An unexpected proximity

Chapter 2

POV Alexia

It had been a long day and they had barely left me time to be with the group. Since we arrived at the training center, they were demanding me from all sides. The medical team would not examine me until tomorrow, but the cabinet wanted to discuss with me the foreseeable presence before the media, the technical staff wanted to inquire about my feelings and the coach wanted to make sure of my spirits, essential in her opinion to spread it to my teammates.

I barely met the girls at lunchtime. Misa, Irene, Codina, Jenni... they were all waiting for me, reserving a seat next to them so that I could share my time with them, freed from extra occupations. This was also the case at dinner. I had joined later and they kept me up to date on what had happened in my absence.

As I listened, I scanned the other tables in the dining room, where the remaining teammates were chatting animatedly while they ate.

Ona did it again. As soon as my gaze met hers, she quickly diverted it somewhere else.

I didn't really know what to think. I had been joking with her in the car during the drive here. I was comfortable cuddling her in my lap until we fell asleep. However, since our arrival in the center, it seemed that she avoided me. It was the umpteenth time that she had taken her eyes off my path after discovering her watching me. It had happened several times during lunch. She also did it during training, later during the group talk... and she had just done it now, while finishing her dinner three tables from mine with Laia Aleixandri at her side telling her something.

I looked for Ona again after dinner, but I couldn't find her in the dining room. After collecting my tray, I approached Laia and asked about her. She told me that Ona had gone up to her room a while before, looking tired.

I then decided to go up to see her while the majority were picking up the remains of their dinner or chatting relaxedly with the finished dessert.

The door to Ona's room was propped open and activity could be heard inside. I rapped my knuckles a couple of times.

-Can I?- I asked.

Immediately I heard footsteps approaching and the door opened, leaving a surprised Ona in front of me, apparently unable to speak.

-I don't know if I will return to Barcelona tomorrow. -I explained breaking the silence. -I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.

She remained still and silent for a few very long seconds until she shook her head slightly as if forcing herself to react. She finally did it.

-Everything is fine, Alexia. -She stated without much conviction. She certainly seemed bewildered. Then she retraced her steps, moving away from the door to the desk located in the corner. She nervously opened her sports bag and pulled out a stack of t-shirts. She proceeded to change their position one by one, as if they should maintain a different order in the whole and she urgently needed to correct it at that moment.

-I am glad to hear that. So... - I started to say, extending my arm towards the doorknob behind me. -...I'm leaving -I finished while turning my wrist.

She was still busy at her task, stacking shirts and disordering them to rearrange them.

-Good luck, Ona. -I concluded as I turned around ready to leave, almost closing the door behind me.

-Wait! – She suddenly interrupted, raising her voice a little. I pushed the door, reopening it again. Ona remained still, standing at the table. It seemed to me that she was trembling slightly. She may have been cold in her little shorts. She was undoubtedly agitated and nervous. Finally she dropped the clothes on the desk and sighed deeply, trying to calm down.

-Stay for a while, will you? -She said, finally looking at me.

I took my cell phone out of my back pocket and checked the time.

-Okay. I'll stay for a while. But I have an early medical check-up tomorrow, I can't linger too long.

-She nodded her head in a gesture of agreement.

-I need to go to the bathroom, do you mind? -I asked pointing to the bathroom door to my left.

She simply nodded her approval again.

-I'll be with you right away, okay?

She nodded again, looking away.

As soon as I was alone in the bathroom, I leaned against the sink and let out a sigh. It was clear that something was not quite right. Something had Ona off center and I wasn't sure if it had to do with me, with the recent draw against Levante or what do I know. In any case, it was not good for the team. We needed the reliable and self-assured Ona, the Ona with three lungs and the poise of warriors. An Ona focused one hundred percent.

To my surprise, when I left the bathroom a few minutes later, the room was dark. It took me a while to adjust my vision to the gloom, but Ona was definitely not where I left her. The small room left all its corners exposed, so it didn't take me long to spot Ona's silhouette on the bed, next to the back wall, less than two meters from the desk. In a few steps I covered the distance that separated me from there and I saw her watching me from below, lying with her hands under the pillow.

I crouched down to her height, squatting in front of her eyes, which were fixed on mine.

-What happened to that promised time? -I asked for.

It took her a few seconds to respond.

-Stay to sleep -She finally begged. -Sleep with me tonight. -She concluded with a tender and vulnerable tone.