Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
15
CHRISSY
It’s early in the morning, and normally I’d be up by now, but I’m not moving. Heck, I’m afraid to even take a breath because I don’t want to wake up Gabe. He is holding on to me like he never wants to let me go. I want to lie in his arms and imagine that this is my life and that from here on out, we’re going to be together.
Last night meant everything to me.
There’s a nagging feeling inside me, but I refuse to give in to it. Not until Gabe and I are able to talk will I give in to it, and then hopefully I won’t have to.
Gabe’s phone rings, and he just groans and tightens his hold on me. When the phone rings again, I murmur, “That’s your phone.”
He grunts. “Fuck.”
He sits up and leans over to pick his phone up off the nightstand. He is still holding on to me as he speaks into it. “Yeah.” He’s quiet for a minute. “No, no, it’s okay. I’ll be there. It’s fine. Hold on.”
He covers the phone and says to me, “Honey, will you be okay if I go into work? Chris’ wife went into labor, and they’re going to be a man short.”
I sit up, holding the cover to my chest. “Yeah, sure. I’m okay.”
He nods and then brings his phone back to his mouth. “Yeah, I’ll be in soon.”
He hangs up and tosses his phone on the nightstand and then lies back down with me in his arms.
I wait for him to say something, anything, but he remains quiet for so long I’m wondering if he’s fallen back asleep. Eventually he groans. “I have to get up. I don’t want them to get a call and be short-handed.”
I disentangle my legs from his and scoot away from him. He says my name, but before he can say whatever he was planning on saying, I interrupt him. “I fell asleep at King’s and missed talking about everything. What can I do to help with planning Ledger’s funeral?”
Gabe gets out of bed and grabs the clothes he had on last night. They’re at least dry now. “King said Ledger had everything planned out, and he just had to make a phone call. We just need to show up.”
I search my memory. “Thursday, right?”
“Yeah, honey. Thursday. I’m not sure what’s going to happen at the station this week. I have a few people out already, and with Chris now, I’m not sure what my schedule is going to be, but all you have to do is call me, and I’ll be here. Or you can come by the station.”
He’s worried about me, but that is nothing new. “I’ll be fine, but I’ll call you if I need anything.”
He clears his throat. “We should probably talk about last night, don’t you think?”
I pull his shirt that I was wearing over my head, find my panties, and put them on. “Yeah, we probably should but not right now. You have to go to work, and I’m supposed to work this afternoon.”
He’s shaking his head. “Take the day off. Your boss will understand.”
“I need to stay busy. It will keep my mind off things.”
I can see he wants to try and talk me out of it, but I don’t stick around to find out. As I walk out of the bedroom, I call out to him, “Can I fix you breakfast before you go?”
He follows behind me. “No, I don’t have time. I’m sorry to just run, Chrissy. This is not how I pictured this morning would go.”
I shrug like it doesn’t bother me when the truth is, it’s killing me. I want to ask him what last night means, but I don’t have the guts to do it. I’m standing at the kitchen island, and he’s by the front door putting his boots on.
I grab one of my hair ties out of my catch-all on the counter and take it over to him. “Here’s for your hair.”
He takes it from me and smiles as he gathers his long hair in a bun on his head. I just stand here and watch him, not sure what I’m waiting for. He reaches for me, and it’s awkward as he hugs me. Neither one of us says anything while he holds me to him. I breathe him in, waiting for what he’s going to say and hoping he’s going to say something to make me feel like I made the right decision last night.
But all he does is kiss me on the forehead. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay? Don’t work too hard and call me if you need anything.”
I nod, forcing a smile to my face. “You too, Gabe. Take care of yourself, okay?”
I walk out onto the porch with him and spot my car in the driveway. “My car is here.”