You Before Me |Neymar Jr.|

Chapter 38

Natalia's POV

I stared at the snowglobe in my hands. It had been exactly a week since Elliot passed away. I didn't know how to feel. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. There was only so much I could do to get my mind off of things. Every morning I ran a 5k to get my mind off of things. I then sent messages to Tuchel asking him to send me any work he had. He assumed it was because I was bored at home without the boys. My parents had tried to contact me. I wondered if I learned the news first or if they had. I didn't really car because of what they did to my brother. The snowglobe in my hands was a gift from him. The first time I came to Paris was with him. I think that's why the city has such a big place in my heart. This snowglobe was one of the few things I had left of him. The rest was at my parents house. Somewhere I had vowed never to return to. I watched sadly as the glittering flakes swirled in a flurry around the Eiffel Tower. 

I hurried to answer a call that came from my phone. 

"Hey Ney," I greeted. 

"That rhymes," he replied. 

"Wow no 'Hello Natalia how are you today'," I sighed. 

"Sorry querida (sweetie),"he apologized, but I could hear the humor in his voice. I rolled my eyes at the nickname. 

"What's up?"

"I'm at the airport. Can you come get me?" he asked. 

"What am I your chauffeur?" I shot back, grabbing a baby blue sweatshirt. 

"yes, I already know you're getting ready to leave. You can't wait to see me," he snickered, I could almost see his smirk. 

"I'll see you in 15," I said, ending the call. I hurried to comb my hair and apply concealer to hide the deathly gucci eye bags under my eyes. I wiggled into a pair of dark blue jeans and pulled on my tan Uggs. My hair was pulled up into a scraggly bun. I opened the door only to find it raining. Again. Guess I'm making a run for it. I thought it would be cloudy but it was still pouring rain. Neymar might have to make it 20 minutes. I quickly got into the car. Water sprayed from the cars in front of me as I made my way to the airport. My windshield wipers were on highspeed, rushing to push away the water. I parked in front of the private section and texted him asking if he could just come out while I waited at the curb. I didn't want to park and run to get him. Of course, he didn't respond. I quickly found a parking spot and put on the blue hood. I ran to the overhang and into the airport. My hurried footsteps echoed through the empty airport. I flashed my FBI ID and entered the gated baggage claim area. My heart raced as I thought of seeing Neymar after almost 2 weeks. I could heart loud voices laughing and talking. 

"NATALIA!" I heard Dani shout. I looked to my side to see someone running towards me. A sharp breath left my body as someone rammed into my side, taking me down. I held out my hands to the side to brace myself. My elbow bent into an awkward position, making me yelp in pain. 

"I missed you sooo much," Dani said, shaking me by my elbows. 

"Ok, ok, that's enough," a voice said. I looked up to see Neymar, narrowing his eyes at Dani. I quickly got up off the floor, wrapping my arms around Neymar. I heard him chuckle, his chest vibrating as he put his arms around me. I felt tears spring in my eyes as I the realization of how much I missed him finally hit me. He rubbed my back soothingly, as if he knew something was off. 

"Hey Natalia," Kimpembe said, coming up behind Neymar. I let go of him and went to hug the rest of the boys. 

"Oh gosh, I need a shower and a looong nap," Julian complained as we walked down to the parking long. I stiffened as I felt an arm snake around my shoulders. My muscles relaxed as the familiar scent of Neymar's cologne hit me. I felt at peace knowing he was there, it was quite odd. 

"Ah shit," he mumbled, seeing the rain pouring. I giggled at his reaction. 

"Been like this for 4 days."

"Where'd you park?" he asked, making a face. 

"Second row, 3rd spot."

"Not bad," he nodded, pulling on the hoodie of his black Paris sweatshirt. 

"Race you," he smirked, taking off before I could respond. I shouted my goodbyes to the boys as I dashed to the car. When I got there, Neymar was standing there with an uncomfortable look on his face. 

"Should've asked for the keys first," he grimaced. I laughed, unlocking the car. I was driving of course. The sound of the rain was muffled in the car as we sat, the heat seeping through the back of the seat. Perks of luxury cars. 

"So, what've you been up to?" Neymar asked, rubbing his hands together for warmth. 

"Not much," I shrugged, pulling out of the parking lot. 

"So how was it?" I asked, referring to the champions league final.

"You already know," he grinned. But the truth was I didn't. I had completely forgotten about the final after the events that unfolded. I didn't bother to check either and the guilt was eating away at me. 

"Yeah I know but like what was it really like."

"That goal I scored in the second half was amazing," he sighed, leaning back in his seat. I hummed in agreement, a smile on my face knowing he was happy with himself. I could feel his gaze on me as I drove into the garage. He got out and took out his suitcase befoer following me up the steps into the kitchen. I quickly made some pancakes for us while he changed and freshened up. 

"Here you go," I smiled, sliding a plate towards him. 

"Ooh, look at you cooking up a storm," he smiled. 

"Oh you know, I decided to try my hand at it after having nothing else to do."

"So no school work either?"

"A bit but only 12 days till I graduate so it's lowkey chill."

"Nice."

I sat down across from him at the kitchen island and started eating. I hadn't eaten since the eggs I had made for lunch yesterday and now it was almost 4. 

"Natalia," Neymar said, his voice holding a different tone. He had set his plate aside, pulling his chair closer to the counter. I hummed in response, chewing my pancakes and looking at him expectantly. He took my plate and utensils and put them aside as well. I made a noise of protest and gave him a confused look. No one steals my pancakes. He looked right into my eyes before speaking.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, not caring that I had food in my mouth. He gave me a deadpanned look. 

"You know what I mean."

"Um, not really?"

"Natalia. I didn't score in the second half of the game," he said. I stopped chewing and swallowed. Shit. I walked right into that one. 

"What are you talking about?" I laughed nervously. 

"I scored the first 5 minutes of the game and that was the only goal of the whole final. You didn't watch the match."

I sighed, looking down at the granite counter. 

"What's wrong?"

I almost laughed. What's wrong? Funny you ask that because everything. Everything is fucking wrong. I took a deep breath, feeling the tears resurface. 

"I don't want to talk about it," I whispered. 

"Querida, talk to me," he said, grabbing my hand. "I'm here."

The look of comfort on his face was all that it took before I burst into sobs.