“Cecilia, baby. Wait.”
I grab the clothes he set out for me and hastily throw them on, shoving my legs into the sweatpants and pulling on one of Gabriel's oversized shirts.
Voices can be heard downstairs, the guys just now making it home.
I step into the hallway and jog down the stairs.
“Cecilia—”
I don’t slow my steps. My head is a mess. My heart is even more twisted and confused. After last night and then this morning, I thought things were different. In a good way, I think. We were moving in a different direction. Toward something more. But how do we move forward from this?
I can’t even look at him right now.
I told Gabriel not to fight my battles. He wasn’t helping. And every time he pissed off Austin, he made things worse.
I could have died today. Austin very well may have killed me. And for what? Because Gabriel needed to deliver some twisted brand of justice on my behalf? A justice I never even asked for?
“Can you drive me home?” I ask Julio as soon as I step into the living room. He looks past me to Gabriel, who’s made up ground and stands close behind me.
“You sure you don’t want to stay?” he asks. “Just for tonight?” The question is directed toward me, but his eyes stay locked on Gabriel’s, almost like he’s asking permission.
Folding my arms over my chest, I keep my voice firm. “I want to go home,” I tell him. “You can take me or I’ll find another way.”
Gabriel clears his throat behind me.“Cecilia, just let me explain. Please.”
I ignore him and walk toward the door.
“Are you coming?” I ask Julio.
His eyes flick between us before he curses. “I’m sorry,” he says, and for a second, I think he’s talking to Gabriel, but then he levels apologetic eyes on me. “You’re upset and that’s understandable but I don’t think you should be alone after what just happened. Whatever is going on with you two, talk it out. Let Gabriel be there for you.”
He swipes his keys from the entryway table and dips his head toward Deacon and Felix who cautiously loiter near the living room, looking everywhere but at us. “We’ll go grab some food and give you two some privacy to work things out.”
With that, all three of them leave, filing out one after the other. I’m tempted to follow them and force my way into Julio’s car, but I don’t have it in me. I can’t keep fighting like this. I’m tired. So fucking tired. I just need all of this to end.
33GABRIEL
“Fuck this,” Cecilia mutters, tugging at her wet hair. She lets out this angry sound as she whirls around to face me where I still stand frozen at the bottom of the stairs. “I just want to go home!” she screams, her eyes red-rimmed and brimming with tears. “I—URGH!” Her voice cracks and she swipes angrily at the tears now slipping down her face.
The ache in my chest intensifies, a heavy weight pressing down on me as I watch her unravel before me. I want to go to her, to pull her into my arms and make everything okay. But I know it’s never that simple.
Not after what’s happened today.
Hearing her breakdown in the shower, it fucking gutted me. I’ve never heard her cry like that before. Cecilia’s always been so strong. But she’s breaking apart right in front of me, and the thought that I played a part in her pain ... It’s unbearable.
How do I fix this?
My mind races, desperately grasping for the right words to say, but I keep coming up fucking empty.
“Why don’t we?—”
“No!” she snaps, holding a hand out defensively when I step closer. “We aren’t doing anything. I want to go home. If you won’t take me, then ...” She trails off, her voice breaking as she fights back tears. “Then something. I don’t know. I don’t have my phone. But dammit, I’ve been through enough today. Please. Just take me home.”
Screw this.
Drawing closer, I gently pull Cecilia into my arms. She resists at first, pushing against my chest, but I refuse to let her push me away. Not this time.
My girl is hurting, and I’ll be damned if she won’t allow me to alleviate at least some of her pain. She can demand to go home all she likes, but deep down, I know that’s not what she really wants. And it sure as hell isn’t what she needs.
