“Gracias for doing this,” Isla whispered smiling at her brother, she wasn’t allowed to leave the house alone and Kieran was someone that she could trust and he wasn’t going to stop her.
Kieran nodded his head, he didn’t know why their parents wouldn’t let Isla speak with Gerard not when it was clear that his older sister needed closure if she was ever going to recover properly.
The siblings were silent as Kieran drove down the street towards the house where Gerard lived, he had no idea what to think about the mess that had occurred but he had listened to Isla’s side of the story and he was glad that she was starting to rebuild her life.
“What do you think will happen?” Kieran asked peeking at his sister, he wasn’t sure how this Gerard would react to seeing her and he hoped that there wasn’t going to be more trouble.
Isla shrugged, she knew that Gerard had been waiting in the hospital for her to recover but he never had the chance to come and speak to her thanks to Tracy and Theodore.
“What are you going to tell him?” Kieran questioned, he knew that Isla had come to a decision about her future even if she hadn’t told anyone what it was; he wanted her to be happy and he had a feeling that this Gerard meant a lot to her.
Isla took a deep breath and looked at her younger brother, she had missed having Kieran around and she wished that he had been there when she had needed him instead of their parents; he would have been able to help her in some way that their parents hadn’t.
“That none of this is his fault,” Isla murmured wanting nothing more than to make all of this right, she could only imagine what Gerard had been thinking since all of this had kicked off.
Kieran nodded his head, his sister was a very forgiving woman and Gerard had only reacted in grief about what had happened; the only people that could be held accountable was Sharon and the hospital board.
***
“Isla?” Gerard whispered surprised as he opened the front door to find her standing on his doorstep, he swallowed not sure what to say to her since she looked amazing even after everything that had happened.
Isla was still a little underweight, something that made Gerard frown but he knew that he shouldn’t expect her to recover overnight; it was going to take some time.
“Hola Gerard,” Isla replied with a smile, she messed with the bottom of her top while Kieran sat in the car; she was thankful that he wasn’t hovering around her and he was giving her space to do this.
Gerard held the door open so that Isla could step inside out of the cold, she had just gotten out of hospital and he had no intentions of her getting sick again.
“How are you?” Gerard asked curiously, he hadn’t gotten a lot of news about her health when she had been in hospital and his mother had struggled to give him news since Isla’s parents clamped down on information after her visit.
“Doing better,” Isla responded following Gerard upstairs to the living room, she had no idea what to say but she knew that she had to talk to him; the house hadn’t changed a bit since she had last been there.
Isla took a seat while Gerard watched her, he had no idea what he would have done if she hadn’t of made it; he doubted that he would ever forgive himself for what he had done to her.
“That’s good… I’m so sorry for what happened,” Gerard murmured sitting down away from Isla, he had no idea how to make this right after everything that had happened.
There was so much that Gerard wanted to say and do but he had no idea if he would ever be able to make up for the fact that he ruined her life; he hated himself and he wished that this would all go away.
“It’s okay, I never blamed you,” Isla replied knowing that he had never gotten the letter that she had written for him, her parents had burnt it since they felt that he didn’t deserve her words.
Isla had been upset with that fact since she had wanted him to know that he wasn’t the reason behind what she had done; she blamed only one person and that was R.
“It still doesn’t excuse what I did,” Gerard murmured disgusted with himself, he should have listened to Isla and let her explain; his anger had gotten the best of him and he had lashed out at the woman that had helped him heal after Isabel.
Gerard looked at Isla, he had no idea what she was thinking but he doubted that she was going to be able to fully forgive him for what had happened; his wants and dreams didn’t matter anymore.
Isla could only nod her head, he had been cruel and she could forgive him that since the hospital had done a good job in covering up for Sharon; everyone thought she’d do it until Montserrat revealed the truth about the hospital’s failings.
“Madre mentioned something about compensation,” Gerard mused looking at Isla, he didn’t care for the money that was being handed out but he was sure that it would help Isla; he would even pay out if it meant that he could have some small part in her life.
Gerard knew what he wanted and it seemed so far away now, he doubted that Isla would ever want to give him a chance now and he would settle for being her friend.
“I found out who R was… Tonino is being dealt with for what he did,” Gerard said knowing that it would make Isla feel better to know that the person who had tormented her so much would be punished.
Isla blinked surprised, not once had she ever considered that Isabel’s older brother could be the one sending her those horrible messages; she just nodded her head, she was trying to put that all behind her now.
“I was thinking that maybe I could take you to dinner one day?” Gerard asked hopefully, if he could never call Isla his girlfriend then that would be fine but he did still want her in his life.
Milan was very attached to the woman that had practically been his mother for months while he had wallowed after Isabel’s death and Gerard didn’t want his son to lose her.
Isla stared at Gerard, she hadn’t told anyone what she had planned to do but she was going to tell him; she sighed shaking her head knowing this would hurt him.
“I’m sorry Gerard… I’m moving to Australia to be with family,” Isla revealed softly, she needed a break away from Barcelona for a while and she needed to rebuild not only herself but her life.
Barcelona would forever remember the death of Isabel Mebarak and that would forever haunt Isla because she had been framed for her death; she wanted time to let it go and maybe one day she would come back.
“You’re leaving…” Gerard breathed as terror gripped him, he knew that she was going through a lot but it was something that he never imagined would happen; he felt tears building at the thought that this could be goodbye.
Gerard tried to wrap his head around Isla’s decision, he wished that he could make her stay but she was doing the right thing for her; there were people that still said horrible things about her and that wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.
“I need to do this for me Gerard,” Isla murmured watching him, she hoped that one day she would see him happy and that was why she had made the decision to walk away now.

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In The Darkest Hour
FanfictionHappiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light ft. Gerard Piqué