You Loved Me Once

Running her fingertips down the side of her dress, Alba let out a small sigh, her blue eyes studying her reflection nervously in the mirror. It had been coming, with her father having informed Lionel that they had arrived safely in Barcelona, it had only been a matter of time before they had extended a dinner invitation to him and Alba, but still the blonde found herself a little uncertain. It had been a long time, Alba couldn’t quite remember the last time she had been around both of her parents, and the idea of a dinner with them, even if she would have Lionel at her side, left her feeling more than a little unsure.

“You know, we don’t have to go if you really don’t want to”

Alba, who’d been staring into space, startled a little at the sound of Lionel’s voice, something which made him smile a little. “You didn’t look this nervous before we went on our first date, and that was when you were 16” he teased as he stepped a little further into the room.

Alba rolled her eyes. “I just don’t know what to expect” she mumbled, moving to find a pair of shoes.

“It’s a dinner, Alba” Lionel reasoned softly “We’ve been to them with your parents before. Do you not remember the first one we had with them after we started to date?” he posed, trying to lighten the mood slightly. He knew that she was nervous, from the moment that the topic of her parents had arisen, she had been quiet and a little distant, and he wanted to relax her slightly. Chances were that if she was too wound up, then she would say or do something she would regret.

Alba shook her head. “You were nervous that night” she mused as she slipped her feet into her shoes.

“You couldn’t blame me” Lionel teased “After your papa found out about us, he did nothing but glare at me for a solid month” he added.

Alba shook her head. “You were my first boyfriend” she pointed out as she moved to collect her jacket “And my papa was never going to love that idea, even if you were you” she quipped.

Lionel smiled a little at the memory before he stepped towards her, his fingertips gently brushing the loose blonde curls away from her cheeks. “We really don’t have to go tonight, Alba, not if you don’t want to” he offered softly.

“You don’t want to?” Alba posed, leaning her forehead against his.

“It’s not about me” Lionel replied “It’s about you and if you want to do this, then I am right behind you. You want to go?” he posed, lacing their fingers together.

Alba offered him a slightly apprehensive look, but nodded, something which made him smile a little. “We’ll go then” he mused gently “And if you change your mind and want to leave, you just say the word” he enthused before he ducked forwards, sneaking a quick kiss before he moved to find his own jacket.

Alba watched him for a moment before she shook her head, more than a little glad that he had agreed to go with her.

~#~
“You’re sure about this, aren’t you?” Lionel murmured softly as he moved to greet the server, requesting that they were led to their table. It hadn’t been his idea, when David had texted him to inform him of his and Annabella’s arrival in Barcelona, Lionel had suggested that they meet at his home, not wanting to attract attention, but David had been insistent, something which made the argentine slightly nervous. He knew that it was going to be tense, Alba, like her father, had a tendency to be awfully stubborn and short tempered when she wanted to be, and Lionel as merely hopeful that he could keep things calm and cordial. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to the situation.

Alba nodded. “I’m sure” she murmured gently.

Lionel offered her a small smile before he followed after the waiter, his dark eyes quickly landing on Annabella and David who sat at their table, talking quietly amongst themselves. Offering the waiter an appreciative nod, Lionel shuffled to the first empty seat and pulled it out, attracting the attention of the elder couple. “Hola, Mr and Mrs Nunez” he greeted as he helped Alba into her seat.

“Lionel” Annabella mused “It’s is nice to see you” she added.

“And you” Lionel smiled politely.

Annabella offered him a slight smile before she turned her attention towards her daughter, not missing the slightly uncertain expression she wore. “Alba, sweetheart, it is so good to see you” she enthused.

Alba shook her head. “I am not here for pleasantries, madre” she murmured softly “I merely want you and papa to say what you need to say and then we will take it from there” she added, her tone firm, yet gentle and slightly uncertain.

Annabella frowned a little. “Sweetheart…”

“Madre” Alba interjected “Please, don’t act like there is not a problem here. Say what you need to say” she insisted.

Annabella sighed. “We miss you, Alba” she mused softly.

Alba shook her head gently, her hand moving to find Lionel’s which rested on her knee.

“We were wrong to push you away” David contributed “But you must understand, when you told me that you’d taken him back…it hurt me, Alba. I know that things are different between you two now, but when I look at him, I see the same man who broke your heart and I, as your father, was merely trying to make you see that…”

“You didn’t give him a chance” Alba interrupted softly, her blue eyes peeking at her father shyly.

“Alba, he broke your heart” David reasoned “He’s the reason you spent a month with me and your mama just crying. I was worried about you” he insisted softly.

“You didn’t trust that I could handle it myself” Alba reasoned gently “And you didn’t even take notice of the fact that I was happy” she added.

“And that was wrong of me” David agreed with a small nod “Alba, I messed up, I should have trusted that you were smart enough and intuitive enough to know what you were doing, but I merely didn’t want to see you get hurt again. One of the worst memories I have is of the day you came home in tears before of him” he muttered with a glance towards Lionel who dropped his head, not comfortable hearing about how badly he had hurt Alba.

Alba shook her head. “It was my choice to be with him, Papa, and once you decided that you didn’t agree, you pushed me away, and consequently, you missed out on something pretty amazing in our daughter” she noted.

“I want to fix it, Alba” David noted “And I know it’s not going to be instant, but I want to make amends with you, with Lionel, and I want to stop being the problem here. Your madre and your sister, they’re hurt and I am the cause of that” he admitted softly.

Alba offered him a slightly dubious look. “And you’re OK with me and Leo?” she posed.

David sighed. “I don’t trust him, Alba, and I don’t like him, but we can be civil, can’t we Lionel?” he posed with a look towards the footballer.

Lionel nodded. “I am not expecting you to like me, or forgive me, but if this is what Alba wants, I am sure that we can handle it” he agreed with a warm smile.

Alba looked at him, wordlessly enquiring if he was sure, something Lionel greeted with a small nod.

“I want to try and fix it, Alba” David noted “Do you think you can afford us the chance?” he posed softly.

Alba offered her parents a look before peeked back at Lionel who squeezed her hand, wordlessly urging her to do what felt right to her.

“We can try” she murmured softly “But it is not going to be quick. You both hurt me, papa, mama, and I am not just going to let it go. You weren’t there for me when I needed you” she insisted.

Annabella nodded. “We’re so sorry, sweetheart” she insisted, squeezing Alba’s hand which rested on the table.

Alba nodded gently. She knew that they were sorry, they had made it more than clear, but it was going to take a little more than a few apologetic words for Alba to let go of what they’d done. They’d hurt her, badly, and she needed to see a little more from them before she allowed them back into her life completely.