Chains

Chapter 22

"No Lou don't go!"

My eyes fell upon a very pregnant Shakira,slowly making her way over to me. I groaned in frustration as I recognized this was one of her many attempts to prevent me from moving out.Now that she was in her third trimester and very noticeably pregnant, she had been using it to her advantage to guilt trip me into staying. I had been ignoring her attempts for the past week but she was very persistent.

"Shaki, I'll legit be 20 minutes away. It's not that big of a deal". But Shakira didn't give a damn.Her knack for the dramatics was intensified due to her unruly hormones.I picked up the last box I had and began to walk towards my car despite her complaints.After setting the box down on the back seat, and shut the door with a small smile on my face. My need for independence was now becoming a reality and I was more than happy with this change in my life. The smile began to fade when I heard Shakira sniffing. I turned around to see the short blonde pouting like a little child.

"Why are you growing up on me?" she asked as she inched closer to me. I chuckled a bit as she pinched my cheeks. In her eyes, I was still the little 3 year old who she helped mom to feed.It scared her to think that her baby sister was now an adult and was about to embark on her own life journey.

"I didn't really have a choice you know" I watched as she cracked a small smile at my statement and nodded her head in agreement.

"Hey,what's with all the boxes? Oh shoot. You're moving today?" I turned around to see a shirtless Gerard with Maluma by his side, who,sadly for my hormones,was also shirtless.

"Moving?" Maluma asked, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he was obviously out of breath from his workout with Gerard. Unlike Shakira, Gerard was oblivious to the tension between Maluma and I these past few weeks and still thought that there was something going on between us. That's why he saw no fault in having him around the house ever so often despite my protests. I internally smiled as the thought of having my own place gave me complete control of who I allowed in my apartment.

"She's leaving me" Shakira replied as she realized I had no intention of answering. She tried to cover her sadness by adding a small laugh at the end but she wasn't fooling anyone. I could feel Maluma's gaze on me, but I tried my best to ignore it.

"But not the country,right" he asked, not even trying to mask his nervousness. My eyes landed on everything except him. I didn't understand why exactly he was acting this way towards me leaving, but I didn't want to care either. I've only just gotten over the fact that he deemed a fake relationship more important than one with me.

"Of course not" Shakira said confidently but quickly turned her head towards me,"right?" she asked, suddenly unsure of exactly where I was moving to.

"No Shakira, I couldn't leave the country when your about to pop out a new edition to the family. I have to be there" I said trying to calm her nerves a bit. I didn't have any intention of leaving Barcelon,yet. La Dulce Vida was becoming very popular amongst the locals here in Barcelona and it would be just plain stupid to leave so soon. But above all, I had to witness the birth of Little Sasha as I was two oceans away when Milan was born. My flight to Barcelona did not make it in time for me to see him enter the world which made me sad for weeks.

They both took a sigh of relief. In that moment it seemed as though my eyes had a mind of their own as the made their way to Maluma. Sure enough, his eyes were already on me which made me quickly look away.

"Well then," I said, inching closer to the driver's side of the car. As much as I would want to spend more time with Shakira before I left, my hormones could no longer cope with the shirtless Maluma in front of me. Slowly, but surely, my hatred towards him was beginning to fade but I couldn't let that happen.

"No wait"

To my surprise, the objection wasn't from Shakira. I could feel my muscles tense up as Maluma jogged towards me. I mentally cursed at his decision while trying to remain as stoic as possible.

"Can we talk, please" he said in a pleading tone. I decided against refusing and possibly starting a scene as I was in no mood for an argument. I complied with his wishes which earned me a small smile. But that smile was short lived. We stood there in silence for a few minutes which made me start to regret agreeing to this. I was about to finally break the ice when he inhaled deeply.

"I'm gonna end the relationship." he said. A heavy silence settle over us once more I as tried to decide how to react to this information.

"I want us to work out Lou" he said when I didn't reply. He laced his fingers through mine and tried to come closer to me. However, each time he stepping forward I took a step back, maintaining the space between us.

"You don't have to end anything" I declared,sliding my hands out of his."Its obvious what you value more and that's ok". I opened the car door only to have it close by Maluma.

"I thought that's what you wanted Lou? That's why you've been pissed at me lately" he asked,placing his hand behind his head.His tone was filled with frustration. I shook my head and opened the door again,this time keeping my hand on it to prevent him from closing it again.

"But is it what you want?" I retorted. I watched as his frown deepened. I waited for his response but it never came. I watched as he chewed at his bottom lip,avoiding eye contact with me.

"I like you Lou, I really do. I've never felt that way after kissing anyone. You're definitely someone special to me. But my career-"

"Right. You're career -"

"Will you just listen to me ?" he shouted,obviously not happy that I was cutting him off. I waited for him to say something but he didn't. Instead,he wrapped his arms around my waist,securing me in place as he came closer towards me.Before I knew it,his lips crashed against mine making old feelings resurface.He pulled away as quickly as the kiss began which left a feeling of disappointment within me.

"I'll end it for you" he said,placing his forehead on mine.

He's ending it for me.Not for him.