Mónica's POV
"Are you feeling ok? You look a bit pale".
My mum has been fussing around me all morning. She knows I get very nervous about things like the recording session I have today, but that isn't what kept me awake at night.
"Yeah, just a bit tired".
"You came back home quite late last night. Had a good time with Pablo?"
"Sure. His friends were there too. We were just playing some games".
"Are they as lovely as him?"
I wouldn't call him lovely right now.
"They were very nice, yes".
"That's nice, sweetie. I like that you have him but you need friends too".
"Yeah".
But what my mum doesn't know is that I don't have Pablo either. Even if I thought I did for a second. He's probably laughing at me right now for being such a child.
"Is this his hoodie?"
I turn to find my mum holding the hoodie I wore yesterday. I threw it to the floor the moment I got inside of my room. I didn't want to wear anything that belongs to him. I still don't.
"Yes".
"You could wear it today. It'll bring you good luck".
"I don't want to wear it".
I try to close the door gently, even though I would prefer to slam it shut. But it isn't my mum's fault that I'm in this mess. It's my fault. And Manu's, of course.
When I get back to my room, I see the hoodie neatly folded on my bed and I only want to throw it to the floor again. But doing that doesn't allow me to get the relief I expected, so I also sit on the floor and cry.
"Mónica?"
"Go away", I try to say, but it's barely a whisper.
"Why are you crying?"
She sits next to me and I can see her looking at the hoodie that's on the floor again.
"Did he do something to you? You have to tell me if he did".
"It's not real, mum. It's never been".
"What do you mean it isn't real?"
"We aren't really dating. It's something we are pretending to do for our careers only".
I quickly try to explain what's been going on and I can see the hurt in her eyes.
"Don't tell your father"
"I don't want to keep lying. I'm tired of lies".
"Too late, Mónica. You got yourself in this mess. You got us in this mess. At least save him the heartbreak. We've been treating that kid like he was part of the family already while you two lied to us. And...did I really raise this kind of daughter? We have helped you achieve this career since you first told us you wanted to sing. You didn't have to do this!"
"That's not what Manu said".
"Yeah, well. I'll have a long chat with him. You were underage like two days ago and his first idea is throwing you to a man so you pretend to be with him. His only way to make you have a career apparently. It's disgusting".
She leaves so I can finish getting ready and then we drive to the studio in silence.
"I'll go get ready for the recording".
"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.