In the spotlight

6

Matteo Rodriguez

As I was walking towards the restaurant, the sounds of my footsteps echoed throughout the huge corridor. I grew really fond of these corridors and the hotel overall these past few days; everything I could ever need was only one reach away.

Even if some of us had to share a room, we still had plenty of space left to rest and have a good night's sleep. I think I even like this type of allocation more; sharing a room with my friend was a hundred times better.

The last time I had someone over for a night was months ago. Back home, I spend my life alone most of the time. Since my parents are living in Tenerife and my sister is in France, I don't get to have company in my house at all.

My ex-girlfriend used to sleep at my place during the 5 months we dated. I went to training one day while she was still asleep; therefore, I left the door open after I left. Training usually takes 2-3 hours all together, but that day I got slightly injured as my ankle twisted and got sent home early.

She was well aware of my schedule, but I caught her off-guard with my early departure and arrived home an hour before I would usually. What I have seen there, I shall never forget.

She brought over two completely unknown guys; both of them looked like strippers to me, but I never really asked. The sounds became suspicious in the moment when I stepped into the apartment, but I wanted to be in denial.

I dropped my bags to the floor and opened the bedroom door, only to find her getting railed by those strippers in my own bed. I thought I would be enraged and furious after opening the door, but to my surprise, I didn't feel anything but numbness.

The strippers fled the scene with their clothes in their hands, while Valentina tried to manipulate me with her fake ass, crying without success. She started off with "but I only love you, then took a turn and tried to make herself the victim while I threw her shit into a suitcase.

She persistently followed me around the house with a blanket wrapped around her body, trying to convince me, but I couldn't even hear what she said. After finishing gathering her stuff from everywhere, I threw the suitcase outside to the corridor and pushed her after it, still with only a blanket around her.

After I slammed the door behind her, she still didn't give up the crying but eventually left the apartment complex, leaving me behind alone and feeling total emptiness. I made sure to burn the bed sheets in a nearby forest and remove everything that could make me remember.

This was around 4 years ago, and I wouldn't wish that state of life upon my worst enemy. I have never felt more alone in my life, meeting people only in the stadium and training complex. A whole ocean separated me from my parents and another sea from my sister, as she was living in Italy at that time.

My teammates have their own lives; Marco and Álvaro visited me at my house sometimes, but they had to leave eventually, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again. I thought about getting a dog for company, but since my job includes traveling around all the time, I didn't know who would look after them when I was in another country.

Looking back at it now, I like to see the brighter side of all this. Football was my only escape from my miserable life at that time, and I trained vigorously multiple times a day. I hit the gym more often, and progress started to show after a few months, both on my body and in my technique. I secured my place in the starting lineup, got an invitation to the national selection, and participated in my first world cup ever.

The sound of doors opening in front of me snapped me out of my thoughts as I entered the huge restaurant of the hotel. We had three meals a day with a buffet table, but as I have noticed, people mostly visited this part of the hotel in the mornings and in the evenings, eating lunch somewhere else in the city.