Gabe

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  I made coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, staring out into the darkness. I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen today if I couldn’t work. Would my boss keep me on if I couldn’t go out to properties? I knew Karen would understand about the property I was working considering what had happened, but not being able to go to others would only be acceptable for so long. They hired me to do a job and if I couldn’t perform like the other agents, they would need to find someone to replace me.

  After everyone was up, I snuck off to go take a shower. When I got out and went to make breakfast, I saw that Gabe was already feeding them cereal, in the living room, while they watched tv.

  “Kids, how about we take this to the kitchen?” I picked up their bowls and started for the kitchen. Vittoria groaned and Enzo started calling after me to stop.

  “It’s fine,” Gabe said, following me into the kitchen. “I really don’t mind if they eat in there. I have hardwood floors. It’s not like it’ll stain them if they spill.”

  “I don’t let them eat in the living room.”

  “Well, yeah, but it’s fine here. I told you-”

  “No, if I let them eat in the living room here while watching tv, they’ll want to do it at home. And then they’ll insist on watching tv at mealtimes. It’s hard enough to get them to eat, but turn on the tv and I’ll be lucky if they each take two bites.”

  “You’re right.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and stood there awkwardly with me. This living together thing was going to be an adjustment. I guess I just never thought about it when he would stay with me because it didn’t feel as permanent. But this time, I was staying with him. I had to think about what he wanted more than myself, but at the same time, keep the same rules for my kids.

  “Well, I have to get to work and see what’s going on with the case.”

  “What about work, and school and daycare for the kids?”

  “Right.” He cleared his throat, shaking his head slightly. “I’ll just be making some phone calls. Let me know when you’re ready to go.”

  He headed out of the room, leaving me feeling like this was going to be the end for us. If we couldn’t adjust to each other, there was no way we could ever have more than what we had now.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  The work week had been slow and boring. Without being able to get out of the office, I was basically being swamped with paperwork all day. Karen had been very understanding about the last property, but I got the feeling her patience was already growing thin. It wasn’t like she could say a whole lot though. I was being chased because men broke onto the property that I was supposed to be selling while I was there.

  Things were a little tense with Gabe. I was pretty sure it had everything to do with my declaration that I wasn’t moving in with him. I knew he wasn’t trying to take his anger out on me, but I was there and an easy target.

  The worst part of all was that he was so sweet to me. He brought me to a dealership and helped me pick out a minivan. He made sure that we had the car seats installed properly and bought a set for his truck as well. Basically, anything we needed, he took care of. I just didn’t know how to deal with all of it. I felt like I was taking advantage somehow and I couldn’t stand that.

  “Will you stop cleaning?” Gabe walked up behind me and took the plate out of my hand, setting it back in the sink.

  “I’m just cleaning up the lunch dishes.”

  “I don’t want you here cleaning all the time. I want you to feel comfortable, but you’re acting like a guest in my house.”

  “Because I am a guest. I won’t stay here and trash your house.”

  “You’re not. I understand that you want to clean up after yourself, but you can let the dishes go for a few hours and if you dust or sweep around here one more time, I swear, I’ll lock you in the bedroom.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and scoffed. “Be serious. You’re acting ridiculous.”

  His eyes grew darker as he slowly walked toward me. I stood my ground. There was no way I was giving in to this man. I was a grown ass woman and I could do whatever the hell I wanted.

  “Is there a chance you could just listen to me for one fucking minute?”

  I gasped at his language. He had never been so harsh with me. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. I’m sick of this shit. I invite you into my home, I vow to protect you and your kids with my life, and all you can do is try to pay me back by cleaning my house.”

  “Yeah, I’m really evil,” I snarked.

  “I don’t want you to fucking pay me back. I want you to at least pretend that I’m your boyfriend and you just want to be with me for five fucking minutes. I got the hint that you don’t want to live with me. Yeah, it fucking hurt, but I’m a big boy. I’ll get over it. So, stop trying to avoid me and just be with me.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. I wanted to be indignant. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, but he wasn’t. I opened my mouth to say something, but he swooped down and threw me over his shoulder before I had the chance.

  “Just couldn’t keep your mouth shut, could you.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You were about to. You just couldn’t let me have the last word.” He tossed me on the bed in our room and walked to the door. “I’m locking this from the outside. Take a bath, read a book, take a fucking nap. I’ve got the kids and I know Enzo goes down soon for his nap. I’ll handle it.”

  He shut the door before I could get to him and I heard something slide against the door. I turned the handle, but he had jammed something in the door. I had no clue how. The door swung in. Screaming under my breath in frustration, I flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I didn’t take naps. I didn’t take baths. I never had time for any of that. The longer I stared at the ceiling, the more it started to swirl in front of me. My eyes were growing heavy and before long, I was out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Gabe

  IT HAD BEEN really quiet in the bedroom for the past half hour. I was surprised she hadn’t thrown more of a fit when I locked her in the bedroom, but she probably didn’t want the kids to hear her screaming at me. Enzo was down for his nap and Vittoria was coloring at the table. I snuck back to the room and quietly removed the stick I had shoved through the door handle. Isa was lying on the bed, completely out of it. I laid a blanket on top of her, wishing I could lie down with her and hold her in my arms.

  I called Cap, needing him to tell me something that might help ease the worry. It was driving me crazy to not know who those guys were. If these were the same guys that broke into Lindsey’s house, we might never catch them. The police had zero leads on that case.

  “Cap, is there anything new?”

  “Lindsey couldn’t give us anything. She didn’t really remember a lot of details about the guys. They had ski masks, but other than that, she said it all happened too fast.”

  “Yeah, I kind of figured that. What about the guy that used to own the house?”

  “Harold Brown. We’re still trying to contact distant relatives. I talked to Sean last night. Forensics came back on the vehicle that hit Isa’s car. Based on the paint and the damage to Isa’s car, they think it’s a 2014-2015 sedan. There’s more testing that can be done to get specifics, but we have to send it out and it could take at least six months.”

  “Shit.”

  “Sean is keeping his eye out for a vehicle that matches that description that has damage to the front end. That’s really all he can do for now.”

  “So, we’ve got nothing.”

  “Nope, not a thing.”

  I paced for a minute, trying to figure out anything that could help. “Okay, so assuming that this is related to the previous owner and is not specifically about that property, but what they were looking for, why did they stop looking at the other address?”

  “As far as we know, they didn’t. Lindsey wasn’t staying there after the attack and the plaid handym
an would have left at times to go out. There’s every possibility that they made it back in the house and searched it.”

  “But there were no holes in the backyard that we know of.”

  “No, none were reported. Lindsey or the plaid handyman would have noticed that.”

  “Maybe they found something at Lindsey’s house that led them to searching the other property,” I suggested.

  “Could be, but if Harold Brown hid something at his old house, why would he sell and leave it behind?”

  “Circumstances didn’t allow him to. If they were digging outside, maybe he didn’t have time to move it before the new owners moved in.”

  “That could be, but the hole was there before the break-in. Isa said that the guys made it sound like they knew what they were looking for and where it was,” Cap said.

  “Fuck, I don’t know. We’re trying to read the mind of a man that was almost a hundred years old. Who knows if he even remembered what he hid.”

  “We can check to see if he had a will. Maybe that would tell us something.”

  I stopped pacing and thought back to Lindsey’s attack. “Lindsey said that they broke into a bedroom down the hall. Were any of the other rooms touched?”

  “They had gone through some stuff in that room, but the cops said they probably left right after. There was no sign of damage in the other rooms.”

  “Maybe we need to go back and have another look through the rooms. Do you think you could ask Lindsey if we could get in there and take a look around?”

  “I’ll ask, but if she has guests, it’s not going to be that simple.”

  “Whatever we can do at this point. I’m just tired of sitting around with nothing to go on.”

  “I’ll check into it.”

  I hung up just as Isa was coming out of the bedroom. She looked relaxed as she walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

  “Did you have a good nap?”

  “Yes, thank you. I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”

  “It’s been a rough few days.” I kissed her on top of her head and rested my chin there. I had been needing this from her, not the crazed woman that pretended like she didn’t need me.

  “So, are we done fighting each other?”

  “Yeah,” she said softly into my chest. “Let’s not do that again.”

  “Next time you argue with me like that, I’m going to put a spider in your bed.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “Matteo called. He wants the kids for the night.”

  I stopped cutting the vegetables for the soup and turned to Isa. “What do you mean? You’re not letting him, right?”

  “Yes, I am. He hasn’t seen them since the accident.”

  “What’s your point?”

  “My point is that he’s their father and he wants to spend time with them. I’m not going to say no just to spite him.”

  “The guy could have called a little fucking sooner.”

  I went back to chopping so I didn’t start yelling about how pissed I was. It was ridiculous for me to make this big pot of soup now that the kids weren’t going to be here. I threw the knife down on the counter and walked away. If I stuck around, I would say something nasty. I hated that Isa was being so nice about all this when he had lied and cheated on her for years.

  The douchebag showed up at my house a half hour later and took the kids with him, but before he left, he made sure to touch Isa on the shoulder and push her hair back. Basically, he was doing all the shit he should have done when he was married to her. But when she leaned and hugged the fucker, I almost blew a gasket.

  “You wanted the kids for the night,” I said as I made my presence known. “Why don’t you take them back to your apartment instead of touching my girlfriend.”

  “She used to be my wife. If I want to give her a hug, I’ll give her a damn hug. I’m just trying to rebuild our relationship.”

  “See, you don’t have a relationship with her anymore.”

  “Gabe, stop.” Isa was tugging on my arm, trying to get me to back down, but I just couldn’t do that.

  “No, Isa. I won’t stop. He needs to know that you’re not going back to him no matter what.”

  “He’s just picking up the kids!”

  “Then he can keep his fucking hands off you.”

  “Is this really the person you want around our kids, Isa?”

  “Don’t start, Matteo. I didn’t say anything when you shacked up with that wannabe Barbie.”

  “Fine,” he said, backing toward the door. “I wasn’t hitting on you. I’m glad you’re okay. I’ll have the kids back by three o’clock tomorrow.”

  As he left, Isa scowled at me and stomped out of the room. That could have gone better. Why did I have to keep fucking this up? I had to let my jealousy get in the way. I knew Isa was mine, so why the fuck was I worrying about that asshole? I went in search of Isa and found her sitting cross-legged on the bed.

  “Isa-”

  “Don’t. Don’t even start with me right now.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what your problem is? You’re looking at Matteo like you want to kill him. Is this all because he’s my ex? It’s not like I’m going to leave you for him.”

  She was burning with anger. I could tell that she wanted to chew me a new asshole, but was holding back. I didn’t understand why. After all the shit she put up with when she was married, why was she holding back with me?

  “You’re gonna think I’m ridiculous,” I muttered.

  “No, what I think is ridiculous is you getting pissy with me, but not telling me why the hell you are. I’m a pretty easy person to talk to, so why don’t you just tell me what the hell is running through that thick skull of yours?”

  I sighed and sat down on the bed, gritting my teeth that I was going to go there with her. “I had this friend and she was…my best friend since we were in high school. I did everything with her and she was the only one that was really there for me when I made the choice to join the military. My parents didn’t support my decision because they thought I would run off and get killed, but Sienna understood. She knew that I needed to get out on my own and make my own decisions. We spent all our time together until I left for basic and then she constantly wrote to me and encouraged me. She was my rock.

  “When I left on my first deployment, she was the one that came to see me off. I still remember how she hugged me and cried, telling me to be careful and that she would miss me. I had a picture of us together that I carried with me everywhere I went. She was the one that got me through some really shitty times. When I needed someone to talk to, I wrote to her. She always wrote me back and sent stuff to me that she thought I would like. It got to the point that she was the one I fought for. She was the one that I wanted to get home to. I loved what I was doing, but she was what I wanted in my life. I told her about the kind of future that I wanted. I never said that it was with her, but I guess I assumed that I was letting her know where my head was.

  “When I came home, I spent all my time with her and things were great, but I hadn’t told her how I felt yet. I still had a year left before I could reenlist or get out. I wanted to wait until I could give her all of me. I didn’t want to make promises to her that I couldn’t keep.

  “My last tour, I was injured pretty badly and she came to the hospital to be with me. It took me a while to recover and she offered for me to go stay with her. I took her up on it because I was so in love with her. I thought it was our chance together. On the day she was bringing me home with her, she told me that her fiancé would love me.”

  I couldn’t look at her. I didn’t want to see the pity on her face as I told her how I lost the woman I loved. It was bad enough to go through it once.

  “I was in shock, I think. I went home with her, not really sure that I believed her. She hadn’t said anything about him in all our letters. We had written so much to each other and I had told her so much about what I was looking f
orward to and she hadn’t once mentioned that she was even seeing anyone. The worst part was that when I met him, I really hated the fucker. He had a good job and he could provide for her, but he was an asshole and she didn’t see it.

  “He made sure I knew exactly where my place was while I was staying with them. As soon as she ran out to get some groceries, he pretty much told me that there was no way he would allow me to stay in her life. I couldn’t let her marry that asshole. When he went to work, I told her that I loved her and that all those things that I had wanted in the future were supposed to be with her. I knew that it was an asshole move because she was engaged, but I also knew I would regret it if I didn’t tell her.”

  “What did she say?” Isa said quietly.

  It still hurt to think about it. I could feel the ache in my chest even now, just thinking about how she tossed me away.

  “She told me that she loved him and I was too late. When I told her what he had said to me, she told me that he would never say something like that. She thought I was fucking lying to her. I begged her to believe me. I could see that he was going to be a controlling asshole and demand how she live her life once they were married, but she still chose him. I knew I couldn’t stay, so I packed my shit that night and I left. I let her know where I would be staying, but every time I called, the conversations got shorter and shorter until one day, she just stopped answering my calls.

  “I had to know that she was okay, so I went to see her one last time when her fiancé was at work. I just wanted to know that she was happy. She told me that she couldn’t be friends with me and marry her fiancé. She asked me to never contact her again.”