Page 15 of Gabe

Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen. His wounds didn’t need any more stress, but I would rather be overly prepared than taken by surprise.

By the time I left the hardware store, I’d already been away from the safe house for an hour and a half. Newt would be worried, and there would be hell to pay if Gabe came back while I was gone. I should have immediately returned to the safe house, but my eye caught on the grocery store standing next to the hardware store.

Gabe had bought us basic supplies already, but the man seemed to be under the impression that living like he was still in the army was acceptable, and that everyone would be happy with such conditions. Protein drinks and granola bars were okay for a few meals, but we were going to need some more variety in our diets if we were going to be living there for a while.

Not to mention a few creature comforts would be nice. The man hadn’t even bought us shampoo. Just plain bars of soap.

I scratched at my braids, which were in desperate need of some attention.

Yeah, there was no argument. I was definitely getting a few extra things at the store.

Another half hour later, and with the cash I’d brought nearly depleted, I was ready to return to the safe house. Only a little daylight remained, so I hurried back. Driving through the woods in the dark had been difficult enough the first time. I didn’t want to do it again.

The last rays of sunlight were just fading to twilight among the forest’s canopy when I pulled the RV up to the safe house.

“Oh, shit.”

All my rushing to get back to the safe house had been pointless. Another car already sat in the clearing.

Gabe had returned before me.

Breathing deeply through my nose in an effort to rally my patience—the kind I usually reserved only for the most difficult patients—I braced myself to enter the house.

There were too many bags for me to carry in one go, so I started with the grocery items. A few of my purchases were perishable, so I wanted to get them in the refrigerator right away.

I managed to get all the way to the kitchen and set the bags down on the table before I was noticed.

“Where have you been?”

I held a sigh back behind my teeth at the sound of Gabe’s demand.

“I just went out to get some things,” I said as I started storing the items away in the mostly empty cabinets. “We needed?—”

“I can see what you needed.”

Gabe held up the bag of M&Ms I’d bought for Newt. They were his favorite, and my friend had been so stressed trying to take care of Sebastian. A little chocolate was usually the quickest way to calm him down. Yet, Gabe stared at me with a judgmental eye, as if I’d brought cocaine into the house.

Breathe, I reminded myself. It was no different than dealing with a headstrong patient that questioned all of my instructions.

Just breathe.

“You weren’t here, and Sebastian needed a few things, so I went out. Nothing happened, and everything is fine. There’s no reason to get mad.”

Although I hadn’t finished putting everything away, I left the kitchen and headed back out to the RV to fetch the supplies from the hardware store. I had at least put away the perishables. Everything else could sit on the kitchen table until later. I refused to stand around and be scolded like a child.

Unfortunately, Gabe was insistent on making his opinions known and followed me out to the RV.

“What if something had happened to you while you were alone? Or what if something had happened here?”

Grabbing the last of the bags out of the RV, I slammed the door hard enough that the window seemed in danger of breaking.

“It was fine. Newt was here with Sebastian. I told them to keep the doors locked. They survived just fine without me for a little while.”

I was on the front porch, almost back inside the house, when Gabe’s words stopped me in my tracks.

“I’m almost not surprised by your disregard for your own safety, but I thought you’d at least show more care for your patient.”

“What?” My footsteps echoed on the wooden boards of the porch as I turned around slowly to face the man standing just a few feet away. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

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