Looks can be deceiving (Mapi León x OC)

Chapter 28 - Sydney

October 21, 2024 - Barcelona, Spain

"Du hattest damit kein Problem als wir was zusammen hatten."
("You didn't seem to mind when we were hooking up.")

It felt as if the whole stadium had gone quiet after I had said these words, when in reality I was solely blurring out my surroundings, only able to focus on Sydney's shocked and hurt expression.

"Ich..." ("I...") She stuttered, her eyes searching for Klara's help, before she spun around, presumably rushing into the safety of Bayern's changing room. It was the first time in the last 3 years that she had been the one to walk away from a situation like this, but somehow it didn't feel good. Deep down, I knew that I had betrayed her in that moment, just like she had done so many times before.

Klara's gaze found mine, her green eyes looking at me in disappointment.
"War das wirklich nötig?" ("Was that really necessary?") the German forward sighed loudly, taking a small step forward, slightly touching my arm like she had always done whenever she tried to signal me to come down, before running after Sydney.

"What the hell just happened?" Mapi asked confusedly as she hadn't understand anything, gently touching my left hand.

"Ouch" I whined at the touch, shaking my left hand in pain, before throwing Mapi an upset glance. "We should probably talk. But I really need to get my hand checked out first."

***

Two hours later, we entered Mapi's apartment in silence. Luckily, there was nothing seriously wrong with my hand, it would be back to normal after a few days if I just put some ice on it now and then. However, Mapi seemed to be the bigger problem as she had stayed quiet ever since I told her we needed to talk, making the car ride back home extremely awkward.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?" The defender asked straight to the point, taking a seat on the couch with Bagheera in her arms.

Nervously, I sat down next to her, studying her facial expressions. She seemed to be worried about what I was going to tell her and honestly, I was too. "I don't know where to start."

"You and that Sydney girl. It wasn't just about her being jealous about you being named Captain of the team and a better footballer in general, was it?" Mapi asked, her gaze glued to the black fur ball purring in her arms.

Oh, what I would give to be in Bagheera's place right now.

As quickly as the thought crossed my mind, I shook it off again. I couldn't seriously be jealous of a cat. Except, I knew that he had Mapi's unlimited love, something I would never get. I wasn't stupid, in fact, I was well aware that whatever it was between Mapi and I had an expiration date.

I exhaled loudly, nervously kneading my hands in my lap. "You're right" I finally admitted, too scared to even look at her.

"The look Sydney gave you when you walked away... You two weren't just friends, were you?" Mapi mumbled questioningly.

"Right again" I nodded, tilting my head so I could see her reaction.

She sighed loudly, her gaze still focused on the purring pet on her lap. "So you conveniently left that part out when you talked about her."

"It's not like that" I defended myself, taking a last deep breath in order to prepare to confess everything.

Flashback (all conversations in Flashbacks are in German)