroppy fiancé when the match was over.

Kate wasn't sure how bad Sergio would take losing, the last time he'd lost this bad they had very nearly broken up and she feared that he might push her too far this time after everything that had happened.

Adriana started to chew on her nails, she couldn't believe that this was happening to them and she wished that there was some way that she could change what was happening; the clock was slowly counting down and nothing was getting better.

Tears filled Adriana's eyes as she whispered soft prayers that this could all be changed, that somehow Spain could turn this around and win; she wanted them to make it to the next stage and it was slipping away from them.

Kate held her breath not taking her eyes off the pitch, she clutched at Junior and held him close while she tried to not cry; this was actually happening and there was nothing to be done.

"Please no," Jenny whispered shaking her head, she clapped a hand over her mouth as her eyes quickly sort out the referee; she closed her eyes as the final whistle went and the Chile fans went wild.

It was over, Spain had not only lost to Chile but they had been knocked out of the world cup; the team that had won three tournaments in a row had finally been stopped and the world wasn't going to let them forget it.

***

Iker pulled at his hair, he couldn't believe how badly he had messed up and now Spain were out of the world cup; he couldn't bring himself to look at his team-mates, he had let them down and he was disgusted with himself.

Iker pulled off his gloves and through them into his locker, he slammed the door annoyed before resting his head against it; he had no idea what he could say to them to make it right.

Pepe Reina walked past Iker and patted him on the back, he knew how hard their team-mate took all of this and he didn't want him blaming himself; Iker wasn't the only person in the team and there had been nothing that he could do to change what had happened.

Iker clenched his hands before walking out of the locker room, the silence was killing him and he needed to breathe; he stepped outside of the room and choked back a sob at what had happened.

Iker wished that he could go back in time and change everything, they should have won this and he knew that everyone would blame him for their loss.

"Iker..." Adriana whispered staring at him, he hadn't been expecting her to come down to the locker room and he swallowed as the lump in his throat grew heavier; he could see that she had cried and he hated that he had caused it.

"I'm sorry," Iker murmured looking away from Adriana, he couldn't bear to look at her and he wanted nothing more than the ground to swallow him up; he was never going to live down what had just happened.

Everyone already thought that he was finished and he was beginning to think that they could be right, he had let his team down badly and now they were out of the world cup because of him.

"Iker this wasn't your fault," Adriana whispered walking forward and wrapping her arms around him, she held the footballer close as he broke down in her arms; his hand clutching at her top as he wept softly into her shoulder.

Adriana closed her blue eyes and whispered softly to Iker, she didn't want him to cry and she knew that this wasn't going to be easy for the next few weeks; the papers would have a field day with all of this and make Iker feel worse about how the match had gone.

Kate watched Adriana and Iker as she walked past them to find Sergio, she doubted they truly realised how perfect they would be together as a couple and she hoped they would realise the truth soon.

###

Author's Note:

Free box of tissues anyone?