Hear Your Heart

“Are you going to be OK, Iker?” Sergio posed gently as he saw the last guest out of the goalkeeper’s house, closing the door softly behind them. It hadn’t taken long, after Iker had hit Cristiano, people had hurried to leave, including Olivia who had collected Thiago from Sergio’s arms in tears. She hadn’t said much, Sergio had only caught something about making sure he kept an eye on Iker, but he could tell that whatever had happened between them, had left the keeper devastated. He was quiet, he barely looked up when anyone spoke to him, and Sergio could practically see his mind working. “Iker” he repeated.

The keeper, who had been resting against the hall wall, looked up. “She said she didn’t love me anymore” he murmured, causing Sergio to frown.

“What?” he posed softly.

“Oli” Iker muttered “I asked her what was stopping us from getting back together and she said that she didn’t know if she was in love with me anymore. I never thought about that, Sergio, I never contemplated the idea that she didn’t love me anymore, and hearing her say it…am I wasting my time on her?” he whispered gently. He didn’t want to admit defeat, Olivia was the girl he wanted to spend his life with and he no doubt about it, but hearing her admit that she wasn’t sure of her feelings towards him hurt. He’d always been so sure, he’d thought that the only thing keeping them apart was the fact that he had cheated, but if Olivia didn’t love him, then he didn’t quite know what he was fighting for. He couldn’t force her, Olivia had always known her own mind and wasn’t going to be told how she felt, and Iker wondered if there was anything he could do to save them. He wondered if he could change her mind.

Sergio sighed. “Iker, you know I love Oli, and I love the pair of you together, but if she doesn’t have feelings for you, then I don’t think you can do anything to change it. Iker, you know better than anyone that Oli isn’t famed for changing her mind” he explained gently.

“I just don’t understand, Sergio. Feelings don’t just disappear” Iker sighed, moving to sit at the foot of the staircase.

“They do when you get hurt like that, Iker” Sergio commented, sitting dutifully at his friend’s side. “She gave herself to you, Iker, every last piece of her, and you tossed it back in her face. You made her question every second of your relationship, of your friendship, and now she can’t fathom ever letting herself be that vulnerable with you again. Hombre, I know you love her, but I don’t know what you can do to fix this” he muttered, patting Iker’s shoulder lightly.

“I just want a second” Iker replied “A moment where I stop being the man who cheated and I can be the man she fell in love with. If could remind her why she loved me to begin with, then I could fix it, but every time I am alone in a room with her, all we do is fight” he noted, shaking his head.

“Then perhaps you ought to back off” Sergio suggested “You’ve tried to force her to take you back and all that has done has made things worse for you. Perhaps you should take a step back, try seeing other people, and slowly start to work on moving on” he noted.

Iker shook his head. “I can’t do that” he noted dismissively “I know that the second I try and move on, Oli will get upset” he added.

“So you’re just going to never have sex or date again?” Sergio posed, his voice slightly incredulous.

Iker shrugged. “If it is what it takes, then yeah” he commented.

“Do you not think you’re perhaps putting too many eggs in the ‘Olivia loving you’ basket?” the defender posed “You’re giving up an awful lot on the basis of Olivia having a sudden epiphany” he commented.

“Sergio, Olivia is it for me” Iker commented gently, a small smile growing across his face “When I think about my future, I picture it with her and now with Thiago too. I can’t pretend that I am not hurt, Olivia admitting she might not love me stung like hell, but I don’t want to move on. If it isn’t her, then it isn’t worth it” he explained gently.

“But she doesn’t want to be with you” Sergio contributed.

Iker shrugged. “Then I wait” he murmured.

Sergio sighed. “Why did she love you to start with?” he posed. He knew he wasn’t going to change Iker’s mind, there was very little that would, and so he had opted to help. Iker and Olivia clearly needed to be pushed back together and that wasn’t going to happen if Iker was the only force attempting to push them together.

“I have no idea” Iker noted “That’s how this whole mess started. I don’t know why she would want me when she could have anyone she wanted” he mused.

“Then I will find out and we will work on reminding Olivia why she fell in love with you to start with. She might not be sure, Iker, but I know that she cares for you and we just need her to see it” Sergio quipped.

Iker shook his head. “This isn’t your mess” he noted “You shouldn’t get into the middle of it” he added.

Sergio shook his head. “I don’t like seeing you like this, Iker and I am sick of watching you and Oli yell at one another over something that happened forever ago. You two are perfect, even if there have been a few bumps along the way, and you deserve a chance to make it right, just like Olivia deserves a chance to be happy again, something I can tell she hasn’t been since you two split up. But most of all, I want the pair of you to remember that at some point, you made a little boy who would be far better served by having two parents who were happy and content than two parents who have an uncanny ability to make each upset. Thiago deserves better” he explained gently.

Iker nodded. “I know” he whispered.

“Then we are going to pinpoint the reason why Olivia Garcia loved you and we are going to remind her that she does before it is all too fucked up to fix OK?” Sergio encouraged.

Iker smiled. “Gracias” he noted softly, grateful for the help.