Page 18 of My Girl
Sheridan stared at Gabriel in disbelief. “Sorry, you’re saying what now?”
“You heard me.”
“Yeah, I heard you. I just thought you were smarter than that.”
“Hey now ...”
She noticed his body went stiff with displeasure.
You don’t get to be all offended, mister. You roll out of my bed and out the door? Nope, no, uh-uh.
Pushing to her feet, she stalked to where he stood. “It’s that easy for you, huh? To just leave without so much as a backward glance? A quick roll in the hay and so long, see ya?”
“It’s not like that, sugar bear. But this is something that I need to do. I’m losing my mind with boredom.”
“For the love of God, Gabe, don’t do this. Please.”
“I have to. Don’t you see that?”
“No, actually. I don’t. Why don’t you explain it to me? Because heaven knows, I can’t figure out why you’re so hell bent on possibly ending your career.”
“I can’t just sit here, doing nothing. You know that’s not me.”
“So, you’d rather go back on the road and do more harm to your arm? Perhaps even permanent damage? Your physio said a minimum of six months.”
“What do you want from me? Tell me, Sheridan? What else, in your ‘professional opinion’, should I rather be doing?” Sarcasm richly coated each word as he spat them at her.
“For one, you could g—” Sheridan held her hands up. “I– never mind.”
Telling him to grow up would not endear her to him. She gritted her teeth, trying hard not to give voice to all the angry words that hovered on her tongue. If she said them, she couldn’t take them back, and they would rip their bond apart. Quite possibly forever.
She fought back the tears that threatened. Simply refused to let them fall in front of him. If he couldn’t see he was breaking her heart, he didn’t deserve to see her tears. She walked over to the window, pretending to study the view as she attempted to get her emotions under control.
She startled when Gabriel placed a gentle hand on her arm. He used it to turn her around to face him. And her heart nearly broke at the wretched look on his face. She lifted a hand to cup his cheek. Without conscious thought, her thumb rubbed at the five o’clock shadow covering it.
“I’m sorry, Sheri. I have to go. I need to do this, for me. This is who I am.”
“No!” She dropped her hand. Hanging her head in frustration, she turned away once more. “I know you believe that; however, it does not define who you are. It simply defines what you do. Who you are is a loyal, giving man with a beautiful heart and a lot of love to give. Being a musician is what you do – your job.” She threw her hands up. “Oh, forget it. Leave if you want.”
What was the point of arguing? She could see he wasn’t listening to her anyway.
It would break her to watch him walk away. Again. But this was his choice to make. She couldn’t stop him, and if she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t fair to expect him to stay when he didn’t want to.
With a sigh of defeat, she turned back to face Gabriel. “I don’t agree with what you’re doing. I truly believe it will lead to nothing good. But this is your life, your choice, ultimately your decision. Just take care, okay?”
With one last, lingering look, Sheridan walked away before she broke down and begged him to stay with her. To love her and be hers. Knowing how he felt about leaving, though, she would never place the burden of telling him she loved him on his shoulders.
She locked herself in her room until she heard him leave. Only then did she allow the tears to fall.
Gabriel
Gabriel stood on the sidewalk, seething. He’d rather wait outside than stay in the house with Sheridan. He was so mad at her he couldn’t see straight.
What the hell did she want from him? They slept together a couple times, and she was already making demands on him. Jesus. He should have known better.
He paced while he waited, his fists clenching and unclenching. When the shuttle arrived to transport him to the airport, he turned to stare at the house. The realisation that he was leaving angry and that it might be the last time he saw her for some time hit hard. He was about to walk back up the path when the driver hopped out and opened the boot for him to load his gear.
The opportunity lost, he loaded up and got into the vehicle.
