Give Me Your Heart

“Don’t you have somewhere to get back to?” Riley commented as she padded back into the living room, her blue eyes glancing towards Gerard who still sat on her couch, flicking through a few texts on his phone. It had been a while, Gerard had showed up in the middle of the afternoon and Riley was a little surprised that he was still there, even more so that he had little intention of leaving. She had thought that he would leave as soon as the first opportunity arose.

Gerard, who’d been sending a text to someone, lifted his head, offering her a small smile. “You trying to get rid of me?” he teased.

Riley shook her head. “I figured you’d want to get out of here as soon as you could” she quipped “It’s not exactly been the most comfortable couple of hours and I am sure that you have somewhere else you need to be” she added as she stepped back towards the couch, settling the glass of juice she’d moved to collect onto the coffee table.

“It hasn’t been particularly comfortable, but I think we have a little more to talk about, don’t we?” he posed, sitting up a little.

“I don’t think we have to talk everything through right now. We do still have 7 months to decide how this thing is going to work” Riley countered “Besides, the way your phone keeps buzzing tells me you have somewhere else you’re supposed to be. The girlfriend?” she quipped, a half-hearted grin on her face. It did hurt her, the idea that he had moved on so quickly, but she knew that she had no right to question it. The decision that they had made to end their relationship was a mutual one and it meant that she no longer had a say in that part of his life.

Gerard noted the feeble smile on her face before he nodded, a nervous expression on his face. “Alexa” he noted gently “She’s a friend of one of the guys’ wives and we’d met a few times whilst you and I were dating, but she asked me to lunch a couple of weeks ago and I agreed. We’ve been out a few times, but it’s nothing serious” he insisted gently. He didn’t want to talk about it, regardless of their current situation, Riley was still his ex-girlfriend, and he didn’t want to upset her by talking too much about the girl he had been seeing. He knew that it would be a sore topic and he didn’t want to say more than he had to.

Riley nodded. “Well, if you had plans with her…”

“I’d like to stay for a little longer, Riley” Gerard interrupted “We still need to discuss who we’re going to tell and when” he added.

Riley offered him a slightly uncertain look before she nodded, moving to sip on her drink. “I have another midwife appointment in a couple of weeks, just a routine checkup and then I am due for another scan a couple of weeks after that. I’d like to wait until then before we tell anyone” she explained softly.

“That sounds like a good plan” Gerard agreed gently “That would be 12 weeks, right?” he added.

Riley nodded her head.

“And those appointments, do you want me to be there?” he posed tentatively.

“I’d like you to be” Riley confirmed “But if you…”

“Riley” he interrupted gently, a half-smile on his face “If you want me there, I am there. Just give me a date and time” he enthused.

Riley offered him a small smile before she pushed herself to her feet, collecting the appointment card which had been stowed on the shelf which stood a little away from them before she handed it over to him, allowing him to enter the appointment into his phone which buzzed as it sat in his hand. “I think you ought to go” she quipped gently “The girlfriend doesn’t seem to be taking no for an answer” she added, her voice caught somewhere between teasing and pained.

Gerard admired Alexa’s text before he sighed, pushing himself to his feet. “I will see you in a couple of weeks for these appointments, Riley” he noted.

Riley offered him a small smile before she padded towards the door, pulling it open for him. “Buenos noches, Gerard” she quipped.

Gerard smiled a little and leant down, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he brushed a hand over her stomach. “Buenos noches, Riley. Buenos noches, bump” he mused before he stepped away.

Riley watched him down the hall for a second before she closed the door, resting against it for a second.

“He gone?”

Riley, who’d closed her eyes, startled a little at the sound of Cassidy’s voice before she nodded. “He has gone” she noted gently.

“And?” Cassidy posed.

“And he said that he wants to be around for bump” Riley quipped.

Cassidy nodded. “Then why do you look so miserable? I would have thought that Gerard agreeing to be involved with the baby would be good news” she quipped as she stepped towards her friend, not missing the expression she wore.

“It is good news” Riley breathed “I don’t quite know what I would have done if he had told me that he didn’t want to be around, but the idea of being around him now that we’re not…now that our relationship is done and he’s moved on…” Riley trailed off a little as she shook her head, something which made Cassidy step towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“It’s going to suck, Riley” Cassidy murmured bluntly.

Riley sniffled out a small laugh. “Way to be tentative there, Cass” she quipped.

“There’s no sense in lying. Whether you want to admit it, it wasn’t too long ago that you were in love with the guy. It’s not just going to go away in the blink of an eye, but I know you. You’re going to get through it because you’re you, Riley, stubborn and determined” Cassidy grinned.

Riley shook her head, a small amused grin on her face.

“You’re going to be fine, Riley” Cassidy mused “And the second you’re not, you tell me and I will help you. It’s what I am here for” she insisted.

Riley shook her head, smiling warmly at her friend before she stepped towards her, pulling her into another hug that Cassidy was more than happy to return. She knew it was going to take time, despite the 7 weeks that had passed since their breakup, Cassidy knew that Riley wasn’t as over it as she liked to say she was, and she wanted to help her out. She wanted to ensure that the next few months were as straightforward as they could be.