When it becomes real (Pablo Gavi)

Chapter 17

"I'll wait here".

Her cold behaviour towards me hurts but I can't blame her for acting like this. If she had lied to me for months about something this big, I wouldn't be too happy either.

But it's now time to forget about everything so I can get this EP recorded as soon as possible. Once again, I need music to help me forget everything.

Gavi's POV

When I make it to the studio, I see Mónica's mum is there. And when she spots me, it's not a friendly look I see in her face. What has Mónica told her?

"Good morning".

"Not for me, it isn't".

"Did something happen? Is Mónica ok?"

"No, she isn't. Because she had to tell me you two had been lying to me for months".

Oh...

"She told you?"

"Yes".

I really don't know what to say to her. A part of me liked that her parents didn't know. Especially the closer we got. It made everything feel more...real.

"I'm sorry".

"You should be. You and everyone involved in this sick game. What were you thinking? And now I find her crying because of it. I feel like breaking all her contracts and taking her away. She hasn't been the same since she got into that show".

She looks at me, and her anger seems to be substituted slightly by sadness.

"Except for when she was with you. But I guess she just got that good at acting. I don't know...".

"I wasn't acting".

"What do you mean?"

"At first, sure. But I haven't been acting for a while. I like your daughter but she...she thinks it's still all fake and that I'm seeing other girls. That's why you saw her cry. I hurt her. I didn't want to but I did. That's why I am here. I need to talk to her. I need to fix this".

"Are you really being honest? I don't want more lies, Pablo".

"I've never been more honest".

A man walks to our seats to let us know we can go inside and hear Mónica while she records.

"Will she be able to see us?", I ask, knowing seeing me while she's at work will only distract her.

"No".

So we go there and I put the headphones on. Her voice...I'll never get used to it. It doesn't make sense that a person can create that type of sound. It sounds more like something an angel would create. And she looks like one too.

And hearing her sing now almost makes me want to cry. I can't lose her.

One of my headphones is removed from my ear and I see it was Mónica's mum who did it.

"Mónica has always been a lonely child. She would lie about having more friends so we wouldn't worry but then her teachers told us the truth. I guess this is just similar to that. I hoped being on that show would allow her to open up to people more, to find friends...but everyone was so fame hungry they would have thrown everyone else to the lions just to be successful. Not winning hurt her a lot, even if the producers explained to her they wanted her to finish second".

"The winner's curse".

"Yes. But she wanted to win, for once. So when she told me about you, I was happy. Because she never talked about boys. Or girls. She never mentioned liking anyone or having a date. Not that she needed to have a boyfriend, of course. But you arriving in her life meant a lot to me. Because I knew she was going to feel special and like she had finally won. I could care less about how famous you are but I know from my husband how many people will kill to be in Mónica's shoes. So I thought she would feel so special for once. And now I find it was all a lie".

"She is special. To me, she is. I wish we had met like people think we did. I wish it had been real since the beginning".

"I know I shouldn't after what happened but I believe you".

"Thank you", those words mean a lot to me.

"But if you hurt her once more, I'll keep her away from you. I don't care about contracts. I care about my daughter being happy".

"As do I".

She nods and walks out of the room. I could tell her eyes getting teary and she probably doesn't want me to see her cry.

I put my headphones back on and close my eyes. Hearing Mónica's voice can cure my heartbreak. At least for a little while.