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"Oh my god, you swore!" I hear myself say before I even realize what I'm doing.
Gabe burst out laughing, which takes me by surprise as he's always so serious. "Oh, no! Did the big, bad Gabe say a bad word?" he mocks. "Why don't you try it, princess? You might just like it."
"I can’t; I’ll get into trouble," I say, covering my mouth.
"Just try it… fuuuck!" Gabe shouts, and instantly I begin looking around. Thankfully, we’re alone. "See, princess, it's not so bad; maybe you should show her Nate,'" he coaxes.
"Nathaniel doesn't swear either,'' I say, crossing my arms defiantly.
"Oh, he sure does, princess; was it not you who told me to, and I quote, ‘shut the fuck up’ this morning?" he asks, looking directly at Nathaniel.
To my surprise, when I look at Nathaniel, I see a sheepish grin on his face. Nate hits his brother in the chest before adding, "Well, you were singing down my ear at like 6 a.m.; you deserved it."
"See, princess, even your precious boyfriend swears. Give it a try."
"He’s not my–"
"I’m not her–"
"Boyfriend," we both say in unison.
Gabe just grins in response. "You keep telling yourselves that."
Is he my boyfriend? Are we a couple?My head spins with the possibilities. Sure, we spend all our time together. And yes, I care for him. And yes, I did get annoyed when that stupid girl on the bus tried talking to him. But that doesn’t mean I was jealous ...Does it?
I'm broken from my mental spiral by another shout of "Dickhead" from Gabe.
Followed by a quieter "shit," from Nathaniel, who is still standing beside me.
"Try it Bella. It feels good," Nate encourages.
"Yeah, let it out, princess, at the top of your lungs," Gabe coaxes.
"Fine," I huff. "Crap," I say quietly.
"Did you say something?" Gabe teases. "Because I didn't hear it."
"Craaaaap," I shout far too loudly.
Gabe almost falls to the floor laughing, finally containing himself enough to say, "Well, that's not exactly a swear word, but A for effort. Maybe you're not so bad after all."
Over the next few days, Gabe joins us a couple of times. He never stays longer than an hour or two. But, it’s progress.
According to Nathaniel, I should feel privileged, since Gabe apparently doesn't like many people. The fact that he’s opening up to me is a huge deal. I wouldn't exactly call us friends, as he mostly just teases me or calls me a princess, even though I've told him I hate it. He's definitely nicer to me than he used to be, and he doesn't scare me as much anymore. However, as always, the time that Nathaniel and I spend together passes by too quickly. Before we realize it, summer inevitably ends, and I have to return home once again. I pinky swear I'll be back soon, Nathaniel.
CHAPTER SIX
ISABELLA
Nathaniel and I try to spend every vacation together. And when we’re apart, we write to each other constantly.
Everything is amazing until the day my parents throw a huge curveball. "Isabella, can you come inside?" my mother asks.
I head into the house, and my dad is standing in the kitchen, a glass of champagne in his hand. When he spots me, he smiles. It was one of the rare times I saw my father smile, but I knew he wasn’t smiling because of me. "Good, you’re here. We’re celebrating."
He gets closer and hands my mother her champagne.
"Celebrating what, Dad?" I ask.
