PAUSE

Twenty-four

I turn on my heel and walk out the club. I can't even hear the music or the buzz of people around me. I feel a weight lifted off of me, but I know this will not make life any easier for me.

I get to the pavement and reach in my purse for my keys and suddenly remember Raz took them.

"Guardian angel strikes again," I mumble in exasperation.

I walk close to the curb to hail a taxi when someone grabs my wrist from behind.

I look back and see Trent, looking just as shocked as he looked a few minutes ago when I broke the news.

I turn to face him and wait for him to speak, since whenever I do the talking, I ruin things.

"You must have a thing for breaking my heart and just walking off," he says in frustration.

"Ten minutes ago you could care less if I dropped dead and now the thought of me nearly dying breaks your heart?" I retort , tilting my head to the side.

"Stop it, you know that what I believed was a valid reason to hate you like I did," he argues.

I sigh, "You're right, but I have no one to blame but myself," I shrug, looking up at him and his previously tense face softens as he sees the tears brimming my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Trent."

He hesitantly pulls me into a hug, and as I rest my head on his shoulder, I see Raheem, Walker, and nearly the whole Liverpool squad push their way out the front door.

I pull away and the footballers spot us on the sidewalk.

I look up at Trent again and ask, "Well, what do we do now?"

_______________________________________

Now, I have to fix what I broke.

I woke up the next morning in the Sterling guest bedroom with a massive hangover.

"Fucksake," I mumble, clutching my head.

I walk down to see if anyone was up and ran into Paige in the hallway.

"Babes," I whisper, "do you have anything for a hangover?"

She looks at me and laughs, "Rough one, eh?"

I nod my head yes but instantly regret it, wincing in pain.

Paige walks into the bathroom and reaches into the medicine cabinet, handing me two pills.

"Raheem told me what happened, how are you feeling about everything?" she asks with a look of concern.

"Well, Trent agreed to come over mine later today and talk about everything. I don't expect it to change anything. I fucked up royally Paige," I say before going in the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water.

"You shouldn't be so negative, you know. It could work out for the best," she tries to reason with me.

"I rather not get my hopes up, I'll get my heart broken again by being unrealistic," I shrug.

"You are so dramatic, you know that? I hope it's not genetic, or else my kids don't stand a chance," she rolls her eyes and walks off.

"As soon as my brain stops throbbing, we're fighting," I end up whispering because a decibel higher would've caused my head to pop.

__________

Several hours later, Raheem drops me off at my flat and Trent is already waiting in his car outside.

"Good luck cuz," Raz daps me and I hop out, feeling like I'm about to face my own execution.

Trent gets out and follows me up to my door.

I let him in without a word and just sit on the couch, facing him where he's seated across from me.

"So..." I start, he looks at me expectantly.

Here we go.

__________________

I tell Trent every detail, from the moment I hit the floor in Raheem's kitchen, to the moment I walked out of his house after lying to him and his whole family.

"...I don't know what happened. After I woke up in the hospital, I just didn't feel like myself. It was an out of body experience. When your mom was hurling insults at me, I felt nothing, I was completely numb at that point. After dealing with what I went through with Travis, with the lawsuit, with the media, and then the miscarriage, I just felt like I didn't deserve you or some happy family. I was broken Trent, the doctor said I wasn't thinking straight because of the hormones but to me, I'm still responsible for my actions. I should have reached out and been honest with you, so for that I apologize. I have no expectation of you taking me back after this or forgiving men, but I just had to tell you the truth," I finish after what feels like ages of speaking.

I finally look up to see him just staring at me, expressionless.

"If you have anything to see, be my guest, I can take it," I continue.

"I definitely planned to come here, hear you out, and be completely unmoved," he starts and I prepare for the worst, "but unfortunately, I still care about you."

I try to close my currently open mouth.

He lets out a small chuckle, "Don't look so fucking shocked, I said I loved you, didn't I?"

I close my mouth and try to hold back a smile as I look down at my hands.

"That's why I was so pissed when I saw you, because I missed you every fucking day after you walked out of that door, even the night you left. You were my friend before you were my girlfriend."

Oof, that one hurts to hear.

He gets up from his chair and joins me on the couch, "Now I'm not saying things are going back to normal right away but if you ever want to be anything more, you've got to start telling me the truth. I don't know why you think you're protecting me from everything by lying. If it hurts you, it hurts me, and you've got to believe that," he looks me directly in the eyes.

I give a small smile while blinking back tears, "Okay."

Trent pulls me into his arms and gives me a kiss on the forehead, then looks down at me, "Okay is all you have to say?" he chuckles.

"Your mom is going to be pissed," I say, and he rolls his eyes.

"Oh my days..." he feigns annoyance.

"And what's this I hear about Dua Lipa?

"Oh fuck off," he scoffs, getting up and walking into the kitchen.

"One kiss is all it takes?" I continue, following behind him.

"Oi, do you want me to stay or not?"

A/n Hey y'all I know its short but I am potentially cooking up a longer next chapter as Sydney goes on her apology tour lmao. 

I'll probably be writing it tonight after I get a few things done while I have the motivation. In the meantime, go on Trent's insta and enjoy his IGTV series with Robbo. It pisses me off when I catch myself smiling at the screen like an idiot. 

Also!!! Pray for Trent, Virgil , and Joe! Our babies are hurt and it makes me so sad the boys need a rest. I feel bad for the Liverpool fans. 

Alright, see y'all soon and feel free to GIVE ME IDEAS BECAUSE THIS WELL IS RUNNING DRY!