You Loved Me Once

12: You Know It Too

“You know, I am sure that we could find somewhere for you to sleep if you really wanted to stay” Eva mused as she watched Alba place the last of her things into her bag. It had been a few days and with the wedding a week away, the time had come for Alba to relocate, needing to make room for Oscar’s relatives who would be in town for the celebration.

“I think I’ll survive in a hotel for a week, Eva” Alba replied “Besides, I love you and Oscar, but I need to get out of here. You two are far too loved up for me” she added, a small smile on her face. She didn’t want to bring the mood down, both Oscar and Eva seemed more and more excited as the days had past, but it stung Alba slightly.

She was happy for her friends, both Oscar and Eva deserved to be happy and she was glad that they had found one another, but the idea of a wedding, the first she had been to since she had had to cancel her own plans, stung a little, even more so when she was faced with the man who’d called quits on their relationship. It had been a little better, since they’d run together, things seemed tolerable, but still Alba found herself awkward around him, something she doubted would wear off any time soon.

“You never did call Hector back, did you?” Eva posed, zipping up one of Alba’s bags.

“He never called me” Alba noted, not looking over at her friend. She didn’t want to talk about it, the night she had been out with Hector was a subject she wanted to steer clear of, but she knew that Eva wouldn’t take the hint. The brunette had always been a little too nosey for her own good.

“You never told me what happened between the two of you” Eva commented “I heard you stumble up the stairs, but there was no sign of him the next morning. Did you kick him out of bed?” she teased.

“What makes you think he made it up here?” Alba commented, folding another shirt into her bag.

“Because I heard you in here with a guy, Alba” Eva pointed out.

Alba swallowed. “You did?” she posed, a hint of pink on her cheeks.

“I heard voices, nothing more” Eva mused “I ensured that I had my headphones in. So, you kicked him out of bed?” she teased.

Alba’s cheeks warmed before she shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the bag ahead of her.

“Alba?” Eva pressed “Sweetheart, everyone’s had a one night stand. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Besides Hector was gorgeous, I can’t blame you if you want to…”

“It was Leo” Alba spluttered, cutting Eva off.

Eva blinked. “Leo?” she posed “As in, your Leo? The guy you have been trying to avoid like the plague since you touched down, that Leo?” she babbled.

“Eva” Alba whined softly.

Eva shook her head. “I’m sorry” she murmured gently.

Alba sighed a little before she moved to sit on the bed, her blue eyes peeking down at her feet. “It shouldn’t have happened” she muttered softly “I made a mistake, a huge one, and I hate that it happened. I hate that I let it happen, Eva” she muttered.

“How did it happen, Alba?” Eva posed as she quietly sat down beside her.

“Does it matter?” Alba muttered, messing with her hands “All that matters is that it did happen” she muttered.

“That’s why you tried to leave?” Eva posed gently.

Alba sighed. “Do you know what it took to get to a point where I could pretend to be over him?” she murmured softly “Do you know much work I had to put in to not thinking about him? It took a lot, Eva, and within a second, I tossed all of that work away because all I can think about is him and I hate it” she insisted softly. It had been on her mind, since the night that she and Lionel had slept together, all she could think of was him, and it irked her.

She had worked hard, after their break up, she had spent weeks, if not months, trying to get to a point where she could at the very least pretend that she was OK, but in one night, she had tossed it away, something which upset her.

“Alba” Eva sighed softly “Sweetie, he was your first love. You don’t tend to forget that kind of thing, especially not when it comes to the two of you. Your history is shared, a lot of years were spent together, and you can’t just pretend that they never happened. You two were supposed to get your happy ever after” she insisted.

“But we didn’t” Alba murmured, her hands messing with her shirt shyly “He made sure that we didn’t” she noted, her tone a little sharp.

Eva shook her head. “Alba, is there a chance that maybe you still have feelings for him?” she mumbled softly. She didn’t want to upset her friend, Alba had been quiet for weeks and Eva didn’t want to make it worse, but she had to ask. It made sense, Alba’s aversion to being in the same place as the argentine as well as the notion that she had slept with him were tell-tale signs of feelings that had gone unresolved, and Eva wanted Alba to talk, something the blonde had never been good at.

Alba shook her head.

“Alba…”

“He ruined it, Eva” she murmured “He took all that we had and threw it away and I don’t know that that is something I could ever get over, even if I did have any sort of feeling for him. How could I forget what he did?” she posed softly.

Eva shook her head. “No one would expect you to forget, Alba, but no one would be surprised either if there was still something there. I saw the two of you the other day, you were smiling and laughing together, and anyone with eyes could see that there was something. The fact that you slept with him suggests it too” she insisted.

“He hurt me, Eva” Alba mumbled.

“He also made you happy once too” Eva reasoned “Alba, the man is not some guy you dated for a year or two and broke up with, he’s Leo, your Leo” she pointed out softly.

Alba shifted a little.

“You care for him” Eva murmured “That’s why you’re trying so hard to stay away from him, and I know you know it too, Alba. You’re a clever girl” she insisted.

Alba didn’t make a sound, something which made Eva shake her head. “You need to know what it is you want, Alba” she murmured as she moved to collect one of Alba’s holdalls “Because until you figure it out, you’re not going to be happy. You either want him, or you don’t, but either way, you really need to know because you’re not going to get a lot more chances” she insisted before she stepped out of the room.

Alba watched her out of the door before she shook her head, wordlessly ruing the moment she had found out that Lionel was staying around for the wedding too.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 and FootieJo for the comments :)