In the spotlight

40

Matteo Rodriguez

"Let's fucking go boys!" Federico shouted loudly as we all entered the changing room. A flood of white jerseys were flashing in the room as everybody else started cheering and jumping, just overall enjoying the win.

The sight drew a smile on my face. I have missed these post-match gatherings terribly. I slipped away behind the random circle of celebrating teammates, jumping in the middle of the room to my own slot in the changing room.

I took off the used jersey shirt that was sticking to my body with a wet feeling. I managed to throw it to the bench in front of my stuff before somebody grabbed my arm, and I was dragged into the very same circle.

I laughed genuienly for the first time in weeks. After such a long time of training alone in the evenings and sitting on the bench during the matches, the board has finally reviewed their decisions.

Getting back into the starter team has been my main priority, but earning my actual place back between the starter eleven required more than just walking up to the field between them. I had to show off and prove myself on the pitch, providing rock solid proof that my place is out there with my teammates.

I would say that one goal and two assists under one match was solid enough proof for that. Just in case, however, I made sure to apologize for my recent actions in front of the whole team and the training staff as well. I have finally lost the conceited and annoying footballer's image and swore on returning to my normal, humble self.

"Great to have you back, brother." I felt a slap on my bare back after the manager entered the room and everybody stopped the celebrations. I snapped my head towards where the sound was coming from and grinned at Vinicius, who had finally accepted my apology and we could put the grudge behind us.

Everybody sat down to their designated spots in the changing room, and we listened to the manager's speech. It was brief but straightforward; his determination towards winning the cup was clearly noticeable.

Afterwards, I went to have a quick shower and changed into the white tracksuit. I have spent a whole week dressed in the finest designer clothes, but somehow this feeling was what I've missed the most. I shoved everything into my huge sidebag and threw the strap on my shoulder.

"What are your plans for the evening?" I turned my head to my right and saw Marco tying his shoes while his head was turned slightly towards me.

"Well.. nothing, mostly." I shrugged my shoulders. "Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. We haven't planned anything beforehand, and it was unusual to hang out in the middle of the week.

"What do you mean, why?" He straightened up next to me, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "Shouldn't we celebrate the return of the supermodel?" He grinned at me, tugging at my shoulders. I almost burst out laughing at his mention but ended up snorting loudly.

Everybody else did laugh out loud though. It was quiet enough in the room to attract most of my teammate's attention towards our conversation. Actually, a spontaneous get-together didn't sound a tiny bit bad right now.

"Alright." I lifted up both of my hands next to my head in a defeated manner. "My place in two hours, everybody!" I informed all of us present in the room at the moment loudly. A wave of loud cheering was clearly audible.

"I'm bringing the drinks." Vini slipped past me as he joyfully slapped my chest before disappearing completely from the room. Soon enough, all of us left the room and the stadium itself and drove off home before gathering at my house later tonight.

I carefully closed the front door right next to me as I occupied the driver's seat of my Mercedes. I placed my side bag next to me on the other seat and crossed the seatbelt in front of my chest. Before pushing on the start button, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.

Thinking that somebody was trying to reach out to me with a question regarding our get-together later, I took the device out of my pants before doing anything else. The screen flashed open instantly, my face unlocking the screen lock.

I've dropped off the flower bouquet you ordered yesterday, boss. It looks like she still hasn't arrived at home; nothing has changed yet, but all of the other bouquets are present. Let me know if you need anything tomorrow.

Rafael's name flashed in front of me. I opened the message, and the image inside he sent me barely a few minutes ago. The picture clearly showed the whole corridor in front of the door; if she is not returning soon, we will flood the whole floor with flowers.

I sighed upon inspecting the image a little further. Worry started to flood my body once again. It has been days since I returned to Madrid from that hospital. After spending half of the night in there along with Adriana, waiting for some kind of information about Sofia, they sent us home without telling us anything about her condition.

When we showed up to the emergency room, the doctors rushed towards us with a crash cart, and I laid her unconscious body on top of it. It was the last time any of us had seen her since.

The only upside of spending the whole night in the waiting room was the fact that I spent it with Adriana. At first she hated the fact that she was stuck there with me, but she thanked me for the help; who knows what would have happened if they had to wait for an ambulance?

And after that, the conversation just carried on randomly. It was my perfect opportunity to explain everything that went down that morning, and I grabbed it as soon as it was presented. It turned out to be better than I expected.

She didn't agree with me for sure but could relate to the thoughts I was having after being cheated on. She noted a few times that I could've admitted to them without having to drag through Sofia all that bullshit of mine, but stopped after she heard my genuine apology.

And making peace with her was the best decision I had after trying to make peace with Sofia herself. Because Adriana turned out to be my only source of information regarding the recovery of her best friend.

I was battling myself while trying to decide whether or not I should reach out to Sofia. She was recovering in a hospital, and I didn't even know what I was supposed to say. I've written several long messages only just to delete all of them before finally pressing on the send button.

This was all before I was informed by Adriana that there is no point in coming up with messages; she won't be able to read them anyway. Her mother told Adri, who then told me, that doctors believed she was drugged on that party, and nobody except her parents were permitted to visit her while her phone ended up being taken away by the police.

At least, my problem of not being able to talk to her was solved. But then I remembered how close I was to finally being able to properly apologize to the girl. Maybe even progressing further than just a simple apology. At this point, I was more than sure that I wanted to be more to her than just a simple friend.

Since my main opportunity of getting back in contact with her was doomed, I came up with other plans. I contacted a great friend of mine in Paris once again, who just happened to be working for the Parisian post office.

I met Raphael right after new years, when I was trying to send letters to Sofia in the French capital, but her manager seized all of them before they could have reached their destination. Now that her manager was no longer paying attention to me, I could flood her floors with as many flowers and gifts as I wanted.

Every day, I sent her the bouquets and the gifts I wanted to send her, along with small notes and money, of course, to thank him for his toils, and he assembled these for me over there, placing them down in front of her apartment.

Now I only had to wait until she noticed them. Every little bouquet, box of chocolate, or anything else I sent had a small note hidden somewhere in them. I tried to write small things, wishing for a speedy recovery and basically anything that wasn't too pushy.

I wasn't sure what kind of answer I expected once she discovered all those gifts barricading her door. And still, I couldn't wait to finally find out.