Gabriel's Salvation: small town, misunderstood MMC, overcoming trauma, first love romance

5. Chapter Five

The last few weeks have been a nightmare, Justin has gone from bad to worse, showering me with compliments one minute to ignoring me the next. I”m lying on the lounge chair enjoying the sunshine and reading my book when, out of nowhere, I feel a heavy weight sit on the end of my sun lounger. Looking around I expect to see Justin, but am pleasantly surprised to see it’s Lexi holding two bottles of water.

“Hey Freckles, thought you might need a drink. I don”t want you burning again and spending the rest of the day in a tomato bath,” Lexi laughs. “Your hair was red for days,” she teases.

“Yours has been red for years,” I joke back.

“Erm, strawberry blonde, actually,” Lexi says as she flips her long hair dramatically. “Mine looks great; yours didn”t,” she laughs.

“I was six,” I fake sulk. “When are you going to let me live that down?”

“When the nightmares stop … even to this day I can”t look at a tin of tomatoes without having flashbacks,” Lexi cringes and gasps dramatically.

“You”re such a drama queen,” I laugh.

“Yeah, but I”m still the best damn babysitter you and your sister ever had. Speaking of which, where is she?”

“She didn”t want to come,” I sigh sadly.

“How come? The two of you are normally thick as thieves?”

“Let”s just say her and Justin aren”t exactly best friends at the moment.” I shrug

“What”s my idiot of a brother done now?” Lexi asks, moving to sit on the chair beside me.

“Well…”” I begin. “First of all he stood me up when he was supposed to come to family dinner, and you know what she”s like. She”d gone all out baking cookies and cakes for us. Then, when he finally turned up the next day saying he’d been in bed with the flu. She gave him the benefit of the doubt until he let slip he was actually playing basketball with a few friends.”

“So, that was strike two, as far as she was concerned I”m guessing,” Lexi interrupts.

“Yup. And then to top it all off, do you remember my friend? The cheerleader?” I ask.

“Erm, I”m not sure, maybe?”

“Well, she”s dating this totally hot jock. He”s a great guy, super friendly, super goofy, but also super loyal. Justin saw us joking around outside school while we were waiting for her to get out of practice, and well, Justin got all jealous. Didn”t even give either of us the chance to explain. Instead, he punched the boyfriend straight in the mouth. The two of them got into a fight and it took both me and his girlfriend to split them up. So now no one is really talking to me,” I admit.

“Damn girl that does sound bad. I”m sure they”ll forgive you soon though. It”s not your fault my brother’s turned into a raging douchebag this year.”

“Glad I”m not the only one to notice,” I say quietly.

“Believe me, we’ve all noticed.” Lexi reasures, as she puts her arm around me. “And if he”s gonna treat you like that you really do deserve better.” A single tear runs down my cheek as I think about everything he”s put me through these last few months. Heck even while he was away it was pretty tough.

“Don”t cry, Freckles, You”ve always been too good for him anyway,” Lexi reassures me as she pulls me into a hug. As soon as I feel the comfort of her arms, the floodgates open and I begin to sob. “He”s just not the same Lex, I don”t even recognize him anymore. He”s not the same guy I grew up with.” I sob. Lexi reaches out and uses the corner of the towel to wipe away my tears.

“No boy’s worth your tears Freckles, especially not my brother. Go fix your makeup in my room, use whatever you need.”

I make my way inside and up the stairs, as I do I hear muffled sounds coming from inside Justin”s room. I push the door open, expecting to see him working out since that’s where he said he was going earlier. But instead, I”m met with a sight that makes me wanna throw up.

Ido my best to stay away from the bar, but Stacey isn”t far from my mind. I hooked up with a few girls trying to get that witchy girl off my mind. I don’t know what spell she cast over me, but fuck me, I can’t shake it. At best, the randoms keep me entertained for a few minutes. But before I can even tuck my dick away, she”s right back there, center stage in my brain.

Monday morning rolls around and I”m at some fancy house working on an extension for some rich lawyer with a few of the guys. The whole time we are working we can hear laughing and squealing from the back garden where the guy”s son seems to be having some sort of pool party.

“Rich pricks or what?” I scoff, rolling my eyes in frustration when a scream almost makes me drop my hammer.

“Right! Makes you sick doesn’t it,”” Jack replies.

Next thing we know there”s the sound of doors slamming and it becomes apparent that the scream wasn”t a playful one.

There”s a loud smash sound. One I would recognize even in my sleep. A sound I”ve heard so many times I could pinpoint its origin in a heartbeat. The sound of glass smashing against a wall.

“You’re a fucking psycho, you know that?” a guy shouts as he storms out of the house and straight past us.

“And you”re a lying, cheating, mother fucker,” an angry female voice screams back from just a few feet behind him.

Jack and I both move, hoping to get a better seat to the shit storm happening just around the corner of the building.

“Wait, it’s not what it seems,” another voice, a much softer one says, as a girl storms out the door like a fucking hurricane of anger.

“I walked in on my boyfriend with his head between my best friend’s fucking legs… pretty sure he wasn’t looking for goddamn quarters, Jessica!” the first girl screams. It”s then I see the girl”s face and realize it”s Stacey.

Almost at the same time that I see her, she sees me. She wastes no time marching over to me and kissing me. Just in time for her boyfriend, the same guy who”d virtually pissed on her to mark his claim just a few weeks ago, to walk in and see us.

Refusing to allow her to have all the power, yet again, I wrap my hands under her ass and lift her up into my arms. It”s then I realize she”s wearing nothing but a skimpy bikini with a thin shirt over it.

“Whore!” the ugly ginger boyfriend shouts before attempting to drag her out of my arms.

I place her down on the floor, step in front of her, and am ready to knock this asshole out. Before I get the chance, Stacey steps around me and swings her fist connecting straight with his nose. Blood starts gushing out everywhere. Damn, this girl’s got some serious fire.

“Takes one to know one, Justin.”

“We”re leaving. Go get your shit.” I snap, keeping my glare on this douchebag.

I walk her to the back yard and wait while she throws her stuff into her bag. Everyone else either glares in our direction or suddenly decides that the floor is the most interesting thing they”ve ever seen. So interesting in fact, they can”t tear their eyes away from it.

Either way, I stand with arms folded, glaring and warning them with my eyes so they know that I am ready to throw fists at anyone who dares even breathe in our direction.

“Ready?” she asks as she slides her hand around me.

“Oh, and one more thing, Justin, you”ve got the tiniest dick I’ve ever seen, and I had to fake it every single time. Enjoy my sloppy seconds, Jess.“

The gasps and strained chuckles are just barely heard over the sound of my heart beating a mile a minute in my chest. The anger washes through my veins. How dare they?

I turn briefly to look at Jack and a few of the other guys who also have a shit-eating grin on their faces. None of them question me leaving; they wouldn”t dare.

Realizing she”s walking too goddamn slow in those stupid plastic sandals, I throw her over my shoulder, smack her on her ass, walk us down the path and then plonk her onto the back of my bike.

I hand her my leather jacket since swimwear isn”t exactly a great mix on a motorcycle and then climb in front of her.

“Hold on tight, and lean when I do,” I say as I grab her hands and loop them around my waist.

I rev the engine and take off leaving the rest of the party in smoke.

“So, where shall I take you?” I shout so she can hear me. But I get no reply back.

“Where do you want to go?” I ask, giving her leg a little squeeze to get her attention. But instead of any words, all I hear is a loud sob.

Shit! Is she crying?

I drive her to the only place I can think of that’s close by. A dirt road at the top of a tall hill. It’s mostly used as a make out place because it has great views. But it”s the only place that comes to my mind.

As soon as I stop the bike, I turn to look at her and it”s clear she”s been crying. A lot.

“Did I scare you? On the bike?” I ask in confusion as I climb off the bike.

“No, I really liked it, actually.” she sniffles, climbing off herself.

“Did I hurt you? Was it too rough? Was the bike too hot on your bare legs?”

“No,” she sniffles again, but this time there”s a sad smile as well.

“Then why are you crying?”

“Well. I just walked in on my boyfriend with my best friend,” she says, this time a loud but angry sob escapes her lips.

“Wait, you”re crying because of HIM? The asshole who was screwing your friend?” Surely not. That makes no sense.

Why would a girl as smoking hot as her be crying over some pathetic pencil dick cheater? She walked in on him fucking her friend for god sake. So why would she be crying? Girls are weird.

“Well, yeah,”she says this time, sounding a little unsure of herself and averting her eyes.

“Why? Does he give you mind blowing orgasms or something?”

“No, he”s pretty shit and selfish in bed actually. I wasn”t lying when I said I have to fake it,” she laughs, wiping away her tears. “He”s literally this big,” she laughs harder using her fingers to describe what can”t be more than about a few inches. “And well, his finger skills leave a lot to the imagination; he might as well be rooting for loose change.”

“So why the fuck do you even care then?”

“I don”t actually know,”” she laughs.

She reaches into her bag and pulls out a pair of those stretchy black tight pants, you know the ones that give girls the tight, perky, I’ve just come from the gym, ass.

Kicking off her shoes she shimmies her curves into them, which just accentuates them more somehow.

“Let”s go for a walk,” she suggests with her head down as she starts walking away from me.

She finds a big rock to sit on and motions for me to join her. I park my ass next to her and throw a joint in my mouth. Instead of waiting for her to ask for a drag, I grab hold of her cheeks causing her mouth to pop into a shocked O shape, put my mouth just centimeters from hers, and blow the smoke directly into her mouth.

“Next time you want to share my smoke, this is how you do it,” I growl, before putting my lips on hers before she has time to blow the smoke back out. Naturally, she begins coughing and choking and pulls away.

“That”s what you get for being such a brat,” I tease.

“Dick,” she coughs.

“What, right here? Whatever you want baby,”I joke, pretending to unzip my jeans.

Catching me by surprise, instead of backing away or becoming flustered she slaps me. Right in the balls. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to show me who”s in charge. If any other girl dared try that they’d be in serious shit. But with her, I kind of like it. I like the fact she”s fiery and not in the least bit afraid of me; won”t take shit from me. And doesn’t cower to me. No, this bitch wants to challenge me.

“Be lucky I didn”t mean it.” she winks. Fuck this girl is driving me crazy.

The minutes turn into hours and before I know it, it is starting to get dark. Looking at my watch I realize it”s almost 7p.m. We”ve been together almost five hours and somehow I”m not bored. Usually, just a few minutes of small talk outside the bedroom with girls is excruciating, yet here with Stacey, I feel at peace. My mind isn’t racing, I”m not jonesing for my next drink and I am just… present. As much as I’d love nothing more than to strip her naked and fuck her senseless, that”s actually not all I want to do. Who would’ve thought this could happen to me. Am I catching feelings for this girl? No, I”m not capable. I just feel bad for her. Yep, that’s it. I just feel sorry for Stacey, plus I figure she’ll be a good lay.

“I best get home. My sister will be wondering where I got to,” Stacey says looking at her watch.

“Yeah, well I have to go anyway. I wasted my whole day here so I”ve got shit to catch up with.” Why the fuck did I say that? I”m such a dick. See? I can’t do anything right. I always step in shit. Well, better she knows this now.

I don”t miss the hurt that flashes across her face. I look away so she can’t see that she’s affected me or that I care about the fact I clearly hurt her.

We walk silently to the bike and she doesn”t even look at me as she climbs on. Barely holds me as we ride back into town. The whole ride back I”m arguing with my own mind. Part of me wants to pull up on the side of the road, throw myself to my knees and apologize but the other part of me is far too stubborn. Far too scared of being raw and opening myself up to pain. No, this is the only way I survive. By refusing to allow anyone to see the real me.

“Take the next left.” Stacey finally breaks the silence by saying.

I do as I”m told and again we go back to silence. Every now and then she will shout a word, never a proper sentence, just a ‘turn left’, ‘take the next right’ kind of thing until finally “stop here.” I pull up to a familiar-looking road and without a word she climbs off and walks into the house. Not looking back once. Shit! I really screwed up this time.

I wait a few minutes until I”m sure she”s not gonna turn around and say goodbye. Then I drive away.

I’m driving when I feel the vibration of my phone on my thigh so I pull over and answer it. I look at my phone and it’s not vibrating and there’s no notifications of any missed calls or messages. Then I feel the sensation again and reach in my pocket and realize that it”s not my phone vibrating.

three missed calls from Twinnie.

Shit! I didn”t realize I had her phone. She must have left it in my jacket pocket.

Turning the bike around, I head back to give it to her. But first, I find an old receipt and write my number on it before placing it inside the phone case.

I pull up outside her house and walk down the driveway. As soon as I knock on the door I”m greeted by what sounds like a pack of vicious dogs.

Shit!I dump the phone on the doorstep and run away. Fast. I have never been a fan of dogs. Not since Dad used to force me to accompany him to those parties. Often I sat in the car with Carl and his two snarling dobermans while dad was inside fucking god knows who or selling god knows what illegal drug. Terrified to even breathe in case they decided to rip my fucking face off.

I arrive home and check my phone desperately praying Stacey has got her phone, and my number. To my shock when I take my phone out there”s 1 message from an unknown number. I scramble to unlock my phone to read it. My excitement is short lived when all the message says is a simple thanks and a thumbs up.

Rushing downstairs to our basement conversion bedroom, I throw myself onto my bed. Knowing I”m alone, I finally let the weight of today settle over me. As I do, my body begins to shake as the sobs come heavy and hard. I curl myself into a tight ball as I sob and sob. I sob for the boy who broke my heart. Sob for the friend who betrayed me. Sob for the boy I spent the day with, who also rejected me. And sob for the future I had in my mind that”s vanishing before my very eyes. My dog jumps on the bed, licking my face. “Honey,” I whine as I gently push her away. She curls up beside me and lets me snuggle into her for support. That is until she hears a noise upstairs and runs off to investigate. I don’t even have the energy to move, it”s probably just an Amazon driver or car passing by anyway. Instead, I stay where I am until I am so dehydrated my body can’t even make more tears. Physically holding myself together, but the next thing I know I feel someone crawl in beside me silently. I don”t even need to look to know it”s my sister, my twin flame beside me. Even before we were born she”s always been the other half of me.

“What happened?” she whispers beside my ear as she continues to hold me.

“Justin is fucking Jessica. I walked in on them at it.” I sob. Maybe I wasn’t as dehydrated as I thought?

“That spineless, good for nothing asshole!” she growls. “Just you wait till I get my hands on him.”

“He”s not worth it.” I say, grabbing her before she moves to leave.

“He doesn’t get to treat my sister like this and get away with it,” she huffs, sounding furious.

“Maybe he did me a favor,” I admit as I wipe away the tears.

“You”ll find someone better, your prince charming will be around somewhere. You might just have to kiss a few frogs along the way.”

“Well, I may have already kissed one frog,”” I giggle.

“What? When? Who?”

Now that I”m sure it”s over between me and Justin and I no longer have to hide the truth from her, I tell my sister all about the night I went out with Lexi. About the handsome stranger I met in the bar. About the exciting day we spent together today and then finally how quickly he’d brushed me off at the end of it.

“Well, he might not be Mr. Right, but he’ll definitely do for Mr. Right Now,” I laugh.

“Tell me what he looks like,” she says with a giggle while poking me in the side.

I squirm away from the offending digit. “He’s dreamy,” I coo, picturing him today and wishing I knew what he looked like without a shirt on. I bet he’s ripped with hard abs and a six pack. Damn, I bet he”s even got those sexy little V dips.

“That doesn’t tell me anything!” she pouts.

“A girl has to have some secrets,” I tease back and laugh at her attempt to give me the stink eye.

“There”s keeping secrets, then there”s joining the next level, CIA secret keeping. You gotta give me something to work with; hair color, eye color, name, age, something at least.” I can”t help but giggle at the frustration on my sister”s face. Ever since we were kids she’s always hated feeling like she”s missing out on something.

“You”re not giving up are you?” I sigh as I reach for a cushion to prop myself up.

“Nope,” she replies with an accomplished grin as she flops onto her tummy and places her hands under her chin, preparing to hear the ‘latest gossip’.

“Fine, so he’s tall, not basketball player tall, but tall enough I have to lift my chin to look at him. His eyes are green, but not like a pale green. More like a bright green that stares into your soul.” I wish I was with him right now staring into those eyes.

“Damn you’ve always been a sucker for nice eyes,” she coos as she wiggles her feet back and forth in the air excitedly.

“Guilty.” I smirk.

“So what else? Where did you meet him? When can I meet him? Does he go to our school?” Fucking hell I love my sister, but this is starting to feel like a bloody inquisition.

“That”s all you”re getting for now,” I laugh, “you’ll know more when I know more”

“So, you really aren’t going to give me anything else?” she huffs before she finally relents and gets up.

“I told ya, a girl has got to have some secrets!” I look her straight in her eye and wink, letting her know I’m done.

“Whatever,” she snarks, “I’m going upstairs to study. Oh and I found this on the doorstep,” she says, pulling my phone out of her pocket. It must have fallen out of your bag when you were looking for your keys.”

I didn”t have a bag, last time I saw my phone it was… in Gabe’s jacket. Did he bring it back for me? He must have. But why not ring the bell then? Why leave it on the doorstep? All my unanswered questions race through my mind.

I reach out and take the phone from her, desperately wishing I”d been clever enough to have gotten Gabe’s number. Even if it was just to say thanks for returning the phone to me.

I open the cover of my phone ready to pass the time with some endless scrolling; if nothing else, it will pull me out of my funk. Videos of random dogs doing silly things might just help. Then I notice a small piece of paper poking out the side of my case. How did that get there?

I gently remove the paper and unfold it. Hmm, it”s just a receipt for beer and snacks at a gas station. That”s odd.

I almost crumple it up, thinking it’s worthless trash, until I spot Gabe”s name and number at the bottom and my heart skips a beat as a flurry of butterflies fly around in my tummy.

Eeeekkkk he left his number!!!

“Twinnie?” I call out as I watch her grab her backpack and head out the door. “I love you, and I promise you I will tell you all the deets when there is actually something to tell. I just don’t want to say too much yet because I don’t want to jinx it.”

She turns and I can see her frustration leave her face and it is replaced with warmth and love. “I love you too, Twinnie. I just want the best for you. You deserve it, especially after all that crap with Justin.”

When I know she is gone, I pull out my cell phone and save Gabe’s contact.

‘Thanks for returning my phone; maybe we could meet again some time.’ I type before I delete it, realizing it sounds too desperate.

‘I got my phone back, thanks for returning it. It was really nice of you.’ Nah, that”s not right either.

He left it on the doorstep rather than giving it back to me in person. Maybe that was his way of telling me he doesn”t want to speak to me anymore. But if that was the case, why give me his number at all?

Maybe he just thinks I”m some pathetic girl, desperate for attention. After all the few times we’ve seen each other, I”ve basically thrown myself at him.

Whatever it is, I refuse to beg for any man”s attention or give any man that power over me again, so instead I simply type ‘thanks’ followed by a thumbs up.

My finger hovers over the button. I think back to today. He was sweet. And nice. Well, until he wasn’t. I keep replaying the events of the day in my head. Could he like me? Could I like him? What made me trust him today? Is he just a rebound? Do I want a rebound? Maybe this could be fun! Maybe I”ll finally find a man who knows what they”re doing in the bedroom.

I shake my head to clear out the mental spiral and I realize my hand has slipped into my panties. My mind plays out different scenarios: I imagine removing his shirt and kissing all down his toned body. My hand slides further into my panties as my fingers feel my wetness and glide inside my sacred place.

I think about him removing my thin beach dress. The feel of his strong calloused fingers grazing my skin the way they had when he gave me his jacket earlier. My fingers find a steady rhythm and I let out a small moan. Thankfully I can hear the slight sound of soft music playing upstairs letting me know I”m not going to be disturbed.

I imagine him tugging on the straps of my bikini top and releasing my breasts, which he quickly takes into his perfectly dirty mouth. Instantly my other hand begins playing with my nipple, my hips buck up as I begin to chase my release.

I can almost feel that it”s his fingers bringing me to orgasm rather than my own, as I see the image of his cocky, bad boy grin appearing on his face. A face, that in this moment, I wish was beside me so that I could turn my fantasy into reality.

My legs start to shake as my orgasm washes over me.