Lifeline (Marc Guiu)

Chapter 16

Once she got back from Madrid, Alicia had been busy packing her suitcases for Germany. She didn't even know how long they were going to stay there because Spain could be eliminated very quickly or they could go on to win the whole tournament. So she needed to be ready for both options. But she wanted to have some room left in the suitcases because they would of course do a lot of shopping while in Germany.

When she was going back home after buying some little basics she always needed to carry with her while traveling, Alicia noticed a familiar face walking towards her. Living so close to Marc's house meant they knew they could bump into each other at some point. But how was she supposed to talk to him? She wasn't ready for that. Was he ready?

"Hi".

"Hey. You going to Germany soon, right?", asked Marc and Alicia hated the way he could barely look at her.

"Yes. Tomorrow. I was buying some things to put on the suitcase".

"Cool. Have fun".

"Thanks".

"I wish we could have spoken before you had to leave".

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me", told him Alicia, still hurt. "So...".

"You clearly haven't been paying attention if that's what you think, Ali".

"I wish you could stop talking in riddles".

"Maybe I talk in riddles because if I say things more clearly and you still choose to hurt me, it'd be harder to cope with it".

Alicia had no idea how to respond to that. But how could Marc think she would choose to hurt him?

"Maybe it's better we don't talk since I seem to hurt you just by existing".

Marc scoffed and shook his head. "Have fun in Germany, Ali. I'll probably be gone by the time you come back".

"Gone?"

Marc stared at her, hoping for more. Hoping for Alicia to ask him to stay. But she didn't. So when she looked away, overwhelmed by how Marc was looking at her, he left her there and kept walking to get home.

Marc knew he was going to leave. Chelsea had made the offer and it was good. However, he had still been waiting for Alicia to tell him to stay. And he would have if she asked him to. For her, he would have stayed another year in the limbo that was playing in between two teams. He would have sacrificed a good opportunity for his career just to stay with her. But Alicia clearly didn't love him as much as Marc loved her so what was the point? Maybe if he was in another country, it'd hurt less. Maybe it'd be easier to forget her.

When Marc got to his house, he went to the garden to wait for Héctor to get there. They were supposed to meet soon.

"You ok?"

Marc looked up when Héctor asked such a simple but hard to answer question. "Want me to be honest?"

"Yeah".

"No. I'm not ok".

"Is it because you're leaving?"

The only player who knew Marc had made up his mind about his future was Héctor. "Yes. But not just that".

"It's a girl, isn't it? You always get weird when you like a girl".

"Thanks", he tried to laugh. "But yes. I was hoping she would ask me to stay but I guess she never felt about me how I felt about her".

"Sorry, bro", said his friend, placing a supportive hand on Marc's shoulder. "Do I know her?"

"Not really".

"Mysterious".

"She didn't want people to know about us and I want to respect that".

Héctor nodded. "That kind of sucks".

"No, that really sucks. It's why we fought in the first place. I'm tired of her hiding me".

"Maybe going to London will help. You don't have to see her and all that. I'm guessing she's from Barcelona".

"Yeah. She doesn't live far from here so you're right. The last thing I need is to go out and see her but...tell that to my heart".

"You'll be fine. And I'm here to talk if you need to".

Marc nodded. "I do. I should have probably told you sooner instead of just being so angry all the time. It wasn't me being angry at you guys".

"You were a pain in the ass", said Héctor and they both laughed. "Were you mad at her then?"

"No. I was mad at myself for accepting the breadcrumbs she gave me instead of demanding more earlier. Maybe I wouldn't be hurting so much now if I had done that".

"Maybe. But you can't know for sure".

Seeing Marc's parents approaching the garden, the two friends changed the subject. Marc could tell they were sad because he was going to leave but he had tried to explain all the reasons why he thought that was the right decision. Excluding Alicia from the conversation, of course.

"Should we do some sort of farewell party or dinner? Maybe before some of the boys leave to go to the Euros?"

"Most don't know I'm leaving yet, mum. It's fine. I'll say goodbye to everyone when it's time".

Besides, if he told Fermín, he could mention it in front of Alicia and Marc didn't want her to find out until he had signed his new contract. Because she had plenty of chances to tell him to stay and didn't do it. He didn't want this piece of information to make her say something she clearly didn't mean.

"Any chance you change your mind?", half-joked his dad.

"No. I'm more sure than ever than this is what I need to do. I need to leave Barcelona".

He had said Barcelona, not Barça. Because what Marc needed was to leave the city. His city. Alicia's city.