After I take a long shower, brooding inside, I lie down on the bed and think. Thank goodness the girls are still at the pub. I can’t explain what just happened half an hour ago. I can't even explain it to myself. How did this happen? Did it truly happen?
I spend over an hour thinking about his blue eyes, his gorgeous mouth. Gee, how I want to kiss him. If he gave me one more sign that he wanted to be with me, I think I would have gone where he wanted and done what he wanted. And how could anyone possibly resist him? But I am not a bitch, and that's how he saw me, but it is not how I see myself. Though I am sad now. I want to hear his laugh again. Was he thinking about me as much as I was thinking about him? Neahhhh, he must have found another girl or maybe girls the moment I left his car.
With his stare clear in my mind, I fall asleep.
When I wake up, it is 11 a.m. I see that Valentina is in her bed, still sleeping. I am so tired and blank that I didn't even see them arrive late in the night.
I go into the kitchen and find Joanna sitting and drinking her coffee. I grab myself a cup as well.
“Good morning; how was the rest of the night?” I ask, curious about all that I must have missed, although nothing compares to what they missed.
“It was terrific! I danced a lot and got a cute guy. The Spaniards kiss well,” she says to me, laughing. “And you? How was the taxi?”
I frown, sort of remaining quiet, not knowing how to answer.
“Stop it, everyone at that party knew you and the player left together,” she tells me, rolling her eyes with jealousy, but I know she's playing games with me.
“Okay, okay, we left together. He brought me home. And that was it, nothing more to it!” I reply, a bit irritated. A part of me wanted to yield in, but then I remember him saying that silly sentence about not talking about us being together to anyone as though I am one of those gold-diggers.
“Wait, didn't you have sex with him?” she asks, her black eyeballs literally popping out from surprise.
“Of course not! You don't even seem to know me. Besides, I told him I'm not his late-night bitch. I was furious, so he brought me home. It's over,” I retort and take a sip of my coffee, trying not to make eye contact with her.
She looks at me as I mime a scarecrow.
“What? You are fucking lucky! Do you know how many women would kill you for hearing that?” she says, getting all cross-eyed with me. At that moment, Katrina enters the kitchen to join us.
“I don't care. Besides, we'll never see each other again,” I conclude, wondering why I feel as though acid is dripping from my mouth when I said that.
I finish drinking my last bit of coffee. I go to my notebook and read the websites that I usually go to. As always, he is once again in the news. Only for the first time, I get excited to read what is written.
Our hottest athlete in the world, Hunter Blanco, leaves the famous pub with a mysterious girl in Barcelona. They say that the mysterious girl is a Spanish American, and the two would have left the place earlier. Can you identify who the girl is in the picture? Text us on 1****9 to win amazing prizes!"
I view the picture, staring back at myself in disbelief. How do these people know? I scan the photos and see the tip of my head inside his Lamborghini! These bunch of jerks have the most advanced digital equipment to capture the miniscule of details with such precision!
Katrina looks at me and makes a "what's going on" expression. I show her the report.
“You motherfucker!” she says, laughing. Great, everything I need.
“That doesn't say anything. They're probably talking about the one after me. Imagine if he wasn't going to take advantage of his night out.” I shrug.
Of course, I know it is a lie. At least, the publication had details about where and how the photos taken were outside the pub’s gates.
I grab my notebook back from Katrina and send a quick email to my parents. I miss them already. With that, I notice that I don't know where my cellphone is. I look for it in every corner of the apartment and nothing. Perfect, just what I need to happen right now in my life! Great Selena, this award goes to the dumbest woman in the Guinness Book of World Records.
In the afternoon, I decide to go for a walk. Since I arrived here three days ago, I haven't stopped eating. How could I not when I was surrounded with such delicious food. When I get back home, I am gonna go to the gym with renewed vengeance, for sure.
I grab my iPod, put on my headphones and exit the house at a powerwalk. I listen to several songs, and in-between them, I think about Hunter and, more than once, his mouth, those gorgeous eyes…arghhh stop!
I pass by the popular area of the city where there are stalls and banners of the finest athletes; everything is related to football. This city doesn't know how to like anything else, does it? I see on a banner his face, his beautiful and muscular body. And what's under that shirt?
He is already one of the greatest stars in the team's history. Oh, how famous he is. At four of the stalls I pass, all of them have people wanting the shirt with his name on the back and his number, of course, lucky shirt number 9. Before, I had never seen what his number was, nor the extent of his fame.
I spend three hours walking and sight-seeing. I don’t even notice how it’s already after seven at night. But that's good. At least I have lost a little more weight. I make my way back home and eventually see the front of Valentina's building. After so much walking, I almost have a seizure.
The beaming Lamborghini is parked on the curb.
One year later...You've been married for just over a year, and your children will complete one year. How has your life changed from then?I fiddle with my fingers that are resting on my now finely crossed legs.“I discovered myself as a woman,” I answer, facing Alice as she interviews me. “I found that I can really take care of someone, since I didn't even know how to take care of myself. And now I take care of four!”“How is the atmosphere in your house with your children?”I smile. “My house is the biggest mess ever. It's a minefield of toys everywhere. Every time I get home, my kids start waving their arms frantically and laughing nonstop to see me.”“And your husband, Hunter Blanco, is at home with his children?”I look at the camera nervously photographing me and then back at Alice.“He is an amazing father, and whenever he can, he is with his children and family.” I end it there and Alice tilts her head and looks at me.“Selena!” she scolds me. “This is a personal interview, so
I let him enter the dimly lit room. The quiet and peaceful environment, together with the image of Hunter kissing our children's foreheads, fascinates me. He cares about them fifteen thousand times more than he cares about me. Before, I didn't understand the reason for this exaggeration, but now I would watch over them as they sleep twenty-four hours a day if I could.“How did they spend these last few days?”My heart sinks, remembering. It’s been five days since we've seen each other, way too long!“The pediatrician said that Valeria should start taking half a dose of the medication,” I inform and he sighs. “The boys are missing iron. Did you see the size of Pedro's fat little hand and Liam's thick thigh?” I say, laughing.“There was no way not to notice it, it makes you want to bite it.”I feel like crying to see him so happy. I want to hug him and hold him so much that I have to hold back. I need him to keep me strong, and I like it better when I have more time, but now it doesn't
Hunter:"I know I'm stubbornBut I changed when I looked at youYou made me wiserAs much as I try to run awayI'm always led in your directionIt seems like I let go everythingAs I held your hand."“I Forgot to Forget You – Mr SantanaThe plane lands on the ground as the intense Madrid sun helps ease the short winter days it has been having lately. I smooth out my suit, ready to get off the plane. I become twice as nervous.I'm coming back from Germany after another game for the Champions League*. It was quite a game. I’m bringing another victory and two more goals in my career. Today I feel like no one can beat me. Nobody can beat me as the best player, as the best husband and as the best father, and that's why I feel powerful, having my family around.I quicken my pace, leaving my team behind. I hear protests, but I don't give a damn. I'm missing my family. It’s been two months since my two little surprises have been at home with my little princess ValeriaI get into my custom bla
I try to get comfortable in my hospital bed, but it's impossible. My stitches are sore, and my belly never seems to want to deflate. I want my tiny waist back and not get saggy!My two boys have just had their last hospital feed as tomorrow we are finally going home. After almost four days, we can go to our new house which I still haven't seen after the last details of the renovation. The hard part will be leaving my little one with the pink bow in her hair at the hospital. It won't be easy. After all, I have to feed three babies, and one of them will be far from me in that damn incubator.Hunter is hesitant after I mention Christiano's name, constantly dodging the conversation. Still, every time I look at him, I see his watery eyes for our daughter, who hasn't shown any improvement. I can't hide my crying spells. After all, I want my family back home and healthy. I can't believe that as soon as he learned more about the subject, he didn't think straight about his brother, who is too
“We have tested everyone in our family,” Hunter takes the lead. “Even Alice, Joanna, Stella, Fernando and Sophia volunteered. I realised that Sophia was on the list since she is not your blood sister. But none of them are a match,” he says, unsatisfied.I spend more time with my daughter, my beautiful little princess with blue eyes. She swallows stiffly every time she moves inside that warm bubble. She is so small, so white and almost bald.I head back to the bedroom, and soon they bring me my two boys. When I hold them one by one in my lap, already lying on the gurney, I almost fear I am going to drop them. Like their sister, they are so tiny, also white and bald. I can barely distinguish them from one another.First, I cuddle Pedro, who keeps moving his hands and making faces. And then it is Liam's turn, who keeps wiggling and blinking lazily. So beautiful.For the first time, I am going to breastfeed my children. The nurses watch me all the time to see if I am doing it wrong. And f
Life is sometimes so unfair but objectively correct. There are no pains that cannot be healed, no bonds that cannot be joined, people that do not come back—the concept of life and death. Widely known as the eminent pain after a person, who is deliberately said to set out on a better journey. Maybe not. Since no one has yet discovered what occurs after death, there are only scientific and religious theories to go by.I can say that experiencing death is neither painful nor sad. I don't feel like running out of the light and back to life. Peace. Perhaps the peace that everyone seeks is not in life itself. Never, ever, no matter how hard you try, you will never have any rest. As much as something is resolved well, another factor comes and shakes everything again. That may be the meaning of life. It’s not just you opening your eyes and feeling that your heart is still beating. It's a vicious cycle, where love and disagreement will always be present as a challenge, a challenge you face eve