Try Me || Erling Haaland

Chapter Seventeen

Tears brimmed the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over. I pushed open the door and walked out of the training centre as fast as I could. I kept my head low as I carried on walking out into the car park.

I was about to continue walking when I remembered that Chloe had dropped me off. Fuck. I walked to Chloe's car which was parked in the middle of the car park and stood at the passenger side of the door, waiting for her to emerge from the changing rooms.

Rubbing my eyes, I took a moment to compose myself before she came out.

Voices sounded from the exit which led onto the car park, I turned around to see a few of the women's team congregating outside the doors as they said their goodbyes.

Chloe began walking to the car, giving me a smile before she furrowed her eyebrows at me in confusion.

"In a rush?" She chuckled, as she pressed the unlock button on her car keys. She had meant because I was in the car park, I usually always wait for her at the changing rooms or in the cafe.

She walked to the boot of her car and put her training bag in the back.

"Hangover is starting to hit me," I lied, as I fastened my seatbelt with a small smile.

She had slid into the car seat whilst I was buckling my seatbelt. I finished buckling my seatbelt, to see her looking at me in silence. She questioned me silently for a moment before turning on the engine and starting to drive.

The hangover wasn't hitting me and I think she knew that, but she'd wait for me to tell her in my own time. I just needed to get away from there and I needed to as fast as I could.

The car ride home was silent, apart from the radio lightly playing in the background, whilst Chloe softly hummed along to some of the songs.

♡

Walking into my apartment, I grabbed my car keys off the side before heading straight back out, not giving the door chance to close.

I stuck my key into my ignition and started driving. My body was in auto-pilot, I was lost in my thoughts. I was distracted whilst driving but my body knew where I wanted to go and it subconsciously took me there.

I pulled up into the same spot I always drove to when I needed to clear my head, I reached over to turn the radio on lowly as I pulled up on the side of the road. Noise filled the car for the first time.

Whenever I needed to think about things, I drove to a high viewpoint spot which let you look over the whole of Manchester from a distance.

It was beginning to get darker as it headed into the early evening, I watched as the red rooftop lights started to glisten in the darkening sky, focusing on the bright twinkling lights coming from the tall city buildings.

A deep sigh left my lips, I felt tears which I hadn't noticed falling, continue to fall down my face.

I thought about what Erling had said to me. He liked me.

The reason why I had left to abruptly was because I wasn't ready to hear those words, I don't know when I'd actually ever be ready to hear those words. I had been single for over a year and in that time I'd actively avoided feelings and relationships after what had previously happened to me.

The minute the words had left his lips and he had told me how he felt, I thought of her.

I'd put off thinking about her for as long as I could. But on the off occasion, I would allow myself to release the built up feelings, like I was now. Sometimes it was easier to ignore them, than feel them.