hard feelings - an erling haaland story

forty-one

"So, Mils, ready to come watch a game again?" Jack had raised the question, as he sat on the island in his kitchen, Amelia's back turned to him. He watched as her posture changed ever so slightly, her hands gripping the countertop as his words hit her ears. "Final home game of the season."

"Dunno, J, I'd love to but I'm terrified to face the Haalands. Wouldn't even mind seeing E but Alf and Astor? Not ready to look them in the eyes yet. The moment they found out we were together, they had been making the seating plan for the wedding."

"Consequences of your own action, that, Mils but they've known about his new girl long enough to not be angry at you." Although Jack wouldn't let her know that by simply calling him J, he felt like he was simply a substitute for the man she wouldn't let herself admit that she missed, yet he felt as though he had finally managed to scratch the complex surface of Amelia.

A groan was Amelia's only response. The man watched as her stiffened posture changed to one of a person who had accepted defeat. He often pondered how it had been easy for her at the beginning of the breakup but as the days cascaded into months, he had found her mourning the loss of her relationship with his teammate.

It had been interesting for Jack to witness both sides, whilst he found Amelia spiraling into grief, Erling had found himself crawling out of his pit of despair after so long. Yes, of course, he had met Aria but everyone around him assumed it had been some sort of rebound. They had never expected him to make it official so soon after. Nor had Erling.

With a deep breath, she turned to face Jack. "I'll go if you want me there."

"I do."

Emotions ran through her mind, creating a fake storyline of how she thought the day would play out. It had consisted of him spotting her with the rest of the families and approaching her, much like he had at the start of the season, yet she knew it was nothing but a figment of imagination. She knew he would glance over at her, maybe give her a little wave but he wouldn't speak to her. Amelia didn't want that; she wasn't prepared to see him with his new girlfriend. She was probably much prettier and worked in a field that may have been more suitable for him. A model, an influencer, maybe even a footballer, herself. Amelia knew that her insecurity was the biggest factor in her failed relationships.

With every passing day, she found herself getting more fidgety, anxiety rushing through her. No amount of words from Jack or Chloe could ease the fear she felt at the thought of having to converse with Erling's family or, worse, his new girlfriend. Amelia had done well, or so she thought, to avoid any pieces of media regarding his new relationship. She hadn't even found out what her name was, nor had Jack or Chloe mentioned it to her. With the two of them, constantly joking to each other that he simply had to find a woman with a similar name to his ex due to physically not being able to handle being too distant from Amelia.

"I'm so scared, Chlo. What if they hate me?" She asked, the material of the football shirt on her suddenly feeling suffocating. "What if Alf looks at me utterly disappointed?"

"Then that's on them, but if a 49-year-old has got beef with a 22-year-old, he should be embarrassed." Her friend retorted, taking Amelia's hand in hers. "You are fine, you don't even have to talk to them if you don't want to. You're here for Jack, not their son. Although, I will be saying hi to Erling, just to warn ya."

The action of her best friend taking her hand in her own was reassuring enough to let her relax. Seeing that neither Erling nor Jack would be starting and were benched for the game gave her a little bit of time relief, she wouldn't have to watch Erling play for the full ninety minutes. "So have you noticed that you've been calling Jack, J?" Chloe broke the silence between them during halftime. "What's going on there?"