A Million Miles Away

Sergio walks in the hotel room finding Cristiano still sound asleep. He already did his morning routine and didn’t want to wake his friend up after the tiring night they had. He would be asleep as well, but the gym was calling his name. Their game was fantastic yesterday and they would be flying back to Madrid in a couple of hours. He couldn’t wait to see his daughter and chase her around the house.

The day Melody came into this world, Sergio’s life changed. It sounds absolutely cliché, but he had this pull towards the young infant. Of course that’s his daughter, but every moment he’s awake and away from the field he wanted to spend with her. His niece Daniela always brought a smile on his face and taking care of her definitely gave him a heads up on how it would be to have Melody, but holding her, watching her every move was something else. Being away from her is difficult, but it helps that Erica always calls him and sends him pictures to help ease the burden.

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he decides to call Erica to see if she’s awake. She’s becoming a problem for him. Not in a bad way, but the fact that their relationship has remained the way it has is bugging him. Sure, he let her have her time, to work out her issues concerning her parents, but he expected her to come back once everything was okay. If anything, he thought with Melody being born, Erica would want to be a family like how he thought she would want, but she proved him wrong. It bugs him to no end, but he wasn’t going to force her. Though looking at Amelia and Cristiano, he should definitely fight for Erica. He loves her and she’s it for him, it took him a time to process it, but he’s realized that while they were still together. Fact of the matter is, he knows she loves him, he loves her.

What’s the problem?

Sergio shakes away from his thoughts once he hears Erica’s voice.

“Hello?” She says once more after failing to get a response from Sergio.

“Sorry babe,” Sergio finally replies. “Hey, how’s everything going?”

“Good, your mom came over for breakfast so everything is good.” Erica replies. “When are you coming home?”

Though broken up, she lives in his home. Sergio refuses to be away from his daughter and Erica feels the same. They’re civil after all, they’re raising their child together. The situation is peculiar, Sergio and Erica recognize that, but they didn’t want to live in different households. Besides, it’s not like they hate one another, they’re best friends, raising their child together. Everything about the situation sounds like it’s not working, but it’s been working for the last two years and it doesn’t show any signs of faltering anytime soon.

“Today, flight leaves in five hours,” Sergio replies. “How are you doing?”

“Good, I’m just really tired,” Erica sighs. Work has been taking a toll on her. Being a real estate agent definitely has its perks, but traveling to a house, trying to sell it, coming up short, it gets tiring. “I’ve been showing this couple every house that falls under their preferences, but there’s something always wrong about the dang house.”

“You’ll get it, are they newly married?” Sergio questions.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll have bigger problems to burden themselves with than house picking,” he can hear the bitterness in her voice. It’s not like she dislikes married couples, but she sees it as an accident waiting to happen. It’s not going to last for her and at times it could get irritating for Sergio, but he couldn’t blame her, it’s brought by the hurt that she experienced with her parents. Sergio’s realistic, he knows nothing lasts forever and not everyone will have ‘happily ever after’ but that didn’t mean you should give up. Bumps on the roads happen, the key is to drive over them and move on.

“Erica, stop,” Sergio shakes his head. “You need to stop thinking like that. Not every couple is doomed.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about this today.” Erica replies, knowing this would lead to a fight, it always did. “How’s Cristiano holding up?”

“Um, well I’m guessing, he was phenomenal yesterday.”

“Yeah, I saw that, I feel awful for him.”

“We both do, babe, but we can’t really do anything.”

Erica sighs. “Yeah, it’s just awful for him because he lost Amelia over something he shouldn’t be blamed for.”

“Tell me about it,” Sergio rolls his eyes. “I just wanted to check on my girls, I’ll be home soon.”

“Okay, see you later,” Erica replies. “Did you need me to pick you up?”

“No, I’ll get a ride with Cristiano.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Sergio hangs up, slipping the phone back in his pocket.

It’s been two weeks since Katia’s birthday and there has been no progress whatsoever. Though Katia told Cristiano that she got through to Vince, there hasn’t been any word on what the next step will be.

Sergio steps out of the room and onto the balcony, looking over the city. “Life is good,” he smiles to himself, sitting down on the chair, leaning back.

His phone vibrates. He expects to see his Erica’s name flashing on the screen, but instead it’s Amelia’s name. The last time he spoke to Amelia was last week and that was just to check up on her. He hasn’t been in contact much since things had gotten hectic.

“Hello,” he answers.

“Sergio!” One thing that hasn’t changed is Amelia’s chirpy greeting for him. No matter what time he calls her, she always says his name in this tone of voice that is never too loud or soft and always just, well, cheerful.

“Amelia, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I’m bored,” Sergio laughs at her response, shaking his head. It reminds him when Amelia used to tag along when he and Cristiano would go shopping. She wasn’t with them often, but when she came along, she would pester Sergio to no end and of course instead of stopping her, Cristiano would encourage her. He didn’t mind, but there were times that Amelia would get under his skin. If he’s being completely honest, he rather her get under his skin, than not remember her bothersome ways.

“You called me because you’re bored?”

“No, not exactly,” she replies. “I dreamt about Cristiano again.”

So, maybe Sergio is keeping a secret from everyone else. He’s been Amelia’s confidant when it comes to Cristiano. She’s dreamt about Cristiano a couple of times and has remembered him in some ways. His exact role in her life is still something blurry to her, but she’s recognized that Cristiano is quite important to her. At times Sergio feels like he’s betraying Cristiano by keeping this a secret from him, but this is something he has to do and he can always tell Cristiano, the sooner the better.

“Really, what was it about?”

“Nothing special, we didn’t really talk or anything. You and Iker were there, I think we were just hanging out.” She draws out the scenario. “We were watching Transformers, the last film and that’s it.”

“Well, that’s not really a dream, that’s a memory. That’s the last time I saw you before the accident.” Sergio explains. They had seen the movie together, one of the last times they all hung out together. The accident happened three weeks after they saw the movie.

“I see,” Amelia replies. “Can’t you just tell me who Cristiano is in my life? I mean, there is absolutely no picture of us together or any letters, nothing. Just because he was erased from my memory doesn’t mean he was completely erased.”

Sergio couldn’t exactly tell her the truth. It would complicate things and the last thing he wants is to give her a headache. He could lie or he can just avoid the topic.

“Amelia, it’s not my place to tell you. If you want you can talk to Cristiano.” This is his fleeting moment, his redemption to Cristiano for not telling him about his conversations with Amelia. Well at least, not telling him the full story.

“Can you arrange that?”

“Wait, you do want to talk to him?”

“Of course I do, anything that can piece the puzzle together.” Amelia’s response causes Sergio to move out of his chair and enter the room once again to shake Cristiano awake. “Besides, he’s my favorite football player.”

Sergio stops shaking Cristiano. “Woah, wait a minute, how is he your favorite?”

“I don’t know, he’s just so amazing. All the moves he does and then scoring those goals.” Amelia giggles. “If it makes you feel better, you’re tied with Iker as my second favorite.”

“Amelia, he’s your cousin, he’s going to be second because he’s family. If anything, he should be first, I would understand that.” Sergio points out. “Having Cristiano as your favorite makes no sense.”

“You’re second!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you forgot your memory, but you still favor him.” Sergio mutters, shaking Cristiano again. Cristiano’s eyes open, immediately glaring at Sergio for waking him. He holds his hand up to Cristiano, signaling for him to wait before he pounces. “Did you want to talk to Cristiano right now? He just got back from breakfast.”

Cristiano gives Sergio a questioning look. Sergio mouths ‘Amelia’ to him causing Cristiano to sit up, wiping the corners of his mouth. He straightens his look, as if Amelia would come through the door any moment. Sergio rolls his eyes, pushing Cristiano on his chest.

“Um, sure? I don’t know, I feel like we should do it in person, I’m a bit shy.”

“Why cause he’s your favorite football player?” Sergio questions bitterly.

“Shut up, Sergio,” she laughs. “Well, I’m just nervous because this is technically the first time I’ll talk to him and I kind of want a support system. Maybe you can come with him when you both are back in Madrid?”

Cristiano waits, looking at Sergio for any hint of when he’ll get to talk to Amelia. His nerves are definitely going wild, thinking of what he can talk to Amelia about, where should he start? He can’t exactly be direct, he needs to take things slowly. Patience has never been his thing, but he can try to make it work.

“Sure, we’re off for two days, I’ll get Erica to come along as well,” Sergio nods his head. “This is going to be the first time we’ve seen each other in so long.” He says to her.

“I know, I’m excited.” Amelia enthusiastically replies.

“Wait, what about Vince?”

“He’s leaving for England today, he won’t be back till Sunday.”

“Will he be okay with this?”

“Yeah, he’s the one who suggested it.”

“Vincent suggested for us to come see you?”

“Surprising, I know, but yes he did. Just let me know what time are you guys coming over. Did you want to do it tonight?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

“Okay! I can’t wait to see you guys, I’m nervous now. Alright, see you! Bye!”

“Bye,” Sergio hangs up.

He turns towards Cristiano, who’s sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.

“So, I guess we’re heading to the Leon’s.” Sergio smiles.

“Explain, I’m not sure how to react because you woke me up and my mind is a bit jumbled right now.” Cristiano is trying to keep his excitement at bay. He doesn’t want to be overly excited just to be shot down after Sergio explains the situation.

“Okay, let me start of by saying you know you’re one of my closest friends and the things I do are questionable, but it’s for your own benefit.” Sergio begins, moving slightly away from Cristiano in case he had the urge to hit him. “Amelia’s been confiding in me about her memory and we talk about it quite often.”

“Um, okay? You’ve told me this before.” Cristiano gives him a questioning look, lost as to what part of that he would be upset about.

“Yeah, but she’s been talking about you. She’s dreamt about you a couple of times and she has been having memories about you.” Sergio further explains. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you, but she asked me to not tell anyone because she’s trying to figure everything out.”

Cristiano shakes his head. “It’s fine,” he’s receiving the news calmly, unsure why he is, but he is. He’s a bit irritated with this withholding game that everyone is playing, but he’s understandable with Sergio because Amelia requested for him to be her confidant and he wouldn’t want Sergio to break Amelia’s trust. Vince and Daniel do it for their own selfish needs, but Sergio did it for a different reason.

“Really?”

“Yeah man, it’s just, Amelia asked you to do this for her, and I respect that.”

Sergio nods his head. “Well, she called me, as you can see and asked about you and I suggested for her to talk to you. She agreed and I thought she wanted to do it over the phone, but she prefers to see you in person.”

And just like that, everything falls into place for Cristiano.

“See her? As in actually speak to her?” He sounds like a teenage boy, finally getting the opportunity to talk to the girl he’s been fancying. But he didn’t give a shit how he sounds right now, he can finally make everything right.

“Yes,” Sergio replies. “But Cristiano, you need to be cautious as well. She isn’t the Amelia we used to know, I’m not saying she’s different, but she doesn’t remember us as much as we would like her too. You can’t tell her that you’re her boyfriend.”

“What?” Cristiano gives him an incredulous. “Why not?”

“Cristiano, we need to take it one step at a time. You can’t just bombard her with this new found information as soon as you meet her. Just let her know what you two were to one another. Best friends.”

“That’s a stupid idea.”

“It’s not, you just think it’s stupid because you’re an impatient asshole.” Sergio sighs. “I’m not the bad guy here, but you need to think about her as well. She needs to be able to digest everything first before we get to the deeper stuff. It’s a need to know basis.”

Cristiano understands where Sergio is coming from. After two years he’s finally going to have his chance, he couldn’t help but be a bit overexcited. He wants this to go well, to help her in any way he can. But he needs to be patient, to understand that she won’t remember him as quickly as he wants her to. Even if she’s had dreams and memories about him, he’s not exactly sure what they were about. He can start wherever she wants to start.

“So I’m her favorite football player?” A smirk grows on Cristiano’s lips. “Should I get her a jersey?”

Sergio throws a pillow at Cristiano. “Get your lazy ass ready, we’re going home today.”



Vince walks in his hotel room, placing his luggage by the bed. He hates the fact he has a business meeting when he should be in Madrid, supporting Amelia. Besides that, he needs to talk to Cristiano. There’s a huge amount of bad blood between them and he feels the need to fix it. The way he sees it, it’s the end of his run now. Once Cristiano is back in, he knows he’s not leaving. He would be naïve to think so. Things need to settle between them and if one of them gets hurts, so be it.

He sits on the edge of the bed, fiddling with his phone. Amelia has called him several times and he’s not sure if it’s because Cristiano’s already there or she’s panicking. He wants to be there for her, but he’s still not one hundred percent sold on the idea of having Cristiano back. All this time, he’s surprised Cristiano stayed away for as long as he has. There were times he expected Cristiano to come, but from what Katia told him, her little brother respected his wishes to reconnect with his sister. She didn’t say he liked it, he respected it.

“You are going to ruin her life,” Vince flops down on his bed, placing his phone on the bed. “If they’re meant to be, this will be the ultimate test.”

Moving up on the bed, he leans his back against the headboard. Turning the television on, he changes the channel a couple of times before landing on The Longest Yard that’s on some channel. He’s waiting for a friend of his to call him so he can they can have dinner together. The business meeting is already done, he had it earlier today, but he chose to stay away from Madrid for a couple of days, just to assure himself that he wouldn’t do anything to sabotage Cristiano. He didn’t hate the guy, maybe he’s jealous, but he’s never hated Cristiano.

There’s a knock on his door, getting him away from the movie. He stands up and makes his way over to the door, finding his good friend, Fernando Torres on the other side.

“I expected a call,” he teases Fernando making the Spaniard laugh.

“You’ll waste my minutes,” Fernando walks in once Vince moves aside. “I thought Amelia’s coming with you? She’s not on lockdown anymore.” Of course, it seems like everyone in the football world knows about Amelia, but Fernando became familiar with it since Vince is a friend of his along with Sergio and Iker.

“Haha, that’s funny,” Vince closes the door, following Fernando further into the room. “Amelia’s having dinner with Cristiano.”

“What?” Fernando gives him an incredulous look, unsure if this is true. Last time he spoke to Sergio, Vince was still in lockdown mode. “What made you change your mind?”

“Amelia’s been dreaming about him more often,” Vince sighs. “I could only hide him for so long.”

“At times, I really question your intelligence,” Fernando shakes his head. “I have a younger sister and even I know not to meddle with her affairs.”

“She almost died, Fernando.”

“Did she die?”

“She might as well be.”

“Vince,” Fernando could not believe this man at times. How can he even say such a thing? Amelia is alive.

“I’m sorry, it just, my sister is here physically, but mentally? She’s nowhere near us.” Vince sits down on the bed, while Fernando settles in one of the chairs beside the window. “When I would talk to her about things, she would give me the most blank look, it hurts at times. She remembers much more now, but it hurts.”

“You feel like there’s no end to this?”

“Basically.”

Fernando chuckles at his friend’s selfishness. “You know, not once did I hear you concern about her.”

“Excuse me?” He’s appalled by Fernando’s suggestion. Of course he’s concerned about her, he’s been taking care of her, making sure she attends her appointments and everything.

“Vince, ever since the accident you took care of Amelia, you sheltered Amelia. Whatever she needed, you gave to her. I’m sure if your mother somehow let you, you would have closed off the rest of your family to take care of her.” Fernando states. “But it’s about your redeeming moment. It was all about your chance to start anew with her after you abandoned her.” It’s the truth and as much as everyone’s been talking about laying down the truth for Vince, nothing is happening. “In the end of the day, your main concern was how you would look. Have you ever stopped and think about what kind of damage you’re doing to Amelia? How your selfishness might have been the one thing that’s keeping her from fully regaining her memory?” Vince remains mum, Fernando’s words kicking in. Everyone always talks to him about this, but it’s different, it varies, it changes all the time. “You kept her from the person that made her the happiest, just so you can redeem yourself. Right now, you’ve been talking about how frustrating it is for you, have you ever thought about how frustrated Amelia might be? How this is killing her inside?”

Fernando waits for the words to sink in as Vince’s demeanor changes. His shoulders drop, the weight of his friend’s words coming down on his shoulder, making him realize what everyone has been saying this whole time. Sure, Katia and Jay gets to him, but hearing it from someone who doesn’t live in Spain, someone who’s like a spectator of this whole situation, it’s different in some ways. Besides that, Fernando is quiet, he rarely talks to him about these types of things. For him to just talk to him about it, surprises him.

“Amelia adores you, as much as Jay would hate to admit it, you’re her favorite brother. She loves you and she would do anything for you.” Fernando continues. “But she wouldn’t do this. You can redeem yourself by just being her brother man, by supporting her, hell, by supporting her and Cristiano. I’m not telling you to let them date, but let him in.”

Vince always hated himself for closing everyone off, for pushing them away so he can wallow in self-pity. Everyone had their way of grieving, but he took it to another level. Those years he was closed off from society, he didn’t exactly enjoy it, maybe that’s what made him bitter. Cristiano was his best friend and looked where they are now, worlds apart. Amelia, the younger sister he always dot after when she was younger became a stranger to him. Jay, his older brother that he admired, aspired to be, became his enemy for no reason. His mother, who was his number one supporter became just another face in the crowd.

He did everything to himself.

“She’s going to hate me,” Vince smiles bitterly, for once thinking of the consequences of his actions.

“Amelia will never hate you.”

“She will now,” Vince sighs, running his fingers through his short brown hair. “I took away Cristiano from her. I took away her memories from her.”

“Woah, that’s not the deal, you know that.” Fernando insists. “Everyone understood you Vince, they let you have your moment because for once, the Vince we all once knew came back. But he brought new Vince along, who could be a bit of an asshole.”

Vince slightly laughs. “I really dug myself a hole.”

“You’ve always been good at climbing out of such predicaments.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if I can get out of this one.”

“Why not? There’s no reason why you can’t.”

“I’m pretty sure Cristiano’s going to kick my ass.”

Fernando laughs. “You said it yourself, you dug yourself a hole. I’m sure he won’t hurt you.”

“I think the way he loves her scared me.”

“Scared you? Why would that scare you?”

“Because for once, Cristiano actually showed me that he was worthy of my sister and that he could take care of her. I’ve been used to having Jay to share my sister with, but Cristiano came along and it was a different story.” Vince laughs, remembering the time Cristiano asked for his permission, which he gave because he thought Cristiano was pulling his leg. “He was never supposed to last with my sister.”

“Wow, way to be optimistic.” Fernando rolls his eyes.

“I know, it’s a dick thing to say, but I always thought they would end since Cristiano didn’t seem to be into commitment and look where they are now.” Vince shakes his head. “I’ll make it up to Cristiano, I owe him that much.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I guess that’s still something I have to figure, but I’ll make it up to him and Amelia.”



Amelia sits on the couch, reading a magazine while Daniel watches television beside her. Katia and Dolores are busy in the kitchen, cooking for the arrival of her Cristiano and Sergio. Erica is not going to be able to make it because she promised her mother that she would have dinner with her along with Melody. As much as she wanted to be there for Cristiano and Amelia, she couldn’t.

She’s not really sure how she feels, but she’s definitely happy to finally see the two men in person. The television is something, but at times, she would think that this is a cruel joke being played on her. Sergio might not be the real Sergio, what if it’s all a lie? But then again, Vince or Jay would have told her a long time ago, they wouldn’t string her along for this long. Pessimism has never been her forte, but she can’t help her thoughts.

“You excited?” Daniel takes Amelia’s leg’s stretching it across his lap. He turns his head towards her, waiting for her response.

“I guess,” she shrugs. “I don’t really know these people. I’ve met Sergio after the accident, but I mean, we only speak on the phone and I see him at times when I’m with Erica. Then Cristiano, I’ve never spoken to him before.”

“Amelia, these two men, they love you. Sergio is a really good friend of yours and so is Cristiano.” Daniel tries to explain the best he can. It’s not like he’s lying, but he couldn’t really be complex with his explanation. The friend’s route always works and technically that’s what Sergio and Cristiano are to Amelia.

“Why hasn’t Cristiano spoken to me then?”

“He’s had a hard time accepting the accident.” Daniel purses his lips, does he explain further? Does he tell Amelia that Cristiano was in the accident with her?

“Why?” She questions. “Because he was in the accident with me?”

“You know about that?” It’s not like there’s a memo that Vince and Jay hands out concerning what Amelia knows, but he didn’t expect for them to tell her that Cristiano was in the accident with her.

“Of course I do, Vince told me that Cristiano was blaming himself for the accident, that’s why he’s not talking to me.” Amelia explains.

Daniel wants to shake his head at Vince’ explanation wondering how his lies have gone on for this long. Cristiano did blame himself for the accident, but not as much as Vincent insists that everything was in Cristiano’s hands. Accidents happen, you can’t exactly blame Cristiano for something that’s out of his control.

“What else did your brother tell you?”

“Nothing, that’s it,” Amelia places the magazine on her stomach. “Is he lying?”

“Who? Vince?”

Amelia nods.

“No,” Daniel shakes his head. “He does blame himself, that’s why he hasn’t faced you.” That’s an actual truth, but not the main reason why Cristiano hasn’t been able to see her. “Amelia, do you remember many memories that has Cristiano in it?”

“Yes, I do,” Amelia replies. “He seems so, I don’t know the word, active? He was so active in my life yet he’s nowhere to be found now. A part of me is angry, yet another part understands him.” This was Amelia’s usual stance with Cristiano. When he does something idiotic that makes her heart pound erratically, she scolds him, cusses at him for worrying her, and then she supports him.

“Just give him time, he really misses you, he just doesn’t know how to approach you.”

Amelia shrugs. “I guess we’ll have to see when he gets here.”

“What made you set up this meeting now?”

“It’s about time.” Amelia’s not sure why she set up the meeting now. She’s been wondering that for some time. Cristiano plagues her mind and she doesn’t even know why. Maybe it’s the fact he’s her favorite football player. Or it could be the fact that she dreams of him and memories that are usual with him has been coming back to her lately. From what she can piece together, Cristiano was her best friend, when she wasn’t watching him play football quite often; they did hang out and had loads of fun together. She’s had memories of him comforting after her father passed away. Another memory is of him pouring a bucket of cold water on her because she was complaining about the heat. When she remembers him, she just gets this smile on her face and it made her feel good. It’s not like she’s upset or something now, but she just has this hunch that he can help her further remember things. “I just want to piece things back together. I feel like I left someone and I can’t remember them.”

“Left someone?”

“I don’t know, it’s weird to explain. I just feel like I didn’t live in this house before, that I was somewhere else.” Amelia sighs. “Is that crazy talk?”

“No, but you lost your memories Amelia, you might just feel that way cause it’s not familiar to you.” Daniel points out.

“Yes, but if I used to live here, it should be familiar to me, shouldn’t it?”

“It should, but your brothers just bought this house after your accident. Technically, the first time you’ve stepped foot in here was when you got out of the hospital from the accident.”

“Where did I live before then?” Vince and Jay never really hinted that she lived anywhere else but the house they live in now.

“I believe you lived with Jay in another home.” Daniel’s not even sure if that’s the truth. Jay did live in another house, but he’s certain that Amelia lived with Cristiano.

“Another house?” Amelia tilts her head. “Hmm, and all of a sudden we move to a different house?”

“Amelia, I’m not certain of these facts, you should ask Vince or Jay.” Daniel didn’t want to dig a deeper hole. “Sorry, I would love to help you, but I’m not really certain on where you lived before moving here.”

“It’s okay,” she smiles. “My head is going to start hurting with all this thinking we’re doing.” Daniel laughs.

“Thinking was always a difficult process for you.” He teases.

“Asshole,” she playfully punches his arm.

Her phone vibrates. She looks down and sees a text message from Sergio. Picking up her phone, she unlocks it and opens the message.



Amelia rolls her eyes, glaring at her phone screen.



Satisfied, she smiles and sends the message.

“Was that Sergio?” Daniel questions.

“Yep, they’ll be here soon.” Amelia replies.

Daniel nods his head. He knows things were going to be different from now on. Cristiano’s going to be back in Amelia’s life and he’s pretty sure there’s nothing anyone, not even Vince, could do anything about it.