Neymar was drowning in guilt.  He had immediately regretted letting his anger slip at Annabelle but he just couldn’t stand the way she was.  Not only had she shut the world out, she had also completely given up.  He hadn’t seen her in a few days since they were prepping for their Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid.  Their game was approaching quickly and he had hoped that Annabelle would be able to come.  However, at this point, it was probably not likely.  He decided to drop by to visit her once more before he left for Valencia tomorrow.  When he arrived at her house, she found her parents and Gerard in frenzy.

“Ger, what’s wrong?”

“Annabelle is gone!” her brother panicked as he dialed 1-1-2 to report her missing.  Her family was probably worried about the same worst case scenario that Neymar was imagining as well.  However, he truly hoped that wasn’t the case.  Neymar runs upstairs to her room to see if she had left a note but he found nothing.  He noticed that she had left her keys and her wallet was still in her bag.  At least that signaled she couldn’t have gone very far.  It was then that he noticed her camera was no longer on her nightstand.  Neymar immediately smiled.  He dropped his stuff and stomps downstairs.  On his way out of their house, he grabs Gerard’s phone and hangs up for him before shouting to them that he knew where Annabelle was.  He sprints down the street to the only place that he thought she could be. 

After what seemed like a few endless miles, Neymar finds himself at Parc de l'Espanya Industrial.  It was Luna’s favorite park since it had beautiful sculptures with fountains.  He wanders around looking for Annabelle and finally finds her standing on the iron sculpture called El Drac. [See side pic]  She had her camera up to her face and then the shutter clicks twice before she looks at the screen to check the picture.  Annabelle seemed pleased with the photo and smiled.  At the sight of her smile, Neymar felt as if physical weight lifted off his shoulders.  Feeling his stare, Annabelle looks down at him and they made eye contact.  She frowned a little before walking off the sculpture to Neymar.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I saw that you took your camera with you, so I just kind of hoped,”

“You know me so well,”

“I would like to hope so,”

They walked around the park together and she took lots of pictures of everything, looking for some inspiration.  They didn’t talk much except for when she’d show him a picture and explained why she liked it.  Finally, they sat down on some benches and she leaned against him.

“I dreamt about Lulu last night… Actually, I see her every time I close my eyes,” Neymar didn’t say anything and just waited for her to continue.  “This time it was different though,”

“Why was it different?”

“She played football with me and told me that she purposely made sure that I didn’t sit in her car that night,” Neymar frowned at her, trying to understand what she just said.  “She told me that she wanted me to live my dream.  She told me that she wanted me to live for her, for the both of us,” he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“So that’s why you came here today?” she nods and looks down at her camera.

“Lulu has always known she wanted to be a professional photographer and she’s always worked towards that.  However, I could never make up my mind.  I love football but never thought about playing professionally.  I like photography but I don’t love it enough like Lulu did.  Then I started to fall in love with modeling, but now without Lulu…” her voice faded and she stopped talking.  Neymar pulled her closer and tilted her head upwards to look at him.

“Bella, there’s no rush to make a decision.  Just keep doing what you’re doing.  If you like modeling, then continue that.  FC Barcelona has already said they want to offer you a contract this coming transfer season, so you can try professional football too,” he gently strokes her face and kisses her on the forehead.  “I’m sure Luna would be happy with whatever you decide,”

“I love you so much…” she tightens her arms around his waist and buries her face in his chest.

“I love you very much too,” he leans down and gives her a big kiss on the top of her head.

~*~*~*~

A few weeks later

“Annabelle Pique has made a stunning recovery in her modeling career, following her two week medical leave from the car accident that killed her main photographer and friend, Luna Sanchez.  The young Spaniard has been featured in this month’s special edition of ELLE revealing a series of glamorous and vibrant private photo-shoots taken by Luna Sanchez.  ‘I wanted to dedicate this edition as a tribute to my beloved friend, sister, and colleague who has inspired me continuously.  She was not only a magnificent photographer but truly an artist and I wanted to the world to see her work,’ the young model was quoted saying in her most recent interview in Cosmopolitan España.”

Cristiano was on his way to the airport as he heard the radio broadcast about Annabelle.  It warmed his heart knowing that she was emotionally stable again to work.  After he passed security, he decided to stop by the magazine stands to pick up a copy of ELLE.  He smiled when he saw Annabelle on the front cover of the magazine.  She had lost considerable weight but her eyes were as bright as they’ve always been.  In fact, she looked more passionate than her previous photo-shoots.  He flips through the magazine to find Luna’s tribute photos and instantly understood why Annabelle called her an artist.  The magazine had dedicated 8 full color pages to display some of her photos she has taken of Annabelle before their debut.  The photos were complete originals and showed Annabelle from her post-secondary schooling through present day.  There was a mixture of candid shots and posed photos and in all of them Annabelle was the center of focus as the colors of the background seemed to create the warmth that complimented her radiant smile.  As he stared at the photos, he grew sad.  Luna was so talented and he wondered what it would have been like to see the world through her eyes.  Cristiano puts the magazine away as he takes out his phone to text the very girl that was on his mind.

C – Saw your special feature in ELLE. It’s beautiful. =)

Once he pressed send, he stuck his phone in his pocket again.  However, it vibrated as soon as he put it away.  He was surprised to see a response from Annabelle so quickly.

A – Thanks!  It’s rare that you’re texting me.  Not busy?

C – Nope.  I’m actually waiting for my flight to Barcelona.  Will you be free later for dinner?

A – Oh nice!  And I can’t, sorry!  Neymar is getting his final fitness results today.

Cristiano couldn’t help but feel the sharp pain in his chest.  He had heard that the young Brazilian had hurt his foot after their last game together in the Copa del Rey final, in which Barcelona lost.  It was a very intense game but Cristiano felt that Real Madrid did play better in the end so they were deserving of the win.  Though, he did feel bad for Neymar since his injury almost put his World Cup appearance at risk.  He sighed disappointedly before responding to her.

C – No worries!  Wish him the best for me.  I’ll see you another time! ;)

A – Of course! =)

Annabelle smiles to herself before putting her phone away to help her boyfriend get dressed.  The doctors had said that his injury wasn’t serious and he was fit to play after four weeks of rest but it didn’t stop her from worrying; especially since the World Cup was approaching quickly.  Neymar would be going back to Brazil in two weeks to start training with his national team and she had agreed to go with him.  Though she still had some photo shoots to complete as well as her final exams too so she would be arriving in Brazil just a few days before the opening ceremony on June 12th.  Annabelle grew sad thinking about the weeks they’d be apart.  They were rarely apart these days since she had basically moved into his place.  He wanted to keep her company so she didn’t miss Luna as much.  Then with his injury, she had been taking care of him in between her modeling gigs and everything else.  So she was not looking forward to their time apart.

~*~*~*~

A/N = Short chapter but this felt like a good place to end. =)