Unexpected (bayern munich)

Chapter 7

"Hi Lisa, Thomas came home with the binder today?" Natalia stood on the doorstep of the Müllers home, hoping Lisa would let her come in. She had been avoiding her like the plague since Thomas confronted them.

"Yes, he's actually not home yet," Lisa said, eyeing the driveway and Natalia, "But I'm very busy you'll have to excuse me," she said trying to shut the door.

"No, Lisa," Natalia said, anger growing in the pit of her stomach where the guilt used to live. "You need to tell him, I'm not going to keep your secret forever," Natalia spat keeping the door open with her hands.

Lisa's eyes filled with tears, "I just...I don't know how to tell him."

Crap.

Natalia folded her arms over her chest. "I just don't want to be involved in this,"

"You decided you were involved when you lied for me," Lisa spat back

"I took control while you sat there petrified!"

"I didn't ask you to save me"

"Look you don't have to like me, or even respect me. But you have to recognize that your problem is now mine. And you need to tell him, or I will." Natalia said, trying to keep calm.

"Tell me what?" the two women jumped when they saw Thomas at the end of the walkway.

"Hi Natalia," he said giving her a quick smile, "Tell me what?" he asked walking closer.

"I'm going to go," Natalia said lowly, suddenly feeling like crying.

"I think that's for the best," Lisa said quietly, taking Thomas' hand.

"What is—," Thomas began to ask, but Lisa took his hand.

"I need to tell you some things," she said locking eyes with Natalia who had begun to walk back to her car, but turned around.

Natalia nodded, and walked back to her car, anger and guilt now replaced with incredible sadness. After years of being together, a marriage was about to come apart at the seams, and Natalia had been a part of it. She was exhausted. This was not what she expected when she came to work for the team.

She dialed the only number she knew by heart in Munich, and hoped for an answer at the other end.

"Hello?" a cheerful voice asked at the end.

"Manu? Can I come over?" Natalia said choking back tears that managed to create a frog in her throat.

"Nat? Of course, are you crying? Are you okay?" his voice suddenly full of concern.

"I...I'll tell you when I get there. Thank you," she said wiping away the few tears that ran down her cheeks with the sleeve of her thick sweater that stuck from underneath the sleeve of her jacket.

She breathed deeply as she sped towards Manuel's house, trying to steady herself. Upon her arrival, he flung open the door before she had even fully gotten out of the car.

"I saw your headlights," he explained as she came up the walkway, still shaken from the confrontation this evening, "Are you okay?" he said guiding her into the foyer, and helping her take off her jacket.

Natalia turned to face him, tears once again filling her eyes, "I'm fine, I just..." she said taking a deep shaky breath, "It's Müller and Lisa," she said closing her eyes, allowing the tears to fall down her cheeks.

She felt Manuel's hand come up to the side of her face, and his thumb wiped them away.

"Come on, let me make you some hot chocolate. I won't have any," he said as Natalia's eyes flew open in horror.

"You're the only person I've ever met who will stop crying to scold someone," Manuel joked as Natalia sat down at his kitchen island, holding the hot mug between two hands.

"Tell me what happened," he said staring at her face.

Natalia cleared her throat, "I walked in on Lisa crying a few weeks ago," she began. When she finished, Neuer's eyes were wide.

"So that's why Thomas has been waiting on you," Manuel said slowly, "Because he thought you were pregnant."

"Yes," Natalia said shaking her head, "It was so stupid. Lisa was right, I shouldn't have ever said anything, I've just made it worse," she said staring at the brown, milky liquid in the mug.

"You haven't made anything worse. They've been rocky for months, this is just a new low for her," Manuel said grasping Natalia's hand in his, "Don't blame this on yourself."

"And this explains all of the weird comments Müller has been making lately," Manuel said thoughtfully, "He kept asking me 'what my son' would think of me whenever I did something immature in the locker room," he shook his head, "I thought he was losing it."

"I feel terrible. First I was guilty for lying for Lisa, then I was angry with her for taking so long to tell him the truth, then I was sad for helping break up their marriage, and now I'm guilty again, because I shouldn't have gotten involved at all," Natalia said in one breath, overwhelmed.

"Hey...hey," Manuel stood up from his seat and wrapped Natalia, who had again started crying in a hug.

"None of this is your fault, okay?" he said quietly into her hair, running his fingers down the lines of her cable knit sweater.

"You're a very good person, who wanted to help her friends. This is a terrible twist of fate. Thomas and Lisa have been together for so long, they'll decide what's best for them. Without you involved, because you never should have been dragged into this mess in the first place," Manuel continued, at the end leaning away from Natalia who wiped the tears off of her face.

"Shit, I'm sorry," she said noticing the large patches of wetness on Manuel's shirt.

"Stop apologizing, Nat, it's fine," Manuel said placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her forehead.

"Come on, let's watch some TV and get your mind off of this mess," he said taking her mug from her and placing it in the sink.