Slow Dancing in the Darkness

57: It’s Always Been That Easy

Closing the front door, Gabriela rested against it for a moment, her blue eyes squeezed shut. She felt awful, she had let Elliot get too close and again, the other man had stolen a kiss from her, but she felt worse for not object as vehemently as she had done before. She didn’t want him, she hadn’t wanted him in years, but the way that he had kissed her had reminded her of the man he had been when they’d first started going out, a man that was not too dissimilar to the man she was currently married to. Swallowing thickly, she shook her head, trying to get rid of the image from behind her eyelids.

“Ela?”

Gabriela jumped a little at the sound of Lionel’s voice, her blue eyes snapping up to him as he wandered down the stairs, Amelia’s monitor in his hand. “You’ve been gone for a while. I was starting to get concerned” he noted, his voice light and teasing.

Gabriela shook her head. “I didn’t mean to be gone so long” she murmured gently.

“Is Elliot alright?” Lionel posed as he stepped a little nearer to her.

“He’ll be fine” Gabriela replied, a little too quickly.

Lionel frowned. “Ela, amor, are you Ok?” he posed, reaching out for her hand “You look pale” he added.

Gabriela looked at him, her stomach flipping at the sight of his brown eyes which stared right back at her, kind and warm. Swallowing, she shook her head. “You were right” she murmured.

Lionel frowned. “Right?” he quipped.

Gabriela sighed, her head dropping. “I went to speak to Eli and he started with his usual crap and then he started asking questions about what it would have been like if he hadn’t slept with Elena. He was being his usual self…”

“Get to the point, Ela” Lionel interjected, cutting off her rambling.

Gabriela swallowed. “He kissed me” she murmured “And I didn’t put up the fight I normally do” she added, not wanting to lie. She knew that he was going to be irked, Lionel always was when a situation involved Elliot, but she knew he would be more upset if she hid it from him. The last thing she wanted was Elliot spouting it out to Lionel when he came to collect Noah.

Lionel’s face flicked through a series of emotion before he shook his head, a small scoff falling out of his mouth. “Why the fuck do you keep doing it?” he muttered.

Gabriela opened her mouth, but no words came out, merely a series of soft sounds.

“That man has done nothing but fuck up you entire life, Ela. He hurt you and he has hurt Noah more times than I can count and yet still, the second he calls, you go running. It’s ridiculous, Ela” he spat.

“He’s my son’s papa” Gabriela reasoned.

“And that would have explained one attempt to satisfy his ridiculous need to keep you under his control, but this is ridiculous, Ela. He’s not a father to Noah, and you still run around trying to make him be one when you and I both know that his intentions on lay with you. He didn’t want Noah to begin with, he still doesn’t want him now, and I think a little part of you just enjoys doing it” he murmured.

“That’s not true” Gabriela countered “I love you” she added.

Lionel shook his head. “I don’t doubt that” he murmured “But this is the 3rd time, Ela and I can’t keep just forgetting that it’s happening. You still feel something for him, you must do, either that or you’re the most naïve woman I know for believing that you can convince him to be something he’s never been for Noah” he replied, his voice frustrated and upset. He was sick of it, Elliot had been a problem for them since the outset, and he couldn’t quite fathom that Gabriela was still letting him cause an issue almost 12 months later.

Gabriela shook her head. “I don’t” she refuted.

“You must do” Lionel countered, shaking his head dismissively “You constantly allow him in and I can’t help but think that you do it because you never got over him. You never got closure, Ela, and underneath all the hatred you have for him for hurting you like that, you know that that man is the first man you loved properly and even though I know you love me, it’s never going to be the same” he murmured.

“Leo…”

“I can’t keep going around in this circle, Ela” he murmured, interrupting her.

“I…”

“You need to cut him out. Elise could ran between you when it came to Noah, but you need to stop seeing Elliot” he murmured.

“It’s not that simple” Gabriela retorted.

Lionel scoffed. “It is that simple. It has been that simple from the outset and you refusing to do it just goes to prove me right” he muttered, placing the baby monitor into her hand “I think I am going to go” he murmured “I can call Gerard and spend the night there and we’ll talk tomorrow” he added.

“Leo” Gabriela protested, her hands grasping at his “Amor, please don’t go” she whimpered, tears in her blue eyes.

Lionel swallowed thickly. He’d always hated it when she cried. “I…I need to” he murmured gently “Just for tonight. I need to get my head straight” he noted.

“And you can’t do that in the spare room?” Gabriela sniffled.

Lionel shook his head. “I need to get away from you for a little while” he murmured “I will see you tomorrow” he added, ducking down to kiss her lightly. Gabriela held onto him, kissing him softly before he willed himself away from her, brushing the tears away from her cheeks. “I just need to think, Ela” he murmured, kissing the warm skin tenderly.

Gabriela sniffed. “I don’t want you to go” she sniffled.

Lionel shook his head. If he was honest, he didn’t want to go either, but he needed to get away. He needed to think for a little while and without her around to cloud his thoughts. Pressing another kiss to her lips, he stepped away from her slightly and made his way towards the stairs, preparing to leave their home for the night.

Gabriela watched him go and sniffed, wishing that she could have reacted quicker and pushed Elliot away. She hated the way that her former husband had gotten between her and Lionel and would have given anything to have stopped him. She merely wanted the chance to move on and be happy.
♠ ♠ ♠
Thanks to Luuuc_19, FootieJo and Jayme112234 for the comments :)