AR - Contact Adella

Time zones. Other countries. Language barriers.

Talking to someone in a jail in Spain is a bitch, but with some persistence and spending some money, you make it happen.

“Adella?” you ask excitedly when the line finally connects.

“America?” She sounds surprised to hear from you.

“You didn’t think I’d call?”

“I thought you would be upset.”

“Of course I’m upset! Are you OK?”

Adella sighs. “I am OK.”

“I can’t believe this. Is this because I didn’t do what your dad wanted me to?”

“It is not your fault.”

That’s… not exactly an answer. So it really is your fault.

“I don’t get it,” you say miserable. “Why is he punishing you?”

“He does not like it that I do not participate in his business,” Adella says tiredly.

“Listen, I talked to a lawyer. She says the crime is not serious and you will win your case,” you tell her. “Apparently there’s a lot of girls doing stuff in that video.”

“Have you watched it?”

“No! But that doesn’t matter. You aren’t going to go to prison. You should be OK,” you say.

“I know. His plan was never to imprison me, it was only to have me disqualified from FUTA,” Adella explains. “My contract is broken. I cannot play.”

Yeah… even for these bullshit charges, Adella has to go back to Spain and miss probably several weeks. It’s horrible. It’s just so petty. FUTA is a huge opportunity, and he just took that away from her like it was nothing by getting some prosecutor to file charges over an old video.

“But you’ll win,” you say.

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll come back when your court stuff is done? I know you’re out for this season, but you can get back in next season if there is one,” you say. “And I’m going to make sure there is. I’m going to turn it up. I promise.”

Adella laughs. “You want me to come back?”

“Of course I do. Being here without you sucks,” you say. “It’s only been like two days and I miss you.”

“You are too good for me, America.”

“Then you’re coming back? You promise?”

“OK,” she says.

You are so relieved. You don’t need her to know that you were trying not to cry this whole time. You didn’t know what to expect from this conversation. She’s your first real girlfriend, and there’s just something awful about her being halfway across the world and suffering. Are jails in Spain nice? You don’t know.

“If you had done what he asked,” Adella says, like she’s reading your mind. “He would have made you do terrible things. Lie. Use your body. Keep secrets. If you were thinking that would have been easier, it would not have been.”

“But you would still be here,” you say.

“Yes. But you would be unhappy. I don’t want to see you unhappy.”

You sigh. “I could’ve gone to Annette.”

“She would have used you in the same way that my father would have,” Adella says confidently.

“She might be better,” you say, sniffling.

“She might be worse. You did the right thing.”

You hope so.