a 19yo annalise jones, born and raised scouser and red for life moves to madrid to start her life away from her brothers fame working for the biggest football club in the world.
the morning after the photo, everything seemed louder. everytime somebody looked into my eyes it was like they would show me the picture again. i kept my head down.
after training, my phone lit up again. this time it wasnt her.
curtis j: got a minute?
depends on whose asking,
the brother of the girl you're not dating, apparently.
i sighed. we called.
"relax, man" he said first, his scouse accent cutting through the static. "im not here to start anything."
"then whats this all about??" i asked
"the trent situation."
of course.
"hes a good lad, but i think seeing her move on hit him hard, they both havent been with anybody since each other. even if it has been a while" curtis said.
"i understand" i muttured
"she made it clear to him yesterday that its over, always will be. but you know how it is, feelings dont just switch off. and before you get it twisted about that photo-"
"im not twisted, me and annalise have spoken."
he laughed once. "look bro, you are. just dont let her see it, shes already got enough noise going on around her."
silence.
then he added, softer, "look, vini... i've watched my sister with you. i've heard how she talks about you. thats real. but if you cant handle what comes with it - the press, the rumours, the hiding - you need to let her breathe. dont half-love her.
my thoat felt tight. "im not planning to"
"good" he said "because she deserves someone who fights for her, not somebody who gets scared when twitter does its thing."
before hanging up, he added - "oh and one more thing, if you hurt her, your getting benched next time we play you."
"thats fair enough" i say smiling "see you on the pitch then"
"count on it."
_______
annalise pov:
that evening, vini showed up outside my apartment again - hoodie, cap, that same quiet look that said more than words ever could. "you spoke to curt?"
"yeah" he said "he likes threatening people."
"only the ones that matter"
he smiled, stepping closer. "he said you told trent its over"
"i did."
"did he listen?"
"well he heard me."
he nodded, eyes soft. "good. because i did too"
and maybe it was the way he said it - calm, certain, but for the first time, it didnt feel like almost. it felt like the start of something real.
__________________
@annalisejones:
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quiet doesnt always mean calm. sometimes its just waiting to be heard.
liked by @vinijr, @curtisjr and 7.2m others
@vinijr: 🥹
@username43: they are so going to launch their relationship soon. im so excited.
