If Only Tonight

The Final Fury:
Chapter Sixty Eight: Divided We Stand, United We Fall

Time had passed far too quickly for Mia's liking. Sitting on the couch, Mia's head rested against Matthew's chest. He was busy telling her about his plans for her birthday. In a week's time, she would be spending her 24th birthday with her boyfriend for the first time. Matthew seemed to be more excited than she was. Looking up as he talked, she couldn't help but smile.

The last two weeks had been hard to go through. At first they had been shy of each other, the argument had made them more hesitant. When the ice had been broken between them, neither brought up the subject of the move.

Hearing him speak, she listened to the intonation of his voice through his chest. The deep gravel that somehow turned into smooth deep notes, had always attracted her attention. Not only that, she liked hearing his heart beat.

Matthew looked over at his watch, checking the time, he looked at her. The blue colour of his eyes drawing her in.

"Let's call it a night." He said, kissing her passionately.

"Aww...do we have to?"

"Unfortunately, yes...Felix reminded me that we have to be at the complex early." He said, giving her another kiss.

At the mention of the manager's name, Mia remembered her earlier thoughts. She had found it odd that Matthew hadn't asked to see her statement. She was going to run it by him, but before she could he had received a call from Aidan. Each time she had wanted to ask him, he was busy.

As they walked up the stairs, Mia tried one last time.

"Matthew...can you look over my statement?"

He gave her a questioning look.

"Why? You've probably covered everything. It'll probably sound way better than mine." Matthew gave her a small grin.

"I just wanted you to see it."

"I'm sure it's fine." He waved it away. "Besides, you need to sleep. Lina's going to be waking us up, which should be fun." He muttered darkly.

"Lina and Leon are coming?" She asked, in surprise.

"Yea. It's the official announcement for my transfer, so they wanted to come. Oliver and Nathaniel will be there too."

"Oh..." Mia mumbled.

"Anyway, goodnight Mia." Matthew kissed her one last time. "See you in the morning."

"Yea." She said, hugging him. Holding onto him, Mia took a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay, she hoped, they just had to get through tomorrow.

-----

Certain that everything was going to go smoothly, Matthew was anticipating the press conference. The early morning light shone through his bedroom windows, as he got ready. Pulling on a pair of black jeans, and a blue t-shirt, he clipped his aviator shades to the front. It looked like a rare bright and sunny day was upon them, and he wasn't about to get blinded by the light while driving.

Picking up the sheet of paper that had his statement written on it, Matthew folded it before shoving it in to his pocket. Although, he was curious to know what Mia had written for hers, Matthew had kept himself from prying, even when she had asked him to read it. Something had stopped him, maybe it was reluctance to find out her final decision, or hope that if he waited the decision would be in his favour; either way he hadn't given in to his temptation.

Walking out of his room, he was about to head down the stairs when he saw Mia sitting at the bottom of the steps, with Lina and Leon standing in the hall.

"Everyone ready?" Leon asked, spotting him.

"Yea." He answered.

"Oliver called to say he will be meeting us there with Nathaniel." Lina told him. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No...I'm not hungry." Matthew said side stepping Mia to reach the hall, his stomach had been tying in to knots over the impending announcement.

"Well take this in case." Lina handed him a muffin, and a bottle of water.

"Okay, let's go." Leon ushered them out of the house.

Watching as Mia got up, he saw that she had gotten dressed in a short sleeved green summer dress with black tights, and black heeled boots. Her laptop bag was slung over one shoulder.

Splitting in to two cars, Matthew and Mia took his Lamborghini, while Leon and Lina took Leon's Aston Martin.

The quiet drive gave Matthew time to settle down his thoughts. He was excited to be moving on with his career. It was the chance of a lifetime to be switching to Real Madrid, and he couldn't wait to start training with the rest of the team.

Looking over, he saw Mia dozing. He wondered what her decision was. She must have noticed his gaze, as she opened her eyes and smiled at him. The bright green depths put him at ease. Surely, she had decided to put them first.

It wasn't long before the four of them were walking down the hallway of the team complex, towards the conference room. Holding on to Mia's hand he led the way.

Peering in to the room, he heard Mia gasp. Video cameras, reporters, photographers had filled up the room. Their equipment set up, it looked like there was no room for any more people. Matthew noticed Oliver and Nathaniel standing against the far wall near the window at the back. Their baseball caps shadowing their faces.

"Matthew, Mia! There you are!"

Felix spotted them first, the manager hurried up to them, as Leon and Lina walked over to the other players.

"Okay, so you will be reading out your statements in about ten minutes. Matthew you're first, Mia's second. Then there will be a fifteen minute question period. Ricardo, our PR specialist will field questions, it is up to you whether or not you answer them." He briefed them. "Understood?"

"Yea." Matthew and Mia affirmed.

"I'll call you in about five minutes." He told them, allowing the two to go to where the group was standing.

"So, Matt, are you ready to become a Galactico?" Nathaniel asked with a grin.

"Yea, I am."

"I wonder what number they'll give you? Since 7's already been taken by Ronaldo." Oliver added.

"They'll probably give him 17 or 27...maybe they'll give him 99!" Leon joined in razzing Matthew.

"Shut up...they do give you a choice, you know." Matthew shot back.

As the rest of them continued to talk, Matthew glanced over at Mia. She was busy reading a sheet of paper. Her statement.

Before he could say anything to her, it seemed their time was up.

"Matthew, Mia! Come now!" Felix could be heard shouting over the melee.

"Ready?" He asked, taking her hand.

"I guess so." Mia answered, looking nervous.

The PR Specialist, Ricardo, moved them to the front of the room.

"Good morning everyone. Please take a seat. We will be starting in a minute." Ricardo announced to the crowd of reporters. "As you all know, Matthew Rossi and Dr. Mia Brooklyn have prepared their statements in light of the speculation surrounding their places on London FC. You all have been notified you will be able to ask them questions after they have read their statements. So please hold all queries until then."

Matthew found himself being pushed to the microphone with Mia.

"You're up." Ricardo told him, as he moved out of the way.

Taking a deep breath, Matthew pulled out the paper from his pocket. Unfolding it, he looked up at the throng of people in front of him. Every now and then there were flashes of light, and clicks of cameras taking pictures. He took a deep breath.

"Good morning everyone." He started. "As you may have heard, there have been rumours that I will be transferring to Real Madrid. I would just like to confirm them. As of next season I will be playing for Real."

"I have spent five great years playing with London FC, and though it saddens me to close this chapter of my career, I am excited to see what comes next. Playing for Real is a great opportunity for me, in order to further mature and develop as a player. I will not forget the friends I have made here, since they are more like my family. Felix has been a great mentor to me, and his advice has always helped me through my time here. London FC has been home to me, and was the best start to my career. I wish the rest of the team the best of luck, and I want to thank them for making this a great experience. Thank you." Matthew ended his statement, Aidan had told him to keep it short and simple. He hoped he had done exactly that.

Allowing Mia to walk up to the microphone, Matthew stood beside her, staring at the crowd. He couldn't help but feel a little confident that she had picked him over staying back in England. She had to have picked them, he thought feeling a little smug. He had given her plenty of time to think about the move.

"Hi everyone..." Mia spoke; Matthew could hear the nerves in her voice.

"With recent speculation, over whether I would be staying or leaving London FC, I would like to put the rumours to rest." She started.

She picked us, he thought. Why else would she sound so timid?

A small smirk appearing on his face, Matthew scanned the crowd of reporters as they hung on to her every word.

"I would like to make it clear, that with Matthew leaving for Real Madrid...I will not be leaving my position as injury specialist with London FC."

Visibly shocked, Matthew tried to wipe his face of emotion, as Mia continued reading. It was too late, he had seen the flashes of cameras, the reporters had caught it all on tape.

"I will be continuing my work with London FC, and complete my contract. If by then I have decided to stay or go. I will make the decision at that time. As for now I will remain with Felix and the team."

No sooner had she finished speaking, Matthew went to the microphone. There was only one thing on his mind.

"Since I'm sure you all have questions. Please direct them to Dr. Brooklyn, I'm sure she will be able to give you the answers you need." He told them, much to Mia's surprise. She looked shocked at his announcement.

With that, Matthew walked in the direction of the exit. The reporters tried to ask him questions but he ignored them. Putting on his aviator shades, he kept his face emotionless.

Passing Lina and Leon, who had rushed towards him, he stopped momentarily.

"Take Mia home." He told them, before starting to walk away.

"Wait, Matty! Wait! Where are you going?" Leon asked, putting a hand on Matthew's shoulder to stop him.

Shrugging it off, Matthew turned to face his older cousin.

"I need to get away from here." With that he left the room without looking back at Mia.

Pulling out his phone, he dialled the first person on his contact list, as he sprinted down the hall.

"Aidan, it's Matthew. Get me the first flight out of Heathrow...right now."

"Where are you going?" His agent asked.

"Spain, America, The Antarctic...I don't care. Anywhere but here."

Ending the call, Matthew bolted through the exit towards his car. He couldn't stand to stay another minute. Especially not now...not when...

We're over, he thought. It's all over...