Give Me Your Heart

16: Tell Me You Don’t Feel It

Standing outside of Riley’s apartment, Gerard let out a small sigh, his blue eyes fixed on the door ahead of him. He knew that they had to talk, even if Riley only wanted to shoot him down, they had to get it out in the open, but still the idea of knocking worried him. He knew that he’d upset her, the lack of response to his messages and phone calls confided it, and the last thing he wanted to do was rile her up. He didn’t want to stress her out whilst she was carrying their baby.

Eyeing the door for a second longer, he contemplated walking away before it pulled open, revealing Cassidy who leant against the doorframe, an undecipherable expression on her face.

“Cassidy” he squeaked “I was…I…”

“You’ve been out here for the last 15 minutes” Cassidy quipped knowingly.

Gerard nodded bashfully, a hint of pink on his cheeks. “Is she here?” he posed.

“She is” Cassidy confirmed “But before I let you inside, I want to say something and I want you to just listen to me, OK?” she pressed.

Gerard frowned a little, but nodded, something which caused Cassidy to step towards him slightly. She knew that it wasn’t her place, Riley was a grown woman and more than capable of handling herself, but Cassidy still wanted to warn Gerard. The last thing she wanted was to watch the man that her best friend clearly still had feelings for hurt her

“I don’t want to watch her get hurt, Gerard” the blonde woman noted softly “She cares about you, you know that, but I am not going to let you mess her around. Being pregnant is tough enough without you flitting between her and that girlfriend of yours. You want to be with Riley? Fantastic, but if you don’t…”

“I don’t intend to lead her on, Cass” Gerard interjected, his expression soft “I just want to talk. I want to know if there is any chance” he insisted softly.

Cassidy offered him a slightly dubious before the sound of Riley’s voice snipped into the air, causing the pair to turn, watching as she padded into the hall. “I thought you were going to see…Gerard?” Riley squeaked as she tilted her head.

“Hola” Gerard quipped sheepishly.

Cassidy flicked her stare between the former couple before she shook her head. “I am going to go and see Ryan” she quipped as she ducked back to collect her coat “Talk to him, Ry” she murmured as she offered the brunette a soft look. She knew that Riley wouldn’t make it easy, she was stubborn and determined when she wanted to be, but Cassidy wanted her to at least hear the defender out, even if she did keep her own feelings close to her chest, she wanted her friend to hear the man out.

Riley offered her a slightly uncertain look before she nodded, allowing Cassidy to leave her and Gerard alone. “You should come in” she noted, peeking up at Gerard shyly.

“If you don’t want me to…”

“Gerard, you didn’t come all the way here to chicken out, did you?” Riley quipped.

Gerard quirked a half-hearted smile before he stepped inside, allowing Riley to push the door closed behind.

“I assume you got my messages?” he posed.

“I did” Riley quipped “And I shouldn’t have ignored them. That was petty of me” she mumbled. She felt bad, for days, Gerard had been leaving voicemails, but she had opted to ignore them, not wanting to talk to him before she had worked out a way to ignore what had happened.

“I wasn’t surprised” Gerard quipped, offering her a feeble smile.

“I’m sorry for that, Gerard” Riley mumbled, shifting a little.

Gerard watched her for a few seconds before he stepped towards her, his fingertips tentatively pushing some of the dark hair away from her eyes, causing her to duck away slightly. “You know you have a girlfriend” she mumbled.

Gerard nodded and stepped back a little, dropping his hands to his side. “I do” he noted softly “But we both know if you said the word, I’d end it” he added, his blue eyes mirroring hers for a second before Riley dropped her stare, peeking down at her feet.

Riley shook her head. “I’m not going to ask you to dump Alexa, Gerard” she muttered “And even if you did, what do you expect would happen? That you and I would just go back to the way things were?” she mumbled.

“Riley…”

“We broke up for a reason” Riley mumbled.

Gerard shook his head. “You’re telling me that you don’t still care about me?” he posed.

“Gerard…”

“Riley” Gerard countered “You’re telling me that there is no feeling left for me anymore?” he pressed.

Riley took in a breath before she shook her head, her eyes still fixed on her feet. “You’re dating Alexa” she muttered “And she made it very clear that I was to just leave you to it and that’s what I intend to do. You’ve moved on and it’s not my place to get in the way of that. I just want you to be…” Riley’s words trailed off as Gerard ducked towards her, pressing a strong kiss against her lips.

“Tell me that you don’t still feel something for me, Riley” the defender mumbled as he tentatively pulled away from her, his forehead resting on hers.

Riley blinked a couple of times before she shook her head. “It’s not important” she murmured softly, pulling away from him entirely “Even if I did, it’s not relevant. You’re dating Alexa and my only concern is that you’re going to be around for them” she mumbled, her hand gently brushing over the small bump which stuck out from beneath her shirt.

Gerard glanced at the bump for a second before he shook his head. “I want you to look at me, Riley” he murmured “I want you to say that you don’t still have feelings for me” he insisted.

Riley was quiet for a second before she let out a small sigh, knowing that she couldn’t do it.

“Riley, nena” Gerard mumbled softly, stepping closer to her.

“You have another girlfriend” Riley pointed out “And even if you didn’t, it wasn’t like our relationship was great. It’s over, Gerard, and maybe it is better that way” she mumbled before she pushed herself up, kissing his cheek softly “You should get out of here. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks when we’re due to see Alison” she added before she ducked away.

Gerard attempted to stop her, but Riley was quicker, avoiding his hands as she stepped past him. Gerard thought about following after her, but opted against it, knowing that a fight wasn’t something she needed. Shaking his head a little, he padded towards the front door of the apartment, knowing that he had work to do to prove that he wanted things to work out.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 for the comment :)