You Took My Heart by Surprise

Padding up the corridor towards her apartment, Emilie let out a nervous sigh, her hand stowing her phone into the pocket of her jacket. She didn’t like it, the idea of Sergio bringing back his parents to her home set her on edge, but she knew that she couldn’t tell him no. She wanted it to at least seem as though she was making an effort. She knew that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, no matter how many times his mother insisted she was going to make an effort, Emilie feared the outcome would still be the same, and it was the last thing she wanted to do. Paqui had a habit of getting into her head, of scaring her, and Emilie didn’t want it to happen again, not when things had been feeling more and more comfortable as of late.

Pushing some of her ginger hair out of her face, she fished for her keys in the pocket of her coat, letting out a small groan as she failed to locate them. “Idiota” she grumbled, staring at the closed door.

“You need a hand?”

Emilie startled a little at the sound of Javier’s voice and turned, shaking her head. “I appear to have left my key inside” she mused.

Javier nodded. “You gave me a spare when you moved in. Do you want to come inside whilst I look for it?” he offered sweetly.

“I don’t want to be any trouble” Emilie refuted gently “I can just go and find the building manager” she added.

“I’ve already got a key” Javier reasoned “It’ll take me a couple of minutes to find. You can wait here if you’d feel more comfortable” he offered with a kind smile.

Emilie offered him a slightly apologetic look, but nodded her head, something which made Javier smile slightly. He made no secret about it, he had developed a habit of flirting with Emilie, but he had little intention of taking it any further. She was taken, Sergio’s obvious acts of affection had made that abundantly clear, but Javier didn’t see the harm in being friendly. Emilie was a sweet girl and it struck him that other than Isla and Sergio, visitors to her home were infrequent, suggesting to him that she could benefit from a few other friends.

Watching him go, Emilie slipped her phone out of her pocket and peeked down at the time, her stomach flipping a little. She knew that they wouldn’t be there for a while, when Sergio had called, they’d only just been preparing to leave to return to Madrid, but still she was nervous. Being around his mother was one thing, being around his mother whilst she was pregnant and slightly hormonal was another thing entirely.

“Here” Javier grinned, darting out of his apartment.

Emilie smiled at him gently. “Gracias, Javi” she noted.

“It’s no problem” Javier grinned as he slipped the key into the lock “I should remember to give you my key so that you can return the favour” he teased.

“If Sergio knew you had a key, he’d freak” Emilie retorted with a half-smile that didn’t quite reach her blue eyes.

Javier tilted his head. “Are you Ok, Emmy?” he posed gently.

Emilie nodded. “Fine” she noted.

“You don’t seem it” Javier noted “You want to talk?” he added.

“I don’t want to bother you” Emilie retorted “We don’t exactly know one another” she added.

Javier shrugged. “Perhaps you could use a new set of ears” he suggested gently.

Emilie tilted her head. “You really want to listen to my problems?” she posed.

Javier offered her another non-committal shrug. “I’ve got nothing else to do” he noted.

Emilie offered him a look, briefly trying to weigh up whether or not to trust him, before she nodded, pushing the door open. Javier smiled a little and stepped inside, allowing Emilie to lead him towards the couch. “What’s on your mind, Emmy?” he posed.

Emilie sighed. “I have to spend time with Sergio’s mother” she murmured.

“Not a big fan of the in-laws?” Javier teased.

“More like they’re not a big fan of me” Emilie replied “I don’t know why, but his mother doesn’t love the idea of me and him, even less so now we’re expecting the twins, and I really don’t want to be around her. She has a habit of getting into my head, making me act out on my own irrational thoughts, and the last thing I want to do is fuck up again. I’m overtly the issue, I’m irrational and shy, and if what she says has a habit of making me over think, normally resulting in me hurting Sergio which is the last thing I want to do. I want it to work, Javi, I love him and I want him to be around for me and the twins, and I don’t think I have it in me to mess around anymore” she explained gently. She didn’t want to burden him, Javier was nothing more than a friend, but once she had started, she couldn’t stop. She was scared, she didn’t want to mess up again, and she wanted someone, anyone, to tell her that it was going to be Ok.

Javier listened to her, nodding along, before he placed his hand over hers. “You’re scared?” he posed.

Emilie nodded. “They don’t like me and I don’t want to be responsible for a problem between them” she noted.

“And how does he feel?” Javier posed.

“He insists that it doesn’t bother him” Emilie replied “But he says that about everything” she added.

Javier shook his head. “I’ll admit, I’ve not spoken to him, but I’ve seen enough of him to know that he probably means that, Emmy” he noted with a slight smile “I don’t pretend I know about your past, I am sure it is complicated and difficult, because everyone’s is, but I know that man loves you, Emmy and I don’t think I am going over the top to suggest that he’d do whatever it took to be with you. You love him?” he posed.

“More than I can ever explain” Emilie replied, her voice warm and affectionate.

“Then make the effort” Javier replied “Try your hardest with his parents, try and make them love you, but just put in the effort because at least then you can say that you tried and if they don’t like you, it is on them” he explained, offering her a light smile.

Emilie mulled over his words for a moment before she nodded, returning his smile gently. “Gracias, Javi” she noted, squeezing his hand gently.

Javier shook his head. “Just helping out a friend” he mused “And I need to go. My girlfriend’s on her way over” he added.

“She’s a lucky girl” Emilie grinned as he made his way towards the door.

“Sergio’s a lucky guy” Javier returned, winking playfully before he stepped out of the room, glad that he could have helped Emilie slightly.