Rebuilt Love

Part 4

I wake up and I reach for my phone as I like to aimlessly scroll through social media just until I am ready to get out of bed. I'm scrolling through my notifcation bar and a notifcation catches my eye

Instagram:  @ alessia wants to message you

I look at the notifcation thinking its gotta be a joke and I just think some Arsenal fan as seen me come in and out of the ground and is just trying to prank me. I click on it anyways and the message reads 

hey, are you okay? i saw you was upset and never came back and i got worried xx

I click on the account before replying to the message, I scroll through the account and it has the blue verified tick and I see that the Arsenal and England players follow her. I wonder how she found me, my accounts on private. I do more digging and now I am convinced its her I reply to the message and follow her. 

hey, im alright thanks just some family stuff went on so i had to go home xx

 I get out of bed and make some food and a cup of coffee, as I'm eating my phone dings. 

Instagram: @alessia follows you

@alessia: im glad your okay, do you want to grab a coffee. I don't like the idea of you being alone and upset xx

 I read the message and there's a feeling in my stomach that I haven't felt for years, I think about meeting her, do I want to leave the house, no. Do I want to see you talk to anyone, no. Do I want to see Alessia, yes. 

@ tayloradams sure, where? xx

Alessia sends me a location of a coffee shop and we agree to meet in an hour. I shower and get dressed in a pair of black shorts, a white crop top a black shirt to go over the white top and unbuttoned, I white 1 tens and I put my rayban  glasses on top of my head and I leave my hair down.

I jump into my Volkswagen and drive to where Alessia told me to meet her.

I park up and walk to the coffee shop and enter. As I walk in a spot Alessia straight away, she stands up and smiles at me and then her face drops 

" oh, my god. What happened to your face" she asked and puts her hand softly on my cheek and runs the pad of her thumb of the cut. The cut is still tender so I wince as she does so. 

" it happened when working in construction" I chuckle and hope she believes the lie. We sit at the table and then I realised that there are two cups of coffee on the table. 

" thanks" I smile and pick the mug up take a sip.

" did that happen with your family problem" she nods at my cheek. I freeze and I just look at her

" I saw you Thursday you didn't have a cut, I saw you Friday morning and you had no cut and you only did half a day. Please don't lie to me" she says and I sigh 

" it's a long story" I tell her. 

" well our coffees are still hot" she says 

" look, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to but I care about you and you can trust me, what ever you tell me will be in complete confidence." she says 

" why, why do you care about me. You hardly know me" I ask and I think that's just the trauma talking.

" I don't know, I just feel like I have to get to know you, like ever since I took you to Steve's office I have gravitated towards you" she says softly and the butterflies I haven't felt in years swirl in my stomach. I look into her blue concerned eyes and something in me feels like I can somewhat trust her. 

" so, my mum's an alcoholic and my dad left when I was young and started a new family because of her addiction. my mum's problem got worse over the years and when I was sixteen I did everything in my power to get out of the toxic environment so I applied for an apprenticeship as a roofer. I met Emma, my manager and she's pretty much brought me up ever since. Yesterday, I got a call saying my mum was being held in a holding cell for drunk and disorderly behaviour so I went to get her. I took her home and she said some nasty things and threw a bottle at me, the bottle smashed against the wall and a bit off glass cut my cheek." I explain. I look at my coffee and I don't want to see the sympathetic look I know Alessia has on her face.

" the man you was hugging, is that your dad?" she asked. 

" no, that's Simon his Emma's husband but his like the dad I never had like Emma is the mother I never had" I explain and she just nods. 

" do you see your real dad?" she asked sipping her coffee.

" not really, I mean he will call me now and he tries to see me but I always turn him down" I say 

" why?" she asked 

" because when I am there with his family I just feel like I don't belong, ya'know" I say 

" why, his your dad" she asked 

" I don't know, I just see him with his other children and wife and how happy they are and then I think how unhappy he was with us and yeah, it's just hard I guess" I explain 

" so how many siblings to do you have?"  she asked 

" well my dad has two children, a girl who is sixteen called Maxine and a boy who is fourteen called Jude but again I don't really talk to them and Emma and Simon have a daughter who is twenty-one called April and I pretty much grew up with her and shes like my best friend" I explain. 

" what about you, I feel like we've just been talking about me all this time" I ask 

" uh, I have two older brothers Gio and Luca. Gio is in Australia right now just traveling and Luca is a football agent, he is married" she states 

" and your parents?" I ask 

" well their both retired now, my dad Mario played football when he was younger and his actually Italian and my mum Carol, she was a stay at home mum just taking care of us, taking me and my brothers to football or what ever activity we had going on" she explains 

" is there a women in your life?" she asked and I am a bit taken back my the forward question. 

" uh, no" I simply say 

" how comes, you're a pretty women" she smiles and my heart rate spikes at Alessia compliment. 

" I'm too broken and traumatized for a relationship" I tell her honestly. 

" oh" she simply says probably not know what to say

" you, any man or women?" I ask 

" uhm, no I mean I've always been interested in women  I have never been with one. I dated a man called Patrick last year but then I realised his a toxic, sexist piece of shit so I ended it with him" she explains  

Me and Alessia stay and talk for a bit longer and then once we finished our coffee's we find something to eat and then we head home As Alessia has to be up early as she has a match tomorrow.

I am sat on my sofa thinking about the time I had with Alessia. I don't know how but she's bringing my guard down and I don't know how to stop it or if I want to stop it.