A Place for My Heart

chapter 3

I unlocked the front door of my apartment, opening it slowly. Hopefully Mark wasn’t home. If he was he would be asleep, he didn’t have a job so he slept through the day and partied with my money all night. I took Cristiano’s hand and showed him to my bedroom, tip-toeing, where I sat him on the bed and grabbed a duffel bag from under it. I tried to throw clothes into the bag as fast as possible, not worrying about packing everything. I could come back later and get the luxuries. When I was done with clothes, I threw my makeup, hair tools, laptop and my favourite shoes into the bag as well. Nodding to Cristiano, I mouthed we were done and grabbed my purse as we left my room.

“Baby?” I heard as I walked through the living room. I guess Mark had fallen asleep on the couch and just woke up.

“Why is Cristiano Ronaldo in our apartment baby?” he was clearly coming off a high, dazed as he got up. I saw needles around him, and lots of broken alcohol bottles.

Grabbing Cristiano’s hand, I pulled him towards the door. I didn’t want to talk to Mark. Not when he was in this state. It was always the worst when he was coming off a high, he didn’t even remember what had happened the night before.

“Baby, where the fuck are you going? Why do you have a bag? Rose?” He stumbled towards us, and I kept taking steps backwards towards the front door. “Rose! Stop moving. Rose, slow down. Rose, just fucking wait alright!” He grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop. “I need to talk to you baby. Please. I know I fucked up. I know that. But don’t you ever think for a second that I don’t love you. I’ve loved you for five years Rose. I can never stop. Baby, I love you more than the drugs. You know I do. It’s just hard! God damn it Rose, it’s hard to stop!”

“Yeah, well, you should’ve tried harder,” I said quietly, ripping my hand away and walking toward the door again.

He grabbed my hand again. “I’m not fucking letting you walk out of this apartment Rose, you’re not going to leave me!”

“Mark let go. You made your choice. Let go of my hand, you’re hurting me.”

“If you think I’m ever letting go of you, you’re damn mistaken. You’re mine! You will always be mine, what the fuck would you be without me? You wouldn’t even be in Madrid if it wasn’t for me, you ungrateful little slut.”

That’s when Cristiano stepped in. “Enough. Let go of her, we’re leaving.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are? You think you can just march in here and steal my girlfriend because you’re some big footballer guy. You little shit, she belongs to me.”

“She’s no one’s property. Let go.”

“What are you gonna do to me, big fucking Cristiano Ronaldo, I bet you’re really a pussy.”

Cristiano pulled Mark’s hand off mine, and then punched him in the face.

“CRISTIANO! Ohmygod, what the hell?!” I fell to the floor, where Mark was lying face-down. “Mark?” I shook him.

Mark shoved me aside, and as I hit the wall I could feel it shake. He was getting up, and Cristiano was rushing to my aid. Before he could reach me though, Mark grabbed him and shoved him against the wall.

“YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!” He yelled as he punched Cristiano back, right across the face. Cristiano grunted, and threw Mark off him and onto the ground again. Cristiano put his foot on Mark’s chest, holding him down.

“You really think it’s a good idea for a cocaine junkie to get into a fight with the most valuable footballer in the world? I could crush you.” Cristiano grabbed my bag, and then walked over to me offering me his hand. I grabbed it and he pulled me up, walking towards the door together.

“Baby….” Mark whispered, still on the floor, clutching his chest. “Please don’t leave me…I love you more than anything in this world.”

I turned back, trying to convey all the love I felt for him through my eyes, trying to tell him I was sorry, and that I knew he wouldn’t die a junkie. It was just time to let go.

I grabbed Cristiano’s hand and walked out of the apartment.