A Manchester Affair (Rúben Dias)

Chapter Ten

Coming back home from Carrington the day the international players were back, Lucía's goal was clear. Speaking with Rúben. And she was not going to accept a no from him this time.

When she got to his door, she knocked once. Nothing. Twice. Still nothing. Three times. Same lack of response.

"Rúben! I'm not leaving until you talk to me, ok? I'll sit here on the floor and wait if necessary. You won't ignore me this time".

Ten minutes later, her bum was starting to hurt from sitting on the cold floor. So she got up and knocked again.

"I mean it, Dias. Open the damn door! I'm not leaving!"

And when she went to sit down again, facing the lift, she saw the doors opening and Rúben getting out of the lift.

"I hope you haven't been waiting for long", he said when he saw her.

But Lucía didn't answer. She just run to him to hug him. And he surprised her by hugging her back. She had missed him so much.

"Let's go inside".

Once inside, she realised that everything she had rehearsed multiple times left her mind.

"I'm sorry", she said.

"I'm sorry too".

"Are you ready to talk?", she asked.

"I've been ready since the day I met you".

She could already feel the burning in her eyes from the tears threatening to fall. By the time the story ended, she'd be sobbing. But it was necessary to tell him. It was the only way for this to work.

"So, start from the beginning, right?"

He nodded, holding her hand.

"When I was 8, my brother left. He couldn't stand my parents, which I can't blame him for, really. And left without saying where he was going. I thought he would tell me, but he didn't. I haven't heard from him ever since. He could be living next door and I wouldn't know. So that was the first time I was betrayed by someone I loved.

"My parents only got worse after that. Blaming each other for what happened and putting all the pressure on me. It was unbearable. I could be getting the best grades and it wasn't enough. I could be winning prizes in my extracurricular activities and it was just ok. I couldn't go out with my friends without them calling every hour to check where I was. It was impossible to live like that. So when I was 18, I left. I moved to Germany to run away from them. But at least I told them where I was and we talk once every couple of months. So there is that".

Lucía looked up to see Rúben's face. There was no judgement, but she could see some pity. Nothing she wasn't used to by now.

"Once in Germany I finally had my first boyfriend, who dumped me because I was too friendly with the Bayern players I worked with. Hell, he was even jealous of Pep. Then the academy players just treated me like the young girl they could play with, which is where my rule of not dating footballers comes from. And then there was Laurens, my ex.

"He was the first person I truly felt comfortable with apart from my friend Lena. I told him everything. Every single thing I'm telling you. And you know what he did?"

She looked up again to see Rúben shaking his head.

"He used that to manipulate me. And he cheated on me for God knows how long. And he broke me. He made me feel like I could never trust another person and, more specifically, another man".

"I get that. I would feel the same way if that had happened to me", he said, giving her some time to take a couple of deep breaths.

"And then I met you and you surprised me by being so forward that first day. And I thought that maybe I could do that. Maybe I could just sleep with a guy I found attractive without all the added things. Maybe that way I wouldn't be hurt again. But I couldn't. That's not who I am".