You can't Outrun the Truth

Arriving in Portugal

Time Skip! November 1

London's POV

I was leaving for Portugal in an hour and I still haven't told the girls. I think they noticed something after the incident a week or two ago that I wasn't interested in talking much. I still hung out with them but I avoided everything concerning me.

I am currently packing while Jill and Daan are meeting with some of their Dutch friends and Beth is hanging out with Jordan and Leah. I was a bundle of nerves as I packed since I would have to see Mal and Rose again and trust they wouldn't tell the whole team again. Also, I was going to be dealing with a very mad team when I returned and over the phone.

I finished packing a wrote a note telling them I would call in a couple of hours and left. I got an Uber to the airport and got through security. I sat down at my gate and pulled out a book. I was trying to avoid my phone until I absolutely needed it so I wouldn't have to hear from my teammates.

I landed in Lisbon around three hours later and got my bag from the overhead compartment. I followed the stream of people out of the plane and saw someone holding a sign with my name. I made my way over to them.

"London Adair?"

"Yes sir."

"Wonderful, I'm Johnathan. I will be taking you to the hotel."

"Alright, do you happen to know when the rest of the girls are arriving?" I asked.

"You are the first one, you have the shortest flight." I nodded and followed him to the car.

It was a pretty silent trip, I wasn't talking much due to nerves and he wasn't trying to hold a conversation.

"Thank you, have a nice day," I say as I grab my suitcase from the boot and make my way into the lobby.

"Hi, you must be London," A woman says coming over.

"Um, yeah."

"Great. I'm Jill Ellis. It's nice to have you on the team," She says.

"Yeah, thanks for calling me up."

"So, you are the first one here, but your roommate will be Mal. You are room 365 and there will be a meeting at six but until then you have free time."

"Alright thank you," She handed me the room key and I went up to my room. Of course, I'm sharing with Mal. Jill probably thought she was helping since I already knew her, but it's the dead opposite.

I put my stuff by the bed near the door and pulled out my phone to facetime Jackie.

"Hoi!" She says smiling.

"Hi!"

"Hallo Jackie!" I smile back.

"Hey Jackie"

"Dus, hoe is het leven in Londen? Ik kreeg een paar dagen geleden een telefoontje van Daan, vind je het goed als ze het weten?"

"So, how's London life? I got a call from Daan a couple days ago, are you fine with them knowing?"

"Langzaam Jack!" I laugh. "Het leven in Londen is goed, de training gaat heel goed. En ja, denk ik."

"Slow down Jack!" I laugh. "London life is good, training has been going really well. And yeah I guess."

"Dat is goed, en gaat het goed met je?"

"That's good, and are you doing okay?"

"Ja! Nooit beter," I assure her.

"Yep! Never better,"

"Goed, dat is goed. Dus, ben je al op het kamp?" she asks excitedly.

"Good, that's good. So, are you at camp yet?"

"Ja, ik ben hier vijf minuten geleden. Ik logeer bij Mal, maar ik ben de eerste hier."

"Yeah, I got here like five minutes ago. I'm rooming with Mal but I'm the first one here."

"Weet ze van-"

"Does she know ab-"

"Ja. Ik heb sindsdien nauwelijks met haar gepraat, dus dit wordt interessant." I sigh

"Yeah. I've barely talked to her since so this will be interesting,"

"Het komt wel goed Aleid. Je denkt te lang na," she tells me.

"It'll be fine Aleid. You overthink."

"Wat jij ook maar zegt, Jackie."

"Whatever you say, Jackie."

"Ik heb nu een training, maar ik verwacht later een telefoontje oke?"

"I have training now, but I expect a call later okay?"

"Oke, doei Jack!"
"Okay, bye Jack!"

"Dag Aleid."
"Bye Aleid."

I laid down on the bed and tried to figure out what to do for the next four hours. I don't know why I had to get here so early if no one else was and I would just sit here for hours.

I decided to explore the city a bit, I rented a bike and went to the beach. It was about a ten-minute bike ride and the view was stunning. I rode down the coast for a bit taking in the sun and relaxing. It was nice to be separated from football for a bit and just relax.

I returned the bike to the shop I had rented it from and walked around for a while. My Portuguese was terrible but I was trying to use a translator so I could somewhat communicate. I managed to get a coffee at one of the local shops and was walking down the street. I scrolled through the contacts of my Arsenal teammates trying to decide who would be the least mad when Kim called.

"Hello!" I answered cheerfully.

"London. I thought you were going to tell them!" She says.

"I wrote a note."

"That does not count! Tell me how I'm supposed to explain to Daan that yes I knew you were leaving and no she cannot call you angrily and no she cannot fly to Portugal to yell at you."

"That seemed like a good one to me," I shrug.

"You kind of dug your own grave here."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Turn on the good old charm!" I laugh.

"London, I don't think you realize how much this means to Danielle. She thinks of you like her kid, please call her and explain this."

"I'm busy now, I have to get ready for a meeting," I lied.

"Well you better make time soon because I don't want to deal with this until she leaves for camp," Kim warned me.

"I'll call her after the meeting."

"Good, I'll talk to you later, bye."

"Bye,"

I tried to think of what to tell Danielle as I walked back to the hotel. It was four now so I had effectively killed two hours. Some of the girls were in the lobby so I tried to walk past without them recognizing me. Unfortunately, Julie was in the elevator when I got there.

"London! What are you doing here?" She asks bringing me into a hug.

"Hi, Julie. I got called up," I tell her patting her back.

"That's great! I'm excited to play with you for once."

"Yeah, do you know if the Spirit girls are here yet?" I ask nervously.

"I don't know, we just got here."

"Alright, thanks see you at the meeting!" I say as I step off the elevator. I stood in front of the door and prayed Mal wasn't here yet. I unlocked the door and saw not only Mal, but Rose and Andi were as well.

"London."

Hey, y'all! Let me know what you think about this chapter. How do you think London will react to seeing her old teammates again? Hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and has had a pretty good start to the year! My school just transferred online again so I will hopefully be able to update more! Have a good week!