The Tortured Poets Department

It's Nice to Have a Friend

"Is me staying a good idea?" she whispered in the dark. I could see tears falling down her face. How I wish those tears could just disappear. "Only you can decide if it is a good idea. If your mental health declines with you being here, then you should go back home, but if you feel good staying and watching everyone play, then you should stay" I whispered back.

I did not dare to turn the light on, but I moved closer to her. Alexia pulled me in tighter. I was laying against her body, almost every part of my body touched hers. Her skin was warm, and incredibly soft. A stark contrast to my cold body. "Are you staying for the entire tournament?" she asked me. I felt the warm air from her mouth against my forehead with the words she said. "I am not. I need to look at some houses. So, I am leaving the day after tomorrow, but I will be back for the next game" I told her.

"But that was not what we were talking about. Do you feel bad for staying?" I asked her. She didn't answer me, but that was enough of an answer. "You shouldn't Lex. I know nothing about football, or about team sports for that matter, but I have seen how much you mean to some people in this team. How much you mean to Mapi. To Jana. And to Aitana. They need you here with them. You are their captain. Don't feel bad for staying" I whispered to her. I felt her tears in my hair, which resulted in me holding her tighter. Trying my best to comfort the broken girl next to me.

Her tears were quiet, still I turned my head towards her. Slowly moving my hand to wipe them away. "It hurts Ettie. I can't believe that I tore my ACL just days before such an important tournament" she whispered. "You will have more opportunities for going to big tournaments. The world cup next year. The Olympics the year after that. It will hurt, but you have more chances" I told her, looking into her eyes. She needed the reassurance, and I was going to give it to her.

"My first stop on this tour, over a year ago, I got laryngitis. Covid caused that to happen, and my voice disappeared fully. I had to rest my voice, which is hard on tour. So, I didn't sing during those first three weeks, just lip-syncing to the previously recorded songs. But it healed and I could continue to perform" I continued. It was my own story, but a similar situation.

She listened to what I said, nodding along. After I finished, she pulled my head closer to hers, resting her forehead on mine. "You never told me that" she whispered. Once again, I felt the air against my face. "If I continued to sing, I could have strained my vocal cords. Meaning speech therapy and it would take years for my voice to become strong again. It happened when I was younger, and I do not want to go through that again" I explained to Alexia.

The way she listened were amazing. She was always nodding, making me understand that she was taking every word to heart. "And you still sing?" she asked. "Yeah, because I love it. Just like you do with football" I answered. Because that was exactly what it was. II would never give up singing, if I did, then I would still write songs for other people. It was my passion, but it was also my work. "Seems right, I still want to continue play football, even though I got injured badly doing it" she said, while looking at me.

"We might be more alike than you thought before, huh?" I said with a smile. Alexia just nodded. That was the end of our conversation this night. I fell asleep in her arms before we could talk any more. The only thing separating us were the fabric of our clothes. Still, her entire body radiated warmth, and warmed me up. I had always been running cold, maybe sharing a bed with Alexia wasn't so bad.

The door stayed closed the entire night. No surprise visits from her coach. But the door was still not allowed to be locked.

I left as soon as I could in the morning, eating my breakfast at my own hotel. After that I decided to go to the gym. Almost an hour was spent there, working on my strength. Getting all my frustrations out and resetting my mind.