Lifeline (Marc Guiu)

Chapter 4

"Sorry I'm late", said Alicia, taking her shoes off and not looking at her parents.

"Did you finish the assignment that's due tomorrow?"

"It's almost done".

"Alicia", sighed her mum. "It's almost 8.30. You'll be awake until midnight finishing it and you need to rest. Honey, you need to be more responsible".

"Were you visiting Vicky?", asked her dad.

Because that seemed to be the only valid excuse nowadays. Her parents seemed to care more about Victoria than about their own daughter. Also, they had always been very laid back but, ever since they found out about the secrets the best friends kept, they controlled her moves a lot more.

"No. Work took longer than expected".

"I don't even know why you work. Don't we give you enough money to do whatever you please?"

According to her dad, everything was about money. "It's not about the money. It's good for my CV".

"Well, let's go have dinner now so you can go to your room to finish your homework at a half decent time", said her mum, walking towards the kitchen and not waiting for an answer.

"Sure...".

But her parents were right because Alicia had forgotten all about her assignment. She was too busy kissing a Barça player and remembering that made her smile. She noticed a notification on her phone and picked it up quickly hoping it'd be Marc...but it was Fermín asking if they could talk so she called him.

"Hey".

"Hi Ali. Did you think about what I asked you?"

"Yeah", she sighed. "I came up with this plan. I'll be going to Vicky's soon for a sleepover and I can convince her to then spend the morning here with me. In my house, I mean. On a day when you are training so Oscar sees you there and when my parents are here. So we got our alibis".

"I would laugh at how absurd this is if it wasn't breaking my heart".

"I know. But then, if they see us doing that, then we can do the same on a day you're not training and you can meet".

"Sounds great, Ali", told her Fermín. "I know it means waiting at least another week but you're doing too much for us".

"Happy to. So let's do that".

"Yeah...can you stay on the phone a little longer? I feel a bit shit today and talking to you about Vicky helps".

Alicia felt so bad for her friends but the laptop's screen showed her how much work she had to do.

"I wish I could, Fer. But I need to finish some work for uni and...at this rate, I won't finish before 3 am. And I have to wake up at 7".

"Ouch! Sorry about that. You had work today, right?"

"Yeah. A shoot for Puma".

"Sounds fun. Did you work with anyone I know?"

"No", she lied. "But it went well so I'm happy about that".

"Cool. I'm really glad it went well. I'll let you finish your homework and try and rest. Vicky always mentions you work too much".

"Don't worry. I'll rest. Good night, Fermín".

"Good night, Ali. Thanks for everything again".

When the call ended, Alicia looked at the rest of the contacts on her phone. She noticed the new number there. Marc's. It'd be stupid to call him or text him now and yet...she would have loved to just chat with him on the phone. But she needed to focus on the damn assignment.

"Let's do this".

A knock on the door distracted her and when she turned to look at who was there, she saw her mum holding a mug in one hand and a plate in the other.

"I thought you'd want some dessert".

"Thanks, mum".

"Don't do this again, sweetie", said her mum, brushing Alicia's hair with her fingers. "You need to rest if you want to be studying and working".

"I know".

"And Vicky needs you too. You have to be strong for her".

"I know. And...I thought about staying with her on Saturday. Maybe a movie night will cheer her up, you know?"

"Of course. That sounds wonderful. And then you can invite her to come stay with us so she leaves the house for a few hours".

Alicia knew her mum would suggest that. "Yeah. I was hoping to convince her with the excuse of keeping me company here while I study or something".

Her mum finished braiding Alicia's hair and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I'm really proud of you for looking after your friend the way you're doing. And about how independent you want to be but there are only 24 hours in every day".

"I know, mum".

"Ok. I'll get out of your hair now so you can study. Goodnight".

"Goodnight, mum. I love you".

"I love you more".

Alicia finally noticed what her mum had brought her. A croissant filled with butter and strawberry jam and a cup of matcha. She laughed seeing the drink and took a photo of the mug. It was like she was possessed or something because she barely noticed how she opened the WhatsApp app to send the photo to Marc, adding a message for him.

[Alicia]: my mum made me your favourite drink. Do you want her to send the recipe to yours so you can have one every day? 🍵

It was only when she pressed send that she realised what she had done. Was it going to look too desperate? Marc had mentioned having fun not dating. And Alicia didn't want to date either but... what about flirting? He had been flirting since the minute they met.

"I'm an idiot. Totally confirmed".

But then she heard her phone buzzing and saw that it was because Marc had texted her back.

[Marc]: disgusting 🤢 but I won't say no to getting one of your kisses every day.

[Marc]: are you free this week? Or do you have more work?

Alicia bit her lip reading the text. Yeah, flirting was fine. And she was mentally thinking about what day they could meet when another text came through.

[Marc]: that sounded a bit desperate right?

Alicia still didn't answer because she was too busy laughing at that text.

[Marc]: hey! Don't leave me on read! I'm just a child, remember? You'll make me cry 😢

[Alicia]: I'm free Thursday afternoon. You?

[Marc]: free too. Don't know if the boys had any plans but I'll let you know. Ok?

[Alicia]: sure. I gotta finish some homework now. Someone distracted me earlier and now I'll stay up until God knows when to do this stupid assignment.

[Marc]: think about my kisses and you'll feel better.

Alicia reacted to the message with an eye roll emoji and put her phone away to focus on her uni work. But her mind did wander to the kisses she had shared with Marc that evening. A few times. More times than it should have...because she needed to concentrate on her boring uni assignment.