In the End

Sipping on the mug of tea which sat in her hand, Ariella quirked a small smile to herself, her blue eyes settled on the phone which was settled in her lap, Gerard’s latest text message filling the screen. It wasn’t the first one that he had sent, after their date the previous night, the two of them had spent most of the day texting back and forth, and Ariella couldn’t quite keep the grin off of her face, even if she was trying to be careful around her mother and step-father who had opted to visit to watch Barcelona’s match against Olympiakos, she couldn’t help but smile to herself whenever his name appeared on the screen.

Taking another sip of her drink, she lifted the phone into her hand before she typed out her reply, moving to stuff the phone into the pocket of her sweater.

“You do know how to put that thing away. I had my doubts”

Ariella, who’d moved to get herself slightly more comfortable in her seat, scoffed a little at the sound of her mother’s voice before she lifted her head, offering Estella a look over her shoulder. “It’s not been that bad” she quipped “Besides, no one asked you to come over. You and Stefan invited yourselves” she added, smirking a little.

“I thought you’d be happy to see us” Estella quipped as she plopped down into the seat beside her daughter “I mean, you were in Madrid for a little while and I thought I’d come by and catch up with you about your trip, but if you’d rather I went...” she trailed off, offering a feigned pout towards her daughter.

Ariella studied the expression on her face for a second before she let out a quiet sigh, something which caused Estella to grin triumphantly before she leant forwards, collecting the glass of wine that she had left on the coffee table. “So” she mused after a moment of quiet “How was Madrid? I thought you sticking around until the end of the week. Did your papa annoy you that much?” she quipped, her voice caught between teasing and curious.

It had caught her off guard, when Ariella had sent her a text telling her that she had arrived back in Barcelona ahead of schedule, she had been more than a little surprised, and she wanted to ask what had brought her back so soon, even if she was glad to see her. She wanted to know if there was a reason that she had cut her trip short.

Ariella rolled her eyes, amused by her mother’s joke, before she shook her head. “Papa was fine” she mused “It was really good to see him, Sabrina and the boys” she added.

“So good that you came home early?” Estella quipped, a dubious expression on her face.

Ariella sighed, her fingers messing with the ends of her hair.

Estella watched the movement of her fingers for a few moments before she shook her head, a soft smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I know that you think I am interfering” she mused “But I am just curious, Ella. The last I heard, you wanted to get out of Barcelona for a little while, and I am just a little surprised that you came back early. If anything, I expected you to stay out there for longer” she explained.

“You did?” Ariella posed, peeking up at her cautiously.

Estella spared her a soft glance before she nodded. “You and Gerard...in the end, it was such a mess, and I thought you’d want to stay away for a little longer to try and make some progress in the way of getting over him” she noted tentatively, not missing the slight look of discomfort which passed over Ariella’s face at the mention of her breakup with the defender “And then there was the fact that you ended things with Adrian before you went. I thought that you’d probably try and stretch a couple of weeks into something longer, but yet, here you are” she added, a motherly smile appearing on her lips.

Ariella glanced at her mother for a moment, briefly mulling over her words, before she let out a soft sigh, her fingers timidly pushing her dark hair behind her ear. “I am going to tell you something” she noted “But it isn’t something I want to tell other people, not yet anyway, and I need your word that you’re going to keep it to yourself, mama. I know it’s stupid but...”

“I won’t tell anyone” Estella cut in “Well, maybe Stefan, but no one else. I promise” she joked, trying to encourage her daughter to relax slightly. She could see that there was something on her mind, since she and her husband had arrived at her daughter’s apartment earlier that afternoon, Ariella had appeared a little distracted, and she wanted to encourage her to talk to her about what was on her mind, not wanting her to get into her own head and start worrying over what she was sure would be nothing.

Ariella offered her a pointed look, something which made Estella laugh before she reached out, her hand nudging her daughter’s shoulder playfully. “Come on, Ella” she encouraged “I am your mama. You know that you can tell me anything you want to and I won’t let it out of this room. I still haven’t told your papa that you were the one who broke his stereo when you were eight” she added, her voice warm and encouraging.

Ariella’s lips quirked up into a faint smile before she shook her head, her stare settled on her lap. “Gerard came to Madrid” she murmured.

Estella’s eyes widened a fraction. “What?” she posed.

“He was already there” Ariella replied “I mean, Barca, they played Atletico at the weekend and obviously Gerard was there for that. What I meant to say was that Gerard came to see me whilst he was in Madrid” she babbled, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

Estella quirked a small smile, amused by her daughter’s nerves, before she reached her hand out, offering Ariella’s a small reassuring squeeze. “I got that” she quipped “I was more questioning why your ex-boyfriend came to see you whilst you were in Madrid, Ella. I assume he wasn’t just passing?” she added.

Ariella shook her head. “We...uh...we talked” she spluttered “He suggested that he was open to trying again, and told me to think about what it was I wanted, and that’s why I came home early. I didn’t really need all that much time to think” she added, a shy smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Estella looked at her, admiring her smile briefly, before she tilted her head. “You and Gerard...?” she posed.

“It’s not really anything yet” Ariella breathed out shyly “I mean, we’ve been on one date and it was nice, but I wouldn’t really say much more than that. I don’t want to say the wrong about it” she explained.

Estella considered her words for a moment before she gently shook her head, a soft smile pulling at her corner of her mouth. “Are you sure?” she asked simply.

Ariella nodded without a beat of hesitation, something which caused Estella’s grin to widen before she squeezed her daughter’s hand gently. “Then I am happy for you, baby” she enthused.

Ariella quirked an eyebrow. “You’re not going to...”

“Tell you something you already know? No, I’m not” Estella quipped “You don’t need me to point out that this is a second chance that I, and a lot of people, didn’t see you getting. And you don’t need me telling you how amazing I think this guy is. You know it, Ella, you know how good he could be for you, and I don’t see what good me pointing it out to you for the umpteenth time will do. I’m happy for you, baby” she added with a warm grin.

She knew what Ariella was getting at, she knew that she was anticipating a warning about messing things up between her and Gerard again, but Estella didn’t see the need to give it. Ariella knew where she had gone wrong, she knew what mistakes she had made, and she knew that she had to avoid making the again if she didn’t want lose the man that she was clearly crazy about.

Ariella glanced at her for a moment, mulling over her words, before she quirked a timid smile, something which made Estella squeeze her hand before the sound of Stefan’s voice floated through the apartment, informing them that he had arrived with their food in time for the match’s kick off. Offering Ariella’s hand one last squeeze, she pushed herself to her feet before she stepped out of the room, leaving her daughter behind.

Ariella moved to follow her before she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, something which caused her to blush softly before she fished it out of her pocket, letting out a soft giggle at the text that Gerard had sent to her. Rolling her eyes, she typed a quick reply to him, wishing him good luck for the game, before she followed after her mother, a gentle smile stuck on her face.