Give Me Your Heart

“I should probably go”

Gerard, who’d been eyeing Alexa a little uncertainly, startled a little at the sound of Riley’s voice, his blue eyes flashing towards her. It had been quiet, for almost a minute, no one had said anything, and the sound of Riley’s voice had caught him off guard. For a second, he’d forgotten that she was there.

Blinking a little, he took in a breath before he shook his head. “You should stay” he noted.

“I don’t think that is a good idea” Riley countered “You two clearly need to talk and…”

“Is someone going to tell what is going on here?” Alexa interjected, cutting Riley off.

Riley blinked a couple of times before she attempted to leave, something which was prevented by the hand of Gerard’s which had moved to wrap itself gently around her wrist. “We should go through” he noted gently “All 3 of us. We need to talk” he added, offering Riley a soft look. He knew that she didn’t want to be there, if the roles were reversed, her was fairly confident that he would have walked away if he were in her place, but he knew that he had to convince her. Whether she liked it or not, he had started a new relationship and she and Alexa were likely to see a lot of one another.

Riley offered him a slightly uncertain look before she let out a small sigh, conceding. “Alright” she murmured.

Gerard offered her a grateful smile before he followed Alexa through towards the living room, taking the seat beside her whilst Riley sat a little away from him, her hands fiddling nervously in her lap.

“Are you going to tell me what is going on?” Alexa posed, her eyes glancing towards the other woman slightly.

Gerard nodded. “Alexa, this is Riley” he noted gently “She’s the…”

“Girl you dated before me” Alexa interjected, a firm expression on her face “I was more asking about what you ex-girlfriend is doing here, Gerard” she added.

Riley, who was watching the couple from her seat, shook her head a little at the tone of the other woman’s voice. She wasn’t surprised by it, no woman wanted to spend time with the ex of their new boyfriend, but still it unsettled Riley slightly. Just a few moments in Alexa’s presence made Riley almost certain that she was going to make things harder than they already were.

Gerard let out another sigh before he moved to pull something out of his pocket. “Riley’s here because we needed to talk” he noted gently “A few weeks ago, she invited me over to talk and she told me that she was…she’s pregnant, Alexa” he rambled softly, his hand gently extending the sonogram photo which he had stowed in his pocket.

Alexa blinked, her expression slackening slightly at the sound of his words, before she tilted her head. “It’s yours?” she spluttered.

Riley flinched a little, something which didn’t go unmissed by Gerard who nodded. “It’s my baby, Alexa” he insisted “Riley’s 12 weeks now” he added.

Alexa shook her head. “How long’ve you known?” she pressed.

“A few weeks” Gerard replied “But I wanted to wait to tell everyone. We wanted to make sure that everything’s OK” he insisted gently.

Alexa stared at him for a moment before she flicked her attention to Riley, her eyes narrowing slightly on the brunette. She knew about her, when she and Gerard had first started seeing one another, the defender’s home had been littered with pictures of him and Riley, and Alexa didn’t like the idea of the brunette being around. It was no secret that Gerard had felt strongly for her and Alexa didn’t want him to change his mind about them. “You knew about me?” she posed.

Riley, who’d been trying to look anywhere but at the other woman, lifted her head, her blue eyes a little wide “From the moment I told Gerard about the baby” she noted gently “He made no secret of the fact that he was with someone else” she insisted.

Alexa nodded a little before Gerard pushed himself to his feet. “I am going to get a drink. Can I get either of you anything?” he noted gently.

Riley shook her head a little before Alexa gripped onto his arm, pulling him into a kiss that Riley was sure was for her benefit.

Gerard blinked a little before he excused himself, leaving the two women alone together.

“You know that he’s moved on, don’t you?” Alexa noted.

“I do” Riley confirmed, quirking the best smile that she could muster “And I am sure that the two of you will make one another happy” she added politely.

“We do” Alexa confirmed “And I’d like to ensure that you know that you’re not going to change his mind. We’re together, Riley, and…”

“Alexa, I am not going to get in between the two of you” Riley interjected with a small shake of her head “What Gerard and I had, it’s over with, and my only interest right now is ensuring that he is around for our child. I have no intention of trying to get between the two of you, as you said, he’s moved on and I am not the type of girl to try and change his mind. He’s all yours, Alexa” she insisted softly.

It hurt her, the idea that Gerard had moved on so quickly from a relationship that had meant a lot to Riley, but she knew that she couldn’t question it. Their relationship was over and Riley had no right to ask why he was dating Alexa, even if it did sting, it was something she was merely going to have to adapt to.

Alexa mulled over the brunette’s words for a moment before she nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page, Riley” she noted gently.

Riley offered her a feeble smile before she pushed herself up, quietly padding towards the doorway where Gerard stood, a drink held in his hand. “You OK?” he posed softly.

“I’m fine” she noted gently “But I should probably get out of here. I’d hate to get in the way of the two of you” she babbled before she ducked out of the room, mumbling a soft goodbye as she went.

Gerard looked after her for a moment before Alexa padded up ahead of him, grinning up at him. He’d known that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, Riley was never likely to like Alexa and Alexa wasn’t likely to be fond of his ex-girlfriend, but he hoped that they could at least be civil around one another. For the time being, they were both big parts of his life and he didn’t want to be put in the middle of the two of them.