You're The One

Chapter 28

May 2021 - north London, England

In one of the earliest conversations I had with Kristie, she emphasised just how much she valued loyalty. Random, I know. But knowing that gave me the confidence to open up and get to know her; that one word enabled us to get into a relationship in the first place.

I have always tried to convince myself that I was naturally a wary person but the truth is, Eline's betrayal left me apprehensive, mistrustful and most importantly, heartbroken. Waking up blocked on all methods of communication was a serious blow to the system. Seeing her empty house shut it down.

I never found out what happened. No one knew of her whereabouts or why she disappeared in the midst of the scouting period - we all knew nothing. Absolutely nada.

As I approached the door of the cafe I had chosen, I saw her sitting quietly in the corner. She had two cappuccinos sitting in front of her, one for me and one for her.

"I got you a cappuccino, by the way. How we like it." She told me as I sat down across from her.

"Liked." I replied, having retired my love for cappuccinos when the order reminded me of nothing but her.

That correction evoked an air of discomfort; the silence was loud.

"Oh right, sorry." Eline said back, but I excused her apology and took the drink in politeness. She continued, "I just wanted to speak to you in private, you know? It's been a while!"

Frankly, she was getting on my nerves. The 'old friend' persona she was trying to play was pushing my buttons. There was no need for the superficial greetings.

"Yeah, it really has been." I tried my best to keep calm, playing along with the small talk. "How did you know how to find me?"

"Well Bas told you yesterday that I do keep up with football!" She went on with sarcasm, "I guess  you're the most famous footballer in the world, though. Hard not to know your location at all times!"

I unintentionally let out a laugh, before going quiet when I realised. I wasn't trying to bond with her.

"Fair enough, I guess. You still play at all?" I asked, but her expression turned a little solemn after I said the question.

"No, not really. Stopped a while ago. You're enjoying it though?"

"Of course! It's the best thing in my life." I could feel my face light up as I talked about football, but I began to feel a little bad for her. Honestly, Eline had been a better player than I was in secondary school. "There's a lot of other good things though, of course."

"It must be exciting though to know that you're going to be playing in the Champion's League again!"

"Yeah, it really is- wait, what do you mean 'again'?"

"Well you competed in it with Wolfsburg, no?" It felt rather strange knowing that she had been keeping track of me all these years. Once she realised her slight blunder, her cheeks went slightly red with embarrassment. "I'm not a stalker though, don't worry."

"No, don't worry. I didn't think you were..." I trailed off, and it was quiet for a few moments. The silence was less uncomfortable than before though - it was somewhat comforting to be around her. Even if it was too strange to admit out loud. "Why did you ask me here?"