If It Gave Us Time

42: That’s Something To Be Excited About

“I am sorry, papa”

Gerard, who’d diverted his stare towards the floor, startled a little at the sound of Rodrigo’s voice before he looked up, his eyes briefly surveying the faces of those who stood around him, not sure quite what to say to one another. It had been a few minutes, after Isla had strode out of the room, the rest of the group had fallen into a thick, uncomfortable silence, and whilst it had only been a matter of time before someone broke it, Rodrigo’s voice had still surprised a few of them, none more so than Gerard who’d barely looked at any of them after Isla had left the room.

He knew that there was a chance of it coming out, since Daniel had told him what he’d done, Gerard had even thought about telling Isla on more than on occasion, but he knew that the way Rodrigo had announced it would hurt her as much as what he had said, something which made his stomach ache a little, already assuming that Isla was upstairs crying.

Blinking a couple of times, Gerard flicked his glance back and forth between Daniel and Rodrigo for a few seconds before he shook his head, a quiet scoff falling out of his mouth. “I’m going to check on Isla” he mumbled, taking a step towards the door.

“Maybe I ought to go” Eva squeaked as she stepped in front of him “I mean, I am her mama...”

“I’m going” Gerard interrupted firmly “Maybe it’s for the best that the rest of you see yourselves out. I’ll call later” he added before he stepped out of the room.

Pausing outside of the door, he took in a deep breath before he padded up the hall, quickly making his way up the stairs until he reached his bedroom. Stopping outside of the door, he briefly contemplated just walking inside before he lifted his hand, tentatively tapping the door a couple of times. “Lala” he mumbled softly “It’s just me. I’m going to come in, Ok?” he added.

Hesitating for a second, he listened for any response from the other side of the door before he gently nudged it open, his stomach twisting a little as his stare landed on Isla who sat on the opposite side of the bed, soft snuffly sounds falling out of her mouth. Shaking his head, he gently nudged the bedroom door closed behind him before he padded around the bed, kneeling on the floor ahead of her. “Lala” he murmured as he reached a hand up, tucking her hair back off of her face.

Isla jumped a little, but didn’t pull away, something which made Gerard quirk a half smile before he shook his head, a soft sigh falling out of his mouth. “Your brother’s loud when he’s tipsy” he quipped.

Isla let out a snuffly laugh before she shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks. “Don’t come in here and be cute” she mumbled.

Gerard smiled briefly, another teasing comment passing through his mind, before he nodded his head, his thumb brushing some of her tears off of her face. “Ok” he mused “I’ll try and be less cute. You want to talk about it?” he asked.

Isla scoffed. “Which part?” she mumbled “The fact that my father meddled in our relationship, or that when Rodrigo announced that he’d done it, I was the only one in the room that look in the least bit surprised?” she added, glaring up at him slightly.

Gerard sighed. “Isla...”

“You knew?” Isla interrupted.

Gerard hesitated for a second before he nodded his head slowly. “Your papa told me the first time we went over to their place for dinner” he confirmed.

“You didn’t think to tell me?” Isla pressed, her voice softening a little “You didn’t think I had a right to know?” she added.

Gerard shook his head, his thumb still softly brushing against her cheek. “I thought about it a lot” he admitted softly “But, in the end, I decided against it. He did interfere, he was trying to encourage us to cool things off, but he didn’t make me stop calling, Isla. I did that myself. He wasn’t trying to hurt you, Isla, if anything, he was trying to protect you” he added as he dipped his head slightly, kissing the inside of her wrist.

Isla closed her eyes, relishing the soft kiss for a few seconds, before she shook her head, her fingertips pushing back through his dark hair. “Aren’t you angry at him?” she asked quietly “I mean, without him and his meddling, who knows where we’d be now. We could been together all along, Geri, we could have been married, we could have had kids...aren’t you upset about that?” she pressed, tears reappearing in her eyes.

Gerard was quiet for a few moments, thinking over her question, before he lightly nodded. “Of course I am” he confirmed “Your papa, he had no right to get in the middle of whatever was going on between us, but he did, and we can’t change it. He did the wrong thing, and I hate that he did it, because you’re right, it could have worked out for us and we could be a lot further along than we are now, but he did it and we can’t go back and fix it. But you want to know something?” he asked, brushing her tears away.

“What?” Isla asked.

“It’s going to sound really dorky” Gerard warned, a playful smile tweaking the corner of his lips.

Isla merely stared at him tearfully, something which made Gerard shake his head before he leant forwards, kissing her wrist softly. “We still get to have all of those moments” he mumbled “Ok, we could have had them before, but we didn’t. We fell apart, through your papa’s interference and my stupidity, things between us didn’t work out before, but we’re here now and we’ve got another shot at making all of those things happen. That’s something to be pretty excited about, no?” he asked with a soft smile.

He knew that she was upset, from the moment that the words had fallen out of Rodrigo’s mouth, he’d seen it in the look in her eyes, but he wanted to try and give her a silver lining, wanting to at least see the slightest hint of a smile pull at the corner of her mouth.

Isla shifted a little in her seat, quietly mulling over his words for a few seconds, before she lifted her head, her tearful blue eyes mirroring his. “You’re right” she mumbled “That did sound really dorky” she added, the corner of her lips twitching upwards into a small smile.

Gerard laughed. “It made you smile, though” he quipped “So I am going to take it as a win” he added.

Isla shook her head, smiling at him slightly, before she lifted her hand, wiping her eyes slightly. “You should have told me” she murmured.

“I know” Gerard mused “And I am sorry that I didn’t. I’m sorry that you had to hear it from Rodrigo” he added.

Isla quirked another brief smile. “Are they still...?” she trailed off.

“I told them to see themselves out” Gerard answered “I can go and have a look if you want me to” he added.

Isla shook her head. “They’ll get the hint eventually” she mused.

Gerard quirked an eyebrow, briefly contemplating making a joke, before he nodded. “You need me to get you anything?” he asked.

Isla smiled bashfully. “A mirror” she mused “I mean, I don’t think my mascara was waterproof, so I must look a mess. I should probably try and fix that” she added.

Gerard scoffed, rolling his eyes playfully. “You can hardly tell you’ve been crying” he chirped.

Isla shook her head. “You’re sweet” she mused “But you’re also lying. I should go and clean up” she added, pushing herself up to her feet.

Gerard shuffled back, allowing her to stand up, before he mimicked her action, pushing himself up to his feet. “What do you want to do now?” he asked, watching as she stepped across the room, scanning her reflection in the mirror.

Isla thought for a second before she smiled at him via the mirror. “You think we could put on a film and cuddle?” she asked “Maybe make some snacks or something?” she added.

Gerard’s expression lit up. “I think we could manage that” he mused “I’ll go and grab some food from downstairs and you can choose a film” he added, making a move towards the bedroom door.

Isla, however, cleared her throat, stopping him in his tracks. Frowning a little, he turned around, his stomach flipping as he admired the soft smile that lit up Isla’s features. “What you said before” she mumbled softly “About the steps we might take. I just...I want you to know that that is something that I am excited about. I know it’s not something we say a lot, but I...I love you” she added, her cheek flushing sheepishly.

Gerard just smiled at her for a few long seconds before he stepped towards her, pulling her into a kiss which more than made it clear that he felt the same way as her.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)