lacy | jude bellingham

chapter 05.

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THE NEXT MORNING, JUDE WALKED IN TO THE MADRID TRAINING facility. he didn't get the best of sleep because of everything that was happening, and he'd barely eaten too. as he was about to walk onto the training ground, all he wanted to do was use the drills and football as a way to distract himself from the situation.

but as soon as he stepped on the pitch, he saw his friends—camavinga, vini, and fede—together, their gazes already locked on him. there was a mix of concern and disappointment in their eyes, and jude knew immediately that there was no avoiding this conversation.

"jude," camavinga called out as they walked over to him. "can we talk to you."

jude nodded, he had expected this if he was being honest, but it didn't make it any easier.

"what happened man?" vini asked, his voice filled with confusion. "we saw the photos...and then amelia's post yesterday. it's true? you really cheated on her with tyla?"

fede folded his arms, his brows furrowed in frustration. "we thought you and amelia were solid. like, really solid. she was always there for you, supporting you no matter what. how could you let this happen?"

jude swallowed hard, wanting desperately to explain and tell them that he didn't have a choice. but he couldn't. "it's...it's not what it looks like," jude stammered. "I didn't want any of this."

"then why did it happen?" vini pressed. "if you didn't want it, why kiss someone else? we've seen how you were with lia—you looked happy, man. like you were really in love."

jude's heart ached at the reminder. he had been deep in love—still was, if he was being honest. "i made a mistake," he said, his voice low. "i messed up and i know that, but it's more complicated than you think."

fede shook his head, "complicated? jude, this isn't just a small screw up. amelia's a good person—one of the nicest girls any of us have ever met. and you just threw that away. for what? for a fling?"

"it wasn't supposed to be like this," jude muttered, his voice breaking slightly. "i swear, if i could take it all back, i would. but i...I didn't have a choice."

camavinga's eyes narrowed slightly. "what do you mean you didn't have a choice? you always have a choice. nobody forced you to cheat on amelia."

jude bit his lip, he couldn't tell them the truth, but he didn't want to keep lying either. "it's not that simple," he said. "I know it looks like i just did this for no reason, but there's more to it. i can't explain it, but I didn't want this to happen...not like this."

vini sighed, running a hand through his hair. "we're your friends. we've got your back, but it's hard to understand at the same time. that girl was good to you. she was good for you. and she's gone just like that."

fede uncrossed his arms and took a step closer to jude, his voice softer now. "we're not here to make you feel worse, but this is a mess. you messed up this time, it's the truth. we all care about you, but now you have to deal with the consequences."

jude nodded, "I know. i know I messed up. and i know that i'm living with it. but there's nothing i can do to change it now. it's done."