Opening my message app, I pull up the chat with Gabriel, my eyes briefly skimming over his earlier messages. He sends me agood morningtext every day before his classes begin and agoodnighttext at the end of every night. There are more in between. Sometimes he asks me about my day. Other times he says he misses me and tells me about his.
I’ve only gotten thegood morningmessage so far today.
Me: Hey.
His response is immediate.
Gabriel: Hey. Are you okay?
Me: Yeah. I’m okay.
“I don’t know what to say to him,” I tell Adriana, glancing up from the screen.
She shrugs. “Be honest with him. Tell him you’re angry and see if maybe he wants to get together to talk.”
“Is that a good idea?” My stomach does a summersault at the thought of seeing Gabriel in person. Am I ready to face him?
“It’s not a bad one,” she says.
I guess I’ll have to be.
Me: Do you think we can talk?
Gabriel: I can pick you up …
Me: No. I’d rather drive.
Gabriel: My place? The guys are out of the house right now. We’ll have some privacy for a couple of hours if you’re free now.
Swallowing hard, I force myself to thumb out a response.
Me: Okay. I’ll see you in thirty.
Gabriel: See you then.
CHAPTER 64
GABRIEL
Ilied when I told Cecilia the guys were out.
Not a big deal.
I kicked all of their asses out as soon as she said she was on her way and I’ve been pacing the entryway ever since.
Hearing her Jeep pull into the driveway, I don’t hesitate to open the front door.
I refuse to give Cecilia a chance to change her mind about this. It’s been a week of her avoiding me and I’ve had enough.
If she hadn’t messaged me today, I was getting ready to storm her house and demand her parents allow me to see her. I doubt I would have succeeded, but I’m desperate and out of ideas.
Cecilia drags her feet getting out of her car, and it takes everything in me to keep myself rooted on the porch. To not rush over to her and pull her out of the damn thing myself.
“Hi,” she says, lingering beside the driver's side door.
“You coming in?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual despite the uncertainty swirling inside me.
Cecilia hesitates for a moment before nodding, her movements stiff as she walks towards the porch. I step back togive her space, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. I’m over the fucking moon that she’s here, that she finally reached out to me. But I don’t know what to expect right now. I can tell she’s nervous, but Cecilia should never feel like that around me.
