𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐒, pedri gonzález

12 ; you don't have to tell me

"Look, he looks cute." It was difficult to find the right dog for an elderly couple. They wanted one from an animal shelter or from animal welfare, as Nacho was —

Unfortunately, these dogs had traumas that they would never be able to cope with.

The German Shepherd I just pointed to seemed easy to handle. He had a really beautiful coat pattern and smiled sweetly at the camera. Although the smile was more of a pant than a smile. It was the thought that counted, wasn't it?

"My parents don't want a big dog." I let out a disappointed sigh. I had forgotten that they wanted a puppy and that the dog had to stay as small as possible. Pedri glanced briefly over my shoulder at my cell phone and typed something into his phone that I couldn't see.

"I'm off next week, do you want to do anything special?" As much as I would love to, I had to put a stop to the footballer. "I can't," I sighed again. "My stepmother wants me to come to Germany with her. She says we'll meet someone there." I deliberately left out the fact that she was planning to meet the rest of the horrible family.

Out of sight, out of mind.

"Oh." A soft expression came over his face that I couldn't interpret. "How about I keep you company?" Confused, I glanced behind me to look at the man. "You want to meet my family?" We weren't together and had nothing going on. So why the hell did he want to meet my family? And then there were the Nazis...

"I don't know..." I was about to share my concerns when Pedri put a finger over my mouth. "Come on, it'll be fun!" Pedri clapped his hands full of enthusiasm, which I would have liked, too. Still totally perplexed, I blinked a few times before I could say anything back. He wanted to come with me. To Germany? But what did he want there?

Did he want to come because of me?

"All right," I surrendered and let my head fall against his shoulder and even allowed him to put his arm around me. We didn't have any skin contact because of the clothes, but the sudden physical contact still made me uncomfortable. "I'll call my parents first thing in the morning."

Because we had stayed with Pedri. It had started raining cats and dogs and it would have been impossible for me to drive. An enthusiastic smile stole onto Pedri's pink lips as he dropped his head onto mine.

His joy would soon fade...

"Hey, Pedri," I hesitated, pressing my lips together. My stomach squeezed uncomfortably and I suddenly felt sick. "Thanks for being there for us." He looked up at me, smiled and nodded briefly, barely noticeably.

My gaze went briefly to his lips and I wondered if they were really as soft as they looked.

He licked his lips and I forced my gaze away, looking at a point behind him.

His face came closer and closer to mine and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. It felt uncomfortable and I wanted to suffocate them. My breathing quickened unhealthily as his lips brushed mine briefly.

Suddenly I felt under so much pressure that I had to turn my head away.

Pedri sighed, but he kept his head where it was.

Exhausted, I dropped my forehead against his, looked into his warm eyes and lost myself in them for a few seconds. They were full of emotions that were unreadable to me.

"Please," My voice was so weak it was just a breath of its former self. "Don't." I pressed my lips together to keep the welling tears from escaping my eyes.

Pedri's eyebrows drew together in confusion. He placed a hand on my cheek and my body flinched, so afraid of being touched. I felt like I was trapped in my body and I hated that it reacted to Pedri's touch like that. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to think clearly.

With his thumb, Pedri caught the tears that I hadn't even noticed before they burned into the sensitive flesh of my cheeks.

"What happened to you?"

I wanted to tell him what had happened and wanted to cry in his arms —

I wanted to be held by him until I had no more strength left to cry, but I knew that if I talked about what had happened, I would fall apart and my desperate attempt to hold myself together would have been completely in vain.

I shook my head, trying to force something out but not a word left my mouth.

"I can't..." suddenly my throat was so tight and I couldn't breathe, afraid I would choke.

I had to breathe, had to remember how to fill my lungs with air.

"En..." His nose brushed mine and he was so gentle I wanted to cry. I was a horrible person. "Please, don't make me tell you." I gasped for air, wanting to sink into the ground or just go to sleep and never wake up.

Pedri kissed the tear from my cheek.

"Okay," He took a breath and dropped his hand around my waist and he pulled me so close to his body. I suddenly felt so safe, so secure as he put his arms around me and I rested my head against his chest. "You don't have to tell me anything. It's all good. I'll just hold you until you want me to let you go."

I doubted that would ever happen. In his arms, I felt as if nothing could happen to me —

As if I was safe from him and my past, which was constantly trying to haunt me like a shadow.

"I'm so tired." I admitted as he gently stroked my hair, wrapping the ends around his long fingers. I curled up against his side and hesitantly wrapped my arms around his body.

Pedri felt like I could eventually trust someone again.