THE ALCHEMY | CARLOS SAINZ

TEN

It was the next morning after her red card, and Catalina was still tearing herself up about it. She had barely spoken a word to anyone last night when they arrived back to their hotel rooms and went straight to her room with Carlos following behind closely.

He wasn't going to let her be alone last night with her thoughts, but he also wasn't going to force her to say anything. Carlos just wanted her to know that she wasn't alone and that if she did want to talk about it, he'll be there to listen, which she greatly appreciated.

She woke up the next morning to an empty bed,
and she assumed that Carlos was with the other family members as she heard voices coming from the other room. She was slightly glad that Carlos wasn't there when she woke up so he couldn't see what a mess she had been. After arriving late last night, Catalina had been too tired to even change into pajamas and her hair was still in a very messy ponytail with strands sticking every direction.

She entered her bathroom and immediately looked disgusted at the sight of her and tried to tidy herself up to look more presentable.

Walking into the other room, the smell of bacon and blueberry pancakes became present to her. Bacon and pancakes were definitely her favorite breakfast foods and absolutely hated eggs.

"Good morning everyone!" She sounded more cheerful than last night and everyone looked in her direction.

"Good morning my sweet angel! How'd you sleep last night?" Her father asked her as he kissed her forehead when she sat down next to Carlos and his father.

"Slept pretty well surprisingly after last night."

She turned towards Carlos who gave her a questioning look silently asking her if she was okay and she just nodded her head with a sweet smile.

Lana and Diego had came into the room together as they had to share a room together which Lana obviously threw a fit about. Not only had Lana been a spitting image of their mother, but she also had the same attitude and goals in life as her. She wanted to be a model just like her mother was and would do anything to make that possible, just like Catalina and Diego did anything to play football.

After everyone finished their breakfast, Lana walked toward Catalina with that annoying fake smile on her face which made Catalina already groan.

"Cat, you promised me on our jet that you would take me shopping here in Barcelona after your match." Catalina just groaned even louder because the last thing she wanted to do here was shop where now everyone hates her.

"Well that was before i became the most hated person here in Barcelona, Lana." Which wasn't exactly a lie. Catalina Fernandez had been trending almost everywhere on the media and it seemed like every fan of football had grown to dislike the spaniard.

"But you promised!"

All eyes had been on the two of them and their mother decided to step in to help Catalina.

"Your sister isn't feeling to well after her match darling, how about Reyes and I take both you and Diego shopping?" She suggested while looking at Carlos' mother who nodded her head agreeing.

After a few minutes, Lana agreed and the four of them left their shared hotel room leaving Catalina and her father and Carlos Sr and Carlos.

Catalina let out a sigh and dropped her head on Carlos' lap and he gently ran his fingers through her slightly tangled hair. She laced her fingers with his free hand and squeezed slightly.

It had been quiet for a few moments before Catalina spoke up.

"What if everyone's right? What if José decides i'm not worth it, and drops me from the team?"

This immediately caught everyones attention.

"Cariño, last night wasn't your fault, if any of the other players had been in your position, they would have done the same thing." Carlos lets out and kisses her hand.

"My son is right for once in his life." Carlos just looks up offended at his father who just shrugged as if he was saying 'it's true'.

"We all saw how devastated you were last night when you realized what happened and we all know how you never meant any harm."

"There was nothing you could have done to change the outcome-"

"That's the problem right there!" Catalina interrupts Carlos Sr.

"There were many things i could've done! But instead i let my emotions control me last night and a player is paying the price because of my mistake!"

Catalina sits up and could feels more tears forming in her eyes. Everyone else stays silent as they knew she needed to let this out so it wouldn't be eating her alive.

"I'm not upset that i received a red card last night, it was going to happen eventually. I'm mad and disappointed in myself because i injured another player. Someone else is laying in the hospital because of my actions, all because i let my feelings get in the way."

It was silent a few seconds before her father spoke up in a calm voice. He hated how his daughter was putting herself down because of her mistake.

"Lina, that's not necessarily a bad thing, to show your emotions. It shows everyone that you don't just care about the fame and money, but that you care about other peoples feelings as well."

"If you didn't care about the other players, you would have tried to argue with the ref and pushed back the barca players who were shoving you, which by the way, i'm still pissed at." She lets out a little chuckle at that last sentence.

"But you didn't, you simply backed off and made a apology as soon as you could. You are too hard on yourself most of the time Lina. You're only 17, you don't need to be the best of the best right now."

"Every mistake you make will only get you further and help your improvement in life. Use that as a gaining experience and learn from your mistakes to make yourself better."

By this point Mateo had gotten up from his seat and sat next to his daughter who couldn't tear her eyes away from the floor.

She pulls her eyes away and look at her father who had a little smile on his face and she couldn't help but smile either.

"Ah there's that pretty smile!"

She leans up to hug him and she extends her arms to the other two Carlos' in the room and they happily joined their group hug.

Catalina had to admit that she felt a little better after that and appreciated everyone who still supported her even through her worst moments. But she still couldn't get those names everyone was calling her in the stadium and the new death threats she had received over last night out of her mind.

But she put on a fake smile and a brave front for her family for the rest of the day so they wouldn't suspect a thing.

~

AUTHORS NOTE:
here's a lil filler chapter, hope y'all enjoy!!