Page 5 of My Girl
Dropping his head, he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. Scuffing a foot across the grouted seam between two floor tiles, his body language showed defeat. Finally, he lifted his head, pinning her with doleful eyes.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see it coming. I was just hopeful I was wrong.” And then this sweet man ripped her heart to shreds with one question. “Will you be all right?”
Unable to stop a sob from escaping, tears flooded her eyes and streamed down Sheridan’s face as they overflowed. She’d been the one to hurt him, yet here he was more worried whether she’d be okay.
Jacob closed the gap between them and took her into his arms, running a soothing hand over her hair. “Shh, lovely. Don’t cry. If this isn’t right for you, there’s no point in trying to pretend it is.”
“You’re such a wonderful man,” she stuttered through the sobs. “You have to believe, it was never my intention to hurt you.”
“I know, love.” He sighed before continuing. “It’ll take me some time to get past the hurt, but I’ll be fine. And who knows? Maybe we can still be friends one day.”
With one last, gentle squeeze, Jacob’s arms dropped, and he stepped away from Sheridan. For a brief moment she missed his body heat, but in the back of her mind she realised ending things was for the best.
She couldn’t give him the wholehearted commitment he deserved and he, mild-mannered and even-tempered as he was, wasn’t the kind of man she wanted. She was looking for a strong man who could deal with all her facets, someone who would call her on her bullshit, but also meet her halfway.
Sadly, Jacob wasn’t that man. Then again, there was only one who fit her very specific bill. And he had no idea how she felt. Not to mention she was probably the last woman he would ever look at like that.
“Well, I guess I best be on my way.”
Sheridan followed Jacob to the front door. Before unlocking it to let him out, she lifted a hand to his arm. “I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am things worked out this way, that I hurt you.”
Leaning forward, he placed his lips on her cheek, lingering for a moment. With one last gentle touch, he opened the door she’d unlocked and stepped through, pulling it shut behind him. Her legs no longer able to hold her up, Sheridan slid to the floor, leaning back against the door Jacob had closed just seconds ago.
This time, she didn’t even fight the tears that overwhelmed her. It had been a shitty ending to an absolutely crappy day. She knew in the long run it was bound to happen sooner or later. It seemed the universe had decided on sooner.
When the crying jag finally came to an end, Sheridan slowly got to her feet, feeling completely drained. Deciding to forgo dinner, she opted to simply climb into bed and pull the covers over her head. For a little while she could block the world out and fold herself in sleep’s comforting embrace.
Tomorrow was soon enough to face reality.
Gabriel
Body drenched in sweat, the bedding twisted around his legs, a sense of panic held Gabe fast in an unforgiving grip. His eyes fluttered as the nightmarish scenes played out behind his closed lids.
“Nee, Papa. Moenie!”No, Daddy. Don’t! The scream reverberated in his mind.
In this version of the dream, he was trapped – unable to run to his father as he had before. He tried to look down to see what was holding him back, but the harsh retort of that single gunshot had him whipping his head around.
Oh God, they were coming for them next. The thought made his gut tighten as the ice-cold fear slithered through his veins, freezing him in place. This was it – the end. Instead, he watched as the home invaders ran past him and his siblings cowered behind the sofa, their arms loaded with whatever they could carry, and out into the absolute darkness of a highveld night.
Before he’d had time to draw a breath, he heard the unmistakable sound of dry grass catching alight – the same sound he’d heard a million times when burning firebreaks out in the veld to protect the farm.
This time it wasn’t for protection. This time it was to destroy – him and all he held dear within these walls. Dashing to the door, he pushed it, but it didn’t open. He tried a couple of times before his terror-soaked brain registered the fact that the door had been barred from the outside.
Throwing his body against the door repeated, he felt it give slightly after long, valuable minutes. If he could just get it open, he could drag his family to safety. But he was feeling light-headed, and Gabe was finding it hard to focus. As badly as he needed to take a moment to rest, he knew he simply didn’t have the luxury of time.
As he braced to hurl his aching body at the door once more, he thought he heard the sound of a siren. Inhaling sharply at the hope that bloomed in his chest, a particularly strong wave of dizziness took him to his knees. His vision swimming, breathing laboured, he couldn’t keep himself upright any longer.
As he pitched over onto his side, he heard voices.
That was quick. How did they get here so fast?The thoughts echoed in his head as he woke with a start, a fist already in motion, swinging in the direction of the threat.
Sitting bolt upright in the bed, Gabe swung wild, unfocused eyes around the room. Trapped in a no man’s land between sleep and consciousness, his heart pounded, adrenalin flooding through him.
“Bly weg van my af.”Stay away from me.
“Mr Stone. Mr Stone, you need to wake up. You’re safe. There’s no one trying to harm you here.”
Slowly Gabriel’s awareness of his surroundings seeped into his terror-fogged brain. With a shaking hand out, he grasped his water glass, drinking deeply to wet his parched throat. Embarrassment rode him hard. He hated that someone got to see him at his weakest, his most vulnerable.
