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“I’m sorry this happened to you. And I’m sorry that your mother fell into drugs. But I want you to know one thing, and that is, none of this is your fault. The choices your parents made and the consequences that followed are not your fault. And your father dying was not your fault either.”
I had been told that many times before but I never believed a single person who said it, until now. For some reason, Gabriel saying those words to me made them feel true.
He pulled me into his lap and hugged me tightly to his chest. “You are not the accumulation of your parents' mistakes. You are Brianna Scott. And you are remarkable, do you hear me?”
I let out a broken cry but the more I fought it, the more the flood gates opened. Gabriel held me through every whimper and every tear I spilled. Not once did he let me go. And all the while he rubbed my back and kissed my head.
Each tear I released and each touch he gave healed parts of me that I had deemed far too broken to fix.
But in all that healing, a sudden fear crept into my subconscious. When the time came, how would I be strong enough to let him go.
18
OUTPLAYING HER
Gabriel
Her chest rose and fell slowly signaling that she was sleeping. She had cried herself to sleep after she opened up to me. Every tear she cried broke me.
After learning the story of her parents, I fell deeper in love with this girl.
When she described her pain, I felt it too.
I lifted her into my arms and carried her to our bed. Yes, our bed.
I had integrated her into every part of my life. There was no longer just me anymore. She was a part of me.
I found myself feeling so protective over her. She was precious and not everyone in this world knew how to value someone like her.
I placed her down onto the bed and pulled the blankets over her. She was so exhausted she melted into the soft mattress.
I knew why she hadn’t told me about her mother before. My family would have deemed it too damaging to our name. I couldn’t be linked to something like that. And maybe she thought if I knew about her mother then I would retract the offer.
I won’t lie. The fact that she thought so low of me that I would let the actions of her mother dictate how I viewed her was a little insulting. But then again, at that time there was no attraction between us. There were no emotions involved then.
Deep down I knew I wouldn’t have held it against her. Even before I knew her, I still knew the kind of person she was.
Watching her sleep made me feel an urge to wrap her in a protective bubble where none of the bad things that exist in my world could hurt her.
I knew exactly who was to blame for this and she was going to pay. Enough was enough.
I opened my phone and dialed her number as I exited our room.
“I was wondering when you would call.”
“We need to talk.”
I watched the numbers on the display go up as the elevator took me to my ex-wife’s apartment. It came to a halt and the elevator doors dinged open.
I stepped out into the hallway and made my way down. With each step I took toward her apartment my anger grew more intense.
Images of Brianna’s crying face filled my mind, and my rage was at an all time high once more.
I came to a halt at her door and banged on it not caring who heard me.
The door swung open. “Are you trying to break down my door?”
I ignored her as I pushed my way into the apartment.
