Page 106 of Gabriel's Album

There’s silence between us, and we stare at each other for a second before shame and guilt hit me. It was a low blow worthy of Cooper, and I feel terrible for going there.

“Fine. We’ll go without you,” he shrugs.

“Seb, I’m—” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“You don’t have to apologize, Gabriel. It’s fine. We’ll see you when we get back. Do you want to have dinner with us, at least?” I nod, and Sebastian smiles at me. “Good. We’ll see you then.”

I regret not going with them when I spend the day moping around my hotel suite, waiting for Ariana to call me back. I get a text from Heather after she lands in Chicago.

I called Ariana and left a voicemail before I left LA. Nothing yet.

Finally, I give in and call Ariana again after we finish having dinner, and Sebastian and Hayden leave.

“Ari, I’m going to bed again, but my phone’s on. Call if you want to discuss logistics.”

I’m woken the next morning by someone knocking on my hotel suite’s door. I open it to see Sebastian standing there.

“You’re coming with me,” he tells me.

“What? Where?” I ask in confusion.

“We’re going to go for a hike,” he announces. “I’m not letting you spend another day in this hotel room waiting for Ariana to give you the fucking time of day. You’re coming out with Hayden and me, and we’ll go somewhere that the paparazzi won’t be able to easily find us.”

I gape at him. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly. Have a shower and get dressed in hiking gear. We’ll get food on the way.”

“I don’t have hiking gear,” I point out.

Sebastian grins at me. “Call the concierge. I did.”

I roll my eyes at him, and he laughs before saying goodbye as he walks toward the door to my suite. I call the concierge and inform them of what I need. It’s delivered shortly after I finish in the shower, so I get dressed and quickly call Ariana before Sebastian arrives.

“Ari. I noticed you didn’t call overnight. I’m busy today, but I’ll have my phone on, and if you call, I’ll answer, no matter what. Please call.”

When Sebastian shows up with Hayden, he is wearing a backpack on his back. “Good, you’re ready. Let’s go.”

“Where exactly are we going?” I ask him.

“You’ll see,” he tells me with a smug grin on his face.

I turn to Hayden as we walk toward the elevators. “Do you know?”

“Sebastian swore me to secrecy,” he grins at me. “I’m not about to cross him.”

“You guys suck,” I laugh.

As we travel down in the elevator, I’m mildly concerned that I might not have cell service wherever we’re going. I need to be reachable when Ariana calls me.

“Just tell me if I’ll be able to use my phone,” I implore.

Sebastian gives me a thoughtful look, then says, “Most of the time, I think.”

“Ariana needs to be able to call me,” I tell him sternly.

The doors to the elevator open, but I catch Sebastian roll his eyes a second before he walks through them. “Yeah, I doubt it’ll be a problem.”

I follow him and move to stand in front of him, so he has to come to a stop. “What do you mean by that?”

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