Football One Shots

Sacrifice (Danny Welbeck) {PART 2}

“I guess that’s just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up.”

-Lauren Oliver, Delirium

Alex clutched the envelope in his hand, staring at it. There was nothing special about it, just a piece of paper that was torn easily, simply burned in a few flicks, crumpled in a few seconds—but Alexander Mark David Oxlade-Chamberlain could not do this.

Why, you ask?

It was addressed in swirly cursive to a le Monsieur Danny Welbeck. It had x's and o's on the edges. When you see this at first, you'd think it'd be a love letter of some sort; to Alex, it was a tedious, vicious thing.

He had preserved it for a year, when the strongest woman he had ever met gave him it, passed on the responsibility to him, because she trusted him. She wanted him to give it to Danny instead of her doing it alone, she couldn't bring herself to it.

"Alex?"

 

"Yes, Madilyn?" Alex looked up from his book and put it down to turn his attention to Madilyn.

Madilyn had invited him over for their expected last tea together, a day before Danny's kidney transplant. She was well-informed that she was to face her death the following day, and so she asked to be with Alex to tell him exactly everything and the only few things she asked of him.

"Alex...." she began slowly. "Um..."

"Whatever is it, Madilyn? I'll do anything, just ask." he tried to offer a friendly smile through the pitch black unpleasant atmosphere.

"I—I know I'm going to pass away tomorrow, and—"

"You're not going to die, Madilyn. You've got to keep hope. God sends miracles, and you're the one that most deserves one."

Alex took hold of her delicate small hand and soothed her. It was obvious, seriously positive about her passing away, but he wanted to believe in the small fib he'd spun.

"No. You're a great friend, though you don't always speak truthfully. What I'm saying is, remember the time  told you I 'kinda' liked Danny?"

"Yeah?"

Well, he knew particularly clearly knew what she was going to say next. She was going to tell him how she loved Danny, his teammate, and she needed him to pass on her message and blah blah blah...

"Um...I really don't know what to say. I think I like Danny—hence why agreed to be the donor, yeah.....and I need you to give Danny this envelope after the transplant."

"It's fine," agreed Alex, "I'll do it."