the next morning.
"Please remember that voting for the golden boy trophy ends tomorrow at midnight. Last year Pedri from fc Barcelona won of course, it would be so interesting if Pablo Gavi wins this year. Barcelona is known for their incredible talents in their young players" the interview on the tv says.
I hope he wins. He deserves it, and it would hopefully boost his confidence. The award ceremony is in two days, i wasn't yet sure if I should go or not.
"I'm sure Pablo will win it this year, it would be crazy if he didn't" joao says. I nod, trying not to get emotional.
"Nani, we should talk" joao says.
I finish feeding Isabella and set her down.
"Look, as much as I love hanging out with you and Isabella, I think you really should head back to Barcelona" he gives me a small smile.
I'm shocked that he would say such a thing to me.
"What-"
"It's not my business but you and Pablo are married. You can't just run away from your problems like before. You have beautiful children who love you both. They depend on you, and they're so young it's not good for them to see you two like this. Isabella is changing every single day, it's not fair for Pablo to miss that. And I know you both love each other too much to give up on each other"
"I know, Joao but-"
"No, no excuses. You both agreed and promised to love each other and be there for each other when you got married. Own up to it. I can tell you're still hurting and you miss him".
I nod, and wipe my tears.
"You're right" I reply.
"Good. And in fact I've already planned for me to take you tonight. So get ready for this road trip isa!" Joao cheers, causing Isabella to smile.
"Are you serious? And what would you have done if I disagreed?" I laugh.
"I had my ways" he smirks.
____
We had the car all set up with our bags and such. I placed Isabella in her carseat after feeding her and changing her diaper.
"Madrid, you were amazing once again. I will miss my apartment" I sighed as I looked around.
"Come back any time you want, it is your apartment after all" Joao laughs.
I smiled. We turned the lights off before heading out. Joao carries the carseat downstairs to the car, with me following behind. He places the carseat inside while I sit up front.
Once we're ready, we drive off toward Barcelona. I choose a playlist we both like, and get ready for these hours ahead of us. We should make it there by midnight or after.
Pedri POV
"Guapo, what are you thinking about?" Cata says as she leans her head on my shoulder.
"Nothing" I lie. The truth is, I still feel terrible about how I treated Delaney. She didn't deserve that. Now she won't even answer my texts unless they're about Mateo.
"Papa, can we go see Bella? I want to show her my picture" Mateo smiles as he walks over to us. He shows me the drawing he had been working hard on.
"Sorry Mate, Isabella is not home" I reply.
"Why? Where is she?"
"She is with your mami, they went to... the doctor"
"But why? It's almost night time" He says confused.
"Don't worry, you will see them soon, okay?"
"No! I want my mami and Bella" he pouts.
"Mateo, please calm down. I don't want you to be upset" I say as I sit up to pick him up.
"No! I want to go to my mami and papi's house!"
"Mateo, listen to your papa, he is only trying to help" Catalina says.
"I don't know you! You're not my mami!" Mateo yells, now starting to cry.
I sigh and pick him up as I try and soothe him. He isn't calming down, he's never acted this way before.
After a few minutes he is still upset and I give in.
"Okay, let's get your shoes. I will take you to their house" I sigh. I hope she's back home, or that Pablo can calm him down with an excuse.
____
We make it to their house, by this time it is around 9:00pm. I hope someone is awake. We knock at the door a few times until I see a light turn on. Pablo opens the door, shirtless and with sweatpants on, clearly he was asleep.
"Pedri?" He yaws, wiping his eyes.
"Papi! Papi!" Mateo cries out and jumps into Pablo's arms. He continues to cry as Pablo rubs his back.
"Campeón, what's wrong? Hm?" Pablo says to him. He signals for us to come in as he shuts the door behind us.
"I missed you and Bella and mami" Mateo sobs.
"Well, I'm here with you now. Your mami is staying with your tio Joao. Do you remember him? He wanted to meet Isabella. You will see them soon, okay?" He explains to Mateo.
She's with Joao? I guess they've talked already if he knows. Mateo seems to calm down and nods his head.
"Si, tio Joao, he makes goals with Madrid right?" Mateo smiles.
"Yes he does. See, you do remember him! Bella and mami are safe. See? Nothing to cry about" Pablo smiles and kisses Mateo's cheek. He wipes his tears away.
"She's not my mami, right papi?" I can hear Mateo whisper as he looks over at Catalina. Luckily Catalina scrolls on her phone, and seems to not hear.
"No, she's not. But she's a friend, and we have to be nice to our friends okay? Because your papa loves her, and you love him. So we need to learn to get to know new people" He explains. Mateo nods.
"Sorry Pablo, I didn't know what else to do, he wouldn't stop crying" I sigh.
"It's okay. He's just growing and learning how to express his emotions" Pablo smiles.
He begins to rock Mateo to sleep until eventually he's passed out. Pablo holds him in his arms.
"Look, Catalina you seem very nice, and you make Pedro happy it seems. But you two were introduced too fast I think. We should have slowly introduced her to Mateo. He's not used to meeting new people and I think he's confused" He sighs.
I nod, knowing he is probably right.
"She was right" I say
"Who?"
"Delaney, she was upset that I introduced Mateo to catalina without telling her. But you both knew how he would respond. I am a terrible father" I say as my eyes water.
"Pedro, you're not. We're all learning. I promise you are far from a terrible father. Mateo loves you. We just need to have more communication when it comes to these things"
"I know. Gracias Pablo." I respond.
"It's late, you guys should stay over so we don't wake Mateo. You can sleep in the guest room. I'll take him to his room" he tells me.
"Sure" i reply.
He walks away toward the stairs, a few minutes later walking back down.
"So, i guess you've talked to her? Since you know she's with joao"
"She reached out to me. We're going to work through it" he replies.
"When is she back?"
"I don't know. She said to give her some time, but she'll be back soon" he gives a small smile.
I know tomorrow is an important day for him. It's the gala and he might possible win an award. So it must be hard that he'll be alone for that.
"I'm going to head to bed. The bedroom is down the hall, let me know if you need anything" he says. I nod as he walks upstairs.
"Well, we should rest too" i say to Catalina. I grab her hand and we walk to the guest room.
Gavi POV
I lay down and grab my phone.
Princesa ❤️
are you awake?
si, everything okay?
sort of. mateo had a melt down, pedro brought him over, i was able to calm him down and he's asleep now..
ugh. I knew this would happen. i feel so bad :(
it worked out in the end. just thought you should know. how are you? how's my baby girl?
im fine, trying to get some rest. she's perfect, im sorry for taking her...
dont be, i was stupid. but im glad we talked earlier. i love you and miss you ❤️
i love you too pablo. we'll be home in a few days. you should rest, tomorrow is a big day
i don't care about an award, i only care about you and our family
im proud of you regardless. you deserve it, goodnight pablo ❤️
buenas noches princesa, give isa a kiss for me❤️
I'm so glad we talked earlier. She called me to explain where she was and we talked about fixing things. I promised to stop drinking and we're going to work on communication. She didn't say when she'd be back, but im just glad she's coming home soon.