Chapter 16
SCARLETT
I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO do. Gabriel’s on his hands and knees, tearing through the grass like a man possessed, and his breathing is all wrong. He’s having a panic attack, I think.
I crouch beside him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Hey, breathe.”
He doesn’t seem to hear me. His hands keep moving, frantic and desperate.
“Listen to me. You need to breathe.”
Nothing. His breaths are coming in short, sharp gasps, and his whole body is trembling.
I shift closer and wrap my arms around him, pulling him toward me. He resists for a second, his muscles rigid, then collapses against me. He buries his face in my neck.
I feel something wet against my skin.
He’s crying.
I freeze, my arms still around him, unsure what to do. This isn’t the arrogant hockey player everyone knows. It’s not the guy who made my sister’s life hell. But it’s...
I don’t know, but I hold him tighter anyway.
“It’s okay,” I say quietly, even though I don’t know if it is. “Just breathe with me. In and out.”
His breaths are ragged against my neck, and I feel his fingers clutch at my jacket. I keep my arm around him and rub slow circles on his back with the other.
“Breathe in through your nose,” I say. “Hold it. Now out through your mouth.”
He tries, but it comes out choppy and uneven.
“That’s good. Try again.”
I keep talking to him, and slowly, his breathing starts to even out. The shaking doesn’t stop, but it lessens, and his grip on my jacket loosens slightly.
Movement catches my eye. Someone’s near the edge of the trees, looking at us. I can’t make out who it is from the distance, but they’re definitely watching. Then they turn and disappear into the shadows.
I glance down at the grass near Gabriel’s knee, and I know immediately what it is.
The bracelet.
I reach for it and pick it up, then pull back slightly. “Gabriel.”
He doesn’t move.
“I found it.”
He lifts his head and looks at the bracelet in my hand. He takes it from me with trembling fingers and clutches it like it’s the most precious thing in the world.
“Thank you,” he whispers, his face still wet with tears.
I nod and sit back, giving him space. He slips the bracelet back on his wrist and stares at it for a long moment, his breathing still uneven but slower now.
“Your brother?” I ask carefully.
He nods but doesn’t look at me.
“What happened to him?”
He’s quiet for so long I think he won’t answer. “Shooting.”
I stare at him. A shooting? His brother was killed in a shooting? Oh shit!
“I’m sorry. My sister died not too long ago. Life’s been hell without her.” Wait, why the fuck did I say that?
Am I stupid or what? If Gabriel figures out who my sister was, I’m screwed.
He glances at me, his eyes red-rimmed. “Then you know what it feels like when you miss them so much it hurts.”
“Yeah, I do,” I say softly.
He looks down at the bracelet again and touches it with his thumb. “It should’ve been me,” he whispers.
I go still. The words are so quiet I almost don’t catch them.
Where’s the arrogant bully who drove my sister to suicide? Gabriel is drowning in grief and blames himself for surviving. And for a second, I wonder if losing Lucas broke something in him and made him lash out at everyone around him.
But that’s no excuse. Whatever he went through, it doesn’t justify what he did to Carla. It doesn’t change the pain he caused her.
I push the thought away and focus on him and my plan, because I have him right where I need him.
He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and gets to his feet. I rise too, brushing grass off my jeans.
“Thank you for finding the bracelet,” he says.
“It’s fine.”
He looks at me for a moment. “There’s a party this weekend. You should come.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” He pauses. “And can you keep what happened here between us?”
I study him, trying to read his expression. Is this the same manipulation trick he used on Carla? Of course she would’ve felt bad for someone whose brother just died and she would’ve wanted to be there for him. And then he turned on her. I need to be careful and not fall for his tricks.
“Sure,” I say. “I won’t tell anyone.”
He nods, his shoulders relaxing. “Thanks.”
“And I’ll come to the party.”
“Great.”
Maybe Gabriel’s not really looking for sweet girls. Or well, not permanently. Maybe I should stop pretending to be one.