Por amor al arte (Julieta x F!Reader)

Part 23

You sighed tiredly as you rocked Eliza. She hadn't slept well, she had tossed and cried a few times throughout the night, which was not normal. You had tried everything to calm her down, but nothing had worked and it was already 4 in the morning.

"Eli, please" you tried to calm her "go to sleep, my love"

But the girl just kept squirming and groaning. She wasn't really crying, but you knew it was only a matter of time. You tried to sing and coo to her more, but she cried for a comfort you couldn't seem to give her. Your mind wandered to a room across the hall, where your gorgeous brunette was.

The older woman usually got up around five in the morning to prepare breakfast, but you knew she was awake long before that. It was one of your favorite "fights" with her. No matter how hard she tried, you would always end up waking up when she separated from you and you would try to get her to go back to bed. God, how you missed those days.

You shook your head slightly and returned your focus to Eli. You no longer knew what to do, you had slept very little, just like your daughter, and even though you had respected the brunette's space in recent days, this was bigger than you. Eliza needed help and no one had yet been born who could calm her down better than Julieta. Maybe she could help you.

"Very well, little one" you said to your daughter, getting up with her in arms "you win, let's go see if mamá Juli wants to open the door for us"

You put on your sneakers and looked at your brother for a moment before leaving the nursery. Your heart was beating fast and you felt like a prisoner headed for the electric chair. It wasn't that you were afraid of the brunette, but that you still didn't have the face to face her after what you did to her.

"Moving forward hurts and can be hard, but what awaits you cannot be worse than what you have, on the contrary, you can only improve from here"

Alma's voice echoed in your mind. The matriarch had really done a lot for you, and you had promised her that you would at least try to patch things up with her daughter, get back on the friendly ground if you couldn't be something else. And you weren't going to break that promise.

You marveled at how easily Eliza began to calm down just by looking at the drawing on the woman's door, so you stood there for a moment, letting your daughter pat the wood while you tried to work up the courage to call. What if she got angry? What if you were wrong and she was actually asleep? What if she didn't want to see you?

You shook those thoughts away when Eli growled again. The picture of Julieta on the door was beautiful, but it wasn't the real Julieta and your daughter wouldn't get any comfort from it. You understood her, the same thing happened to you. You took a deep breath before knocking softly and tentatively on the door.

You waited a few moments before calling again and your heart beat a thousand per hour when you heard soft footsteps from inside. You wanted to run the moment the doorknob turned, but you had to be strong for the small bundle in your arms.

Julieta gasped silently as she opened the door to find you standing there, looking everywhere but at her, with a very upset Eli in your arms. If she was honest, she didn't know who she had expected to find, maybe Pepa or Mirabel, but not you. Her pulse quickened as she noted the blush on your cheeks, your glassy eyes, and your wild, loose hair. You looked beautiful and the warmth that spread through her only made her remember how cold her bed was these days without you.

"Hola" you murmured softly and awkwardly, looking at the ground.

"Hola" she replied quietly.

"S-sorry to bother you but..."

"Are you okay?" the brunette asked, taking a step closer to you

You were amazed to hear the concern in her voice. Things weren't good between you, you hadn't spoken in days, you had been avoiding each other, you had made a mistake that had hurt her...and yet her first instinct upon seeing you was to make sure you were okay. You really didn't deserve her.