Page 7 of A Forgotten Mistake

There’s absolutely nothing she can do to fill the hole my parents left behind when I had to watch them both die. It’s not even a hole. It’s a fucking cavern and I’ve filled that shit in. There’s nothing getting in there. The only person allowed around any holes is my Gabriel.

Gabriel seems to get worried that I’m off in my mind thinking about dead parents, which… maybe I am, but he doesn’t have to fret too much. I’m always thinking about something. It’s what I do. I criticize things in my mind so that when I say them out loud, they hit even harder. “Liam has taught me so much at work. I really have to credit him for a lot of what I’ve done,” Gabriel says as he offers me a huge smile.

Aww, he’s so sweet and cute, and I just want to wrap him up and carry him home and never let anyone touch him again.

“At least he’s not like the first partner you had when you moved here. You know, the one who bullied you and chose to play games instead of work?” Clark says.

Oh. My. God…

Gabriel talked about me to his parents? He really does love me. “That would be me,” I say, quite proud of myself. “How could you not bully him when he’s that cute?”

Gabriel looks horrified that the conversation keeps getting worse the longer it goes on. I’m not sure what his issue is when I’m loving it. “He didn’t bully me. I just said that he was like… you know…”

Clark also looks horrified over what he’s started, which just adds to my enjoyment.

I lean forward with a grin. “No, I don’t know, Gabriel. But I’d love to.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Stop grinning like a fiend. Why does it make you so happy to know that you’re being difficult?”

“I feast on the suffering of others,” I say before realizing that’s not what you’re supposed to say to the parents of your beloved. “I mean… I was… teaching you… how to be a good detective.”

“Uh-huh. My mom heard what you said. She’s judging you now.”

Well, there’s a simple way to fix that. “I selflessly threw my own body in front of an attacker for your son, prepared to give up my life for him,” I say, and have one hundred percent won Mabel over. I really didn’t need to buy her all of that shit. I should have come in with a belly shirt to show off my bullet wound and have them forever be in my debt.

Mabel’s attention snaps to Gabriel. “An attacker? What happened? Gabriel, why didn’t I hear about this?”

Gabriel is looking at me in dismay as I merrily eat my delicious dinner, pleased that all attention has left me and is on my sweets.

“This chicken is phenomenal,” I toss out just to cement the fact that Mabel now loves me.

“Thank you, dear. Gabriel?”

He quickly takes a bite. “Yum. This issogood. I love you.”

I give him a smile that clearly says, “Keep harassing me and I’ll tell her I took a bullet for you.”

My sweet Gabriel gives me such a pleading look, so I decide that I will be the man of his dreams and call the attention off him. “Clark, Gabriel says you like to fish.”

“I do! I wish Gabriel would go fishing with me, but he’s never enjoyed it. Do you like to fish?”

“My father was going to teach me before he passed away,” I lie. My father had never gone fishing a day in his life and honestly thought it looked boring. “I always regret that he was unable to.”

Clark perks up. “I… I would love to teach you… if you’d like?”

“That would beamazing. I would love that so much.”

Why are they so innocent and easy to sucker? Is it because the humans I’m generally forced to interact with are assholes or serial killers? Probably. Maybe it’s the company I choose to keep… or maybe I’ve tainted them all.

I swing my attention to Mabel. “What about you? Do you like to fish as well?”

“Absolutely not. Bores me to death. I’ve really gotten into coloring lately. I just love it.”

I try to decide how that could be fun, but then I realize that since my hobby is killing people, I shouldn’t judge hers. “Sounds fun. Do you like art itself? Or prefer coloring?”

“I love all art, but I’m just so busy that it’s hard to sit down and create something when I could just… color between the lines, you know?”

“Makes sense.” When I’m tired it’s definitely easier to be mean to people in my office instead of looking for people outside of it.

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