The sun was still shining brightly and I felt my stomach complain. I realized we got caught up with the presentation that we forgot to eat.

The fields were empty. The players had gone out with their families for the rest of the day. David had asked me to join him with Marinho and Sarah. I sat down on the grass digging my hands in it, feeling the smooth surface. The sun was making it really difficult for me to keep my eyes open and I laid back, closing them.

"Hey." I heard a voice. I opened my eyes and saw Neymar standing above me, the sun behind him like a halo.

"Hi." I said standing up. "How long have you been standing there?"

"You looked so peaceful, I didn't wanna bother you." He told me.

"We have to practice." I said running towards the bench to get the equipment.

"I heard you ditched the meeting for me. Everyone is always dying to be in these meetings."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, not all the coaches are invited. It's a big deal."

"Well, this is a bigger deal." I said pointing at the ball.

He chuckled. "You know Davi wouldn't stop talking about you. It drove my father crazy."

"Should that bother me?" I asked him.

"No. Not at all. What my father thinks isn't what I think."

"That's good to know." I said. "I'm sorry you had to miss out on family day." I told him. Neymar was the only player in the compound, everyone else had left to spend the day with family and friends. Even Marina and Alex had taken the bus to go to Rio, they would meet up with Bernard and the others later.

"Anything for the team." He said cryptically and I wasn't sure if he fully meant it.

"C'mon. Let's do this." I said and started setting the training cones on the grass.

We run a few circles in silence to warm up and the sun wasn't making it easier on me.

"You don't look so good." Neymar commented.

"Thank you?" I snapped. He looked at me surprised. "Sorry." I whispered.

"It's alright. Do you want to take a break? I can run the rest by myself." He said.

I nodded. I went back to the bench and sat down. Neymar continued running and each time he passed by me he raised his hand for a high five. "Alright." I said, rolling my eyes.

When he was done, he did some warm up exercises and then grabbed the ball. "I think you have to be up for that." He said.

I got up, drank some water and walked to the middle of the field as he rolled the free kick mannequins that we pretended were the bulky defenders of the opponent team.

"Alright, let's continue where we left off the other day but let's be a little more violent."

"I love it when you talk dirty."

"I mean it Neymar. They won't play fair. They will try to get you on your back." I said. He looked at me, ready to burst and I realized. "Okay, I heard that one." I said and he started laughing. "You do have a dirty mind."

We continued the rest of the practice and I assumed a defender's position. I was fouling him all the time, tackling him and shoving him. I hated doing it but we had to be prepared for anything.

"Everything hurts." Neymar said as he took my hand and I pulled him up for the hundredth time.

"I'm so, so sorry."

"Opponents don't say they are so, so sorry Liv."

"What do they do?" He took my right hand in his and pulled me towards his chest. "The bro handshake?" I chuckled.

"The 'I'm not that sorry about it but I have to look as if I regret it'."

I laughed and we continued practicing. Neymar was getting a lot better at this and I was glad the practice wasn't in vain. He approached me, throwing his ball from one foot to the other when he suddenly stopped.

"I hate your games." I said.

He chuckled. He pretended to throw the ball but only moved his leg. And then all of a sudden he was moving, trying to exploit my surprise but I had known what he was gonna do this time and I threw my leg in front of him just in time to steal the ball from him. As I fell to the ground I felt a sting on my ribcage and realized it was Neymar's foot. The nails of his cleats pierced threw my skin, or at least it felt like it.

"Are you alright?" Neymar asked me, standing up quickly.

"I'm fine." I said firmly, deciding that I should downplay it.

"How is it going guys?" Coach Coto approached us.

For a moment no one said anything, I was still focused on the insane pain on my ribs. "Liv is gonna take me out of commission." Neymar said with a playful smile on his face.

"Or you her. I saw the last tackle. Brutal Liv." Coach commented.

"Is the meeting over?"

"No, far from it. It's gonna take a while. We stopped for coffee and I thought I'd check on you."

"I was thinking we should call it a day." I said. I wasn't sure if I could stand for another minute, let alone train.

"Now that you managed to trick Neymar so well in that last one?" Coach said.

"She didn't." Neymar protested but the coach was laughing.

"Don't worry Neymar your secret is safe with us." Coach said.

"Yeah, your badass reputation shall remain untarnished." I commented.

"I have to head back." Coach said looking at his clock.

We nodded and started packing the equipment again as the coach walked back.

"How are you?" Neymar asked me.

"I'm alright. I was just playing." I said, surprised that he looked worried.

"Come here." He told me. After a moment's hesitation I approached him.

He hooked his fingers on my shirt and I shivered as he pulled it up to my stomach. "Yeah I thought so." he said, taking a step back, letting the shirt fall down.

"Ney..."

"There's a bruise the size of my fist, Liv." He said angrily.

"It was an accident." I said, trying to calm him down.

"I know that!" He snapped. "Let's get you to the doctor."

I nodded. I started to grab the bags but he took them from me and set them down again. "I'll come back for them later."

I opened my mouth to speak but thought better of it. He was almost dragging me with him, not realizing that a normal human being wouldn't be able to keep up with him. I half thought he was going to carry me over his shoulder. "Neymar! Neymar, relax!" I said and he slowed down a bit.

"I'm sorry." He said, but I had a feeling he wasn't referring to his hurriedness.

"It's a part of the game isn't it? Besides I tackled you a thousand times already. Dirtily I might add."

"Yeah but you didn't nearly cut me in half."

"You didn't mean to! Relax. I don't break that easy."

"I think you break easier than you let on." He said, suddenly turning to look at me. We were outside the infirmary and he knocked on the door, his eyes concentrating on me. I averted my gaze, looking at the door that opened up.

"Neymar, here again?" Dr. José Luiz Runco, the CBF team doctor asked, opening the door.

"No, not me. Liv." He said, urging me through the door and making me sit on the examination bed. He started lifting my shirt but I grabbed his hands.

"I've got it. I've got it!" I said and he let his hands fall to his sides.

"That's a nasty hit." Dr. Runco said as he came closer and put his hands on it. "It will certainly leave a bruise." He said. The skin was already turning purple and red, like broken blood vessels. "How is the pain?"

"A four maybe." I said.

"Tough girl." Dr. Runco said, turning to look at Neymar. Neymar didn't say anything. "Well if it's really a four then you can't have broken anything. But just to be sure, we'll take an x-ray. Put this towel with ice on it and I'll be right back." He said and went through a door, further inside the infirmary.

I unhooked my silver necklace and gave it to Neymar to hold. We stayed silent until he came back. "C'mon with me Liv." He said and I followed him in a dark room. "Lay there." He said and I laid down on the x-ray machine. After he took the shot I went back to where Neymar was waiting.

A few minutes later the doctor emerged. "Well it's definitely not a four." He declared. Neymar stomped his foot on the floor angrily. "I will give you this for the pain just for tonight." He said handing me a pill.  "And you will put this salve on it and then bandage it, before going to bed, okay?" He asked me and I nodded. "Until going to bed, put ice on it, on and off every half hour. And tomorrow come see me."

When we were done, I walked up to leave.

"Be careful, the both of you. No more reckless injuries, Neymar. Not this close to the Cup." The doctor said.

"I hope he didn't think we were fighting." I said as soon as we closed the door. Neymar had his hand on my back as we walked and I felt my skin tickling. It was distracting me from the pain and I guessed that was good.

"He knows we are training together. Everyone does." Neymar said as we turned on a corridor and came face to face with his dad.

"Por que você está na enfermaria de novo?" Neymar Sr. asked his son, not even looking at me. His face was worried. I felt Neymar remove his hand from my back.

"Estou bem. Liv ficou ferido." Neymar said and motioned towards my torso. I pulled my shirt up to show him the bandage.

"Okay?" He asked me, his accent heavy.

"I'm okay." I said and smiled. It was the first time his dad was remotely nice to me.

They talked for a few more seconds before Neymar put his hand on my back again and motioned me to walk forward.

"You should go to bed." He said.

"It's still early." I told him. "And I'm fine."

"Still you should rest." He said.

Stay with me. I wanted to say. But I shouldn't. I knew I shouldn't.

"I'll stay with you."

"No." I said quickly. Too quickly. I saw the hurt in his eyes. He was taken aback.

"I'll stay with you anyway." He said as he opened the door to my room.

"I will go take a shower." I said.

"Only cold water, okay?" He said. "I have to go back to the field and get the equipment. I'll be right back."

I let the cold water run and stepped in the shower. It felt as if every bone in my body hurt, but none more than the bruise in my torso. When I got out of the shower I wrapped my hair in a towel, wanting to let it dry naturally. I put on comfortable clothes and sat on my bed waiting. I looked at Marina's side of the room and it was a mess. Neymar wouldn't be able to sit in her bed which meant he'd have to sit on mine with me. And the two of us in a single bed wasn't the best idea.

He opened the door and got inside.

"Why aren't you knocking? I could have been naked." I protested.

"I was kinda hoping that would be the case. I'm so disappointed." He said, grinning mischievously. "How is the pain? I got some ice from the restaurant." He said.

With a sigh I took the towel from his hand and placed it on my bruised skin but almost slipped on some of the water that ran from it.

"You do have a habit of inflicting bodily harm on yourself." After he grabbed me.

"And you also have a habit of inflicting bodily harm on me."

He chuckled. "So what do you want to do?" he asked me, sitting next to me on my bed.

"Let's go to your room." I said, standing up. He looked at me quizzically for a second but stood up anyway. "That's just not fair." I said as soon as we got inside his room. I sat on his twin sized bed. "Your mattress is so much better than mine."

"You are welcome to it, anytime you want." He said, grinning.

"Neymar." I said seriously.

He raised his hands up as if to show his innocence. I rolled my eyes at him. "I should take my pill." I said. He went towards his mini fridge and took out a bottle of water. "You have a mini fridge too." I said before swallowing the pill.

He smiled. "Let's get you bandaged up." He said and took out the ointment and bandage from his bag. He sat on the bed and pulled me towards him. "Lift your shirt." He said. I did and focused my gaze on the ceiling. The ointment was cold but his fingers sent shock waves through my spine. I felt the area go numb from the cold and immediately the pain lessened. "Are you alright? Does it hurt?" He asked me.

I shook my head. He took the bandage out and started rolling it around my waist. I made the mistake to look at him. His hands were gentle on my skin and it felt like he lingered a little more than he had to. He must have sensed my gaze because he looked up at me as he continued working. I bit my lip, feeling like I was disconnected from my body, just a soul wandering around, looking down at him as he rolled the bandage around my waist, starring into my eyes.

"Don't do that." He said.

"What?" I asked, snapping out of my daydream.

"Biting your lip like that. It's distracting." He mouthed. "All done."

"I think the pill is already working." I said, lying down on the bed, feeling dizzy. Or maybe it was the effect he had on me.

"Scooch over." He said and I pulled myself towards the wall. He lay down next to me and turned on his side to face me and I now was trapped between him and the wall. "Now what?" He asked. He was so close to me I felt his breath tickling my neck.

"Maybe a movie." I said, moving towards the wall. He moved closer to me again, our bodies almost touching. There was nowhere to retreat to. "Harry Potter?" I breathed, starting to lose my focus.

 "Livvie..." He whispered. My breath was caught in my throat. My brain said push him away but it was a distant whisper and I couldn't. I couldn't...