two.
Since the doctor told April it was better to wait until after the surgery before she could see him, she was only able to get a glance of him for a second as he was wheeled off to the operating room. She didn't know that he was actually pretending to be unconscious.
He wasn't prepared to hear the news.
Though he already knew what he should expect, it was like postponing the inevitable was like it wasn't happening yet.
April returned to the waiting room which was nearly empty by now and got her phone out. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she needed to find a way to contact Neymar's family. They had probably seen the news on the television and were worried sick about him, just as a lot of people were. She dialed Giovani's number when an idea finally came to her. The phone rang three times before he answered the call, "Hello?" Giovani said from the other line. April was thankful of the fact that he wanted to be her friend and spoke the same language as her. It helped them communicate better.
"Gio," She breathed, her voice desperate.
"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned. April could hear water, most likely from the ocean and she thought she was probably disturbing him on vacation.
She knew he had returned to Mexico, his home country, after having lost against the Netherlands in the round of sixteen just five days prior. April remembered watching the game on television and feeling upset that Giovani would be leaving, especially after the controversial penalty given to the Dutch team. Ever since she met him, they had become good friends and he was the one who gave her important information when she was looking for Lucas. April really appreciated his friendship.
"I need you to help me." She told him.
"Sure." He immediately agreed. "Is something wrong?" He asked, concerned.
"Neymar has been injured and he's in the hospital." April explained to the half-Brazilian footballer. "I need to contact his family, but I don't know their phone numbers."
"Hm..." He thought about it, remaining quiet for a few minutes before finally speaking. "I can call my brother Jonathan and ask him to call Dani Alves. They're team mates in Barcelona and since Alves is in Brazil for the cup, he can contact Neymar's family. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
April smiled through her tears. "Thank you so much, Gio."
"Anything for you." He told her.
And they said goodbye.
.
.
.
.
Because it was so difficult to get a hold of everyone, Neymar's family didn't arrive until night time. His parents, his sister, his son and his son's mother all arrived together. Carolina recognized April and hurried to the brunette's side, "How's Juninho?" She asked with concern in her voice. Juninho was a nickname in Brazil, usually given to boys who had junior at the end of their full name like Neymar did.
At the mention of him, April broke out into uncontrollable tears. His parents watched her in confusion, their son hadn't told them he had a girlfriend. Carolina pulled April in for a hug while she tried to explain to the family. "They're operating him right now. But the doctor said he will never play football again. I just know he's not going to take it well."
The news made his mother join the two other girls in tears. Neymar's father buried his face in his hands. And it wasn't because of what the news meant to them, but because they knew what it would mean to Neymar. Little Davi Lucca had no idea what was going on. He only saw everyone crying and went to hug his grandmother.
Accompanied by his family and Carolina, April couldn't help but feel left out. While they suffered, they had each other. And they were people Neymar loved. She was the new one, the outsider.
She saw an empty seat next to his sister and went to sit by her side. His sister took one look at her and her face contorted in confusion. "I'm really sorry to have to ask this because it seems like you know my brother...but who are you?"
April felt her expression drop into a frown. Not because his sister didn't know who she was, but because he hadn't even told his family about her.
But then she decided it didn't matter anymore.
It was all in the past because Neymar promised her he would be completely honest with her from here on out and she believed in him, just like she strongly believed he would return to a football field stronger than before. She had faith in him.
"You don't know me and I don't know you either, to be honest." April explained to the dark haired young woman with tear soaked eyes. "My name is April Estiano, I'm Neymar's...friend." She didn't know if it was okay to call herself his girlfriend yet. She knew they were in love, but she also knew she had been raised in a conservative family and if he hadn't asked yet, it meant it wasn't official.
"The name sounds familiar." The girl thought about it for a few seconds before a small smile made way on her lips. "I'm Rafaela."
April was about to speak when the doctor returned, bringing news about Neymar. "Are you all family members of Neymar?" He asked the people who were sitting close to April. He continued when they nodded, "It seems the operation was a success. But, as I explained to the young woman," He looked at April. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid the young man will be unable to continue his football career. The damage done to his back was too severe. I'm very sorry."
"But he's okay?" April asked, soon adding, "I mean...he'll be able to walk?"
"At first he will require a wheelchair to move about, but with physical therapy he will later be able to use crutches until he can walk on his own." The doctor explained, on his face was a look of sympathy. "But he will require a lot of patience and he won't realize his own limitations in the beginning."
"Limitations?" Neymar's father asked.
"Yes." The doctor nodded. "At first, he will pretend to be happy and pretend he's fine. He will be faced with denial when he attempts to do things he did simply before, but will now need help to do. I've seen it happen countless times before. For example, when he is released from the hospital, he will refuse to use his wheelchair, claiming he can stand on his own. It is only when he realizes what he can no longer do that it will all sink in for him. You'll need to be very patient because he will be irritable. What he needs most right now is your support."
Rafaela gulped. "When can we see him?"
We could all already imagine how he would be feeling. But we knew we would need to be strong, for him.
"You can see him when he regains consciousness." Was the last thing the doctor told us before he excused himself and rushed off to help other patients.
-
i seriously have like three more chapters of this already written because i was so into this one. i feel so inspired.
anyway, i was thinking for this story to be pretty short, like catfish.
maybe eleven or fifteen chapters, depends on how long i'll make them or how much i can pack into one chapter. but i really hope you all enjoy reading this story because i really am enjoying putting this together for you.
thank you for your support.
i love you.
-clary xx
