Page 18 of Gabe

I shoved him again and this time actually managed to make the man stumble back a step. Taking my opening, I pushed past him into the RV.

“I don’t know why you’re surprised. Anyone would be mad after you belittled them like that. I’ve given up everything to help my friend. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my family before being dragged out here, and I haven’t said one word of complaint about it. Yet you still accuse me of being irresponsible. Of being selfish. Fuck that.”

I stood in the door to the RV, filling the space with my body in case Gabe tried to follow me inside.

“I’m sorry I’m not the obedient soldier you would prefer, but you’re just going to have to deal with that. Now, leave me alone.”

Then I slammed the RV door closed before he could try to continue arguing and locked it from the inside. The sudden burst of emotion had my heart racing and I sat on the floor of the RV, waiting to see what would happen.

A few moments of silence passed where my pulse slowly calmed down. Eventually, I heard the faint sound of footsteps leaving and I watched through the RV window as Gabe went back inside the house.

I collapsed on the floor as a whole new barrage of emotions hit me. Tears that I had been holding back for days finally broke free from the dam I’d trapped them behind and flooded my eyes.

It wasn’t fair.

I’d sacrificed so much without complaining. I’d done everything that was asked of me, and even gone above expectation. Yet somehow, once again, I wasn’t enough.

The minute I had my own thoughts, took my own actions, suddenly I became an ungrateful brat and none of my previous efforts mattered.

My parents and Gabe would probably get along like a house on fire.

That was a bad analogy, considering the apartment we were living in had literally been blown up and burned down.

Although, maybe that made it an even more accurate comparison.

The words I’d said to Gabe continued to echo in my head. I hadn’t told my parents goodbye. I hadn’t told anybody that I was leaving. The only person I would have told was Newt, and he was coming with us so there was no point.

If I never returned from this little adventure, would anyone notice?

My therapy patients had probably already been reassigned. I only talked to my parents once a month, and they may not care if I missed a month.

My landlord might not even notice, since I had no idea what happened with the apartment I shared with Newt once we went into hiding. Gabe had vaguely mentioned that it would be taken care of, but I had no idea what that meant.

So, the answer to my question was obvious. No one would notice if I never came back. At least, not for a while.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I shed my clothes where I stood. I climbed onto one of the RV beds and wrapped myself in blankets. The wind whispered against the walls, like a dozen grasping hands trying to find a way inside my little haven of warmth.

I buried my head deeper into the bedding to try and block out all the sounds around me.

When I couldn’t hear anything but the rushing of my own blood in my ears, I was finally able to relax a bit. One of my hands carded through my braids and traced over the familiar line of a scar running along my scalp. It extended from a spot just an inch behind my ear all the way to the back of my head. I’d had the scar for years, and most days I forgot it even existed. Every now and then, however, something would remind me of it, and then it was all I could think about.

I tucked my hand under the pillow before I gave in to the urge and started scratching at the line of uneven scar tissue.

It was a reminder of the last time someone other than Newt had noticed my absence.

CHAPTER 7

Frankie

Morning came faster than I wanted. It was a restless night tossing and turning on the uncomfortable bed, and when the sun peeked through the trees, I didn’t feel any more rested than the night before. I was tempted to stay in bed all day, until a knock on the RV door disrupted me.

“All right. All right.” I assumed it was Newt coming to check on me and didn’t bother to put on any more clothes than the boxers and undershirt I’d fallen asleep in.

This decision turned out to be a mistake when I opened the door and found Gabe standing there in the early morning sunlight.

I would have slammed the door right in his face, but he placed a hand on the door to block it before I could.

“Wait. Please.”

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