Page 73 of He Doesn't Deserve You

Seeing the look on Emily’s face, Hunter’s eyes widened as he placed both hands on his head. “Oh my God, it’s true,” he exclaimed.

Emily handed Hunter his phone and started the car. “Let’s go home to talk about this,” she said gently.

“I can’t believe you kept this from us,” Hayden said from the back seat.

Emily glanced into the rearview mirror, noticing for the first time that Hayden had a black eye. “What happened? Did you get into a fight?”

“What do you think happened?” Hayden spat angrily. “How could you send us to school knowing what Dad did?”

“I’m sorry, we didn’t know about the article.”

Hayden turned away from her and looked out the window, “You should have told us.”

“I know.”Here you go again, blaming yourself for something Gabriel should take responsibility for, she sadly reminded herself.

They rode the rest of the way in tense silence. As Emily turned onto their street, her heart sank at the sight of numerous news vans parked outside their house. The magnitude of the situation hit her hard. “Great,” she mumbled, carefully maneuvering the car through the maze of vehicles, reporters, and cameramen. “Don’t speak to anyone. Go straight into the house,” she instructed firmly.

She parked the car in the driveway and immediately noticed Gabriel’s car was missing.

“Where’s Dad?” Hunter asked.

“I don’t know,” Emily replied. “Let’s go.”

The three exited the car and hurried towards the house, ignoring thebarrage of questions and the microphones thrust at them. Once inside, Emily slammed the door shut and leaned against it, struggling to catch her breath. The boys stormed up the stairs to their rooms, leaving her alone in the foyer. Desperately, Emily called Gabriel again and left a frantic message.

“Gabe, where are you? The boys know. It’s all over the internet. Reporters are parked outside our house. I don’t know what to do. Please come home. We need you.”

She went into the kitchen and put the kettle on, hoping a cup of tea would calm her nerves. Just then, her phone rang. She quickly answered it, expecting Gabriel.

“Gabe?”

“No, it’s me,” Roman said. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything, Maggie’s brother talked to reporters. The story is all over the internet. The boys know everything. There are reporters camped outside our house, and I can’t find Gabriel. I don’t know what to do.”

“He’s not coming home,” Roman said matter-of-factly.

“What do you mean? Where is he? You need to tell me,” Emily demanded.

“Gabriel came to see me. He said he was going away. He asked me to take care of you and Ava.” He sighed, “I’m sorry, Em. I don’t know where he’s going. He didn’t tell me.”

“I’ve got to go,” Emily said, quickly disconnecting the call.

Without hesitation, she opened the Find Your Location app to track Gabriel’s whereabouts and rushed up the stairs.Why would he be staying at a local hotel?she wondered, with only one reason coming to mind.

She knocked on Hunter’s door and, without waiting for a response, poked her head inside.

“I’m going to find your father.”

Hunter started getting up from the bed and said, “I’ll come with you.”

Holding a hand up, Emily said, “No, you stay here in case he comes home. Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

40

Gabriel lay on the bed in a stupor after taking all the sleeping pills and washing them down with half a bottle of Jack Daniels. He had just listened to Emily’s latest voicemail and was now on the internet, reading the article about himself. As he stared at Maggie’s picture, a wave of guilt washed over him, reminding him that a beautiful life had been snuffed out because of him.

Unable to endure the torment any longer, he set the phone down on the nightstand and picked up the bottle of Jack. He brought it to his lips with shaky hands, spilling some down the front of himself. He took one final swallow from the bottle before slipping unconscious and letting it fall to the floor.

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