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Telling Christinethat my little sister gave me a boner is probably not the place I want to drive this conversation to, so I stay vague.
Christine:Have you tried talking to her?
Gabriel:Yeah, and I said all the wrong things.
Christine:Like what?
Gabriel:I guess I kind of accused her of enjoying herself up there.
Christine:The fuck you did!
Gabriel:I was confused and upset.
Christine:So you accused a sex trafficking victim of enjoying her assaults and rapes?
Gabriel:I didn’t see it like that! She was acting like a damn tease.
Christine:Because her ass would have been beaten otherwise.
The cruel words I said come back to me with fierce vengeance. Everything inside me hurts. I can’t believe what I did. How I made Brooke feel.
Gabriel:How do I make this better?
Christine:There’s a storm coming, so it’s not a good time to bring her in. Spend a few days getting to know her. Talk about anything but sex and what she’s been through. Just be there. Present.
Gabriel:I can do that.
Christine:Don’t worry about inspecting her. God knows the girl is probably traumatized, and honestly, I don’t care if her liver and kidneys are wrecked from all the drugs she’s done. There’s no way I’m letting her get turned away.
Gabriel:Thanks, I really needed to hear you say that. There’s no way Cole will go against your wishes.
Christine:I’m busy right now, but call back if you have questions. And for God’s sake, Gabe, don’t be a dick.
As much as I hate Christine, and I really hate the bitch, I’m relieved that I have her on my side, because no one in the Keep wants to face her wrath.
She’s safe now,I tell myself, but it still feels like we’re in the thick of it. Like the hardest part of the battle has just begun.
But I’ll fight the demons of hell to save that girl, even if it means bartering away my soul. That’s how much she means to me.
Tomorrow, I’ll be a better man. The brother she needs. The one that should have been there for her years ago.
THE STORM
BROOKE
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m truly safe. The apartment Gabriel took me to is small but secure. There’s no way the dead can infiltrate it, or the living, for that matter. There are no men lusting after me. No obligations. No promise of molestation. Just Gabe.
Silent, stoic Gabe.
The same gorgeous man who unknowingly stole my heart.
He thinks the worst of me. That I enjoyed being a whore. He’s disgusted.
He should be.
I’ll leave tomorrow, so he never has to see me again. So I no longer have to feel his judgmental gaze on me. He can go back to wherever he’s from and do whatever it is he does, and I’ll…exist. Or at least I’ll try to. Chances are, I’ll die quickly, and perhaps that’s a blessing.
A clap of thunder rips through the sky, and suddenly, I can hardly breathe. The sound rivaled the intensity of Frank’s voice, seeping deep under my skin, invading every part of me.
