OFFSIDE

20

❝ I waited ages to see you there ❞
« ♫ ♡ ♫ »

Pablo's POV
Once again, I marvel as we step onto the field of Camp Nou for our pre-match exploration. This stadium is so big and beautiful. Accompanied by Pedri, Fermín, and Ferran, I take a stroll around the pitch before the doors open and the warm-up begins. The first and last mentioned exhibit strange behavior towards each other. It's as if there's some kind of tension between them.

It's as if Fermín can read my thoughts because he suddenly stops walking and turns to Pedri and Ferran. "Gavi and I will go left, and you two go right. When we meet again in the middle, you'll have talked it out."

The midfielder seems to have a lot more authority than I thought, and he turns back around, walking with me to the right side.

"What was going on with them?" I ask. "They had a little argument yesterday," the footballer shrugs nonchalantly.

"About what?" I inquire.

There's a brief pause. "Nothing special. Ferran just said something that Pedri didn't like. Nothing major."

I nod. "Will your family be coming to watch later?" Fermín changes the subject. "Yeah," I mutter, recalling the moment Elena stormed out the door.

She's absolutely right, too. I acted like a jerk princess. I'm really fortunate to have Elena by my side, and my behavior doesn't give her the sense of appreciation she deserves, and misses.

I can't believe I let things escalate like that. Seeing Elena storm off, her face twisted with anger, hurt me more than I care to admit. She's the love of my life, the one who fills my days with joy and laughter. I'm so proud of how she handles everything, from managing the house to taking care of our guests with such grace and warmth.

But today, I failed her. I failed us. The tension between us, the argument over something as trivial as packing my bag, it's eating me up inside. I never wanted to hurt her, to make her feel unappreciated or misunderstood.

I've never seen her so angry, so hurt. It tears me apart to know that I'm the cause of her pain.

I should have been more understanding, more patient. Instead, I let my frustration get the best of me, lashing out at the person I cherish most in this world. How could I have been so blind, so selfish?

All I want now is to make things right, to apologize and beg for her forgiveness. I hope with all my heart that she'll still come to the match, that we can put this behind us and move forward together.

But even more than that, I just want her to know how much she means to me. How her presence lights up my world, how her love fills my heart with warmth and happiness. I'll do whatever it takes to make things right, to show her how much I love her.

"Right?" Fermín asks, snapping me out of my own thoughts. "Uh, yeah," I mumble, but I have no idea what the conversation was about.

"You didn't hear my story, did you?" he chuckles. "No, sorry. I was lost in thought," I confess. Fermín smiles. "No worries. I was just saying that Julieta is coming too, so Elena can see her again."

"Oh, she'll love that," I try to sound enthusiastic. If she comes.

Meanwhile, Pedri and Ferran are walking back towards us.

"And?" I grin. "Everything's good. Just as expected," Pedri laughs.

"What were you guys arguing about anyway?" I ask. "Nothing special," Pedri mutters. My gaze shifts from him to Ferran. "Just something stupid," he mumbles.

Oh well. They clearly don't trust me enough yet. I get it. I've only been here for three weeks.

"Come on. We need to head to the locker room. The doors could open any moment," Fermín says, and we cross the field towards the tunnel.