AN : Things are getting more interesting and chapters are getting longer.
I hope you'll enjoy it as well :)

Chapter 2

8 months ago

Raquel shivered as she felt a cold breeze on her arm. Squinting her eyes, she rolled on her side, reaching for the covers to pull them up over her head. Fighting her consciousness to go back to sleep, she let out a small groan when she finally surrendered, knowing that the land of dreams had left her. In a slow motion, she stretched out her arm to the other side of the bed, looking for the soft feel of Alicia's skin. She was disappointed when the only thing her fingers met were the cold sheets of the bed.

Lifting herself from the bed, Raquel called, "Alicia?" but her apartment was quiet. She was already gone.

Not the way I wanted to start my day, Raquel thought, running a hand through her messy hair.

This kind of behaviour was not unusual of Alicia but Raquel couldn't help but feeling frustrated and upset every time the redhead slipped out during the night. Actually, the only time Alicia and her shared mornings together was when Raquel spent the night at Alicia's place. She had nowhere to run then and despite this, she sometimes found errands to run early in the morning. Raquel had gotten used to that. It was the price to pay to keep Alicia in her life. She had learned to appreciate and cherish the rare moments of intimacy as much as the passionate nights they spent together. Raquel blushed a little at that thought, remembering how she had crumbled under Alicia's touch the night before. This made her heart sank a bit further, disappointed that there wasn't going to be round two this morning.

The effects of the alcohol she had drink the night before had worn off during the night, leaving Raquel with a pounding headache and a clenching thirst in addition to her frustrated heart. Grabbing the water bottle on her bedside table, she took a sip before letting herself fall back on the mattress, bringing the tanged sheets up to her chin. The lethargy was starting to settle in and Raquel knew it was a dangerous feeling. One she deeply hated but she felt deeply drawn to. Raquel didn't like feeling like she didn't have control over herself and her life. She needed to remedy that.

She gave herself a couple of minutes before swinging her legs out of bed. She took a long look at the bedroom before walking towards the bathroom, in need of a long and hot shower. Alicia hadn't even left a note.

Little did Raquel know she wouldn't see her again before that dreadful day in Señor Alfez's class.

PRESENT DAY

The lecture happened as Raquel had feared. She was too disturbed to be able to concentrate. Securing her hair with her pencil, she tried to commit to the course but stayed quiet and shrugged her shoulders when Señor Alfez tried twice to get an answer out of her. She was sure her voice would break if she spoke. It was best to stay silent. What a great way to start a first day…

Under her desk, her leg was twitching and she had to fight her sudden urge to punch something - or someone. Ana glanced at her and it was all it took for Raquel to straighten her shoulders, lift her chin up and put on a mask of professionalism. She needed to get a hold of herself. The sudden reappearance of Alicia had affected her more than she would have thought, she still needed time to process it but she wouldn't allow herself to show it to the redhead.

She took a chance during the class and shot a quick glance in the direction of where Alicia was seated. The woman was there, leaning on the back of her chair, utterly relaxed. She was scribbling something in her notebook and focusing on the lecture like she hadn't been gone for the last eight months. That's all it took for Raquel to throw her a dark look, not it was going to do anything. Alicia didn't met her gaze once but there was no way she hadn't seen her.

On the other side of the room, the brunette kept on nervously chewing her pen, unable to let go. What was she supposed to do? Go up to Alicia and confront her or act as if she didn't exist and maintain her distance? The ringing of the bell signed her release. Raquel observed Alicia from the corner of her eyes. In a matter of seconds, the redhead had collected her things and was out of the room while the other students were still packing. Okay, so they were avoiding each other.

"Did you see that?" whispered Ana when they were out of the room. "That was so rude of her. Couldn't she at least say hello? Or I don't know, come up to you to apologise for the way she left you?"

Raquel made a face, trying to think of something to say as to excuse Alicia's behaviour. She opened her mouth but no sound came out of it. Truth was, Raquel didn't know what she felt.

Before finding something reasonable to say, Ana went on "I mean, you don't get out of a nine-months relationship by abandoning the person you were with, that's just sick."

Raquel shook her head.

"We weren't in a relationship.", she corrected. That, she was sure of. Alicia had been clear.

"I don't do girlfriends."

"Boyfriends?", Raquel asked, teasing. Alicia shook her head.

"What do you do, then?" Raquel questioned inquisitive, cocking one eyebrow.

"I do you" muttered Alicia, closing the gap between Raquel's lips and her own.

Raquel tried to think of a way to describe to Ana what Alicia and her had but she was unsuccessful. How was she supposed to label a relationship kept secret from other people, based on sex, few stolen moments and without any kind of stability? Sex-friends? No that wasn't it. Lovers? That sounded wrong too. And despite all this, Raquel still considered Alicia a mystery. She had thought they were close, that the redhead cared for her but then Alicia had left. Just like that, without a word, without looking back.

Raquel had never told Ana about Alicia when the two of them were hooking up. She had respected Alicia's wish to keep it a secret. Ana had suspected something was going on because Raquel was less present and were dodging her questions. But she hadn't tried to force her into telling her what was going on, she reckoned that at some point she would. But after Alicia's disappearance, the blonde instantly noticed that something had happened and that Raquel was hurting. That's when Raquel had told everything to Ana.

Without any judgment or anger, Ana had made her best to comfort Raquel. She had seen Alicia around and had a general idea of how that woman operated. She had never really talked to her or seen her at parties but the redhead somehow always ended up on the bleachers during Raquel's basketball games. From all this, Ana didn't really know Alicia - but then again, who did, really?

"Actually, I have no idea what we were to each other", Raquel concluded, suddenly annoyed by the fact that she was reopening closed wounds.

"That girl used you, Raquel. I don't think there was anything more than that." Ana replied softly, trying to ease the conversation without blinding Raquel with a lie. "She was toxic."

"Anyway, it's over, I have moved on. I am with Hugo now and Alicia can go to hell."

"But still, I think she could at least acknoledg-"

"Can we talk about something else, please?" interrupted Raquel.

Her ton had escalated quickly and she suddenly felt guilty for being this harsh with Ana. Raquel knew she was just trying to help her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap." She waited a couple seconds, letting a loud sigh come out of her mouth. "It's just that I don't need that right now. Alicia is in the past and I really want to focus on the future."

Ana shrugged her shoulders "That's okay, you're tense, I get it".

They walked in silence for a couple minutes heading to the library to study. The whole Alicia thing had put a cold vibe on the two friends and Raquel couldn't help feeling guilty. She wasn't the only one feeling like that.

"Hey, you wanna go run some laps after school? You know, to blow off some steam…", asked Ana in a low voice.

Raquel smiled at this proposition. She knew Ana wasn't a big fan of running, especially in circles. She also knew that she was her friend and someone who had always been there for her, even during the toughest times. She had seen her at some low point and had never walked out on her.

Just when Raquel had started to feel better after the "breakup" -if you could call that a breakup-, she had lost her father. That second blow had been the hardest to recover from. But Ana had been by Raquel's side, giving her space or a shoulder to cry on whenever she had needed it. She was the most selfless person Raquel knew.

"You're trying to make me feel better." said Raquel, leaning her head on one side with a smile.

"Is it working?" Ana responded, playfully. They were almost at the door of the library.

"Yes, definitely." Raquel nodded. "Look, you don't have to come with me to basketball practice but I'll take your advice. I really do need to blow off some steam."

"Good, do that please!" Ana said with a begging voice. "We'll blow our own steam friday night at that party. We'll dance, we'll laugh and we'll forget about all that."

She went on talking about the outfit she was planning on wearing and the guy she had met this summer at the hospital that she wanted to invite.

The afternoon happened slowly. They had another class after lunch which turned out quite interesting. Raquel decided to ignore Alicia. If the redhead had decided Raquel didn't exist, she would do the same. She avoided her eyes and her presence, sitting as far away from her as possible. Just like the morning, Alicia was gone as soon as the bell rang.

Raquel and Ana decided to enjoy the rest of the day by sitting in the courtyard of the university, relishing the feeling of the last hot rays of sunshine on their skin. They found a spot on the grass and sat there, chatting. They parted a little before 5pm. Raquel accompanied Ana to the parking lot, said her goodbyes and grabbed her sport gear in the trunk of her car. She felt a tinge of excitement when she entered the gym and walked past front of the basketball court.

She had join the basketball team her first year at university and was surprised by how much she loved it. It was her way of preparing for the physical exam she'll have to do in order to join the police force but it was also a great way to clear her head after a stressful day. Raquel knew she wasn't gifted like some of the girls on the team ; she was the shortest and she wasn't as fast as some of her teammates but she certainly was the most dedicated. She also was competitive and liked to win that only pushed her more.

She made her way to the locker room, chatting a couple of minutes with some of the girls in the team. She introduced herself to the newcomers before changing quickly and headed to the gym. She jogged for a bit, played a couple game and finished her session by diving into a weight training session. She was almost done with her workout when she saw Julia, one of her teammate and the captain of the team approaching her.

"Hey Murillo! I think you've got yourself an admirer", she quipped with a smile.

She pointed toward a spot across the gym. Raquel's face lighted up when she recognised Hugo staring at her with a huge smile. He was sitting on a bench and waved at her when their eyes met.

"You should really go talk to him before I try to steal him from you", she joked with a wink.

"Good luck for that", Raquel replied with a small laugh.

Julia smiled too. "Where did you meet?"

"Student fair last May." Raquel started.

One look at Julia told her the young woman wanted to hear more. The brunette rolled her eyes and smiled, then conceded.

"He's a police officer in training and at the time, he was sent to the university to try recruit young officers. I think I am the only one who actually showed up to his booth. But then again, I already knew I wanted to join the police force after university."

"I guess that's just one more kind of motivation."

Raquel smiled and nodded after a quick look at Hugo. He still had his eyes locked on her.

"I am happy for you Ra, really. You deserve a good guy.", Julia winked. "Don't let him distract you too much, though. We still need you to win this year's championship".

Raquel let out a little laugh. Their basketball team had come first two years in a row and the whole team wanted to keep up the streak. She smiled: it also felt nice to be needed.

"I won't let you down, trust me" she articulated.

She let go of the free weight she had in the hand and grabbed her towel, trying to make herself less red and more presentable. The rest of the team was already starting to head to the locker room to change. Practice was over. With one last wink at Julia, she jogged lightly through the court.

Passing a hand in her hair to get the few rebel strands out of her sweaty face, Raquel's smile grew wider steps after steps. She knew Hugo and her were supposed to meet after classes but he had surprised her by being early. Sweet and on time, she liked that in a man.

"Hello beautiful", articulated Hugo who leaned towards Raquel, meaning to kiss her.

The brunette stepped back an inch giggling "I'm all sweaty, I don't think you wanna do that".

Hugo shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, I don't care." he muttered.

This time, she let him get closer and drop a light kiss on her lips. Closing her eyes, she smiled and sat next to him.

"How was your day?" Raquel asked curiously.

She was always eager to hear Hugo talk about his days. In a matter of weeks his nine months of mandatory training will be over and he'll officially be a police officer. He always had stories about his assignments and his training. Through everything he was living in his daily life, Raquel felt like she was getting a grasp of what was awaiting her. She loved it and felt inspired.

"Exciting. We had this fake operation that was we needed to handle. Some of us played the robbers." He started and went on like this for a couple of minutes. "How was your day?" He ended up asking.

"Uneventful" Raquel replied before thinking about Alicia.

She had briefly told him about her when they started dating and wasn't exactly sure how he would react if he knew she was back. Then again, she wasn't really sure she wanted to keep that information away from him.

"Actually no, Alicia's back." She sighed.

"The girl you were with?" He asked while frowning his eyebrows, trying to remember.

"We weren't really together but… yeah, her. She just showed up during class this morning."

Hugo took Raquel's hand. "How do you feel?"

That was a good question. Raquel shrugged. "I'm not sure. Angry mostly. She hasn't said a word to me and I don't think she intend to."

She had barely stopped talking when a shiver came coursing through her core. She was still in her sport's gear, sweaty and tired. Hugo noticed and took her hand.

"Hey, how about you go change so we can go home? You'll tell me rest of it later if you feel like it." He advised, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Sure", she responded with a nod.

He let her know he'll be waiting here for her. Getting up and leaving a quick peck on Hugo's lips, Raquel sprinted back to the locker room. When she opened the door, she crossed path with the rest of the team who was just leaving. They wished each other a nice evening and Raquel headed straight to the showers, happy to have the locker room all for herself.

Under the hot water, she could feel the stress of her first day wash away and leave her body. Her workout had soothed her even though she felt drenched and tired. Apart from the discussion with Hugo, she had succeeded in pushing Alicia to the back of her thoughts. She intended on keeping that up. She didn't need her past demon crawling back into her life and ruining it.

Right now, she only had one goal in mind: go home, put together a nice meal and spend the rest of the evening curled up against Hugo. She already had a few good ideas of some movies they could watch together. She smiled at that thought and got out of the shower. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her.

Reaching for a clean shirt in her gym bag, she put it on and left the changing area to walk towards the mirrors to start detangling her damp hair. Raquel was so lost in her own thought that she barely heard the noise of the locker room door closing in the other part of the room. Frowning her eyebrows to the suspicious noise, she steadied herself. She was the last one here and the gym would be closed by the janitor in a matter of minutes. Everybody had left or was supposed to be gone.

"Hello?" She called but got no answer from her attempt.

Slowly and quietly, she moved towards the noise, taking one step at a time. She was prepared for this, her self defence classes suddenly bright and clear in her heads. She felt the blood boiling inside her core, ready to take down whoever had entered the room. Alicia appeared suddenly in front of her. Raquel jumped back, surprised by the sudden appearance.

"Damnit Alicia! You sacred the shit out of me!" Raquel said loudly, releasing all the tension she had accumulated in these few words.

The redhead was in the middle of the locker room, arms crossed and a satisfied smile on the corner of her lips. She seemed amused and satisfied by Raquel's reaction. Her arrogant smirk and the look of enjoyment made the brunette even more mad. She had a way of getting on her nerves that was baffling. She didn't need to do or say anything for Raquel to feel annoyed. What the hell was she doing here?

"What were you planning on doing?" asked Alicia with a confident voice. She sounded cocky and a little bit smug. Cocking an eyebrow, she pointed at the object Raquel was still holding in her hand. "Attacking me with your hairbrush?"

Raquel rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh, annoyed. "Trust me, I'm sure I could have done some damage", she replied.

"I'm sure you would have", Alicia nodded, calmly. Her eyes were dark and intense. "I'd still like to see you try though."

Raquel stared a couple second into Alicia's eyes and crossed her arms, mimicking Alicia's posture. The redhead eyed her up and down, lingering a second too long on her naked legs. Raquel noticed and rolled her eyes, even though she felt the pink going to her cheeks.

"So, you're not dead." Raquel said bitterly, trying to distract herself from the intense stare of the redhead.

"Nope, not yet" Alicia replied, a smug smile on her face. "Sorry to disappoint."

Raquel was still sure that all of this could be a mind game, a trick her brain was playing on her. How could Alicia be standing here in front of her after all this time? A few hours back, she was a distant memory, a person she was sure had disappeared from the surface of the earth. And now she stood in front of her, cocky and insufferable. Not saying a word, using the silence as a way to pressure Alicia into adding more, Raquel went to her bag, tossing her hairbrush angrily on top of her stuff.

"What are you doing here, Alicia?" She finally asked when she was sure the other girl would not answer.

She grabbed her pants and started to put them on. The anger was starting to boil inside her veins.

"You've been avoiding me all day and now you come find me in the girl locker room. Are you stalking me?"

The redhead let out a laugh. "How presumptuous of you. No I'm not stalking you."

Raquel met her eyes and tilted her head. "That doesn't answer my question."

She wanted to know more. The eyes of Alicia were magnetic but they didn't let out any information. Alicia was a wall. Always had been. She rarely let anything show. Shaking her head, tired, Raquel added a layer on top of her shirt, putting on her hoodie. She wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible.

"It's just… I know you. You're quite predictable", finally gave out Alicia. She added a shrugged and sat on the bench close to the exit, blocking it. "You always train after a rough day. And I am sure today was just that kind of day." Her voice had softened but the arrogant ton was still here.

Raquel frowned her eyebrows. She hated that Alicia knew her so well. She also hated it when she was right. Of course Alicia knew her habits. She used to come and found her in the locker room when everyone had left. By the sparkle in Alicia's eye and her cocky eyebrow, Raquel knew she also remembered how she used to take her in these showers and make her shake and moan until the only sound her lips could form was Alicia's name. Raquel felt her cheeks burning up.

"Why are you back Alicia?" Raquel asked, clearing her throat and her mind.

The redhead chuckled and raise her arms. "I'm still a student at this university, am I?"

"Are you really?" Raquel asked bluntly. "You've been gone for eight months. I thought they would have expelled you by now."

"The university and I, we worked things out" Alicia argued, shrugging her shoulders. She sounded bored by all this chitchat.

"Are you going to apologise?" Raquel blurted.

"Apologise for what?"

Raquel's eyes widened and she felt her breath leave her body like she had received a punch. Actually, a punch would have been softer.

"Godammit Alicia!" What are you doing here then?" Raquel said angrily, raising her voice.

"I wanted to talk to you."

Raquel was surprised. If she wasn't here to apologise, what was there to talk about? "About what?"

"About us."

"Us?" Raquel scoffed, shaking her head. "There aren't any us. There never were any us, Alicia. You were very clear on that."

Alicia stayed silent, looking straight into Raquel's eyes, knowing that there was more to come. Grabbing her bag and putting it over her shoulders, Raquel approached Alicia. Her anger had made her brave enough to come face to face with her, not bothering stepping inside her comfort zone.

"We were just fucking, fooling around. You did me, I did you. Nothing more".

These words were heavy in her mouth and she felt her throat tightens as she kept saying them. She was furious.

"When you left me, I wanted to talk to you too but you never picked up. You didn't even bothered to leave a note or a text. Nothing." Raquel spat that last word. "And now you wanna talk?" She shook her head in disbelief. "The only thing I have to say to you is go fuck yourself Alicia."

Without giving Alicia a chance to explain, Raquel stormed out of the locker room, angry tears threatening to roll on her cheeks. She wiped them furiously not willing to give that satisfaction to the redhead. She had cried enough when Alicia had disappeared months ago and she wanted to be done with that. Getting over her had been difficult and tiring and she didn't want to waste any more time or sleep over her. Her life had changed for the better.

Behind her, she could hear Alicia trying to catch up with her in the hallway and calling her name. Ignoring her, Raquel pushed the door to exit the building. Hugo was waiting for her a couple of meters away and she went to him. Raquel shot a quick glance at Alicia who was watching her from afar. When she was sure the redhead was staring at her, she closed the distance between Hugo and her to kiss him. Yes, she had moved on.