hard feelings - an erling haaland story

eight

Darkness filled the room as he shot up, drops of sweat running down his forehead as he awoke from his dream about Amelia. In an attempt to distract himself from them, he reached over to his bedside table to grab his phone, squinting at the brightness that radiated from it. Multiple notifications and missed calls. The sudden luminescence formed a small headache on the right side of his head. He wanted to ignore the notifications and leave it for the next day, go back to sleep and enjoy the lie in he was entitled to. Erling felt as though he had a little devil on his shoulder egging him to check his phone, just to deal with the light for a little second longer so he could discover what the notifications were about.

He pushed himself up, resting his back against the headboard of his bed, feeling a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Amelia. A spam of texts that he struggled to make out due to the sheer amount of spelling mistakes. It was obvious she had been drunk. Most of them consisted of her just asking him silly little questions like what time he was born so she could look up his birth chart, stating that there was no way he wasn't a scorpio rising. He read as she complained about the lack of response from him, claiming she'd just ask his mother instead. There had to be more than ten messages but before he read through them the voice note peaked his interest.

The background was loud, it was clear she had been out for the night. Her voice spoke, shouting over the crowd and the blaring music. "E! I'm out with Phil and Jack and me and Phil were, like, wondering how do you sleep at night?" She began laughing, as he heard Phil's voice interrupt her, blabbing about how their mutual friend didn't mean it like that.

"Not like that, Erl, but how do you fit in a regular human sized bed? Like I'm only 5'7 and I barely fit in bed without havin' to curl up."

Amelia once again spoke up. "If he won't tell us, I'm sure there's other ways we can find out. Get in my bed, E."

"Here, now, Millie, don't think your mans will be too happy hearin' about how ya have been flirtin' with Erl, whilst he goes and gets ya a drink from the bar." The recording stops there.

He knew that she had done that on purpose, left it recording so he could hear the words come out of midfielder's mouth. So he was aware what everyone in his team thought. To the team, Amelia and Jack were dating, not knowing that Amelia had practically been silently begging him to just close the distance between them. He remembered how her eyes pleaded as she tried to reach his lips, forgetting the height difference between them.

He found himself repeatedly listening to the voice note, listening to every single word, analysing the tone. Before he could realise what he was doing, he could hear the tone of his phone ringing, he had called her. Usually, if this was some other woman, he would ignore the drunken calls and texts but he found himself intrigued by her. Panic ran through his voice as he spoke the moment he heard the click to making him aware that she had answered his call. "Mia, are you okay? Where are you?"

"Erl! Me and Phil have lost her, her bag was left with Phil and so we can't get in contact with her. She just disappeared. Not in the loos or anything!" Jack spoke. "Wait, why are you callin' her at this time of night?"

"Jack, that is not important. Finding Mia is. When did you last see her? Where are you?"

"Spinningfields, mate. She was with Phil like ten mins ago. Knowin' her, she just walked off with a group of girls."

Erling scoffed, rushing out of his bed, throwing on the first top he could find, practically sprinting out of his flat and straight into his car. His heart beating at one hundred and twenty miles per hour. He could feel a lump forming in his throat. No amount of years apart could ever stop the incessant worry he had over the girl when she was on his mind. He pondered as to how he managed to get her off his mind in the first place, when now he was always plagued with the thought of her. Despite the August heat, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He sped through the streets of Manchester, not caring about whether he would get a speeding ticket. He didn't care much for the points or the fines he would receive, as long as he knew that Amelia was safe. Her safety was integral in his family's eyes and her family's eyes. He couldn't even imagine the sheer amount of trouble he would face if she was put into an unsafe situation by his teammates, remembering the words his mother had said to him as they said their goodbyes. "Take care of her, Erling. She's always supported you with everything she has. You took her friendship for granted and she's still willing to stand by your side. It is the least you can do!"