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Eventually she didn't tell him anything.
Instead she told him she'd love to see him the next day. Maybe they could talk then. "Sure Kaylie," Julian replied coolly. Before they exchanged goodbyes, Kaylie spoke again.
"You know, there is something huge bothering me right now," she admitted, "but you're making it feel a lot less lighter on my shoulders, Julian."
Her words not only put a smile on Julian's lips, but on her own as well. She wasn't lying. Talking to him always made her feel at ease; free from her own disheveled troubles. In fact his very existence in her life right then, only gave her so much contentment.
"If I could go to where you are right now, I'd give you a big hug and probably never let go," he told her. She smiled. He just had to prove what she was thinking.
"Truth be told," he continued. "You made my night too."
At those words she could feel her face heating up. "Anyway I guess you should get some rest," he said before she could respond. "Yeah," she mumbled. She was lying down, her head comfortable on the pillow and her body wrapped under multiple blankets.
"You too," Kaylie pulled the sheets closer. The heaters didn't seem to be working that night. Yet the warm, fuzzy feeling inside of her was almost sufficient to keep her from freezing to death. But she liked the feeling. A lot.
"Goodnight Kaylie," Julian breathed. Like there was ambiance he wanted to create between them. Like her name meant something dear to him. Like he wanted his words to brush her gently on the face and tug at her heart strings.
And maybe that's exactly what it did. Because for the first time in weeks, she fell asleep with a wide smile stuck across her face.
--
The first thing Giovani noticed when Julian sauntered into the locker room was how he was beaming from ear to ear, like some kind of Cheshire cat. His eyes were glued onto his phone, and he didn't even notice Giovani watching him.
"What's up with you?" Giovani threw an empty bottle at Julian, striking him rather forcefully on the shoulder. Only then did he look up, his forehead creased into a frown. "Ouch?" He exclaimed, both surprise and pain distinguishable in his tone.
"Care to show me the girl you hooked up with yesterday night?" Giovani tackled Julian into his arms, trying to shove his face into the German's phone. "Piss off!" Julian shouted, laughing as he tried to free himself from Giovani's grip.
Giovani let him go eventually before crossing his arms over his chest. "You're not going to show me?" He continued teasing. Julian rolled his eyes. He hurriedly pulled out his shirt and shorts, and stuffed his bag into his locker.
"You're hilarious Gio," he said, peeling off his clothes and replacing them with training gear. "What did you do last night then?" Giovani asked, giving him a questioning look. But instead of an answer, Julian just shrugged.
He closed his locker and began heading for the door. "Who says I did anything last night?" Julian said as Giovani followed after him. The latter raised an eyebrow. They passed Presnel Kimpembe and Adrien Rabiot on the way out, exchanging the usual greetings.
"You know what," Giovani eventually said as they walked onto the field, "fine." Giovani pouted jokingly. He'd let it go for now. But both he and Julian knew he would pester Julian again. Which Julian didn't mind. Because Julian did plan on telling Giovani about Kaylie. Just not yet.
"Anyway did you hear about what happened to Kevin's girlfriend?"
Julian remembered Kevin mentioning it. "She got into an accident," Julian nodded. Giovani ran a hand through his hair, "poor girl. I hope her memory comes back one day."
That he didn't know. And the look on his face was enough for Giovani to understand. "You didn't know?" He stopped walking, causing Julian to halt too. When Julian shook his head Giovani pursed his lips together.
"Okay at least when he does tell you, you'll be prepared," he said, grasping Julian's arm as he beckoned for the German to start walking again. "Wait you've never met her have you?" Giovani continued talking.
Julian didn't reply. He was finally piecing together Kevin's change of behavior as it all finally made sense. "She comes by here a lot, actually. Speaking of which, there she is," the Argentinian pointed to a figure standing by the car park.
It took a moment for the German to see what Giovani was seeing. When he finally laid his eyes on her however, he could practically feel his heart drop.
