It Was You All Along (An Iker Casillas Story)

Chapter 4: Missing Out

Iker. It came from somewhere deep within me and the moment I said it out loud, time slowed down. I found myself losing my thoughts in the brown eyes that were looking back at mine. Slowly, I witnessed the twinkle in his eye as I said his name. His lips curving up towards his eyes reveal teeth washed with strong coffee. He reached out his hand in search of mine. The touch of his hands on the outside of my hand, the rough feeling brought by his touch, jolted me back to reality. He saw the sudden change in my body as I turned from being comfortable in his presence to being a stiff stranger.

I tore my gaze from him and half-ran to the kitchen where I'm sure Aunt Dolores and Aunt Rosa would be. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest as I skidded through the kitchen floor and saw Aunt Rosa making tea while Aunt Dolores was placing cookies and biscuits in a tray.

“Oh my, Mina.” Aunt Dolores said after she looked up and saw me breathing rather heavily. “Are you okay, my dear?”

Before I was even able to nod, the smooth voice came from behind me.

“She does look like she's seen a ghost, hasn't she Auntie?” I didn't need to turn around to figure out that the voice came from Iker.

“Ah Iker, maybe you're the one who scared her!” Aunt Rosa said before chuckling.

“Do I look like a ghost to you?” Iker answered. I turned around just in time to see him making a puppy face at my aunts' direction.

“Yes.” Aunt Dolores replied before adding, “But don't you worry. You make a very handsome ghost.” She winked at Iker and all three of them started chuckling all the way to the living room.

I felt heavy and couldn't move an inch. My breathing started to become heavy again. What is this? What the hell is happening? I asked myself.

I inched my way into the living room where three individuals sat together chuckling away in front of a tray of cookies and cups of tea. My eyes were glued into Iker's gray shirt. He was clearly comfortable in laying back against the sofa as Aunt Dolores told a story of how she first baked cookies. I crept slowly towards the flight of stairs. Something is not right with this picture. I told myself. Seeing my aunts interact so comfortably and cheerfully with the crazy man left me with an ocean of questions. Questions that I can't even understand. Questions I'm afraid might not even hold an answer. What the fuck is happening? I screamed in my head. I felt my foot bang against the first step of the stairs.

“Mina, are you okay?” I heard my Aunt Rosa ask me.

I nodded and looked at my feet. I felt a lightness in my head as I took the first step. I heard someone stand up and felt a hand guiding me.

“Let me help you,” whispered Iker to my ear. Hearing his voice and feeling his face against mine, I brushed him off and darted a few steps forward.

“I don't need your help,” I hissed as aggressivly as I could but in my current state, it came off as a mere whisper.

I felt his hand let go. Seeing an opening, I used all my energy to run towards my room and shut the white door as hard as I could. I plummeted into my bed as a sweaty, heaving and confused wreck. Questions ran into my head making me feel worse. I decided to try and let go of the moment, of the world, of Iker and my aunts, of Spain and of my confusion. As I laid down in my bed the afternoon sun shone on my face. I closed my eyes as the light blinded me. Feeling tired and sick, I fell asleep.