Page 34 of The Bonus

Gabriel

xo

I screw up my face in tears as I hold the bracelet to my chest, he loved me.

In his own messed-up way, he loved me.

Six weeks later.

Greenville is new, different to New York. I’ve met a few people and have taken my time unpacking, trying to find a new normal.

I still suffer from my affliction; I miss him every day.

I haven’t spoken a word to Gabriel Ferrara, he never called, and I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him now, even if I wanted to.

He broke something between us that can’t be repaired.

I wear my diamond bracelet all the time, I will never take it off.

It is my most prized possession, and as messed up as it is, knowing that he did care makes me feel a little better.

I hope he suffers too.

I sit on the side of my bathtub and stare at the stick in my hand.

“Please be negative, please be negative.”

I’m late, and I shouldn’t be because I was on the pill.

With my heart in my throat, I watch as two lines light up, and I put my hand over my mouth in shock.

No…it can’t be.

I do another test and get the same result.

Oh my god…no, this can’t be happening.

How? I was on the pill. My mind rolls over the last few months.

Oh…the antibiotics for my sore throat, was that it?

It has to be.

Gabriel’s words from that morning come back to me, loud and clear.

It was a gift that we gave to ourselves.

Did he know?

I put my hand over my stomach and look down at myself…a baby.

What the….

I’m having his baby.

A little piece of him that I can love forever.

Oh…

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