him and i - joão felix

forty eight

"wow." i said, walking into the hotel room. the curtains were closed and it was super dark. there were food trays and snack wrappers all over the place.

"this is embarrassing. i'm sorry you have to see it like this." she said.

"you have nothing to be embarrassed about. a similar thing happened to me when my ex cheated on me."

"thank you for being here for me." she hugged me.

"of course. now let's clean this up a bit and grab your stuff."

we threw all the garbage away and stacked the trays neatly on the table. she grabbed her suitcases and we got back in the car to go back to my house.

we pulled into the driveway and i helped her carry her things inside.

"mateo. i told you to leave." i heard when i opened the door. i saw joão standing in front of mateo, his arms crossed.

"lina, we can go." i turned to her.

"what? why?" she pushed her way inside.

"i know she's here. i have to talk to her."

"oh my god." lina dropped the suitcase she was carrying, her eyes filling with tears.

"lina, please talk to me. i want to explain myself."

"you don't have to talk to him if you don't want to." i turned to face her.

"come on, please. i'm sorry." mateo said.

"shut up mateo." joão spoke up and mateo gave him a dirty look. this must be awkward for joão, considering he's been close with both of them for a long time. we exchanged a concerned look.

"it's fine, give us one minute." she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him outside.

"i tried to warn you. you didn't answer your phone though." he turned to face me when the door closed.

"shit, i must have left it here. i feel horrible."

"me too. they've always been such a good couple, i never expected mateo to cheat on her."

"i know i've known them for only a short amount of time, but i agree."

i looked out the window and saw them standing in the front yard. lina was crying, holding her face in her hands. mateo was trying to hug her but she kept pushing him away.

she said something to him and he nodded slowly, taking a step backwards. he kept moving in that direction until he got to the end of the driveway. she turned away as he got into his car and drove off.

i watched her for a minute longer, trying to gather herself but the tears kept coming. she eventually gave up and started up the porch again.

shd walked back in the door with puffy eyes and tears streaming down her face. i walked over to her and hugged her right away, leading her back into the living room.

"what happened?"

"it's all over. he told me it was a mistake and that he's sorry. that he didn't mean for it to happen and that he never actually got with any of the girls he talked to."

"sorry that he did it or sorry that he got caught?"

"that's exactly what i was thinking."

"the point isn't that he didn't get with any of those girls, it's that he even had that app in the first place."

"i agree. i told him i never wanted to see or hear from him again. he apologized again and got into his car, driving away."

"i'm so sorry." i said. joão stood behind us. i looked at him and he gave me sad eyes, turning away and going upstairs to give her privacy. "it's getting late, why don't we settle you into the guest room?"

"okay." she nodded.

i carried her suitcases upstairs and to the guest room. i started a shower for her, hoping it will calm her down a bit and left the room.

i made some dinner and brought it up to her when she was done in the shower. i handed her the plate and went to go shower myself.

when i finished, i checked on her one more time.

"hey, how are you doing?" i asked her.

"not great." she was laying in bed already. "do you think you can stay in here for a bit. i don't want to be alone."

"yeah, of course."

i let her rant to me and i stayed until she fell asleep. it was super late when i returned to my room. joão was in bed but still awake.

"hey." he smiled.

"hi." i climbed into bed and layed on the edge. he scooted closer, trying to pull me to him but i pushed him away.

"what's wrong?"

"nothing."

"come on, i know you. talk to me."

"i don't know, lina's situation is getting to my head."

"just know, i would never do that to you. ever. do you trust me?"

"i know, i know. i'm sorry. of course i trust you."

"then take my word for it." i scooted closer to him, putting my head on his chest while he played with my hair until i fell asleep.

-

a few days had passed, i had spent every waking moment with lina. she needed a friend and i was willing to be there for her. i even helped her look for an apartment to move into.

we haven't found the right one yet though, but we were going out tomorrow to see some in person. maybe we'd find luck there.

joão was home earlier after practice, but he went back out for a meeting. he texted me saying he had to talk to me about something.

he walked through the door to our room, where i was sitting on the bed.

"hey," i turned off the tv, giving him my full attention. "what's up? your text seemed serious."

"well, at my meeting, we talked about the club transfer. it looks like we might be moving sooner than i had anticipated."

"how soon?" i asked.

"like two weeks soon." he spoke.

"do you know where?"

"possibly chelsea. the club is in london."

"shit. i still haven't told lina." i realized.

"oh. i can talk to her for you, if you want?"

"no, i have to. i'll do it tomorrow while we're out looking for apartments." i said.

-

hey guys, i think this book is going to end soon. there might only be a few chapters left. i'm thinking of writing something new about other football players, i'll probably upload the first chapter of that sometime next week :)