Inseparable 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After his training, Nathaniel at once locked his room door and threw himself on the bed. Three days had passed since he had smashed his phone to pieces in his rage, and he had heard nothing from Alex since. Thinking of her, he felt endless disillusionment and was convinced he had misjudged the girl; she was only playing him for a fool. Since he had become really successful, and his name and face were instantly recognisable to people, women had become even more crazy about him. Every day, he received love letters and open s****l offers from strangers. Nevertheless, Evelyn and Luis had tried all they could to keep his feet on the ground. Yet, his unbelievable popularity with women, and being the target of such excessive idolisation, had not affected him so much as this single failure, embodied by Alexis Woodville. He was in love, perhaps for the first time in his life. He loved her with the love of a twenty-two-year-old man, who revelled in success and fame, who was spoiled by wealth and the adoration of fans. His pain was caused by his hurt ego, which had not been accustomed to disappointment. To see how real and lasting this attraction was, it still had to stand the test of time. His personality had to mature. It needed more experience so that the love he could give to a woman would not be a fire of destruction, but a selfless flame, providing safety.

He struggled for a long time until he finally ended up at Richmond Hill, in front of the Woodville house, and rang the bell. As a matter of fact, he and Luis were on their way to the airport to fly to Barcelona, where a meeting had been scheduled with the club’s manager about a possible transfer. Seeing Nate’s agony over the girl, Luis finally agreed to stop by the house for a short while. He was the only one to whom Nate had spoken of the events of the previous Sunday. Luis thought it reasonable that the two of them should work out the issue, so that Nathaniel could face the transfer negotiations with a clear and composed head. After parking in front of the house, he turned to the young man and tapped on the face of his watch.

“You’ve got fifteen minutes. Right? No more, or we’ll miss our flight. And the plane will not wait even for the sake of the great Nathaniel Cruz.”

“It’s all right, Lu. It won’t take long, I promise.”

Nate patted his cousin on the shoulder, then taking a sideways glance at the house, got out of the car, and made his way to the entrance. As the snow-white sea of pebbles creaked under his shoes, he began to wonder what the hell he was doing there at all. He wasn’t sure what to expect or hope for. Perhaps that she apologise? That she say sorry again, and explain herself, after so many times? But he had made up his mind so many times to end it, to put an end to the Alexis issue once and for all, so he’d no longer give a damn about the reasons and the excuses that she kept coming up with, again and again. So, what was he doing here, then? It was some crazy power of attraction that had forced him to give her another chance. A ‘one more time after the last’, desperate chance to make it all good. It seemed like he wasn’t able to give up the chase. He himself was in greater need of forgiveness than she felt the need to apologise.

He placed his finger on the cold, gold-coloured button of the bell, and cast another glance in the car’s direction. Leaning forward, Luis watched, and as he saw Nate hesitate, he motioned with his hand.

“Come on!” he mouthed.

Nate sighed deeply, then pressed the bell. After what seemed like an eternity, which was hardly more than thirty seconds, the door opened, and Elisabeth Woodville’s royal shape appeared, wearing neatly pressed white trousers, and a pale green tunic. Her dark brown hair fell on her shoulders in tidy waves, as she stood there looking so elegant, so royal as though she had just arisen from her throne. At least, that was Nathaniel’s first impression. For a few seconds, they measured each other in mutual distrust. Although neither offered an introduction, Nate was certain that the lady with the refined look must have been Alexis’ mother.

“Good afternoon,” he began, after clearing his throat. “My name is Nathaniel Cruz. I’m sorry to disturb you, but could I speak to Alex, please?”

Naturally, she was well aware of who was standing at the door. Although Alexis hadn’t shared her most intimate issues with her, she had been able to catch a few sentences and phrases from the girls’ conversations. At times, during lunch, James would ask jokingly about Alex’s experiences at the stadium, and her strange friendship with the little footballer from St. Andrew’s, who had by now become world famous. At times like these, the girls had shared conspiratory glances with each another. Alex usually just laughed, but Veronic would blush so deeply, it was like she had taken on her sister’s share of the issue too. Elisabeth had already had some misgivings that there might be more behind the matter than her daughter would admit, but up until recently, she hadn’t been willing to take the issue of the footballer seriously. The first time she felt that something was very wrong, was when Alexis didn’t join them for the family's trip to Canterbury. And after the news of her break-up with Dominic had burst on her like an ice cold shower, it had soon become clear to her what a sinful role Nate Cruz had had in the story. The lovely plan of uniting the Woodvilles and the Blakes had come to nothing when Alex and Nick had broken up. When they last spoke, Mary Blake had sobbed on the phone, still in shock. Her daughter had finally flown to Sweden alone. They hadn’t seen Dominic since. And the footballer, the one responsible for all these things, stood shamelessly at her door, and had the cheek to ask for Alex. Elisabeth felt a wave of disappointment and anger come over her once more.

“Alex?” she repeated coldly, holding his gaze all the time.

“I’ve tried her apartment, but she wasn’t there. So I thought, maybe…”

Not waiting for him to finish, she responded with narrowed eyes and a cool voice.

“My daughter is gone. She went to Sweden. We’re not expecting her back for a long time.”

“Sweden?” he asked, dumbfounded. “But… I knew nothing about this.”

She raised her eyebrows. She pulled a face as if she couldn’t understand why he would even be supposed to know about such intimate family affairs. Nate cluelessly dug into his hair, and, in a last-gasp chance, asked, “Could I maybe speak to Nick, then?”

Elisabeth hesitated for a bit, then coughed lightly, and answered with ice cold determination.

“Dominic has also gone to Sweden,” she added, after a little hesitation.

Although the truth was that he was only planning to travel, and was to spend another week at his parents’, Elisabeth felt hurt enough to distort the facts this much. She wanted to do all she could to keep the two men from speaking to one another, to prevent the truth of Alex and Nick’s break-up coming to light. She had no idea how perfect her spontaneous plan had worked.

Nathaniel stared in front of himself, completely taken aback. In his wounded heart, the last piece of the murderous puzzle seemed to have found its place. Although the woman hadn’t actually said so, Nate was convinced that the two had gone away together. The world had turned dark around him. He mumbled something like a goodbye, and in an almost unconscious state, staggered back to the car.

All the way to the airport, Luis couldn’t get a word out of him. He sat there, completely exhausted, staring out of the windscreen. Luis began to worry more and more about his condition. He was terrified about the impression Nate would make in his present state on Barcelona’s management. His worry, however, proved to be unnecessary, as the moment they got out of the car and started for the check-in counter, a completely transformed person walked beside him. He straightened his posture, and walked down the corridor with a confident, smileless face, to take his business class seat on the plane. To Luis’ question whether or not everything was okay, he responded with a rather composed tone that he had closed down the Alexis issue once and for all, and from now on, would solely concentrate on his career. He added with disillusionment that women could do him no favours, and that he would definitely not make a fool of himself for anybody ever again. Lu stared at him with a questioning look. He didn’t like what he had heard at all.

Regarding the contract and the negotiation, though, he was pleasantly surprised, as his protégé behaved in the utmost professional manner, and showed his most advantageous side to the club’s leadership. The discussion was followed by further negotiations, and three months later a fruitful partnership began between Cruz and FC Barcelona, which would continue over several years. Since the club wished to strengthen their line of attackers, they were willing to reach deep into their pockets. The newspapers hailed it as the transfer of the year and discussed the skyrocketing millions it had cost. Nathaniel from that moment on was called ‘samba-legged’, referring to his Brazilian origin and the light, airy manner of his ball control. His career shot up like a comet into the starry skies of footballing Elysium; nothing could stop him. The childhood dream of a football-crazy boy was complete when one Saturday night, the leadership of the club introduced him in front of ninety-thousand supporters inside the crammed Nou Camp Stadium as No. 11, the newest member of the club. He had been used to the roaring of fans, so it wasn’t particularly hard for him to entertain the host of viewers with ball tricks for a while. He even squeezed out a few sentences in Spanish, when a microphone was pushed towards him.

Luis later learned about the details that had led to Nate’s romantic disillusionment and was very surprised about the turn of events. He thought it better not to get too involved with it but did have some doubts about the issue. It just didn’t make sense to him that Alexis was an ill-willed cheat, who had willfully made fun of the footballer’s emotions. Nevertheless, seeing Nate’s serious resolve to get her out of his mind and only focus on his career, he just left it at that, and never brought it up again.

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When Alex returned from Sweden six months later, she allowed herself a few days’ rest before doing anything. Her thoughts were still with Nathaniel, but the fact that in her absence she had neither received a note nor a line from him promised nothing good. The letter in which she had explained the cause of her absence, and in which she had left her contact details in Sweden, was never answered. From his silence, it was obvious that he either hadn’t accepted, or hadn’t understood her arguments, and had given up on her.

For the next few days, she racked her brains trying to cook up a plan, when Veronic encouraged her to visit the house in Kew, which she decided to do.

She waited nervously near the entrance to the Cruz house and wasn’t too far from chickening out and running away when Evelyn finally appeared at the doorway. Nate's mother seemed taken aback, visibly surprised by the girl’s sudden appearance. It took her a little time before she was able to speak.

“Alexis, what a surprise!” she started hesitantly.

“Hello, Evelyn. Sorry if I’m disturbing…” Alex said, in agony.

“You’re not. It’s not like that, just… I really wasn’t expecting you to visit at all,” she continued, a little friendlier. “Especially not after so long.”

“Half a year,” she added, slowly nodding, and still biting down on her lower lip with uncertainty.

“Come in. Let’s not stand at the door,” Evelyn proposed with a smile, giving way to the girl.

Inside, she offered her a seat, which Alex politely declined, saying, she didn’t intend to keep her up very long. The woman watched her patiently, at which she pulled herself together, and came to the point.

“I’m actually looking for Nathaniel. I know that our… issue ended in a very complicated way six months ago,” she said, twisting her hair nervously, “so I decided that there might be some things we need to clarify personally.”

Evelyn shook her head, not comprehending.

“You’re looking for Nathaniel? Here?”

“Well, the truth is, I haven’t been to Bradford yet. I thought I’d try here first.”

“Nate’s not in London anymore. He moved to Barcelona about three months ago. I’m surprised you don’t know.”

“Oh!” she sighed, involuntarily. “To Barcelona?”

“Didn’t he tell you about his transfer?” she asked, still in wonder.

“Well, I did hear about the negotiations, but I really didn’t know it had worked out, and so soon. During the past six months, I heard nothing from him.”

This was true, as in Sweden, at the university, she had cut out the news altogether from her life, for her own benefit. She had made a point of never reading the newspaper, and had especially avoided the sports news even on the Internet.

“I see. Well, that’s not very pleasant,” the woman scratched her forehead regretfully.

“The thing is, before I left, I wrote to him. I explained why I had decided to still take the scholarship offer. I know things had been going rather chaotically before, and I also know that I had hurt him, and not just once,” she sighed guiltily. “I was hoping that he’d understand from my letter why I thought it better to wait a little until his anger had subsided somewhat towards me.”

“His anger?” Evelyn raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“Well, yes. My family… made things a tad complicated for me.”

“I’m sorry, Alexis. Nate never mentioned the letter to me. You know, the truth is, I was seriously worried about him. He was very upset, almost out of his mind, because of your issue. And he was very disappointed.”

“He was disappointed in me?”

“In you… in love,” she lifted both her arms theatrically. “My son has a stormy nature, and patience is not one of his virtues.”

“I may have made a mistake. But whatever I do, however hard I try, somebody always ends up hurt in the end.”

“That’s how things sometimes work out in life, dear,” the woman smiled with sympathy.

“And now… how is he?” she asked quietly, after some silence.

Evelyn sighed, then a faint smile appeared on her face.

“I think… I hope, well. We haven’t been so close lately. Since he moved, we haven’t talked much. He has become more introverted. Nate is still very young, and the enormous success that has fallen onto his lap is testing his character. I think he’s making progress; he’s being moulded. He makes mistakes, and I really hope he’ll learn from them.”

“Mistakes?” the girl asked, puzzled.

“I can tell you haven’t been following the news lately.”

“No, not really,” she shook her head resignedly.

“Maybe it’s just as well,” the woman allowed. “Nate has changed recently. He left London, feeling all upset. And now he seems happy. At least, that’s what the TV footage suggests. He wants to prove himself, maybe to the whole world.”

“So he’s started a new life,” Alex breathed faintly.

“If that’s appropriate to say about a twenty-two-year-old…” the woman looked at her with sympathy.

The girl nodded slowly, brooding over the news. She felt that she had heard enough, and wanted to be alone. She stepped up to the woman and squeezed her hand warmly. The woman stroked her cheek sadly, with a motherly gesture. Then, they said goodbye.

As Alexis stepped out of the door, she felt like everything had become clear. Nathaniel hadn’t accepted her reasons. He'd had enough of being let down. He'd had enough of her not being able to keep her promises. And so he'd begun a new life in Barcelona, and without her. The heart-wrenching pain made its way up to her chest, squeezing her throat like an iron fist. She sensed that a paragraph had closed in her life and that the bottom of the page had been sealed in darkness. Even breathing felt hard. She couldn’t endure the four corners of her room on her own, so she stayed out until late, aimlessly wandering the streets. Every time she walked past a news stand, she self-torturingly fixed her eyes on the sports magazines. Once she even stopped to look into some of them. She didn’t need to leaf through them for very long. Nate Cruz was a favourite topic of journalists. She read an article about Cruz saving a little boy from the hands of Barca’s security guards. An eight or nine-year-old child had managed to trick the guards, and during the team’s public training session, he had jumped the fence and ran to the practising stars to ask for their autographs. As the photos showed, the security guard had soon grabbed the intruder by the ear and was very firmly directing him off the pitch, when Nathaniel ran after them and interfered. He took the boy with him to his teammates, who fooled around and had their photos taken with the boy, making him feel in seventh heaven.

Yet, the negative news outnumbered the positive. “Fined For Speeding”, “Another Fortune For a Yacht In Ibiza”, “Party Until Dawn On XY Promi’s Birthday” and similar headlines were the ones to make the girl give up studying the papers. The whole issue was mentally poisoning her. By dawn she realised that there was only one way left for her: she also needed to start a new life. Exactly as Nathaniel had.

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