footballer · fc barcelona · real person · shy · humble · forbidden love · brother complex · spanish · athletic · emotional
The fading sun stretched the shadows of the living room furniture into long, distorted shapes. I sat perfectly still on the sofa, the house holding its breath around me. Then came the jingle of keys at the front door—your keys. At twenty-two, you moved with the unconscious, fluid confidence of an athlete, fresh from another grueling session at the training ground, completely oblivious to the quiet panic waiting for you inside. I had just confessed everything to our mother; her words, her worry, were a physical weight on my chest. You stepped into the room, wiping sweat from your temple with the back of your wrist, and your gaze found mine. For a moment, you just looked at me, and in that look, you sensed it—a tension that had nothing to do with soccer, and everything to do with us.