Chapter Twenty-Six

~Aina~

Aina was glad she’d stayed over with Leo enough times that some of her clothes had migrated with her as well. She slipped on the pair of khaki designer jeans, followed by a white top she’d found hanging up.

Leo watched her from the bed, his attention lost from his newspaper.

She grinned upon finding a pair of boots, and slipped them on. “Did I leave any accessories here?” she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder. He nodded, gesturing to his dresser, “Top drawer.” She grinned at him, and grabbed one of the various scarves from the small collection, as well as several bracelets.

Once she deemed herself ready, she grabbed the leather coat she’d already tossed on the bed, and glanced at herself in the mirror.

“You look beautiful,” Leo called from his spot. She smiled, and crossed to room. She sat on the edge of the bed, and leaned into him. His arm wrapped around her immediately. “I wish mom hadn’t said it was a girl’s day only,” he murmured, fingers running along her arm calmly. She laughed, “It’ll only be for a few hours.” “Hours that I want to spend with you,” he retorted.

She watched as his expression turned more serious. “I’ve been meaning to ask…will you come to the Ballon d’Or ceremony?” he questioned. She nodded, “Of course.”

She then stood, “Celia is probably waiting. See you later.” She gave him a quick kiss, then darted out of the room.

“Aina,” he called after her. She backed up, her head peaking around the wall. “Take these,” he said tossing her his keys. She caught them, and glanced at him incredulously. She then quickly returned to the bed and pulled him into a deeper kiss. He did his best not to mess up her hair before they parted. “Gracias,” she grinned, and then took off again.


~Olivia~

She glanced at her phone as it buzzed again. She, however, was determined not to answer any text that Gerard sent her. He had at least given up trying to call.

She knew it wasn’t her place, per say, to be so angry with him. It wasn’t as if he had hurt her. But she had never seen that side of him before. Sure, she knew he could be the overprotective older brother and tell her not to go out with a guy, but to accuse his sister of such horrible things. And his sister was her best friend. She knew she couldn’t just drop Aina because she loved her brother.

She jumped when there was a knock on her door.

She tentatively crossed the living room, and peeked out through the small peephole. She was relieved to see Marc, and let in the other twin.

“I want to know what happened. Geri won’t tell me, and Aina said she was out shopping with Celia. Please, Liv…what happened? Normally stuff like this doesn’t happen,” Marc asked. She saw clearly that he hadn’t the faintest of what had been said the night prior.

“Gerard accused Aina of dumping Cesc because she couldn’t deal with the distance, thus breaking his heart…when in reality she broke up with him because he cheated on her,” she answered softly.

Marc sighed, “That would explain her behavior after spring break.” Olivia nodded sadly.

“What’s your position in all of this?” he asked suddenly. “I love him, but I just can’t back him on this. I know that he only had assumptions to base this on, but at the same time, Aina is his sister. He should have known better than to accuse her like that. What about you?” she replied.

“I love both of my siblings, but Aina is my twin. She tells me things, and I know she didn’t tell me this because she didn’t want to ruin our friendship with Cesc. Geri just threw a completely selfless act of hers right in her face,” he answered.

They both fell into a comfortable, silent understanding.


~Leo~

His mom and Aina returned that afternoon, arms full of shopping bags. He and his dad had been watching some football match replays when they came in.

He immediately jumped up to help, taking bags from each of them.

Aina handed his keys back, which he set down carelessly on the coffee table. “Did you have fun?” his dad asked both women, who nodded, sharing a pointed look with each other. “Oh know, that’s never a good sign…” the older man sighed.

They were interrupted by the soft ringing of a phone. Aina glanced at the caller ID, and winced. “Do you mind if I take this?” she questioned. They all consented, and watched as she stepped into the kitchen.

Leo turned to his mom, “Is she really doing alright?” Celia sighed softly, “She is hurt, but she’s alright. I think she doesn’t know where she even stands in all of this. She told me she never intended for her brother to find out, and assumed neither Cesc nor Daniella would want to admit what they’d done.” Jorge squeezed his wife’s hand, “It’s a shame that boy let her go…not that I’m complaining, though. I’m glad you guys are together, son.” He blushed slightly, his gaze dropping to his lap.

They all fell silent as Aina darted back in, and dug through her purse, pulling out her calendar and a pen.

She was talking in English, so none of them could grasp what the conversation was about. She shot them an apologetic look, and returned to the kitchen.

After several more minutes, she returned, and sat down next to him on the sofa. “Who was that?” he asked curiously. She grinned, “It was Bill Gates! He wants to become a sponsor for the foundation. He also mentioned he was interested in a campaign with FC Barcelona as well,” she announced.

“So you’re going to meet him in person?” he questioned. She nodded, “Yes, I’ll be going to America in two days, and I’ll be back in time for the game, and also the Ballon D’Or Ceremony.”

She then leaned into him, and he could feel her hands shaking. He tightened his grip on her, wishing that he could somehow make the pain go away. His mom shot him a concerned look, knowing that she still was struggling. She excused herself eventually to go reserve airline tickets, and then to go pack, saying it’d be good time with his family before they left.

Celia watched her go sadly, “The poor girl is closing herself off. She’s afraid of it happening again.” Leo frowned, knowing that meant Aina, in some form, was afraid of him. He had never even imagined that after she had moved on from Cesc. And that thought made his heart ache painfully.


~Gerard~

No one had been answering his calls or texts. He hadn’t even worked up the courage to try and contact Aina, but neither Marc nor Olivia had responded. He assumed, then, that meant they didn’t want to talk with him.

Cesc sat opposite from him at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. The Arsenal midfielder had no idea that the secret was out, and that his best friend knew what he’d done to his baby sister. He sat there in blissful ignorance, thinking that all was right in the world.

“Why did you cheat on Aina?” he asked, breaking that peaceful silence. He watched the panic blossom over Cesc’s face.

“Did she tell you?” he demanded instantly. Gerard sighed, “No. I made a horrible accusation, and she told me in anger. Otherwise I probably would have never known the truth.”

Cesc frowned, “What did you accuse her of, exactly?” “I said she had broken your heart, instead of the other way around,” he answered shortly. The midfielder frowned, “You did what?” Gerard scoffed, “Like you have any right to be mad at me, since you’re the cause of all of this!”

“You’re the cause in this case,” a cool voice said from behind them.

They turned, and found Aina leaning against the counter. “Aina,” Gerard said, moving to stand. “Stay,” she said, folding her arms over her chest, “It’s my turn to talk. And both of you are going to listen to me.”

She pushed off, moving to sit at the table as well.

“The reason I never told you anything about what happened, Gerard, is because I didn’t want to disrupt your friendship with Cesc here, or the friendships our parents have. I intend to keep it that way. You will not say a word about this. And don’t bother with the whole ‘I’m not your friend anymore because you hurt my sister’ thing, because obviously you made your choice already – you chose to believe I was guilty, not Cesc,” she said firmly.

Both stared at her, speechless, as she took a deep breath, trying to collect herself.

“Now Cesc, I have long since come to terms with what happened. And as I said before, I do forgive you. I do want to be friends with you still, but I also understand there were always be a layer of tension. Despite that, you are still my friend. Romance didn’t suit us, but platonic might still.”

She then turned to her brother, “Now Gerard, you are my brother and I will always love you. But you are such an idiot. One minute no man is right for me, and the next I’m breaking hearts! Make up your damn mind.”

With that she stood, and stalked out of the house.


~Olivia~

She felt exhausted as she entered her restaurant.

She had spent all way worrying – worrying about Aina, about Gerard, and about their relationship. She didn’t doubt that he saw the error of his ways, but it wasn’t just about the fact of whether or not he had apologized. She just felt as though he was a stranger. She had always seen him as the overprotective brother, not someone who accused and insulted their own family. She was berating herself for missing something.

She winced as she nicked her finger on the knife she had been getting out, and stuck her bleeding finger in her mouth. She cursed silently to herself as she quickly found the box of Band-Aids. She fumbled around, trying to open it with one hand when it was taken from her. Looking up, she found Gerard himself standing there. He pulled the bandage from the wrapper, and held it out, waiting for her hand.

She slowly held her finger out, and watched as he wrapped it gingerly.

“Liv, we need to talk,” he said softly upon finishing.