dangerous love | erling haaland and jadon sancho

2 | Middle

To say Jadon was annoyed was an understatement, he had been pacing around the living room for nearly twenty minutes. The team had left approximately an hour ago leaving Grace and her angry boyfriend sat in silence, they hadn't spoken a word to each other since Erling was introduced. Grace had to keep herself busy so that she wasn't distracted by what was happening, she didn't think that her previous and only lover would be in the living room of her house playing FIFA with her current partner. It was a situation that she couldn't control, but she knew she was going to have deal with it very soon.

And it was now time for that; she looked up at Jadon and gulped, she wasn't looking forward to the conversation they were about to have.

"I know your annoyed but please listen to me so I can explain!" Grace pleaded. Jadon took a deep breath; he knew there was a reason why she wanted to keep this story quiet, he slowly sat down giving her a quick nod to continue.

"I met Erling when I was sixteen, he had just played his first game for our local club. It was love at first sight; I had never felt anything like it before, I got butterflies every time I laid my eyes on him. I moved with him when he signed for Molde, we started to make a life together and then nearly two years later it was all over," Grace sobbed. It was now over a year since it had happened and it still felt very raw to her.

"He told me that he had been offered a contract with Red Bull Salzburg, a few weeks later I saw on the news that he had signed." Grace sighed. She remembered that day so clearly in her head, to see the person she trusted the most betray her. "I was so angry with him, I was angry that he had made the decision without me. For the next four months, we argued about it every day; I wasn't ready to move away from my family or my studies. But he didn't understand why I was feeling like that because he was doing the same."

Jadon exhaled, he was now starting to realise what she had been going through. He understood why she was so reserved when they first started dating.

"I was really debating whether to move with him; I spoke with my family, I spoke with his family but I just couldn't do it. We talked about it a lot over the next few months, but it always turned into an argument," Grace said, a single tear falling down her cheek. "We hadn't properly spoke for a couple of weeks, until we went to a New Year's Eve party. He was being very distant all night and then a few minutes before the clock struck midnight, he pulled me over for a chat."

Jadon moved closer towards Grace as tears started to fall rapidly down her cheeks. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her towards him for comfort. As he softly began stroking her arm, he noticed her mood change.

"Take your time Grace," Jadon quietly spoke. "I'm here for you."

"He pulled me over and broke up with me. I was in such a shock, I didn't say anything. All I wanted to do was remove myself from the situation. So, I ran; I ran so fast I didn't even turn around when I could hear him calling my name," Grace sniffled. She would remember that moment for the rest of her life. "I stayed in a different room that night, I couldn't face him. I knew that if I spoke to him, I would say something I regret. The next day he was gone, his father called me to say that he was back home and that was when I started to think. As the hours went on I realised I couldn't live without him, so I packed a bag and drove back to Bryne."

Grace paused. That day was so clear in her mind, she recalled all the details. She remembered every little feeling, from; packing her bag, driving to Bryne to the conversation she had with Erling's father. Those words were etched onto her brain for the rest of her life, no matter how many days passed she would never forgot the short conversation they shared.

"I drove straight to Erling's house, I hadn't slept or eaten in hours. I pulled up next to his drive and his car wasn't there, I assumed he wasn't home. I knocked on the door and his dad answered; he looked at me so confused, I think he was wondering why I was there. I remember I started to cry, I had kept it in all journey but I couldn't stop myself," Grace sniffled, wiping a single tear from her cheek. "I told him that I wanted to see Erling, but Alfie looked at me with sadness in his eyes. It was at that moment that I knew something was wrong; we stood in silence for the next few minutes until he told me that Erling had already left for Salzburg."

Jadon was in a state of shock, he had so many questions that he wanted to ask Erling. "So, he just left? Did he ever contact you to tell you why or apologise?"

"No," Grace sighed. "When we broke up was the final time I spoke or saw him. I kept in contact with his family because they helped me through everything, I ended up living with them for a few months to sort myself out. But one morning my family told me they were moving to Dortmund, I thought it would be a good change so I agreed to move with them. I promised myself that I would leave that chapter behind me which meant no involvement in football."

Jadon didn't say anything, he just hugged his girlfriend tighter. He knew that the best thing to do was to be there for her, he now understood the pain she had been going through.

-

Grace and Erling had been sat in silence for nearly fifteen minutes. When Jadon had told her that the Norwegian had missed training for the past two weeks, she knew there was an issue. It had also been two weeks since they had seen each other for the first time in nearly sixteen months.

"You come here to gloat about your new boyfriend?" Erling mocked. He didn't think he would see her with another man, it shocked him even more to see her dating a fellow team mate. "So, what is it Grace, you only date football players?"

"How dare you!" Grace shouted. She quickly removed herself from the bed so she was now pacing around the bedroom. "I didn't know he was a footballer when we first met; but I don't have to explain myself to you, you left me!"

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that, I handled the situation poorly. I was only thinking about myself," Erling sighed. Every day he wished that he could redo that moment; even though football meant the world to him, Grace was the only other thing in his life that meant more. "If I could take back my decision, I would. There wasn't a day that I didn't think about you."

"Why didn't you keep in contact then?" Grace breathed. She needed to hear an explanation. "If you really cared about me that much, then you wouldn't have stayed silent for sixteen months!"

"I didn't know what to say," Erling groaned. "I was overwhelmed with everything that was happening and all I needed was you there with me. I was so angry with you for not wanting to come with me that I just left, I knew that if I called you I would have said something I regret."

"If you had called me, you would have found out that I drove all the way to your house to ask to go with you!" Grace cried. She was shocked that he was so certain that she didn't want to go with him. "I woke up the next morning and realised that I wanted to move with you. So, I drove all the way to your house for Alfie to tell me you had already left! I was absolutely heartbroken."

Erling was feeling so many emotions. He didn't understand why his father didn't tell him about Grace, he knew that he must have been thinking about his career. Even though he regretted the time away from Grace, he knew that it was the best thing for both of their careers.

"Will you ever forgive me?" Erling spoke, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I wish I could take it back, leaving you was the biggest mistake I have ever made."

"You really hurt me Erling, I need more time but It's all in the past now," Grace was now stood a few steps away from the Norwegian, the hurt in his eyes was evident even in the darkly lit room.

"What happened is in the past but not how I feel, I still love you Gracie."

Erling edged closer towards her, their faces now a few millimetres apart. He gently moved his lips towards hers until they were interrupted by voices from downstairs.

"Erling I thought we were the only people in the house?"

"We are."