19. Chapter Nineteen

It”s been weeks since everything happened between me and Gabe. I”ve tried everything I can think of to help forget about him, but I can”t. I know he”s broken and bad for me, but part of me is inexplicably drawn to him. Part of me wishes that like all my favorite fictional men, I”ll be able to tame and turn his tortured soul. But this isn”t an episode of The Vampire Diaries and I”m no Caroline or Elena.

“Come on, Rilez,” Harper calls from down the hall.

“I’m coming, hold your fucking horses!” I shout back as I bend down and pull one of my sneakers out from under the bed.

I race out the door just as the sound of a horn beeps from outside.

“She”s so impatient.” I laugh as Harper hands me my phone and ushers me out of the door.

“Bout time bitches,” Ava sighs as I climb in the backseat.

“Sorry about her,” Izzy smiles from the passenger seat as she looks back at us both.

“They’re the ones that should be sorry, these nails aren”t gonna paint themselves,” Ava laughs as she holds up her already perfectly manicured hands. I just shake my head as Izzy rolls her eyes at us in the rearview mirror.

We barely have time to put on our seat belts before she revs the engine and takes off, like the girl racer that we know her to be.

“So, I was thinking about red, to match my dress, or maybe blue, since it”s Tucker”s favorite color… or perhaps I should go for something a bit brighter to catch his attention,” Ava ponders as we make our way to Francisco”s, our favorite mani/pedi place.

“Tucker won’t give a fuck about the color of your nails, as long as he gets to visit Pound Town,” I tease.

“Oh don”t worry, he’ll defo be visiting Pound Town; it”s our anniversary after all,” Ava says with a wink.

We pull up outside Francisco’s and make our way inside. It”s only a small place but we try to come at least once a month, if not for anything more than a little girl time.

“So, who”s having hands and who”s having feet?” Lexi asks as we walk inside.

“Me and Riley for hands,” Ava pipes up.

I give her a confused look. “My treat,” she smiles.

“You know the way,” Lexi replies.

“Some customer service this is,” Ava says, feigning outrage.

“Well, I could always stop letting you use my friends and family discount,” Lexi snaps back playfully.

“No we love you, don”t we girls!” Ava laughs with a big cheesy grin.

“That”s what I thought,” Lexi grins back triumphantly.

We head to the back of the salon where Lexi and Jenn are waiting.

I sit down at Lexi’s chair since Ava is already rummaging through the nail polishes beside the chair that Jenn usually sits at.

Lexi comes over a few moments later with two small foot spas and places them down in front of the window bench Harper and Izzy are sitting at.

“So what”s the special occasion then Freckles?” Lexi asks. Although we come here often, it”s usually not me who gets her nails done. Since the salon is owned by Lexi and Justin”s mum, Lexi, the girls and I have all been hanging out here for years. So, when Lexi started training a few months ago, she started giving us discounts on things while she got trained. Something Ava in particular enjoys.

“She’s been in a funk over some guy and needs a little pick me up,” Ava says leaning over to my table.

“Don”t tell me you”re still hung up on my idiot brother,” Lexi says looking at me with raised eyebrows.

“Nah, some sexy older guy,” Ava replies.

“Wait. you don’t mean G...”

“You don”t know him,” I interrupt quickly before she has time to name him.

Lexi gives me a suspicious look, but doesn”t push it any further.

“So, how about you, newbie? How are things with your guy?” Lexi says changing the subject to talk to Izzy.

“Yeah, it”s going amazingly,” Izzy blushes.

“She”s being modest. She”s basically married off to literally the sweetest guy ever,” Harper coos from beside her.

“Married off, huh?” Jenn questions incredulously.

“Well, not really, but a little bit, I guess.” Izzy mumbles while trying to hide the bright red blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Tell her your story Izzy, don”t be shy,” I encourage. “It’s almost like a story from one of the books we read.”

I hope that if everyone focuses on Izzy, Lexi will stop giving me that ‘I know you”re hiding something’ look.

“Okay, so it all started when we were kids…” Izzy begins.

“We met one day randomly when I was forced to spend a week with my Pops and older cousins in their old hunting cabin. As you can imagine, it was the most boring week of my life,” Izzy laughs.

“Well that is until I stupidly got lost and decided the best way to find my way home was to climb a huge tree. Then of course, because I”d never climbed a tree before, I fell out and almost crushed poor Nate who was passing by.”

“You fell on him?” Lexi laughs.

“Pretty much,” Izzy giggles back.

“Okay, so Izzy sucks at telling stories,” Ava chimes in, “I”ve heard this story from Nate and his version is so much more romantic.”

“Well go on then, little Miss Theatrical, why don”t you tell my story instead?” Izzy says as she gives Ava a playful shove.

“You asked for it.” I say as I shake my head at Lexi and Jenn.

“Izzy was right. She did go wandering alone in the woods which looking back was a totally idiotic thing to do, but whatever. She got to meet her prince so it”s fine . . . According to Nate, he saw her climbing and was totally bewitched by her but was too nervous to walk over and say hi so he just kind of watched her…”

“Because that”s not a little weird,” Jenn pipes up.

“Shh, listen,” Ava whines. “As I was saying, Nate was watching, trying to pluck up the nerve to speak to her when she got stuck. Nate rushed over like the knight in shining armor he was to rescue her but he was too late. She’d already fallen and was lying on the ground semiconscious. Then their eyes met, the birds sang, and like some sort of Disney movie, they fell head over heels in love right then and there,” Ava says with an exaggerated sigh.

“So what happened next?” Lexi says, as she leans closer, fully invested in Ava’s dramatic story.

“Well, we stayed friends. We wrote each other letters whenever we were apart, hung out every single moment we could. But then we both moved away so we didn”t speak for years.” Izzy adds with a sad look in her eyes. I reach over and give her a reassuring squeeze.

“A few years later, fate intervened again and they reunited recently. And since then they”ve been inseparable. This is why I always say they are basically already married.

“Wow! That”s so romantic,” Jenn beams. “Don’t suppose he’s got a brother for me?” Jenn jokes, but her words cut me like a knife. “I could do with finding myself a prince. I only seem to kiss frogs.”

“You wouldn”t want his brother, he’s no prince,” Harper snaps, and I can hear the venom in her voice, even if no one else seems to notice. I cringe internally at her tone. It kills me that she seems to hate Gabe. He’s really not that bad, is he?

“He’s not that bad, Gabe’s just kind of an acquired taste,” Izzy replies. I can”t believe that Izzy keeps trying to see the best in Gabe, even when all he does is treat her like shit.

“Gabe?” Lexi questions as she eyes me suspiciously.

“Yeah, that”s his older brother,” Izzy confirms.

I look at Lexi silently begging her not to say anything. Thankfully, she lets it slide and the rest of our appointment goes by incident free. But as we’re about to leave Lexi calls me.

“Freckles, any chance you could help me take these spas to the backroom?” she asks, and although I want to refuse, I turn to follow her to the back. I know if I refuse, Lexi may just bring it up right here, in front of everyone.

“Sure,” I say with a fake smile.

“How about you girls run and grab me a coffee?” Lexi suggests handing them some money. “I”m dying for a cappuccino too,” someone else chimes up.

As soon as the girls leave, I feel like a spotlight is shining on me. “Spill,” Lexi demands as soon as we make it to the back room.

“There’s not much to….” I begin before I”m cut off.

“Riiiley, spill it!” Lexi says again, this time using that same big sister/babysitter voice she used on me when I was a kid.

“Fine. So, me and Gabe went on a few dates. Well, not exactly dates I guess, but we got closer,” I clarify. “At first things seemed to be going great, but then, well, it went to shit. He fucked up. I don”t wanna relive it but let”s just say he was a complete asshole.”

“Okay, so what happened next? Do your friends not know you were seeing each other?” Lexi asks as she rests against the shelving unit.

“Harper knows who he is, Ava and Izzy don”t.”

“Why? I thought you four were besties? I always see the four of you together and they all seem to adore you,” Lexi questions.

“It”s complicated.”

“What”s so complicated about it?” Lexi asks as she sits herself down on a nearby box, and signals for me to do the same.

“Well, Ava is a firecracker with a big mouth, so she”d kick his ass in a heartbeat….” I begin and stop to think about how to explain this.

“Would that be the worst thing?”

“Yes, because of Izzy!”

“Izzy? What about her?” Lexi asks as she furrows her brows in confusion.

“So, you heard Izzy”s story right? True love, super cute, and in real life they’re even more perfect than the story, if that is possible.”

“Okay, so what”s that got to do with you and Gabe?” Lexi asks, baffled.

“Gabe is Nate”s older brother. He’s also hell bent on keeping Izzy and Nate apart for some strange reason. Something to do with some issues he, Nate, and Izzy have from childhood. Anyway, Izzy is doing everything in her power to get Gabe to forgive her and become her friend, but Gabe is point blank refusing. That girl is giving one hundred percent in trying to be nice to him and be his friend, the last thing Nate and her need is me throwing in my drama. If she knew what happened between Gabe and me, that might make her angry with him and cause her to stop trying to make things better between the two of them.”

“I guess that kind of makes sense,” Lexi admits with a shrug.

“So for now I have to just keep my shit to myself.”

“Yeah, but still they are your friends, you”re clearly hurting and you need them to be there for you.”

“They are there for me. They”ve been there when I”ve been upset. They listen to me talk and vent about my older guy. They”ve also given me tips and ideas on how to get over him. They just don”t know who he is. They think he”s some guy I met at a concert,” I share with a sad half-smile.

“Okay, well if you ever need to talk it out, with someone who you can be fully honest with, you know where to find me. I’ll listen anytime,” Lexi offers as she pulls me into a hug.

“There you are,” Ava says as we both walk out of the storeroom. Harper looks at me with her brow raised and I know she’s worried about me. I nod slightly letting her know I”m okay.

“Sorry, that biatch Lexi had me rearranging half the shelf with her,” I lie.

“It”s true, that room is a mess,” Lexi affirms with a shrug.

“Anyway, thanks for the coffee. See you all soon,” Lexi comments as she grabs the ice coffee that one of the girls left on her desk.

We leave and get in the car ready to head to the mall so that we can help Ava pick an outfit for her date with Tucker, but on the way there we take a detour.

“Where are we going?” I ask as we turn down a familiar road.

“I said I”d drop lunch off for Tucker on my way, I”ll only be a minute,” Ava replies as she drives past the old restaurant, past Saints’ bar, and pulls up outside O’Malley’s.

Harper squeezes my knee and mouths the words, ‘Are you okay?’

Unsure of how to answer, I simply shrug my shoulders.

To make matters worse, she pulls up right out front then obnoxiously beeps her horn, causing all the guys outside to turn and stare at us.

Tucker comes running over, quickly followed by Nate.

“Come see what I did,” Tucker beams, as he opens Ava’s door, kisses her, then tries to persuade her to follow him.

Izzy gets out and hugs Nate. Despite the fact those two are super into each other, they”re still at that awkward, not sure what to do in public phase.

“Come see, come see!” Tucker beams again, as he bounces around from foot to foot like an excitable child. “All of you, come see!”

“He”s not gonna give up till you do,” Ava grins.

Not wanting to cause a scene, I climb out the back seat and follow her, even though everything in my body is screaming for me not to. Especially since Tucker started working with Nate and Gabe at O”Malley”s just a few days ago.

Tucker leads us to see something. I don”t exactly know what I”m looking at apart from some building structure but he”s super excited to show us anyway.

I look up and see Gabe walking towards us from across the yard.

“Do you have a bathroom I could use?” I quickly ask, turning to Nate.

“Yeah, sure. Just walk down that hall, there, past the small office, and it”s just there. Want me to show you?” he offers.

“No, I”ll find it,” I reply, making my escape, while praying that Gabe didn”t notice me.

I find the bathroom relatively easily and lock myself inside. I wait long enough that I”m sure everyone will be done with Tucker and ready to leave, so I won”t risk running into Gabe. I open the bathroom door ready to leave but as soon as I do, I”m met with those big, green eyes. Fuck, why does he have to look so good?

He bends down to kiss me, and for a split second I almost let him, but just as his lips graze mine, I come to my senses and pull away.

“Don’t push me away, please, Baby,” Gabe whispers, and despite the fact I can hear the sadness in his voice I refuse to look at him. Instead, I attempt to push past him. Rather than moving to let me pass, he puts his hand against the wall beside my head, trapping me.

“Just let me fucking explain,” Gabe begins as he bangs his fist against the wall behind me. “I”m sorry, okay?” he whispers when he sees me jump from the sound. “I”ve been trying to call and text you for weeks.”

“I know,” I respond, and instantly regret it when a small smirk forms on Gabe’s face. “So you’ve unblocked me now?” he asks with a hint of a smile.

“No,” I retort, which is only a half lie. Technically he is still blocked. What I don”t tell him is that against my better judgement, every now and then, I”ve been unblocking him to torture myself by reading and listening to his messages and voicemails before reblocking him.

“You need to unblock me, Riley, we need to move past this shit. This is too much! I want you and you want me. There’s nothing else that needs to be discussed!” Gabe says in a voice that seems like he’s trying to maintain control of the situation, but isn’t capable of.

“I’m not one of the guys who you can boss around, Gabe. This isn’t a situation where you can just say something and that’s what happens. I don’t trust you. You hurt me and I don’t think I can ever forgive you!” As soon as the words leave my mouth and I see the pain flash across his face, I feel my heart splinter a little bit more. But then I see him steel himself once again and I know that he still doesn’t understand, truly understand the hurt he has caused me.

“Forgive me and let”s be goddamn friends or some shit. At least for now?” Gabe begs, cocking his brow. Part of me feels a weird satisfaction seeing that he’s obviously just as sad as I am, but the other part of me keeps imagining him fucking that whore in the bathroom.

“No, Gabe,” I say, trying but failing for it to sound like I”m in charge.

“Come on, I know you want me,” Gabe purrs as he bends down and kisses my neck.

“I don’t,” I say but my voice holds no conviction, it”s barely louder than a whisper.

“And I guess this doesn”t make your panties wet for me either?” he smirks as he places his hand around my throat, the way he knows I like, and runs his hand down my body until it reaches the waistband of my jeans.

My knees feel weak and again I almost give in, “NO!” I say pushing him as hard as I can. He steps away, giving me enough space to move. But as I go to walk away he grabs my arm.

“Get off me Gabe, I”m serious!” I shout.

“Wait…” he begins but I cut him off.

“I said get off me!” I snap and my voice quivers as I try but fail to hold in all the emotions.

“You heard her,” comes a male voice, seconds before I notice Nate appearing in the doorway.

“What the fuck does it have to do with you?” Gabe snaps at his brother.

“She”s my friend, now let go of her,” Nate says standing his ground.

“And I”m your fucking brother,” Gabe snaps back, as he glares at his brother.

“Which is why I”m giving you one more chance to let her go, Gabe.”

Gabe looks down at his hand that”s still gripping my arm and instantly releases it. “I”m sorry, I wasn”t trying to hurt you, I just wanted to stop you. Just wanted you to hear me out, ”” Gabe mumbles and I can hear the sincerity and uncertainty in his voice.

“I know,” I admit with a sad smile before walking out the door.

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