Motivate || Alex Verdugo

Four

Sonia's POV- March 2019

I felt like such a fucking loser at the moment. My head was killing me, and it was probably due to all the crying I did last night.

After our trip to the botanical gardens, we had dinner and then I dropped them all off. It was about 10 PM by then, and I was just downright exhausted. I was hoping to shower and go straight to bed, but I was unable to enter the hotel room because there was a do not disturb sign on the doorknob. Instead of barging in there and making a scene, I decided to be civil and I just left. I cried in my car for about an hour before making my way to the hotel that I had fled days before. I honestly don't know why I went there since I could have gone to my sister or even Nora. Alex had just gotten out of the shower, so he answered shirtless. Instead of asking questions as to why I was crying, he let me in and just let me cry on the bed while he changed. After I was able to finally talk, I told him what had happened and I asked if I could crash with him. I showered and then changed into one of the shirts he let me borrow. Nothing happened, we just slept.

"Are you up?"

I nodded against his shoulder.

"How are you feeling?"

So he's a cuddler, and well I did not mind yesterday. At the moment, I was getting a little too warm for my liking.

"Shitty" I admitted.

He moved his arm from my waist as I sat up.

"Can you come with me to the hotel?" I asked.

If I showed up alone, and they were still there I would lose it and possibly fling something at them. My accuracy was still great after 2-3 years of not playing the sport.

"Yeah, of course"

I nodded and climbed off the bed.

"I'll let you change," I said.

"We can get some breakfast after"

That would be nice.

"Okay," I agreed.

I grabbed the clothes I had been wearing last night and walked into the bathroom. It wasn't till I was done getting dressed that I glanced up at the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot red (probably because I cried and slept with my contacts) and my right arm was covered in hives (most likely a stress-related rash). I washed my face and pulled my hair up in a bun before making my way out.

"Let me brush my teeth and comb my hair"

As he was in the bathroom, I put on my shoes and checked my phone.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded and slipped my phone into my belt bag. Once we were in the car, Alex spoke up.

"Cody owes you an apology because that's why he has his own room for"

I shrugged.

"You shouldn't let your friend get away with it either"

"She's not" I replied.

The last time Clara had pissed me off like this, I didn't speak to her for nearly a month. When we got to the hotel, there was no one in there but both beds were unmade and that just pissed me off even more. I grabbed my contact lens solution and took my contacts off, and slipped on my glasses.

"I'll be quick," I told Alex.

"Take your time"

He bit his lip as he looked at both beds before making his way to one of the chairs that were there. I grabbed my suitcase and went into the bathroom where I took a quick shower again to be able to add some ointment on the hives. As I wrapped a towel around my body, my phone chimed. It was a text from Clara that said,

Hey, where are you?

To which I replied.

At the hotel, a little heads up would have been nice.

I dried myself up and changed into a black pair of leggings and a lavender sports bra.

My phone chimed, and I read the text.

Where'd you sleep last night?

There was no reason to tell her that Alex let me crash with him.

In my car

Instead of apologizing she replied,

Whoops

I put on a little bit of makeup and pulled my still damp hair in a bun. My phone started ringing as I zipped up my suitcase.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I just got out of the shower" I replied.

"Cool, cool. So I know we're supposed to head back tomorrow, but is it possible to stay another day? I'll pay for the day"

"I work Thursday" I reminded her.

"Oh right"

She paused.

"I want to stay another day though, so uh"

I bit the inside of my cheek.

"I guess I'll drive back on my own," I said.

"Great! Bye"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Part of me wanted to fling my phone across the bathroom but I kinda needed my phone to get home (gps). I unzipped the suitcase and pulled out my blue jacket. Once the suitcase was zipped up, I made my way out of the bathroom.

"I think I'm going to head home today" I stated.

Alex looked up from his phone.

"Wait, what?"

"Clara wants to stay another day, and I'm just done," I told him,

As pathetic as this sounds, meeting him had been the only nice thing that had happened during this entire trip (and going to the botanical garden of course).

"If that's what you want"

His eyes darted to the rash on my forearm.

"Do you get stress-related hives?"

"Yup, that's exactly what that is. It's why I showered again, to use the steroid cream" I replied.

You should see me during exams!

"Oh, good. I thought it was because you thought I smelled or something"

I laughed and shook my head.

"We can still get breakfast," I suggested.

He smiled.

"Yea, of course, my treat"

He stood up.

"I'll get your suitcase"

I slipped on my jacket and followed him out. Once I checked out, we made our way over to my car. As he put the suitcase in the back seat, he glanced at the logo stitched ontop of my name.

"So Florida Gators, softball?"

Guess cat was out of the bag.

"Yup" I answered.

"What position did you play?"

"I was a pitcher" I replied.

He smiled.

"Really?"

I nodded.

"You're just full of surprises"

After we both ate breakfast, I took him back to his hotel. As he unbuckled his seatbelt, he turned to me.

"Text me when you get home?"

"I will" I promised.

To my surprise, he leaned in and gave me a light kiss.

"No more crying"

I smiled and nodded.

"Drive safe, okay?"

I nodded and watched as he got out of the car. Once he was inside the hotel, I turned on my GPS and let it lead me home.