Erik sat at the edge of Hanne's bed, overlooking her lie in bed.
He had woke up with her this morning after having done nothing sensual the night before. To put it in a simple way, he had come over to comfort her and ended up staying the night.
Now close to noon, Hanne was still in her bed, no word coming from her own lips. When Erik woke up this morning, she told him that she felt sick, so like a good boyfriend, he left her to rest while he made her breakfast—waffles and strawberries— and brought it to her.
And that is when he realized she was in no way "sick".
The smartest, most beautiful and important person in his life was sprawled out in her own bed, her face buried in her pillow. Can you imagine that? The greatest person you know-and when I say "the greatest person," I mean that you basically worship them-not being productive at all. Just laying there, not even sleeping.
Well, that wasn't the case for Erik, for he was much more concerned about Hanne. The girl wouldn't usually skip work even if it was for her life, but for some reason, today was an exception.
"Hanne," he said for the umpteenth time today. "I know you're not sick, but can you just talk to me? I'm not mad or anything, I just want to talk."
Still, he received no response from her.
Maybe he sounded a bit like a parent, which he thought sounded demanding. So he tried again.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and scooted closer to her. "Hanne, liebe, do you want to talk about it? I'm always here if you need to."
And he was always there for her. Literally.
It didn't matter if they were out on the pitch, in different cities, or even in two different countries. He would always be there for her. She could just walk up to him or text him, and he would answer her for whatever she needed whether it be a question or a need for comfort. If she needed him physically, he would be there.
Now he was here, wanting to help her. Even if he had to wait here at the edge of her bed for her to say at least something, he will.
"Hanne? If you want, I can go—"
"No," she mumbled from her face in the pillow. The first word he's heard from her today in person. "Don't go."
She sat up in bed, her hair unruly, and her eyes looking as tired as if they haven't slept at all. She looked pained, like something terrible happened and her entire life was now crumbling down. Truly, she was a mess. More a mess than Erik has ever seen her.
A look of shock and distress was on his face as he saw her run her fingers through her hair. Yes, he was already upset that Hanne hasn't been feeling her best lately but seeing this just made him more disheartened. "Meine Güte, Hanne have you been awake all night?"
She rubbed her eyes. "Ja."
"Why? You look absolutely tired! Didn't this come off as a bad idea to you?" Erik didn't want to sound disappointed in her choices because he cared about her. He didn't want to sound like this and make her feel offended or even attacked just because of his tone of voice. As he opened his mouth to speak again, thinking about the way his words were arranged and how he should sound to console a forlorn twenty year old woman before she spoke.
"Well, I tried to sleep. Tried. I keep tossing and turning over and over again, by the time it was midnight, I still wasn't asleep. I kept thinking too much."
"Thinking about what?"
"Everything! I don't know if you know, but my life is totally shit right now. There is so much pressure at work, everyone thinks I'm a bitch, and I feel like a depressed teenager faking being ill just to stay in bed because she wished she would never have to leave her bed."
