Somewhere Only We Know • Ruben Dias

Chapter 9: City's Defender

🎶 willow - dancing witch version (Elvira remix) — Taylor Swift, ELVIRA 🎶

"Here we are" I announced when we arrived at the modern apartment block not far from the hospital. "And there's my car. There's really no need to escort me, you should enjoy your evening after the game and relax, not-" I blabbered, but he cut me off.
"You call me yesterday in tears, asking me to pick you up, then you tell me it's because your boyfriend hit you. You think I can relax tonight not knowing if you're alright when you go back to the apartment where that dickhead lives?!" he said, sounding somewhat harsh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to... It's just... I've grown up with two sisters and the thought of a man... Argh... Your brothers will understand me" he sighed.
"I understand you too. I just don't want to come off as clingy and annoying" I mumbled.
"You're not. You just need someone right now and I'm here, it's that simple" he replied and patted the back of my hand before opening his car door.

Like I had told him a hundred times, I was really quick, packing my stuff in just one suitcase and two shopping bags as Ed had let me get rid of most of my stuff before moving in, claiming that girls actually didn't need much.
"See? All done. And here's my car" I told him when we had gotten back outside to my ugly yellow Polo.
"Yellow car" he exclaimed and punched me playfully, just like my brothers did every time.

"This is so unfunny" I muttered and rolled my eyes.
"Fine. Where are you going now?" he asked.
"I'll just take a hotel for tonight and then tomo-" I started, but he cut me off.
"Excuse me, a hotel?!" he exclaimed.
"It's my parent's anniversary tonight, I don't want to ruin it by announcing to them out of the blue that I'm moving back in" I explained.
"You're joking. You can stay at mine for one more night... or however long you need" he scoffed.

"You're so stubborn" I huffed.
"You know how many women are found dead in hotel rooms in the UK?!" he argued.
"No, Ruben, I don't!" I replied sarcastically before stepping inside my car. He rolled his eyes before walking to his car and he annoyed me by showing off the speed of his Lamborghini on the road while I struggled to keep up with my old Polo. After a fifteen-minute drive or so, we arrived at his building and he indicated me some parking spots for guests in the garage.

After getting out of my car, I quickly assembled some things for staying the night as I was driving to my parents' tomorrow anyways.
"Here, I'll take this" Ruben offered as he walked up to me and took the bag with my stuff from my hand. Ugh, what a gentleman.
"Thanks" I replied and we got upstairs to his apartment again, just like yesterday.

"Ok, can I at least cook for you tonight to thank you for everything?" I asked, feeling like I was using him, even though it actually wasn't like that.
"Can you even cook?" he asked, making a sarcastic face.
"Surely not as good as you, you independent, strong, masculine-" I teased him, but instead he grabbed me by my waist and threw me over his shoulder only to throw me back down on the sofa.

"You were saying? Making fun of me?" he asked and raised his eyebrows.
"My lips are sealed" I replied and laughed.
"Good" he said and stretched out his hand for me to take. I stood up again and went to the kitchen to see what was in his fridge, where I almost puked at the sight of weird fat-reduced stuff and alternative ingredients.
"Ok, now you as a doctor should find me an exemplary human and not make that face" Ruben commented.

"Doctors are the worst. Half the ones at our hospital smoke and 25% definitely do drugs" I replied.
"You look like you do both" he teased me after looking somewhat shocked.
"Yep, definitely" I replied and nodded, which made us both laugh. In the end, I whipped up some chicken and rice, which I made sure to heavily season because there was nothing worse than bland food.

After dinner, we made ourselves comfortable on the couch and he put on some series that he thought was amazing, but I paid little attention to it. I was just enjoying his presence and daydreaming about how life could be if he actually would like me back.
"Hey! Concentrate!" he exclaimed and clapped his hands in front of my face.
"Is this Breaking Bad?" I asked and he face-palmed himself.
"This is Prison Break!" he replied agitatedly.
"Sorry" I whined, but he just laughed.

"No, it's fine, but I guess we won't watch that again" he chuckled and ruffled through my hair. And instead, we just started talking, about everything imaginable. It must have been hours because at some point, a phone chimed up with a notification and we both saw that it was way past midnight. We decided that it was time to head to bed and I went to the bathroom first. When I was done and walked to his bedroom, I found him putting up a pillow wall again.

"To be honest, I don't think you're one of the Prem's best defenders, like they all say. You were pretty bad at defending this wall last night" I teased him, leaning onto the doorframe.
"Probably because your attack of tearing it down was just unstoppable" he joked back and laughed.
"Sure. I'm the Messi of tearing down pillow walls" I replied.
"No wonder when it's me on the other side" he joked again.
"Yeah, I must have mistaken you for Bruno Fernandes in my dreams, that's why" I bantered.

"You say you fancy Bruno Fernandes one more time and I'll throw you out the window" he snarled, sounding quite annoyed.
"Well, you sound quite wound up. Seems to me that you do see him as a competition" I said and raised my eyebrows smugly.
"Competition for what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows himself. I would have loved to answer me, but he'd probably laugh at such a stupid suggestion.
"Just... football" I mumbled.

"Pah... Fine, let's make a deal: If we win the next derby, you'll cook for me for a week" he challenged me.
"And what do I get?!" I asked back.
"Nothing, you'll lose anyways" he replied and shrugged.
"If you guys lose, I get to drive your Lamborghini for a week" I said cheerily.
"Might as well just drive it against a wall then" he mumbled. "But I'm not worried because we won't lose" he added.

We eventually got to bed, and the next morning the pillow wall was more or less still intact, probably also to the fact that I slept with an eye open, careful not to repeat last night's happenings. I couldn't let myself get too emotionally attached to another man, not now. What I needed was time to heal from the relationship with Ed and not to get delusional that I could be a football player's girlfriend, because let's be serious, I couldn't. Those girls were models or influencers and not... girls who worked 48 hour shifts and up to 100 hours a week.

That's also why I was gone pretty quickly next morning and without big declarations, even though Ruben had insisted that I could stay as long as I wanted. But he had to get to training early and honestly, he had his own life. And I couldn't cling to him just because I didn't have anyone else in mine.