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Kevin had let Kaylie sleep in his guest bedroom. He had mentioned something about normally we'd just sleep together but she pretended not to hear.
She couldn't sleep that night, tossing and turning restlessly on the bed. There was so much on her mind. Eventually she gave up, and reached for her phone. Kaylie decided she wanted to talk to her mother. Maybe she could lift her mood.
It was 2 a.m. in the morning. But she decided to call anyway, on the off chance her mother was having a late night. Surprisingly, it only took two rings before the line clicked.
"Hey Mom, it's Kaylie," she ran a hand through her hair, smiling instinctively. However the voice that greeted her sounded nothing like her mother. "Kaylie?" He said before laughing.
Kaylie gasped when she saw the name on her screen. "Julian! Gosh I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized.How had she accidentally pressed on Julian's number? Fatigue was to blame for this, she was positive."Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry," she silently cursed herself.
"You didn't, actually!" He responded, much to her surprise. "I was making supper," the sound of metal against ceramic in the background seemed to reiterate his statement. "Isn't that like unhealthy for people like you?" She quipped.
She heard him hesitate, before replying, "no..."
"You're funny," she joked with a laugh. But it was a soft one, not wanting to disturb Kevin in the next room. Kevin.
Suddenly, her thoughts drifted to Kevin. Should she really be talking to Julian like this? Should she even be talking to him at all? Would she be jeopardizing their relationship? What would Kevin even-
"Kaylie," Julian's voice snapped her back into reality. "Look I don't mean to be intrusive but there's something bothering you isn't there? I could see it from the practically the moment we met." As he spoke, Kaylie's mouth fell agape.
Here was this boy, who she barely knew, who could read her like a book. And he wasn't even trying. "You're hiding something behind that smile," Julian said, "and I just want you to know that you can talk to me about it."
Julian spoke wholeheartedly, earnestly meaning every word he uttered. She could hear it, the distinct sound of unfeigned sincerity. She almost gave in right there, right then. But she knew she couldn't. Not for his sake, not for Kevin's.
"But I hardly know you," she responded cheekily instead. "We can change that!" He exclaimed, albeit in a hushed tone. And so that was how Julian Draxler, on an otherwise bleak and quiet hour of the morning, ended up telling Kaylie all about himself.
She listened in awe, as he recounted his childhood in Gelsenkirchen and adventures in Wolfsburg. It was amazing hearing him rave about those days. Honestly she envied how happy he sounded as he told her his stories.
Those memories he had, and the way he narrated them with such enthusiasm. She wanted that, too.
"That's how I ended up in Paris," Julian ended his sentence with a satisfied sigh. This earned a giggle from Kaylie, "what a life you had."
"Can't be any better than yours right?" He smiled. Though she couldn't see it, his tone said it all. A kind smile, one that would make anyone want to smile right back at the sight of. Of course Kaylie however, couldn't.
Because she couldn't remember anything.
"Actually I was wondering," she tried steering away from the topic, "say you've lost all your memory of your past. What would be the one memory you would never want to lose?"
Julian raised an eyebrow, "that's an oddly specific question." Kaylie laughed, "but you gotta answer it! I want to know." Honestly, Julian didn't even have to think of an answer. Hearing her laughter and the ever present joy in her voice, he already knew.
When he finally answered, Kaylie's heart skipped a beat. "Falling in love."
For a moment there was silence between them. Not the awkward kind. But the silence where one could tell the other was biting their lip sheepishly and their cheeks rapidly heating up. "I thought you'd say score a goal or something!" She broke the silence.
Julian laughed, "that I can do again any time. But falling in love..." His voice trailed off as he began fiddling with his fingers. "Listen, Kaylie-"
She knew what was coming. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't talk about feelings. Not right now. So she hastily searched for an excuse to dodge the topic.
"Julian!" She exclaimed, "It's already 4:30! How did time fly so fast? You should sleep, don't you have training tomorrow?"
He looked at his own clock and gasped when he saw the time. He didn't realize they had been talking for that long. "But you haven't told me about yourself," he said, not wanting the night to end.
A sad smile appeared on her lips. That's because I don't know myself either.
