In The Darkest Hour

Part Two - Chapter Sixteen: Last Chance

Isla nibbled on her toast as she curled up on the couch, she had just come off a night shift and she was glad that things were quiet in the house; she couldn't hear movement from upstairs but she guessed that Gerard and Milan were still asleep.

Isla didn't blame them, it was pretty early in the morning and she'd taken a taxi home from the hospital so that Gerard didn't have to come and get her; she didn't want him thinking that he constantly had to pick her up.

Isla was starting to look for her own car to use and she knew that Gerard wasn't overly fond of the idea, he liked driving her to and from work and he always seemed to find problems with the cars that she liked.

Isla sighed, she loved Gerard and she hoped that this overprotective nature wasn't going to last; she was capable of looking after herself and she knew that Gerard had every reason to worry about her sometimes.

Isla wasn't overly fond about the fact that the paparazzi followed her around a lot and they snapped pictures of her, she was still getting used to that again especially after what happened but no one seemed to bring up what had happened anymore and she was glad about that.

Isla finished off her toast before she set down her plate and reached for her orange juice, she sipped on it before moving to change the channel; early morning television was boring and she wasn't interested in watching the news or some children's programme right now.

Isla yawned rested her head on the back of the couch, she was glad to be home and she would head off to bed soon; she would just wait until Gerard's alarm clock went off first so that he wouldn't disturb her when he got out of bed to go to training.

***

Gerard ran a hand through his hair as a break was called, he stretched his legs and walked over to get some water; he chuckled watching some of the other players knowing that they still had a long session ahead of them.

Gerard sipped on his water as he thought about his weekend with Isla, he had enjoyed their little role-play and it had certainly spiced things up; it had been good fun and he wouldn't mind doing it again when they had the chance.

"You look happy," Lionel teased moving to stand next to his friend, he didn't know what Gerard was smiling about but he had to guess that it was too do with his girlfriend of four months now.

Lionel was happy for Gerard and he knew that things could not have been better for him, the press had calmed down a lot and they weren't causing too much trouble for his friend now.

"I am," Gerard replied smiling at Lionel, there was no denying that fact and he was looking forward to getting home to Isla and Milan; he missed them and he knew that things hadn't been easy this week since Isla had been on night shifts.

Gerard wasn't fond of that fact, he knew that she didn't have much say in when she worked and he wished that there was some way around it; he didn't like the fact that he couldn't pick her up from work when she finished around six in the morning.

Lionel laughed softly and shook his head, he had never thought that he would see the day that Gerard was like this again and he knew that Isabel would be so happy that he had moved on.

"Piqué! You have a visitor," Luis Enrique shouted making Gerard look over at him confused, he knew for a fact that it wouldn't be Isla coming to surprise him since she would be sleeping.

Gerard sighed walking off the training pitch, he jogged across when he saw the look that the manager gave him and he knew that they didn't like people making personal visits to the training ground.

The club didn't mind if family came as long as they had a bit of a warning in advance, Gerard ranked his mind on who could have come to see him as he walked towards the reception.

It didn't take Gerard long to reach reception and when he arrived he saw the last person in the world that he thought would have come to see him; he paused staring at the woman knowing that this couldn't be good.

"Tracy?" Gerard asked confused about why his girlfriend's mother had come to see him, he had heard all about what had happened when Isla had seen her mother last; he could only imagine what the woman wanted now.

Tracy pursed her lips as she turned to face the man that had been nothing bit a thorn in her side, she still couldn't believe that Isla was dating him after what he had done to her in the past.

"Hola Gerard," Tracy replied getting to her feet, she was sure that she was doing the right thing and if Isla wasn't going to see sense then this would have to do.

Gerard took a deep breath to calm his nerves, he didn't know what to say to the woman that had made it pretty clear that he wasn't good enough for her daughter; he wasn't sure why she had come to the training ground but he doubted that it was for a pleasant talk.

"What are you doing here?" Gerard asked doubting that she could come to apologise for how she had acted towards him, he eyed Tracy hoping that she wasn't going to try and break him and Isla up.

Tracy stood feet away from Gerard, her husband was a wimp for not coming to do this himself; he didn't seem to care what their daughter was doing and she had taken this into her own hands because Isla was making the wrong choice.

"I came to speak to you," Tracy said simply, her eyes flickering over the footballer glad they were doing this in a public place; she wasn't fooled by the nice persona that he displayed to the public.

"What will it take for you to leave my daughter?" Tracy asked staring at Gerard, she knew what this man was capable of and he had nearly destroyed Isla once; he had ruined her daughter's life over nothing.

Gerard gritted his teeth, he couldn't believe that Tracy thought that this would work; he wasn't stupid and there was no way that he would agree to break up with Isla for anything.

"That's not going to happen Tracy... I love Isla," Gerard stated wanting the woman to believe him, he knew what he had done was bad but Isla had forgiven him and he didn't see why her parents couldn't do the same thing.

Gerard felt unsure of himself for a moment when he saw the smirk on Tracy's face, it felt like he knew something that he didn't and it made him nervous; he didn't want to start a fight with Isla's parents.

Tracy clicked her tongue, she had a plan if Gerard refused and she would get revenge for her daughter; she would make him suffer for what he had done to Isla.

"This is your last chance Gerard," Tracy warned with a smile, she might have been alone in her planning but she wasn't going to give up not until Isla was away from the man that had made her attempt to take her life.

Isla had been so much better off in Australia, she had everything that she could have wanted there and Tracy was determined to see her go back to that life.

"I'm not going to change my mind Tracy... Isla wants to be with me and I'm here to stay," Gerard said trying to sound like he didn't care about her threat, he knew that Tracy was going to cause trouble but he was sure that he could deal with it.

Tracy stared at the footballer for a moment, she searched his face before she turned on her heel and walked out of the reception of the training ground; this was what she had wanted all along.