Chapter 40: An Ultimatum

                                    

                                          

🎶 White Flag — Dido 🎶
Ruben POV
After that night in Lisbon, things went from bad to worse. I knew that I had messed up so badly, and I tried by making it up to Soph every day. She got a good morning and good night message on top of a dozen others throughout the day asking her how she was doing, what she had for lunch and a bunch of other things I came up with. It was much if she answered one of my phone calls I dispatched throughout the day, and it would end with both of us arguing and her just hanging up.
Even the daily flowers I sent to her ward, addressed to her, didn't make her budge and the day before every game I'd beg and cry on the phone for her to come. I knew that I wasn't perfect and I definitely hurt her but I would make it up to her, I promised her that, but she always dismissed me, almost laughing at my desperation.
At first, Bernardo teased me, but the more he saw my puffy eyes after our calls, the quieter he became, he had never seen me like this. And every encouragement he gave me that me and Sophia were going to be alright sounded like a joke to me, because things definitely didn't seem to be going that way. My teammates tried to not touch any girlfriend subject in my presence and I hated how weak I looked, but I didn't care. For the first time actually, I didn't care. She made me weak and I wasn't going to resist my pride by not showing it.
The loss against Georgia felt awful. She wasn't there, again, and even though me being benched was good for my recovery and us being through to the knockouts already anyways, I hated losing. I was a pathetic, sore loser. In that game and in love. I wasn't too nervous about the Round of 16 game against Slovenia, even though we had to go to penalties in the end, but facing France next - that was scary, and even though they hadn't played at their best throughout this tournament, they were one of the favourites and strongest teams.
The phone call on the eve of that match was devastating.
"Soph... Please, I need to know you're here for me. Please, come" I pleaded for the hundredth time.
"Ruben, I've already told you that I have a night shift and yes, I have already asked around but no one can switch shifts with me because guess what, people have lives and don't care about me jetting around the world to see my boyfriend kicking around balls" she snapped back.
Kicking around balls. She never talked about football like that, her family would execute her. But maybe she was only talking about me playing football, and thinking that that's how she thought of me, fucking hurt. And I hated to say this, but I couldn't go on like this. I couldn't spend all of next season in a state like this.
"Soph, if you don't come tomorrow, it's over." I said as calmly as possible. There was dead silence on the other end of the line and I could hear her catch some breath.
"Then I guess it's over" she simply said before I heard the beeping of her hanging up.
I laid in bed, scrolling around aimlessly on - I don't even know which app - my stare going into nothing, when Bernardo came in.
"How was your call today?" he asked.
"We broke up" I simply replied.
"What?! Do you want to talk about it? Should Ines talk with her?" he asked as he sat down next to me on my bed.
"No" I replied again, completely emotionless. Sophia had taken them all with her.
"Ok... Just... If you want to talk, I'm here. And... Don't give up. You guys are destined to be" he said, trying to encourage me, but I just gave him a scoff.
The next morning, I felt even more awful on the inside, but somehow better on the outside. There were no tears and I just... existed. I loaded my plate with some breakfast before sitting down at a random table with some teammates. There was some light chatter going on about the day, when I saw Chico approaching our round.
"Hey... Um, does any one of you have a spare ticket left by chance? My cousin wants to bring a friend and apparently she's hot... Anyone care to help me out?" he asked with a hopeful smile.