Chapter 30
Boom! Crash! Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The sky was having a temper tantrum. A big, loud, scary one.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight. Huhu. It sounded like giant bowling balls were rolling around on the roof of my parents' house. The wind was howling like a pack of wolves that stubbed their toes all at the same time.
I was buried under the Hello Kitty duvet, but even the fluffiness couldn't block out the noise.
"Scary, scary, go away," I whispered into the darkness.
But I wasn't alone! Mwehehehe.
I was clinging to a very large, very warm, very solid object.
Gabriel. My husband. My human shield against the thunder.
I had my arms wrapped around his torso like a koala on a eucalyptus tree.
My leg was thrown over his legs (which are like steel beams, seriously, does he eat metal for breakfast?).
My face was pressed against his chest—specifically, the right side, because the left side was still angry and red from my artistic masterpiece earlier.
J-Ali 3 :)
Every time lightning flashed—ZAP!—the room lit up for a second, and I could see the outline of his jaw.
He wasn't sleeping. I could tell because his breathing wasn't doing the deep whoosh-whoosh sleep sound. It was shallow and controlled. And his muscles were tense.
Is it because of the storm? Is the Boss scared of thunder?
GASP!
Maybe he is scared! Maybe he needs me to protect him!
I squeezed him tighter. Super tight! Maximum grip strength! I imagined I was a seatbelt saving him from a crash.
"Don't worry, Gabby," I mumbled into his t-shirt. "I got you. The thunder can't get us. I have a black belt in cuddling."
He didn't answer. He just let out a very small, very tight sigh.
Maybe I was squeezing his ribs too hard? Nah. He's tough. He likes it. He probably feels so safe right now he doesn't want to move. He's probably thinking, "Oh, Aleesha, you are my tiny, pink savior."
Mwehehehe.
I nuzzled closer, inhaling his scent. Even in this old, musty room, he smelled like rain and expensive soap and... cedarwood. It was the best smell in the world. Better than cookies. Better than new books.
I drifted a little, feeling sleepy despite the noise.
Drip.
Hmm?
Drip.
What was that sound?
SPLAT.
Gabriel flinched. His whole body jerked under my arms.
I opened one eye. "Gabby?"
SPLAT.
Another one.
Gabriel slowly reached up with his hand. He touched his forehead.
He pulled his hand away. Even in the dark, I felt the shift in his mood. It went from "Tolerating Cuddle" to "Murderous Silence."
He sat up abruptly, pulling away from my koala grip.
"What's wrong?" I whispered, sitting up too.
Flash!
Lightning lit up the room.
And I saw it.
There was a wet, shiny spot right in the center of Gabriel's forehead. And a trickle of water running down the bridge of his perfect, symmetrical nose.
I looked up.
Directly above us, on the ceiling, a dark stain was spreading. And right in the middle...
Drip.
A drop of cold, dirty rainwater fell from the ceiling and landed—PLINK—right between his eyebrows.
"WAAAAAAHH!!" I screamed. "OH NO! THE ROOF! THE ROOF IS CRYING!" I yelled. "Daddy missed a spot! It's a leak! It's attacking you!"
Gabriel just sat there. He looked like a statue that had been left out in the rain. He closed his eyes as another drop hit his eyelid.
"Water," he stated. His voice was so cold it could have frozen the leak. "On my face."
"I'll save you!" I shrieked.
I grabbed the corner of the Hello Kitty duvet. It was thick. It was fluffy. It was absorbent.
I lunged at him.
"Hold still!"
I scrubbed his face. Vigorously. Like I was trying to polish a dirty window. I rubbed his forehead, his nose, his cheeks.
Rub-rub-rub-rub!
"Aleesha!" Gabriel grunted, trying to dodge my aggressive drying technique.
"It might be dirty water! It might have squirrel germs!" I cried, scrubbing harder. "We need to get it off! You have sensitive billionaire skin!"
He grabbed my wrists. His grip was firm.
"Stop," he ordered.
I froze. "But... you're wet."
"You are exfoliating my face with sandpaper," he gritted out.
He let go of my wrists and wiped his face with his own hand. He looked at the ceiling. He looked at the leak.
He sighed. It was the sigh of a man who was questioning every life choice that led him to this moment.
"I need a bucket," he said.
He moved to get out of bed.
And then...
ZZZZZT-POP!
A loud pop from outside.
And then... darkness. Absolute, total, pitch-black darkness.
The streetlamp outside went out. The little light from the hallway went out. Even the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling seemed to dim in respect for the void.
"AAACKKK!!" I squealed.
I dove. I didn't think. I just threw myself back onto the mattress and pulled the duvet over my head. I lay there, shaking under the blanket. I hate the dark! The dark is where the toe-grabbers live!
I heard rustling.
Shuffle. Zip. Click.
Suddenly, a beam of light cut through the room.
I peeked out from under the blanket, just one eye.
Gabriel was standing in the middle of the room. He was holding a flashlight. But not a normal flashlight. Oh no. This looked like a tactical military flashlight that could signal aliens on Mars. The beam was bright white and steady.
He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at the ceiling.
He had dragged the desk chair over to the spot under the leak. He was standing on it.
He looked... whoa.
The light cast shadows on his face, making his jawline look even sharper. His t-shirt was slightly damp. His muscles were flexed as he reached up.
He was holding... duct tape? Where did he get duct tape? Did he bring that in his magic suitcase too?
He tore a strip of tape with his teeth. Rrrrip.
So primal! So manly!
He slapped the tape over the leak on the ceiling. Smack. Smooth.
Then another piece. Rrrrip. Smack.
He was fixing the roof. My billionaire husband, the King of Darkness, was standing on a rickety wooden chair in my pink bedroom, taping up a leak in the middle of a typhoon.
My heart did a little flutter. He is so handy. He is so capable.
"Is it safe?" I whispered, poking my head out like a turtle.
Gabriel finished smoothing the tape. The dripping stopped.
He stepped down from the chair. He shone the light around the room, checking the corners.
"The perimeter is secure," he said. "The leak is contained. The power is out, likely a transformer failure."
He set the flashlight on the nightstand, pointing it up at the ceiling so it created a soft, ambient glow in the room. It wasn't scary anymore. It was kind of... cozy. Romantic, even!
He sat back down on the edge of the bed.
I wiggled out of the covers. I sat on my knees, looking at him.
"You're amazing, Gabby," I said, clapping softly. "You fixed it! You're like Bob the Builder, but hotter and with better clothes."
He looked at me. The shadows danced in his eyes. He didn't smile, but he didn't look mad anymore.
"Bob the Builder," he muttered. "Wonderful."
He leaned back, propping himself up on his left elbow (the non-tattooed side). He looked tired.
I pouted and looked up at my husband. "Gabby?"
"What," he replied, his voice low in the quiet room.
"Are you... like... really a Logistician CEO?" I asked, tilting my head. "Like, rich-rich? Like, Scrooge McDuck swimming in gold coins rich?"
Gabriel nodded slowly. "I am wealthy, yes. Why do you ask?"
I shrugged, tracing a pattern on the bedsheet with my finger.
"I was just wondering! I mean, you have that giant castle in the middle of nowhere—the one I made pretty with pink stuff, hehehe—and you have fancy cars.
How did you get that position? Did you just.. . walk in and say 'I am the Boss now'?"
Gabriel sighed. He looked up at the ceiling, staring at the duct tape patch he had just made.
He didn't answer immediately. One second passed. Two. Five. Ten.
The silence stretched, filled only by the sound of the rain.
"I studied very hard," he said finally, his voice devoid of emotion. "And... I am gifted with a brain that understands systems. I know the right tactics. I know how to move things. I know how to make people... agree with my logistics."
I nodded and nodded and nodded. "Ooh. Smarty pants."
"Do you require funds?" he asked suddenly. "I can transfer—"
"No!" I shook my head, my hair flopping around. "I don't need money! I have my allowance! And my onigiri sales are booming! Well... sort of."
I looked at him curiously.
"But... since you have everything," I continued, "the money, the house, the muscles... is there anything you still wish to achieve? You know... except for the heir?"
My face heated up instantly. Mwehehehe.
The Heir. The Baby.
We still haven't done the deed! Huhu! If we did the deed right now, I would probably blush so hard I would turn into a tomato! Or I would stiffen up like a board! Or worse, I would pass out from his hotness!
WAAHHHHH! ERASE! BAD THOUGHTS! NO PASSING OUT!
I shook my head violently to clear the image.
"So?" I squeaked. "What do you want?"
Gabriel's eyes seemed to darken in the dim light.
"I want to rule," he whispered. It sounded less like a wish and more like a threat. "Not just the logistics company. I want... the world. I want to be more powerful than all the presidents combined. I want absolute control."
My mouth formed a little 'O'.
"Why?" I asked. "Power sounds exhausting. You have to sign so many papers. And wear ties all the time."
"Power is a part of me," he answered simply. "It is necessary."
He looked down at me, his gaze intense. "Do you not desire power, Aleesha?"
"Oh! Yes!" I nodded vigorously. "I have thought about it!"
"And?"
"I want Telekinesis!" I declared, waving my hands. "So I can wash the dishes without standing up from my bed! Swish swish! The plates would just float to the sink!"
Gabriel didn't blink.
"And!" I continued, getting excited. "The ability to Teleport!
So I can zap straight to Tokyo, Japan!
I want to visit Hello Kitty Puroland without buying an airplane ticket!
Huhu, tickets are so expensive!
And I could just sit under the cherry blossoms and read my favorite book and eat ramen and then zap back home for dinner! "
I giggled at the thought. Just imagine! No traffic! Infinite ramen!
I looked up at Gabriel.
He was just... staring at me. He didn't speak. He didn't move. He just watched me with this unreadable expression.
I was about to crawl over to him and give him a "Thank You for Fixing the Roof" hug when...
BZZZT.
A sound cut through the silence.
My phone.
It was on the nightstand, right next to Gabriel's flashlight.
The screen lit up, bright and blinding in the dim room.
I looked at it.
My eyes widened. Eli!
I grabbed the phone quickly.
"Oh! It's Eli!" I chirped. "He's checking on us! He says his power is out too. Poor Eli. He lives alone in an apartment, you know. It must be scary."
I unlocked the phone. The light from the screen illuminated my face.
Isha.
I typed back furiously.
Sent.
Almost immediately, three dots appeared.
Awww! He remembered!
I smiled at the screen. It was nice to have friends. I put the phone down, face down, back on the nightstand.
"Phew!" I exhaled. "Eli is okay. He has a candle." I turned back to Gabriel. "Okay! Back to cuddling!" I announced.
I looked at him, expecting him to open his arms for the Koala maneuver.
But...
He wasn't looking at me.
He was lying on his back now. His hands were clasped over his stomach. He was staring straight up at the ceiling, at the duct tape patch he had just made.
His face was blank. Cold. Like a stone wall.
"Gabby?" I whispered. I crawled closer. I reached out to touch his arm.
He didn't flinch, but he didn't move towards me either. He felt... distant. Miles away.
"Are you sleeping?" I asked softly.
"No," he said.
"Can I... hug you?"
He didn't answer for a long time. The rain pounded against the roof.
"It is hot," he said finally. "Do not crowd me."
My hand froze in mid-air.
Hot?
But... it was raining. The air was cool. And five minutes ago, I was hugging him and he didn't complain about the heat.
I pulled my hand back.
"Oh," I whispered. "Okay."
I lay down beside him. I left a space between us. A small gap of cold sheet.
I turned on my side, facing him. I watched his profile in the dim light.
He looked so serious. His brow was furrowed, like he was solving a really hard math problem.
Or maybe he was just annoyed about the roof.
Yeah, that must be it. Billionaires hate leaks.
It offends their sense of quality control.
"Goodnight, Gabby," I whispered. "Thanks for fixing the roof."
He didn't look at me. He just kept staring at the ceiling. "Go to sleep, Aleesha," he said. His voice wasn't angry. It was just... flat. Empty.
I pouted. I missed the warmth. I missed the arm that usually sneaks around my waist when he thinks I'm asleep.
I hugged my pillow instead.
I closed my eyes, listening to the rain.
I wonder why he's grumpy?. Maybe he needs more apple pie tomorrow.
Beside me, Gabriel lay perfectly still, listening to the silence of the room, his mind loud with thoughts I couldn't hear.
Huhu. Boys are weird.