Chapter 24

When I got back to the hotel, Gabe was waiting with his head propped up on his hands. He looked like a teenage girl in any romantic comedy I’d seen with old girlfriends. They weren’t my type of movie. I liked watching fast cars, explosions, and buildings being destroyed. Basically, Michael Bay and I are kindred souls. I walked in cautiously, keeping an eye on Gabe as I sat down.

“I know you want to talk, I can see the mischief in your eyes. But I need to process everything first.” I exhaled. Gabe nodded, rolling onto his back.

“What are you processing?” He pried. I laughed as I looked over at him. He had his head hanging off the edge of the bed. I positioned myself the same way and stared at him upside down.

“Moving James into my house, for one.” I hinted. His eyes lit up.

“So you’re going to give it a shot?” He asked excitedly. His tone reminded me of a kid the morning of Christmas. I nodded. I felt the rush of blood to my head and sat back up properly. Gabe continued hanging off the other bed like a monkey.

“I mean, it seems completely crazy. But, don’t you always say some of the best decisions are the craziest ones?” I questioned. Gabe nodded.

“There’s a healthy level of craziness.” He insisted. I laughed.

“You’ll have to teach me that scale some day.” I joked. He shook his head.

“You learn when the time comes.” He answered whimsically. I rolled my eyes again.

“Your inner surfer is showing.” I teased through a yawn. Gabe laughed.

“Tiring day?” He pried. I nodded.

“Considering I’m used to doing nothing and I’m generally happy about it. But enough about my day, I want to hear about your client.” I bugged. Gabe jumped up and stretched. When he did, his shirt exposed part of his tummy where there were clearly crescent-shaped indents. I laughed.

“She’s always a bit grabby, but, this is something else.” He groaned. I laughed as he sat back down.

“I would have come with you, if you really wanted.” I assured him. He nodded.

“I know. But I had other plans for you. Obviously.” He joked. He moved to sit beside me on the bed.

“Are you going to give this a fair chance?” He asked softly. I raised my eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” I asked. Gabe shook his head.

“You need to let the walls down, Charlie.” He spoke carefully. I cringed when he called me that, but I knew he did it for a reason. With Gabe, there were no accidents. Everything was carefully planned. He had the mind of a super villain, but no ambition to try and take over the world.

“I know I do.” I mumbled. Gabe put his hand on my shoulder.

“He’s the reason those walls are up in the first place, if anyone can bring them down.” He hinted.

“How did I get so lucky as to have you in my life?” I exhaled dreamily. Gabe rolled his eyes.

“I believe you hired me because you were in fear for your life and I had to protect you. I don’t see luck having a lot to do with that.” He teased. I shook my head.

“I was never afraid of him.” I corrected. Gabe smirked.

“I know. Drew was. You were overcome by grief. I took the job because I could see you needed to be protected from yourself.” He explained. I involuntarily smiled.

“And you still do.” He added. I rolled my eyes and threw one of the pillows at him.

“What are you going to do with a whole month away from me?” I teased. Gabe shrugged.

“I figured I’d watch you on the beach through binoculars. If that got boring, I’d sneak in while you were asleep and stand over top of you menacingly.” He mused. I shuddered.

“You’re a fucking creep.” I groaned. He laughed and tossed the pillow back at me.

“Hey, I could be talking about purely platonic spying. I’d be the unseen bodyguard, hiding in the shadows, even from you.” He rambled. I shook my head again.

“I’m not an heiress, political figure, or witness.” I corrected. He shrugged.

“No, but you’re important to me, and I want to make sure you’re okay. Always.” He insisted. I looked over at him, slightly raising my eyebrow. He avoided eye contact.

“Gabe?” I called softly. He finally looked at me.

“Do we need to talk?” I questioned. Gabe shrugged.

“Depending how it goes with James, maybe.”

In the morning, we packed up the car and prepared for the long drive home. James wouldn’t be taking the ride with us. Instead, he would be flying out later in the day. We’d probably get to my place around the same time. This was something they had previously worked out, of course. Before leaving town, we grabbed breakfast for the road. I couldn’t say what, but there was definitely something different in the air. It was like something had changed, and I really couldn’t put my finger on it. Gabe seemed to be his usual self. He was drumming on the center console and singing along with the radio. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But I definitely felt like something had shifted. The further we drove, the quieter he seemed to get. I wondered if that was supposed to be my early Christmas present. We were only a few weeks away, after all. At some point during the drive, I fell asleep. I didn’t think I could ever relax in a car again, but I guess I was more exhausted than I had realized. I woke up about half an hour away from our neighborhood. I called it a neighborhood. There were 4 houses, spaced ridiculously far apart, all lining the water front. These were cottages, meant to be lived in during the summer months and closed during the winter. Unfortunately for summer travelers, I decided I wanted this all year. I couldn’t get enough of the isolation.

When Gabe finally pulled into my driveway, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. I hadn’t been away from home for this long since the few days in the hospital. This was my safe space. A place where the world couldn’t get me. I was safe here. I was alone. I could be myself without worrying about how other people would perceive my actions. I was free. At least for now. The thought occurred to me that at some point in the day, I would lose this private paradise, inviting another person into my space. As often as Gabe and I spent time together, I still wouldn’t welcome him into my space like this. I left him to carry in my luggage and headed to the bedroom. I pulled the sheets off the bed and tossed them towards the doorway. I grabbed a clean set of bedding and put it in a folded pile at the foot of the bed. I hardly used the bed anyway, but, I thought it was the polite thing to do. Guests should always have clean linen. That’s what I was raised to believe anyway. That didn’t have much practical use with the way I chose to live my life. 1 guest in 10 years, aside from the fur balls. I only had 2 of everything because that’s how the sets came. Otherwise, it would be 1. The amount of people living in my paradise. It wasn’t like I was against sharing my space, I just never figured I would find someone who wanted to be so close, with me. I wasn’t an easy person to live with. I wasn’t an easy person to be friends with. In fact, the way I saw it, I was way more work than I was worth. But, I didn’t make a habit of telling other people what to do anymore. If they wanted to try something, I had to at least be fair and give them the chance to regret it.

I walked back into the living room and dropped down on the couch. I hoped James wouldn’t get here and immediately leave. I mean, looking around the house, you could feel the emptiness. I had stuff, of course. I collected many things from all over the world that sat on shelves in the living room, like a museum of my past. I had filled notebooks on every bookshelf. It was lived in, just not well. I never really thought of how that would reflect on me because I didn’t assume I’d have any new people in my life. I had retired myself to being old, alone and miserable. But at least I had a plan to contain myself so the rest of the world didn’t have to put up with me. I had caused a lot of drama without meaning to. Somehow, I just felt that was the right thing to do.

Gabe brought my suitcase to the bedroom, and then headed straight for the kitchen. He started opening the cupboards and the fridge. I raised my eyebrow as I looked over.

“What are you doing?” I questioned. Gabe ignored me and continued on whatever his mission was. I just watched him for a little longer, then turned on the TV. I didn’t have cable or anything. I watched YouTube and that was it. Mostly Japanese horror series and movies. For a while, I was interested in learning Japanese, but I found the kanji was too hard for my brain to understand. Maybe it was the years of alcohol-induced brain damage. I had gone through my own rough patches. Isolation doesn’t come without a serious cost to your mental health. But, overall, I thought it was worth it. In my life, the way I was living it, I couldn’t disappoint anyone but myself. I relied on no one. No one relied on me. I had become a ghost, and I was happy haunting my beach house.

“I was going to suggest you cook something.” He called over. I laughed.

“What? I don’t cook.” I argued. Gabe looked over at me and shook his head.

“Firstly, you’re a great cook.” He argued. I shrugged.

“Secondly, I just thought it would be nice to be greeted by a home-cooked meal.” He added. I nodded.

“Except that I never have food around the house.” I reminded him. He scoffed.

“Yeah, I see that. I’ll go in and get you a few groceries in the morning.” He announced. I nodded.

“If you insist. I think pancakes are fine for dinner.” I dismissed. Gabe laughed.

“Your boyfriend is a health nut, pancakes are not a dinner food.” He corrected me. I looked over at him.

“Hey, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re supposed to be seeing how it goes.” I corrected. Gabe shrugged.

“Label or no label, you’re going to need to make a few changes around here.” He insisted. I sighed.

“Like what?” I groaned. Gabe laughed, motioning towards the fridge.

“Food that isn’t leftovers, take out, or microwavable.” He answered. I shrugged.

“Microwave dinners are good for you.” I argued. Gabe rolled his eyes as he dropped against the counter. He grabbed a pad of paper from beside the fridge and started making a list.

“Hey, I never agreed to be a housewife.” I shouted. Gabe shrugged.

“No one is asking you to step into the role of a housewife. I just thought you could show him some of the things you’ve picked up.” He hinted. I shrugged. I mean, I had started cooking as a hobby. I was more into baking and sugary treats, but, I liked flavor.

“Might want to ask him about dietary restrictions.” I called over. Gabe nodded, tapping the pen on his bottom lip. He paced around the kitchen for a few more minutes. He nodded as he grabbed his keys off the counter.

“I’m going to see the cats before I have to go to the airport. I’ll be back in an hour.” He announced. I looked over my shoulder and watched him pull out of the driveway. I jumped off the couch and headed towards the bookshelf. There were a few notebooks that I didn’t want seen. I didn’t even want to take a chance. I grabbed about 10 off the shelf and headed into the bedroom. I put them into a box underneath the bed, then pushed the box to the furthest corner. I’d have to burn those eventually. I was really just waiting for the next time Gabe had to go out of town. Instead of staying home and burning my notebooks, he made me tag along on a trip down fucked up memory lane. I still didn’t know if I should be thanking him, or punching him in the face.