AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The way his eyes lit up made my heart squeeze. “Really? For how long?”
“Just tonight, for now. But it might be more. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Nope.”
“Great.” This next bit was super awkward and I’m not going to lie, it made me feel more than a little uncomfortable. So I spat it out quickly, to get it over with. “Now, we don’t have a spare bed, so she’ll be sleeping in my room.” He watched me steadily, waiting for me to clarify. I cleared my throat, completely unsure how to explain myself.
“Sandra had boyfriends.”
Shit. “She did?”
“Yeah. They were loud sometimes.”
“Oh.”
“I know about sex.”
“I see.” I wasn’t sure if that made it easier or harder. “Well, there won’t be anything like that happening. I’m just gonna look after her until she feels better.” If the test results turned out to be bad, we’d just deal with that when the time came. “I just wanted to check in and make sure you were good with everything.”
“I’m good.”
“Great. So, no questions?”
He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.
“Okay. I’ve got some yard work to do. Maybe if you feel like it, you can go and keep Allegra company. Or not. It’s up to you.”
“I’ll go.”
CHAPTER29
Ally
Ifound a soothing comfort in the simple rhythm of Gabe’s family life that was just what I needed. We cooked dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, watched a bit of television. Then it was time for Jesse to go to bed. He asked me to read to him, and even the simple action of sitting on the sofa reading an oldGoosebumpsbook together somehow made me feel better.
Once Jesse was in bed, Gabe came out and dropped into the seat next to me. I wanted, more than anything, to throw myself at him, to sob it all out, to scream and shout and rage. To just vomit out all the feelings inside of me. But I didn’t, because it was too much. It was one thing to be friends, or fuck buddies, or whatever we were to each other now. It was something else entirely to unload on him in a way I didn’t feel I could even with Zara, and she was my best friend.
I refused to explore why it was I had driven here, to him, right after getting my mom’s phone call. It was enough for now that I was able to hold onto that reed-thin scrap of self-control and if that meant staying at Gabe’s, then so be it.
“You happy to watch this?”
I glanced at the television. It was some documentary about the development of the steam engine or some shit. I shrugged. It wasn’t like anything else was going to hold my attention any better.
“Surf, if you like.”
He handed me the remote, getting up and moving into the kitchen, flicking on the tea kettle. Mindlessly, I started surfing until a cooking show caught my eye. “Oh, this show’s funny.”
“What’s it called?”
“Is it Cake?”
“Sounds weird, but okay. You want tea?”
“Yes, please.”
“Chamomile, peppermint, normal or…what the fuck is this? Lemongrass?”
“Chamomile, thanks.”
