Holding Her, Loving You

Chapter Fifteen: Bullying Revealed

Cesc kissed down Belina’s neck as they lay in bed together, he knew that he had been stupid to fall into bed with his ex-girlfriend like that but he couldn’t help but feel content about what he had done.

“I love you,” Cesc whispered as he looked at Belina, he didn’t know why he had ever let her go and he cursed himself for letting her get away; the last thing he wanted to do was lose her again after what had just happened between them.

The footballer kissed her softly knowing that he had to end things with Daniella, he just hoped that the Lebanese wouldn’t lash out and do anything that would take Lia away from him; he adored his daughter and would do anything for her but he couldn’t live a lie anymore.

“I love you too,” Belina replied as she wrapped her arms around Cesc’s neck and kissed him, she knew that she shouldn’t have allowed this to happen; he still had a girlfriend and she doubted that he would be leaving her anytime.

The former couple kissed softly until Belina’s phone started to ring, she pulled back from Cesc who continued to kiss down her neck as she attempted to answer the phone; the footballer didn’t want anything to distract from what they were doing.

“Hola?” Belina said trying not to sound breathless as she answered the phone, she was a little surprised that he still had this effect on her after they had been apart for over seven years.

Cesc continued to kiss down her neck until Belina stopped him, she nudged him sharply in his ribs making him frown as he wondered who could be calling.

“Of course I’ll go straight there,” Belina said as panicked filled her, she couldn’t believe that she was getting a phone call from Alejandro’s school like this; she had a feeling that the reason for her son’s recent behaviour was about to be revealed.

***

Alejandro nearly burst into tears as Belina pulled him into a hug, she glanced at Cesc who was standing behind her looking at their son concerned; neither of them could believe that someone had broken their son’s arm.

“Alex why didn’t you tell us you were being bullied?” Belina asked as she pulled back slightly, her fingers ran through his dark hair as the six year old looked down at his hands; one of which was now encased in plaster.

Cesc frowned as his mobile rang again, he didn’t know what Daniella wanted but he wasn’t interested in what she had to say; the footballer needed to be with his son, he knew that whatever his girlfriend wanted it could wait until he was done here.

“I thought you’d be upset,” Alejandro whispered as he looked at his father, he knew that it was only a matter of time until Cesc discovered who had been bullying him; Joseph had been caught when he’d broken his arm and he knew that the older boy was in a lot of trouble back at the school.

“Why would you think that we’d be upset with you?” Cesc asked as he sat down next to his son, he frowned as his mobile rang again; he didn’t know what was going on but he was starting to get annoyed with Daniella.

Alejandro shrugged his shoulders as he continued to look down at his hands, he wondered what would happen when Cesc learnt what had been going on.

Cesc opened his mouth to comfort his son when Carlota appeared, she took a deep breath and frowned as she hurried towards her elder brother wondering what was going on.

“Daniella’s been calling you… its Joseph, he’s been suspended from school for bullying and breaking another kid’s arm,” Carlota said not noticing her nephew while Belina and Cesc froze.

Carlota looked at them confused, she didn’t know why they were in a hospital only that they had been called because there was an emergency; however it was only when she looked at Alejandro that she realised why they were at the hospital.

“Joseph is being suspended for bullying and breaking someone’s arm,” Cesc said as he tried to make sense of what his sister had just told him; he looked down at his son as everything started to piece itself together.

The footballer couldn’t believe that he hadn’t noticed any of this before, the signs were all there and he hadn’t been able to notice that his girlfriend’s son was bullying his; he now knew the reason why Alejandro didn’t want to spend time with him at his home.

“You don’t think?” Carlota whispered as she looked at her nephew, she knew that Daniella had been a little upset about something when she had called but she hadn’t thought anything of it; she had just thought that she was upset about Joseph being suspended.

***

Daniella bounced her knee nervously as she waited for her boyfriend to come home, she glanced at the clock knowing that when he returned he would know what Joseph had done, she didn’t know how he would react.

Maria glanced at her mother knowing that this could be the final nail in the coffin for the relationship; there was no way that Cesc would take the bullying well.

“Mum it’ll be fine,” the brunette said as she sat down next to her mother, it was getting late and they knew that he was with Belina and Alejandro; the longer that he was there, the more likely he was to snap when he came home to them.

Daniella nodded her head as she sighed and looked at her eldest daughter, she knew she couldn’t allow Cesc to learn that she had known about the bullying; he’d throw her out for sure when he learnt she had helped Joseph cover up what he had been doing to Alejandro.

The Lebanese opened her mouth to speak before she heard a car door slam, the brunette glanced at her daughter before she signalled for her to leave; she took a deep breath wondering how she would be able to calm Cesc down.

The footballer entered the house, his brown eyes closing as he remembered the talk that he’d had with Belina before he had come home; he had argued with his ex-girlfriend about leaving them alone but she had insisted that he return home to Daniella and the children.

“Cesc you’re home,” Daniella said with a smile on her face, she paused when Cesc looked at her wondering what he would do next; she carefully walked towards him before the footballer glared at her, he wasn’t going to forget what her son had done.

“We will talk about this tomorrow,” Cesc said as he tried to control how angry he felt, he didn’t want Joseph staying in his home if this was how he treated his son; the footballer wondered if this was karma for breaking apart a family like he had done.

Daniella nodded her head as she stared at Cesc, his cold voice making her swallow knowing that this wasn’t going to go away; it would only serve to push him closer to Belina and away from her.

“Okay,” the Lebanese said softly as she stared at Cesc, she hoped that she would be able to convince him that everything would be okay; she had already talked to Joseph about laying low for a couple of days so that she could calm her boyfriend down.

Cesc stared at her for a moment before he headed for the spare room, wanting to get away from her.