Slow Dancing in the Darkness

Taking a small breath in, Gabriela tapped her hand against the door of Rodrigo and Elise’s home, trying to keep herself calm. She was irked, Elliot’s moping was affecting Noah, but she knew she couldn’t just stand there and yell at him. It would only serve to make things worse and Gabriela didn’t want that. She wanted her son to have a relationship with his father and she was sick of Elliot playing games and hurting Noah.

“Gabriela” Elise mused, her dark eyes staring at the brunette.

“Is he here, Elise?” Gabriela posed.

Elise nodded. “He is, but why are you?” the older woman posed gently. She was a little surprised, she had figured the last person to offer her son sympathy would be the girl who he’d hurt the most, but she was a little pleased to see her. If there was one person who could talk sense into Elliot then it was Gabriela.

“My son misses his papa” Gabriela replied with a small shrug “I figured I could talk to him” she added.

“Leo knows you’re here?” Elise posed. She wanted her son to get better, of course she did, but she didn’t want it to come at the expense of a marriage that Gabriela had worked hard on. The brunette and her husband made wonderful sense together and Elise didn’t want their daughter to end up in a similar situation to her older brother.

Gabriela nodded. “He’s not thrilled about it, but he gets it” she noted.

Elise nodded her head and stepped out of the way, allowing Gabriela to step inside. “He’s in the spare room. First door at the top of the stairs” Elise informed her before she ducked into the kitchen, allowing Gabriela to make her way up the stairs, tapping tentatively on the door that Elise had sent her to.

“Ma, I don’t want anything” Elliot’s voice was gruff as it spilled out of the room.

Gabriela shook her head and pushed the door open. “I’m not your mother” she murmured.

Elliot, who had been rested against the headboard of the bed, turned, his brown eyes looking at her. “Ela” he breathed.

“What the fuck are you doing, Eli?” Gabriela muttered, not missing the half-drunk whiskey bottle which sat beside the bed.

“If you came to yell, you can leave” he replied.

“I am not going anywhere” Gabriela muttered “What’s all this for? Because Elena left and took Diego with her?” she posed.

Elliot made a small sound, but didn’t say a word.

Gabriela shook her head. “You deserved it” she muttered “Your secretary?” she posed.

“A mistake” Elliot countered.

Gabriela scoffed. “Just like she was when you were with me?” she countered “Elliot, you’re a serial cheat and you deserve little sympathy. I’ll admit, Elena is not fantastic, but she didn’t deserve what you did and I didn’t either. You can’t just be happy with what you have, can you?” she posed.

Elliot shook his head. “I didn’t want her” he murmured “I never really did. I wanted you Ela, but you ended up with that husband of yours” he spat.

Gabriela shook her head. “You have a funny way of showing me, Eli” she murmured “6 years you fooled around on me and now that things aren’t going your way, you’re pouting like a child and ignoring the most important person in this entire situation. Noah misses you, Eli, he actually asked me if you were going to come and see him again, and I am sick of covering for you. This thing is on you, you cheated on me, you cheated on Elena, and you don’t deserve the two little boys that you have” she muttered.

“Why do you love him, Ela?” Elliot murmured.

“Leo?” she posed.

Elliot nodded his head, his eyes watching her.

“He makes me feel safe and protected” Gabriela murmured “When I am with him, I can’t not smile. He’s caring and romantic, thoughtful and clever and he makes me feel as though he wants me. I like who I am with him” she explained.

Elliot sighed. “I didn’t do any of that?” he posed.

Gabriela peeked at him. “What I felt for you was different” she murmured.

“What did you feel?” Elliot pressed.

“Elliot” Gabriela warned.

Elliot shook his head and stood up, stepping towards her. “In the beginning, you and me, we were so good, Ela” he insisted gently, his hand brushing over hers which sat at her side.

“And by the end of it, I hated you” Gabriela returned.

“I made a mistake” Elliot murmured, leaning a little closer to her.

Gabriela shook her head. “You were fucking her for six years, Elliot. Once would have been a mistake” she countered.

“But what if…?”

“Elliot” she warned.

“Just think about it, Ela” Elliot encouraged “What if I hadn’t slept with Elena? Do you think we would still be together?” he posed.

“I don’t know, Eli” she murmured “We were never quite right, even before the Elena fiasco. I don’t know if it would have worked out for us, but it doesn’t matter now. You need to get off of your ass and…” Gabriela’s words faded away as Elliot leant into her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. It startled Gabriela, it was softer than the two kisses that he had planted on her before, and for a moment, it reminded her of the way that Elliot had used to be, sweet and caring and not too dissimilar to her current husband.

“I’d give anything to show you how much I regret the mistakes I made” Elliot murmured, his nose touching hers.

“You’re too late” Gabriela replied “Maybe…before Leo and Amelia, then maybe, but I can’t do it to them, Elliot. You had your chance with me” she murmured.

Elliot let out a small sigh and ducked in again, kissing her gently. Gabriela thought about fighting against it, but for a moment, it seemed familiar to her, causing her to hesitate before she pushed him away from her. “I want you” Elliot murmured, placing tentative kisses against her jaw and her cheeks.

Gabriela swallowed thickly and backed away from him, shaking her head. She hated it, the mere notion that she was tempted by him, and she wanted to get away before she did something even more stupid. “I…I need you to stop this, Eli. Noah needs his papa” she noted “I’d like you to see him this weekend” she added.

Elliot stared at her, but nodded. “Alright” he conceded “But I am not going to just stop wanting you, Ela” he noted.

Gabriela shook her head. “I need you to. I am happy, Eli” she noted.

Elliot shook his head, mumbling something about him doubting it before Gabriela stepped out of the door, closing it behind her with a quiet click. She hated that it had happened, that she had let it happen twice, but she hated more was the notion that she had been tempted. In over 3 years she hadn’t been tempted by her former husband and it scared her. She didn’t want to wreck her second marriage for the man who’d ruined her first.