Hear Your Heart

Biting down on the corner of her lip, Olivia peeked up at the familiar house, nerves gnawing in her stomach. She knew that it had to be done, after 3 months of it just being her and Thiago, she had reached the conclusion that she needed Iker around. It had been hard, even with Callie and Jacob hanging around to help her, and she knew she couldn’t hide it forever. Thiago was growing more and more with each passing day and, despite the anger she still felt towards the keeper, she couldn’t let Iker miss out on any more of their son’s life. It wasn’t fair on Thiago who deserved the best she could give to him. “Come on, Oli” she murmured, gently rocking the pushchair which sat at her side “You have to do this” she added before she turned her blue eyes down to her son, her heart jumping at the mere sight of him. He was stunning, even if he had come from one of the biggest mistakes she had ever made, and part of her would always be grateful to Iker for helping to make him. Thiago was the best thing she had.

Swallowing a little, she smiled down at her baby before she steered his pram up the pathway, gently ringing the doorbell. She knew it was a cowardly way of doing things, if she had been braver, she would have sought Iker out at the training ground which she had avoided like the plague since their break-up, but the idea of seeing him by herself the first time terrified her, hence why she had opted to visit his parents instead. She knew that they were mad at Iker, they had called to ask how she was once things had ended, and she hoped that that boded well for her. She needed someone to help her muster the courage to contact him.

“Olivia?”

Olivia stiffened a little at the sound of her voice before she lifted her head, offering Carmen a weak smile.

“Olivia, sweetie, what are you doing…” Carmen’s voice trailed off as she spotted the pram which sat beside the brunette, something which made her swallow. “You…You had a baby” she whispered.

Olivia nodded. “That’s why I am here, Carmen. I know I have no right to ask, you’re Iker’s parents after all, not mine, but I need someone to help me. Carmen, this is your grandson” she whispered, her voice shaking with nerves. She knew it was a risk, Carmen could easily turn around and yell at her for keeping Thiago hidden, but it was a risk she needed to take. She couldn’t face the idea of seeing Iker alone.

Carmen blinked. “What?” she squeaked.

“Can I come inside?” Olivia whispered “I will explain” she added.

Carmen nodded her head and stepped aside, allowing Olivia to steer the pushchair into the hall whilst she called for her husband. “Come through to the living room” the older woman smiled feebly. Olivia nodded her head and moved to collect Thiago from his pushchair, allowing Carmen to glance at him, a sight that took her breath away.

“He’s Iker’s” she murmured, her eyes transfixed on the baby who began to pout as Olivia lifted him up.

“He is. I was pregnant when we broke up and this is the result, your grandson Thiago” she noted gently, her blue eyes fixed on her feet.

“Thiago” Carmen whispered “Olivia, he’s beautiful” she added, her fingertips lightly brushing through the thin layer of brown hair that sat on Thiago’s head.

Olivia smiled timidly. “You can hold him if you’d like” she whispered.

Carmen smiled and moved to take the little boy from his mother’s arms, drawing a small whimper as Jose padded into the room, his eyes widening at the sight of ‘the one who had got away’ from his son. “Olivia” he noted, surprise echoing in his voice “What are you doing here?” he added.

Olivia swallowed. “I came to ask for your help” she murmured “I need to see Iker, I need to let him meet our son, but I cannot do it alone. I am scared that he will be furious, scared that I will not be able to handle it, and I was hoping that you two could…”

“You want us to be there?” Jose interjected.

“I just don’t think I could do it alone, Jose” she whispered “I wish I could” she added.

“Did Iker know you were pregnant when things ended?” Carmen whispered, gently soothing Thiago who had begun to whimper at being close to a stranger.

“He knew” Olivia noted “I just…I couldn’t handle him being near me. It was selfish, I know that, and I hate that I did this, but I want to make it right before Thiago is too old. I want my son to know his papi, even if that man is the man who broke my heart. I don’t want to take that out on Thiago” she explained, her voice shaking a little.

“Oli, you should have come sooner” Carmen noted, pressing a kiss to Thiago’s head.

Olivia nodded. “I know, I really do, but I was…I am scared” she admitted gently.

Carmen sighed gently and moved to hand her grandson over to Jose whose face lit with a small smile as he smiled down at the baby boy. There was no doubt that he was his grandson. “We’ll help you to see Iker, we’ll set up the meeting here and keep an eye on you, but you need to understand that Iker is likely to be upset, Oli. Thiago is his first son and he is not going to take well to the idea that he wasn’t there to see him born, nor that he has missed the entire pregnancy and the first three months of his son’s life. We can help you, Oli, but only so much” she explained.

Olivia nodded gently. “I understand” she noted “But thank you” she added.

Carmen shook her head. “It is the least we can do for you after what Iker did to you. I never did get the chance to apologize for that” she murmured.

Olivia sighed. “It’s not your fault. I thought we were happy, that things were working out, but Iker made it clear that they weren’t. This isn’t about me and him, this isn’t about the way things were or the way they’ll be, it is about him” she noted, smiling at Thiago.

Carmen watched the brunette and sighed, wondering just why Iker had ever let her go.