Would You Fall Too?

“You ok?” Sergio posed as he looked over at Emilie, his eyes noticing the way that her leg bounced nervously. He knew why she was nervous, it was a few days before Christmas and after deciding that Emilie would be more comfortable in a setting that she was familiar with, Sergio’s family were due to arrive at his home, something he knew had her on edge. She wanted to do it, after Sergio had met her parents, Emilie wanted to make the same sort of effort for him, but still she was nervous. People were not a strength of hers, especially when there was something riding on it, and she was terrified that his family would hate her. She didn’t make the best first impression and hated the idea that his parents could turn around and ask what their son was doing with a girl like her.

“As Ok as I can be” Emilie murmured “You think they’ll like me?” she posed gently.

“Of course they will” Sergio insisted, shifting a little closer to her “Emmy, you have nothing to worry about” he added, settling a comforting hand on her knee.

Emilie shook her head. “That’s easy for you to say” she mumbled “You’ve got a personality that would charm anyone. I haven’t. I’m quiet and awkward and I can’t help but worry that they’re not going to like me” she rambled gently.

Sergio let out a muted sigh before he placed his hand against her cheek, pulling her blue eyes to look at him. “So what if they don’t?” he posed.

“Sergio, they’re your family. Surely their opinion matters” Emilie refuted.

“Not enough to have you concerned. Emmy, if they love you or hate you, it’s not going to impact the way I feel about you. We’ve got a good thing going on here, Em, and I want to keep it that way” he insisted softly. He knew that it was going to take a lot to convince her, she’d been worrying about that moment for weeks, but he wanted her to know that no matter what happened, he wasn’t just going to change his mind about them. He’d worked far too hard to just let her go on the say so of his parents.

“Sese…”

“No” Sergio interrupted “I love you and I am not going to let you wimp out on me now, Emmy” he insisted, smiling at her.

Emilie shook her head, mumbling something about him being an idiot, before the doorbell rang, something which made her breathing hitch. Sergio offered her a kind look, pressing a brief kiss to her head, before he padded out into the hall, returning moments later with a group of people in tow. Emilie blinked, trying to calm herself down, before she stood up beside him, allowing him to snake an arm around her waist. “Emmy” he noted gently “These are my parents, Jose Maria and Paqui, and my brother and sister Rene and Mirian” he smiled, pointing out each relative in turn.

“Hola” she squeaked “I…I’m Emilie, Sergio’s gi…girlfriend” she stumbled out.

Sergio flexed his arm a little around her, trying to calm her down.

“Emilie” Paqui repeated “What happened to Pilar?” she posed, her eyes peeking at her son.

“Madre” he warned.

“I’m curious” Paqui defended.

Emilie swallowed, her blue eyes peeking up at Sergio who ran a hand up and down her side, trying to keep her calm. “I broke up with Pilar months ago, mama, I told you that. I’ve been dating Emilie for a while now” he noted.

Paqui nodded her head, her eyes glancing over at the ginger girl who was staring at the floor. “Is she OK?” she posed.

Sergio shook his head. “You can talk to her, mama” he noted “She’s in the room” he added.

“Are you alright, Emilie?” Mirian posed, her eyes peeking at Emilie.

“I…I need to get out of here. Sese…”

Sergio pressed a kiss to her temple, mumbling that it was Ok, before he allowed her to step out of the room.

“Is she alright?” Rene posed, looking at his brother.

Sergio nodded. “Emmy’s not one for new people” he noted softly “She wanted to make a go of this for me, but I think it might have been a little overwhelming for her. Perhaps I should have done it one at a time” he explained.

“She like that with everyone?” Jose posed.

“Individuals, no, groups, yes” Sergio noted “I ought to go and see if she’s Ok” he added, excusing himself from the room.

~#~
“Emmy?”

Sergio’s voice was soft as it reached Emilie who had settled at the foot of his stairs, her hands messing with the frayed lace of her shoes. “I fucked that up, didn’t I?” she murmured.

“No” Sergio assured her gently “I should have been more tentative with introductions. All of them at once was too much” he insisted.

Emilie shook her head. “I bet Pilar handled it better” she muttered.

“Em…”

“Your mother loved Pilar, right?” she posed.

Sergio looked at her sheepishly.

Emilie shook her head. “Why am I even bothering then?” she posed.

“Because I’d like them to get to know you too” Sergio commented “When they do, they’re going to see that you and me make sense and they’ll love you too” he insisted.

Emilie shook her head, moving back to playing with her laces.

Sergio sighed. “They’re not going to compare you two” he muttered.

“If they did, I wouldn’t win” Emilie murmured “I don’t know much about Pilar, but I bet you two make far more sense than you and I do” she added.

Sergio let out a small sigh, but didn’t say anything, something which made Emilie shake her head. “You think that too?” she posed.

“I didn’t say that” Sergio replied.

“If you didn’t think it, you’d have refuted it without a pause” Emilie returned.

“Emmy…”

Emilie shook her head. “I can’t believe I believed you” she murmured. She wasn’t thinking straight, if she was honest with herself, she was more upset that she was unable to handle meeting his family than she was about his not answering right away, but the frustration and the nerves were getting the better of her, causing her to lash out at the one person who was attempting to make her feel better.

“Emilie” Sergio insisted.

Emilie sighed. “I am going to go” she murmured “I…I think you ought to leave me be for a couple of days” she added.

Sergio’s shoulders slumped, a pained expression flashing over his features before he nodded. “O…Ok” he agreed tentatively “But you have to know that in my mind, it’s a no contest. You are the one I want to be with, Emmy” he insisted gently before he stepped towards her, pressing a light kiss to her lips. Emilie melted into it before she willed herself away, making her way out of the door.

Sergio watched her go and sighed. He wasn’t just going to let go of what they had.