Once More. | Manuel Neuer

Chapter Seven.

"Bella."
Manuels voice was nothing but a broken whisper as he stared at the woman he had longed to see for so long. A lump formed in his throat as he took in every millimetre of her being.

Arabella stared back at him with tears forming in her eyes. He looked nothing like the Manuel she left behind in Brazil. The man that stood in front of her looked fragile and broken. Not happy and full of joy.
She had caused this. She had done this to him, and she hated herself for it.

The men at the table watched helplessly as the scene progressed. They watched them both break and none of them was able to do anything about it.

Arabella was the first to break the silence as she stood up quickly, her chair scraping the floor and making an awful lot of noice.
Afraid that she would run away from him again Manuel took a few steps forward. He was ready to stop her if she would.
"Bella, please don't," Manuel hoarsly mumbled.
"I'm sorry," she stated as she shook her head. She tried to brush past him but he was quick to grab her wrist.
How ever, Manuel had not enticipated her strength and she easily got out of his soft grip. She quickly made her way to the door and Manuel felt his heart break the same way it did in Brazil.

"Manuel, you piece of shit idiot, fucking go!" Bastian yelled.

And that is what Manuel did.

Running after a speed walking young woman may seem romantic in films and romantic novels, but it's not.
On his way Manuel managed to run into two tables and a waiter who proceeded to curse at him in French, something Manuel didn't care for as he didn't speak French anyways.
His gaze was locked on the woman who now pulled open the door and quickly slipped outside.

Once outside Manuel sprinted after her, her retreating form coming closer and closer.
He silently thanked God for all the murderous sprinting training he had to do each weak.

When Manuel was close enough he wrapped his hand around her arm and stopped her. For a second he was afraid he had stopped the wrong woman, but when he was met by the blue eyes he had dreamed of all this time, he knew it was her.

"I'm not gonna let you leave again, Bella," he breathed. He held on to her arm tightly, but not too hard as he was afraid he would hurt her.
Arabella just stared up at him as tears fell on her cheeks.
"Manuel, it's been two years," she whispered.
As his name left her lips Manuel felt his heart rate pick up.
"Please, Bella, I won't be able to cope if you leave again." Now  it was Manuel who was crying. Tears fell freely from his eyes as he desperately held on to the woman he loved with all his heart.

Arabella watched him break and felt helpless. There was nothing she could say or do to give him back those two years of heartache. She couldn't fix this no matter how bad she wanted, and she felt trapped. As she watched him crumble her chest got heavy. It felt as if someone was choking her and she gasped for air.
Desperately Arabella searched for a way out, her eyes darting across the street, but it only felt like the whole world was closing in on her

As Arabella panicked Manuel stopped worrying about himself.
"Bella?" He called, but the woman didn't respond. All that happened was that she started shaking.
Manuel held on to the trembling girl as he thought of what to do.

Thanks to some quick thinking Manuel pulled her into an alleyway, away from the busy mainstreet. He placed her against the wall and let go of her. Immediately she slid down, curling up into a ball.
Manuel stepped back until his back was leaning against the opposite wall. He quietly watched her as she tried to calm herself down.

Minutes had passed until Arabella calmed down slightly. However, she was still crying heavily.
Manuel wanted nothing but to go over and comfort the young woman, but he was scared that if he came too close he would trigger another panic attack. So he just stood there, staring at her in silence.

"I'm so sorry." Arabella finally spoke to him.
"I never meant to cause you all this hurt. Hell, I never thought you liked me that much," Arabella said through sobs. "I am so sorry, Manuel. I just thought that if I prevented anything from happening no one would get hurt, but I was wrong. God, was I wrong and I am so sorry."

The cries went unanswered as Manuel had no idea what to say. He had imagined meeting her again for so many times, and he had practised what he would tell her but all of the words he wanted to say left his brain and all he could do was stare.

The silence from Manuels side was taken as a 'keep talking' by Arabella.
"I felt so good when I was around you and that- it- I-" Arabella stuttered through her sobs. "It scared me so much, Manuel. Please, you have to understand."

Arabella was now a sobbing pile of woman, and it hurt Manuel. It hurt him so much that tears fell from his eyes once more.

"Bella," he spoke softly as he cautiously stepped closer to her. "Bella, why didn't you tell me?"

She looked up to him, her tear-stained face paler than the dress-shirt Manuel was wearing. The make-up that was around her eyes just minutes ago was no desperately clinging on to her cheeks as she struggled to breathe.

"I don't know," she breathed. "I don't know."