CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I couldn't stop the tears that came rushing down my face with full force. Why would they be so stupid to have not seen how he had been playing for the team since he was called here? Why would they act based on just one mistake? He was nice and patriotic enough to care and play for his father's land. Does losing a game automatically mean losing the other two games? He tried his best, that, I know. Those guys just wanted someone to blame and he was the best target. All blame is always directed towards the strikers.

"He lost some chances but I can't dispute the fact that he tried" Mary muttered and touched my cheeks, wiping the angry tears off my face.

"He did nothing wrong" I said to no one in particular. I burst into another round of tears. I think I'm becoming an emotional mess these days; everything made me cry and I detest it.

"Do you think he will be fine?" I'm worried about him. I deserve to be because I feel responsible for him and I'm his wife.

"Right now, he might not be but he will be fine later" Mary held me close "losing a game doesn't mean the remaining 2 games will be lost. He trained so well for this and I'm very sure he will deliver" Mary said. I was proud of the lady staring worriedly at me. I don't know what I would have done without her. She seems to understand me more than I understood myself.

"His teammates might be angry with him too" I muttered. I know he made some mistakes but I will be damned if I admitted that to Johnson and others. I wonder why people forget 99 good things you've done for them but remember 1 mistake you make. None of them even remember how he assisted Mustapha in scoring their first and only goal.

"So?" Mary looked directly at me.

"So what?" I didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"So what do you plan to do?"

"I will call him to know if he's okay and maybe make him feel better. As the striker, he needs his spirit, soul, and body to play his next game" I grinned.

"You are smiling. What do you have up your sleeve? I'm curious" Mary asked.

"I don't know yet but I'm optimistic that I will know what to say when I hear his voice" I replied wiping my face of any tears.

I know I was a cry-baby minutes ago but the thought that I was going to make him feel better made me smile. I think I'm going crazy- crazy for him. I picked up my phone from my pant pocket and dialed his number. I got the line busy tone and I wondered who he could be talking to.

"What is it?" Mary asked when she read the expression on my face.

"He's on another call" I answered. I redialed his number but he didn't pick up and I felt everything shattered. He practically just dropped someone's call a few minutes ago so why didn't he pick mine? I thought we have passed this boundary. I thought we can be friends with the way he talked when he was leaving me in that house with Joy. We even talked when he got to Russia. Maybe I thought wrong. Maybe I was stupid to have read meanings to his actions.

I redialed again but to my surprise, his number was switched off. He didn't want to speak with me. I just wanted to help him feel better but I think he didn't need me or my help. I felt tired and weak as I walked wobbly to my room. Mary didn't follow because she knows when to leave me alone. I know she's worried but right now, I don't care. I just needed to be alone. I lay on my bed unsure of what to do. My head throbbed from the emotional stress I had just gone through. Was I too stupid to have fallen for a total stranger?

My roommate wasn't in the room, so I had the room to myself. I didn't want to shed tears anymore so I picked up my phone and clicked on my Twitter. It was a bad sight; he has been lashed, abused, insulted, and cursed on social media. Yes, everyone in the team was criticized but his own was too extreme. He didn't even give me any chance to comfort him. Now, I don't know if I can comfort anyone with the mood I was in.

Lying on my back, I imagined what and where I'd gone wrong to have deserved this treatment. I couldn't even talk to my parents about it. I've not talked to them in almost 2 weeks. The last time we talked was days after the wedding. I've not seen any reason to talk to them until now. I needed to hear my mum's voice. Yes! Call me a baby, but at that moment, I needed comfort. I dialed her number and she picked up after the first ring.

"Mum?"

"Are you okay? Your dad told me about the game" she said and I could hear the worry in her voice.

"It wasn't his fault, mum" I wanted to cry again.

"I know. You should know that everyone can never be perfect. No matter how much good a human does, when he does evil, people will forget the good he had done in the past. It will pass dear. It's just a matter of time" she explained.

Her words felt like a balm to my injured soul. I felt like a heavyweight has been taken off my shoulders. A mother will always be a mother. Her words gave me the strength I needed, I didn't even know when I drifted off to sleep as soon as the call ended.

I was jolted awake by a continuous loud ring in my ears. I picked up the call without checking the caller. The baritone voice I heard wasn't what I expected, my heavy heart came alive on hearing that voice, and sleep left my eyes immediately.

"I know you might be worried, I need you to know that I'm fine" he said. I couldn't stop the tears that ran down my cheeks. I had shed more tears today than ever in my life and I was sorry for my silly self.

"You should have picked up your call when I called" I whispered, afraid that I might send him away if I speak louder.

"I know. I'm calling now to let you know that I'm fine" he said.

"Why do you care?" I was dumbstruck because of that question. I wasn't expecting what he just asked me.

"Pardon?"

"Why do you care?" He asked again. I was mute for God-knows-seconds before I regained my composure. Is it so wrong to care? I should care because he's my husband or shouldn't I? I heard him cough and I immediately confirmed my suspicion.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked.

"Yes, but just a few shots" I didn't know what to say to him. Hours ago, I was so confident that I could motivate even a dead lion but hearing him now made me speechless. I wish he hadn't resulted in drinking. I love the calm, cool Aderemi, not the one asking me questions I have no answers to.

"Rachel?" The tone at which he called my name gave me the chills. I had to sit up on the bed, expecting the bombshell he was planning to drop.

"Yes?" I answered, expectedly.

"Do not fall in love with me, please. You know that isn't part of our agreement" I was dumbfounded. I was expecting something but not this.

"I'm not..." I replied.

"I know. I'm just saying" he cut me off.

I was embarrassed beyond explanation but I was also grateful to myself for keeping my confessions to myself. It would have been a disaster if I had confessed my feelings to him or made him know I've liked him for God-knows-when.

"Thank you for caring, Rachel. You are a great friend"

Wait...

what?

Have I been friend-zoned by someone I thought was almost sharing the same feelings as me?