It's difficult to find the way everything fits into place once it's broken, even if a surgeon gives you a pretty significant first push. Alexia's recovery is progressing with hope. Her knee is responding well to rehabilitation, but she doesn't feel...
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Alexia's POV
I was excited to have been able to return to the facilities a week later. The hallways, the viewing rooms, and above all, the physiotherapy room. My knee hardly hurt anymore, but, as expected, the coaching staff no longer trusted my word.
I felt happy. Truly. For a moment, it seemed to me that I was breathing deeper, that there was more silence in my head, that everything was functioning better.
I got off the stretcher, said goodbye to Judith, and walked briskly down the hallway. It was six in the evening. I had to hurry.
I turned the corner, almost jogging, and chuckled to myself as I slowed down when my knee complained.
And there, at the end of the hallway, next to the main door, she was, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground and with arms crossed, observing the traffic with no interest whatsoever. I looked behind me one last time as my last two steps brought me closer to her body and I wrapped my arms around her. Mía shuddered under my touch. I held her close and tried to plant a kiss on her neck, to which she protested by pulling away.
"Ale!" she exclaimed.
"There's no one," I whispered against her ear, pulling her close to me again.
She turned around, not moving away, staying in front of me, her nose brushing against mine, and planted a small kiss on my lips. Then she pulled away again and I let her go, satisfied. There was no need to play with luck.
"I could get used to you coming to pick me up."
I smiled again. It was becoming a habit not to feel my cheeks at the end of the day. I would become a wrinkled old woman, but a happy one.
We walked calmly to my car, carefully parked in my parking spot. It didn't have my name on it, but I had personally made sure that all the players were aware. I liked to know exactly where I would leave my car when I arrived in the morning.
I was very nervous. We had seen each other a few times since that day, but everything was in a cloud, there was no routine. Just laughter, kisses, and a few words. It had been her who had suggested spending some time together, going for a walk on this first day when things were getting back to normal. Perhaps, like me, she had realized that there was about to be a big change in our dynamic and we needed to be prepared.
I didn't ask for much from her. Mía was like a ticking bomb. Today she was calm, tomorrow maybe not. I felt good anyway. I had had some interesting heartbeats in the past few days. I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that she could come close at any moment and kiss me. Much less being able to do the same, after seeing her so ethereal and out of reach of the living like me, who saw her from afar dreaming of reaching her.
I opened the door for her. Mía shook her head and got in without protesting. I closed the door carefully as she searched for her seatbelt and closed it just as a shout made me turn around.
"Alexia!"
Mapi León quickened her pace, just out of the building and trying to catch up with me before I could run away. Unfortunately, the moment our eyes met gave away that I had seen and heard her. For a moment, I considered turning around and running away without another word, even if it made her angry, but that wouldn't protect me from anything.
"H-hi," I greeted her once she reached me.
"You didn't let anyone know you were coming back."
She complained, raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't think you'd be here," I admitted. Thinking about it, with how little time Mapi had taken to come out, it was a miracle she hadn't caught us already. "What are you doing here?"
"I went to see Judith a few hours ago and then took the opportunity to work out a bit at the gym. Ingrid went away for the weekend with her friends and I'm bored to death at home," she rolled her eyes. I positioned myself between her and the car window again, preventing her from seeing Mía. "Do you want to do something with me? It's been a while since we went out just the two of us. Besides, I'd do it for you. I'm a good friend, Alexia, and good friends deserve sacrifices. I'm a good friend, right?"
"Mapi, the truth is, I'm a bit tired..."
"Nonsense!" she dismissed.
"My knee still hurts if I walk for too long."
"We'll go by car, you have it right here," she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, starting to walk towards the door that I was protecting with my body.
"I have to go feed Nala," I added. "She hasn't eaten... ALL day. It's crazy. How could I have forgotten? Poor animal, she'll die of starvation if I don't go right now. She has a very strict schedule."
"What the hell are you doing?" She got annoyed, trying to push me away from the door, giving me a stern look. I held on to the car as best as I could. "What are you hiding?" she accused. I looked everywhere but at her. "Alexia, I swear, if you don't move away from that door right now, I'll wreck the half knee you have left."
I sighed. It was pointless.
Resigned, I took a step aside and gave Mapi free rein to see what I was hiding in my car. Mía clenched her lips and twisted her mouth into an extremely uncomfortable smile. Mapi stared at her without blinking, in complete silence. Seeing that she didn't budge in the slightest, the psychologist greeted her from inside. Finally, Mapi turned to me with an unfriendly look on her face.
"I'm going to kill you," I widened my eyes at the seriousness with which she spoke. "I'm really going to kill you. How dare you not tell me anything?" I swallowed. "I'll never forgive you for this," after the drama, she brought both hands to her head, "God, this is the juiciest thing that's happened in a long time. You're really fucking the psychologist!"
I could perfectly see how Mía's face turned reddish, almost even violet.
"Mapi!" I scolded her, flabbergasted.
"Wow, Alexia! Just wow!" She continued laughing. "You're having sex with the psychologist! That's like the equivalent of... sleeping with the nanny or... the gardener!"
"Shut up already!" I complained, covering her mouth to prevent her from speaking again.
I could see Mía wanting to disappear at that very moment. Once my hands let go of Mapi's face, she got rid of my grip and this time opened the back seat door.
"Get in," she ordered. Then she slid into the interior of my car and fastened her seatbelt. "Hello, Mía."
"...Hi," she replied embarrassedly as I got into the driver's seat.
"Let's go somewhere, it seems you guys have a lot to tell me."
