football | one shots

Hope > Yannick Carrasco / + YAY

"Are you saying you don't trust me?" Alice yelled angrily, her beautiful features now containing expressions of rage. But I was even more furious. Had I been in her shoes looking up at me then, I would have seen my tensed muscles and a clenched jaw trying to calm myself down.

I ran a hand through my hair, something I only did when I was insanely frustrated. "If you've sent it, why haven't they called me?" I questioned her, crossing my arms over my chest. She shook her head in reply, her eyebrows knitted together tightly, "I don't know, Yannick."

I exhaled deeply, glaring down at her. "You've been quite forgetful these past few days, haven't you?" I accused her, not thinking twice before I spoke. Alice stared at me for a few seconds before laughing sarcastically. "You really don't trust me do you?"

"Look, I'm just being -" I began, my voice sounding mocking in her ears. And so, she didn't allow me to continue. She grabbed her bag from my couch and stormed towards the door. "I've already sent it, okay? If you don't believe me that's fine," she said, not even bothering to look at me.

She walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her. I sighed, leaning against the wall for support. Millions of thoughts were racing around my head. But after a few minutes of musing, only one thought remained. Should I have gotten mad at her?

As I stared at the door, contemplating whether or not to go look for her, my phone began ringing. Without looking at the screen, I answered it monotonously.

"Hello Mr. Carrasco, this is the insurance company. We're calling to inform you we have received your letter and we'll get back to you soon."

When he spoke, guilt washed over me like rain. I was wrong. I quickly gathered my belongings, ready to search for Alice and apologize to her. As I was about to leave my phone rang again. Thinking it was the insurance company again, I hastily answered it.

But it wasn't them.

"Yannick, she's - she's been in an accident."

☁

That was two months ago. She's been in coma ever since. But I prefer to call it sleeping. My baby was merely in a deep sleep; alive but not awake. Regret has been eating me alive since that day.

Every single day I keep telling myself if only. If only I had trusted her. If only we hadn't fought. If only she had stayed. But there was no point crying over spilt milk. After a month, I was back with the team. And today, coach decided I was finally ready to start.

I sat quietly in the locker room as my teammates began preparing for the game around me. Anyone could tell I was preoccupied on my thoughts; thinking about Alice. I didn't notice when Nando approached me, taking a seat beside me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, genuine concern laced in his voice. I managed a smile in reply. "Pumped," I said. Nando smiled back, nodding slowly. We sat there in silence for a while, unsure of how to continue.

Finally, Nando spoke. "Don't lose hope, Yannick," he said, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. A small chuckle escaped my lips. "I've been hoping for two months now," I told him.

"And hope will prevail, I know it. She's such a strong woman," he stressed. I flashed him a smile, knowing that he was speaking nothing but the truth. It was heart-warming to be honest. "Now let's win this game," he patted my back, signalling me to get back on my feet. Alice would have wanted it.

☁

A rush of emotions engulfed me when the ball hit the back of the net. I froze at first, not believing my eyes. But when the fans began roaring at the top of their lungs, I knew I had done it. I had scored.

My teammates quickly surrounded me, wrapping me up in a celebratory hug. Nando ruffled my hair, shouting into my ear, "great job, Yannick."

I gave him a brief nod, and we slowly began dispersing back to our positions. I looked up at the sky. There was only one thing on my mind then. Alice. How she would have cheered when I scored, how she would have embraced me like nobody else would. How she would have kissed me.

I missed her so much. "This is for you, Alice," I whispered, hoping that the winds would carry my silent prayer to her. And maybe that was exactly what the winds did.

Because miles away in a hospital in Getafe, in a simple room where a young woman lay motionless on her bed strapped to a single machine to detect her heart rate, her father, who had been watching her all day, suddenly stood up.

"Nurse!" He called, "she's opening her eyes! Alice is waking up!"

✕

As requested by @LucyRues :) I hope you guys liked the story! Thank you so much for reading ♡

And I have a little announcement! I've already started on my first long story inspired by How Sweet > Christian Pulisic WOOHOO. Really hope you guys could check it out! Would mean so much :) Will there be more long stories? Maybeeee *wink*

Anyhow thank you again for reading, have a great day guys! ♡