Back to us | Alexia Putellas

Right.

As soon as I said those two words, the atmosphere between the two of us changed. Ale took a moment before responding.

"I want to kiss you more than anything right now" She breathed, her arm still tightly wrapped around my shoulder and her eyes never leaving mine.

"Then kiss me..." I pleaded.

"I don't think that now is the right time Isy, you're upset and in pain, I want you to be sure about this. I don't want you to regret it" she explained quietly.

I didn't know what to say, it's not what I wanted to hear, but she was right. As much as I wanted to feel close to her again, now probably wasn't the right time.

"Ok" I mumbled, my eyes leaving hers.

I didn't pull away from her, instead I rested my head on her shoulder and closed my eyes. Neither of us said anything, we just sat there in silence for a while, taking in the moment. I didn't know what this meant for us... all I knew is that it felt right.

"I've missed you Ale" I whispered.

Just as Alexia opened her mouth to respond, the locker room door swung open and the team came flooding in. We quickly separated and the moment was over.

After going to see my parents in the stands and reassuring them a hundred times that I was ok, it was time to get back onto the coach. We were travelling back to Barcelona tonight so it was going to be a long few hours of travelling.

I was one of the last people on the coach, deciding to sit on my own near the front so I didn't have to struggle down the aisle with my crutches. I collapsed into the seat nearest the window, exhausted from the events of the day. As I was looking out of the window, watching the city that I called home pass by, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Ale 🥰

I've missed you too Isy

Thank you for being there today Ale, it really helped

Can I give you a lift home? You really shouldn't drive with your ankle

Yeah, that would be great

I could have told her that I hadn't driven to the airport and was planning on getting a taxi home, but I didn't. Getting a lift home from Ale didn't sound like such a bad idea right now

By the time that I had struggled up the stairs onto the plane, I was exhausted. I found my seat, which was near the front and sat down, putting my crutches to the side. I rested my head on the back of the seat, closed my eyes and let out a deep breath, my ankle was still throbbing and it was becoming harder to ignore.

I must have fallen asleep almost immediately after getting on the plane as the next thing I knew we were about to land in Barcelona. The captain announcing our imminent arrival waking me from my sleep. Once we landed we all began to make our way into the terminal.

I was stood with Mapi as we waited for our luggage to be delivered from the plane, which was seeming to take forever.

"How's your ankle Is?" Mapi asked as she looked down at my leg that was now in a protective boot.

"Painful, but hopefully it'll be ok in a few weeks. It just sucks that it happened in my first game back"

"That's good then, but don't rush back to quickly. We need you fully fit for when the champions league starts" Mapi smiles, before she looks over my shoulder at something.
"Here she comes... your guardian angel" She joked.

I looked over my shoulder to see who she's talking about, and saw Alexia walking towards us, wheeling two bags behind her.

"Ay dios mio Mapi, shut up" Alexia mumbles as she rolls her eyes.

"What do you mean? my guardian angel?" I asked, slightly confused by the comment.

"She was the first one over to you when you went down, practically sprinted the length of the field to get there, she never left your side either. Like I said, she's your guardian angel" Mapi laughed.

That answered my question about how long Alexia had been there.

"I've always wanted a guardian angel" I mumbled.

Alexia quickly changed the subject "Mapi, why don't you go and help Ingrid with your bags" she said, gesturing towards the norwegian.

"Ok, whatever you say captain" Mapi joked as she began to walk away.

Alexia watched her as she walked away before turning back to look at me
"I've got your bag, shall we get going before she comes back?"

"Yeah, lets go"

We slowly began to make our way to the exit. Slowly as I still hadn't got used to the crutches and Alexia was dragging two large suitcases behind her. We finally got to Alexia's car, which was different to the one she used to have, it was a much newer model. She unlocked the car and opened the boot before she began loading the bags.

"You go and get in, this will only take me a minute" she said gesturing towards the passenger side door.

"Thank you Ale" I smiled as I made my way towards the front of the car.

I opened the car door and lowered myself into the seat, before lifting my injured leg into the car. I was thinking about what to do with my crutches when Alexia appeared at my side, taking them from me and placing them onto the back seat.

"You really are my guardian angel" I mumbled under my breath

"What did you say?" Alexia asked as she came back to close my door

"Oh nothing, never mind"

Once Alexia had climbed into the drivers seat, she pulled out of the airport carpark and began the journey back into the city, which was about a 30 minute drive. We didn't say much to begin with, neither of us really knowing how to start the conversation again.

As we got closer to the city, I could see that Ale had something that she wanted to say, she kept opening her mouth like she was about to start talking, but no words escaped her lips. Just as I was about to start the conversation, she opened her mouth again... this time the words finally came out.

"Is it ok if we stop and pick up Nala from my mums? you don't have to come inside, i'll just run in and get her..."

"Yes! Oh I can't wait, I've missed her so much" I agreed almost immediately.

"She's missed you too"

As Alexia parked in the driveway of her mother's house, the memories came flooding back. The conversation we had the first time I came here replaying in my mind.

Flashback

As we were sat in the car before heading inside to meet Eli for the first time my nerves were all over the place.

"What if she doesn't like me Ale? What if I mess this up?" I mumbled nervously as my knee bounced up and down.

"She'll love you cariño, I promise..." Alexia reassured me as she placed her hand on my thigh to stop my bouncing leg

"You don't know that Ale..."

"I do."

"How? How do you know that?" I snapped. I was panicking, my heart almost beating out of my chest.

Alexia lifted her hand from my thigh and placed it on my cheek as she used the other one to brush a strand of hair away from my face.

"Because I love you Isy" She smiled as she moved her face closer to mine, placing a loving kiss on my lips before pulling me close into her chest.