Page 17 of Gabe

“Same,” Newt nodded. “Although, first, I think a shower is needed. And then I’m raiding the pantry now that we’ve got some proper food in this place. See you in the morning?”

I shrugged as I opened the bedroom door. “Of course. Where else would I be?”

Newt really was an angel. No matter what was going on, he had a magic ability to make everything seem like it was going to be okay.

Maybe that was why he ate so much. It took a lot of energy to stay positive all the time.

My good mood lasted until I reached my own bedroom.

“Oh, hell no.”

I’d been so focused on getting Sebastian taken care of that I’d forgotten one crucial fact. Gabe and I were still sharing a bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, scrolling through something on his phone, but he immediately looked up when I opened the door.

Our eyes locked for one tense and silent moment. Then I threw my hands in the air.

“Nope.”

After our earlier argument, there was no way I was sleeping next to the man that night. No pillow wall would ever be high enough for me to relax with him so close by.

I needed some space. At least for one night.

The keys to the RV still sat like a lead weight in my pocket. Making a quick decision, I grabbed what few articles of clothing I owned and headed for the door.

I had hoped that Gabe would let me go without another fight.

I was wrong.

“Where are you going?” he demanded as he followed me.

My teeth clenched so hard I was barely able to spit out one single word.

“Out.”

I stormed right through the front door and out toward the RV. My hands shook and I fumbled with the keys, which made a loud jangling sound in the otherwise silent forest.

Just as I managed to unlock the door to the RV, the keys were snatched from my hand.

“You can’t leave,” Gabe said, waving the keys in front of me like an accusation.

I tried to snatch them back, but I wasn’t fast enough. “I’m not leaving. I’m just sleeping out here tonight.”

Gabe stuffed the keys into his own pocket, where I would have no chance of retrieving them unless I wanted to go rooting through his pants. “No. You’re safer inside. You need to stay there.”

At least I’d already managed to unlock the RV. Giving up the keys as a lost cause, I pulled open the door, but Gabe blocked my path before I could set foot inside the RV.

“Would you fucking back off,” I shouted as I shoved ineffectively at his chest. I may as well have punched a marble statue for all the good it did. “I don’t care if it’s safer inside. I need some space.”

Finally, I was able to read one of the man’s expressions. Oddly enough, he seemed baffled. It was like he couldn’t understand why his claim that it was safer inside hadn’t immediately won the argument.

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

In the face of such a strange question I nearly forgot my anger.

“What are you talking about?”

“This.” He gestured to me, the RV, and the house like it was supposed to mean something. “Disobeying. Putting yourself in danger. Are you doing it on purpose?”

I laughed in his face, and the sharp sound of my voice startled a few birds from their trees. “What do you expect? That we’re supposed to just obey you when you’re keeping us like prisoners here. No. Worse than that. Prisoners are at least allowed the luxury of shampoo. We’re just dolls to you. Something that you can box up and put away on a shelf while you go off and play the big badass hero all on your own.”

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