Make It or Break It

Chapter Thirty: Being Parted

Riley swallowed as she slowly dressed for the day, today was the first day that she would be separated from Fernando as he headed to play in the Euros with his national team.

The brunette was seven weeks pregnant and there was a chance that she wouldn’t see Fernando until the tournament was over, something that made her nervous; she didn’t like the fact that she would be alone without him.

“Riley,” Fernando murmured as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and held her close, he hated that he had to leave her behind but he was playing for his country and wanted to make her proud of him.

“I’m going to miss you,” Fernando said softly as he hugged her, he knew that this wasn’t going to be easy but he planned on calling her every chance that he got and he knew that it would go by quickly.

Riley nodded her head as she smiled softly and pressed a kiss to his lips, she didn’t want their final moments together to be sad and they still had to go to the airport yet.

“I’ll miss you too,” Riley whispered as she pulled back from Fernando, she wasn’t sure how the next couple of weeks were going to be but she was sure that no matter what she would be proud of him.

The brunette had work to do in London and it was the only reason she was remaining there while Fernando flew out for the Euros.

Roman was currently deciding on what would happen now with Richard and Riley knew that if he did sack her father then there was a chance that he would fire her as well; it didn’t matter that Chelsea had won FA Cup and the Champions League that season.

“We better get going,” Fernando said as he watched his girlfriend as she finished getting ready, he needed to leave now otherwise he would miss his flight and wouldn’t be able to walk away from her and the children.

***

“Be good for your madre,” Fernando said as he hugged Nora and Aiden, he knew that he wouldn’t be seeing them any time soon and he hoped to see Aiden on his third birthday on the 24th of June.

Aiden was two weeks older than Nora and the two were so close that people now thought that they were twins, something that amused Fernando and Riley because they weren’t.

“We will,” Nora said as she clung to her father, she hated when he went away and no matter what the time was, it would never be easy without her father around.

Riley swallowed as she watched Fernando with the children, she knew that this wasn’t easy on any of them and she doubted that it ever would be; it was one of the few downsides of dating a footballer.

“I’ll call every night,” Fernando said softly as he pulled back from Aiden and Nora, he hated to leave but he knew that there was no other way right now.

Vicente del Bosque had made it clear that families weren’t welcome at the tournament until the later stages and there was no way around it; Fernando knew that he wanted to have his family by his side as soon as possible.

“Okay,” Aiden whimpered as he continued to cling to Fernando, he had never really experienced this before and the footballer felt his heart aching.

With his career, Fernando was usually gone maybe a night or two during the season with Riley traveling with the team and the children staying at Richard’s place now.

However Fernando was going to be gone for at least two weeks and it was clear going to be a lot harder this time and the footballer knew that he would have another baby coming in January of the coming year.

Pressing a kiss to the top of Aiden’s head, Fernando held him close for a moment longer knowing that while Joseph had never been around much; Aiden wasn’t used to any of this because of that fact.

Riley carefully moved to take Aiden from her boyfriend, she knew that he wouldn’t let go if she didn’t do something; she offered Fernando a weak smile as she picked the two year old up.

Nora hugged her father before she stepped back and hugged Riley’s legs, she hated that her father was going away and she hoped that he would be back soon.

Fernando took a shaky breath as he stared at his family, he didn’t know if he could walk away but he knew that he needed to get on that plane; he had already told the national team that he would be there.

“Nando we’ll be fine,” Riley said as she tried to reassure him, she wished that she could go with him but it wasn’t possible plus they would be meeting up in Madrid in a couple of weeks for a holiday and to relax before the season started back up.

Fernando nodded knowing that he was going to miss them, his mind raced knowing that past few weeks hadn’t been easy and they were only just being able to relax a little.

***

Sergio Ramos smiled as he looked at his best friend, he knew that Fernando had been through a lot the last few months; so when he had offered to pick his friend up from the airport he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Fernando smiled back at him, he was already missing Riley and the children even if he had only just landed in Madrid; he felt uneasy knowing he wouldn’t see them for a while.

“You look good… better than I expected,” Sergio said as he eyed Fernando, he had heard all about his friend’s divorce and he had heard whispers of a new romance but he didn’t want to believe rumours until he had spoken to his friend.

Fernando chuckled as he nodded his head, he knew that a lot of his friends had been worrying about him especially since the press seemed to have a field day about his divorce and the fact that he had moved on with his life.

Olalla was his past and she always would be now, he had no intentions of returning to that part of his life not when he had such a bright future now with Riley.

“How have you been?” Sergio asked knowing that things couldn’t have been easy for him, Fernando had lost his wife to another man and learnt about her horrible treatment to Nora.

Fernando shouldered his bag as they started to leave the airport, he knew that his friend worried for him and he was glad he had friends like Sergio.

“I’ve been good… Riley’s amazing,” Fernando said smiling fondly at the thought of his girlfriend back home in London, he couldn’t wait to tell Sergio all about her and their little surprise.

The footballer was excited to be a father again and he knew that whatever was going to happen next was just going to be perfect. Sergio raised an eyebrow at his friend, he had heard the rumours and hadn’t been sure what to make of Fernando moving on so quickly from his divorce.

“There’s somewhere I need to go… do you mind?” Fernando asked as they reached Sergio’s car, he had something that he needed to get and he needed to do it before they went to the team hotel.

Sergio nodded his head warily as he looked at his friend, he could see that Fernando was planning something and it worried him just what he might be planning.

“Don’t look so worried… I’ll explain on the way,” Fernando said waving his friend off as he put his bag into the back seat before climbing into the passenger side; he needed to go and see his father who had something special that Fernando had asked for the last time they had seen one another.