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Gabi - Eleven Years Earlier
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I BURST THROUGH MY front door, tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t believe what was going on with Cole. He’d never laid a finger on me before, and tonight he’d frightened me. I didn’t like seeing that side of him—it made me wonder how much further he would go. Plus, it made me feel like I didn’t really know him at all—something that broke my heart as much as the awful things he’d said to me. If I didn’t really know him, then the past couple of months were nothing but a lie.
I ran up the stairs to my bedroom, my feet pounding on the treads. My dad was home, but I couldn’t face him right now. I just wanted to be on my own. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever want to face anyone ever again, especially after my humiliation at school. But I was worried about Cole as much as devastated by how he’d treated me. I’d never liked Ryan, and after he’d come on to me, it didn’t surprise me in the slightest that Ryan had used me to threaten Cole. I also didn’t doubt Ryan’s threats were true. I bet that bastard would do anything to get back at me for stomping on his foot and running away that day.
I threw myself on my bed, tears pouring down my face. Despite wanting to be left alone, I heard my dad’s feet coming up the stairs after me. He must be worried about me, too, and honestly, right at that moment I just wanted to be a little girl in my dad’s arms again, and not have to worry about all the bullshit that came with being older.
A knock came at the door, and then it opened a crack. “Gabi, honey? What’s happened?”
I turned from him and buried my face in the pillow. “Nothing. I just want to be left alone.”
His footsteps crossed the room, and the bed dipped with his weight as he sat on the edge. “I’m not going to leave you on your own when you’re so upset about something. Now you might as well tell me what’s happening, because you know I’m going to get it out of you at some point.”
“Please, Dad, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Gabi, if Cole has done something to upset you, I want to know. I’m not going to go all crazy, but I want to be able to support you. I love you more than anyone else in this world, and I want you to be able to confide in me.”
The truth was, I wanted my dad, too. I was hurt and confused, and worried to death about what Cole was getting himself into.
My dad had a way of getting the truth out of people—I guessed that was why he did the job he did.
I wiped my face and sat up. I stared down at my hands in my lap. “Cole said he doesn’t want to see me anymore.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Do you want me to go and break his kneecaps?”
I gave a forced bark of laughter. “No, Dad, of course not.”
“I thought the two of you were really close.”
“That’s the thing, we are. I’m worried about him, Dad. He’s gotten himself caught up in something with the guys he plays in the band with, and he thinks by breaking up with me, he’s protecting me, somehow.”
He frowned. “What sort of thing?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. He’s been borrowing his foster parents’ truck and heading off to places, though. I don’t know if it’s connected, but he’s been acting strangely ever since it started. I’m so worried about him.” Tears were close again. Cole had made me believe whatever he was doing was illegal, but I didn’t plan on telling my dad that. I knew how he felt about Cole being caught up with the band. I just wanted some advice from him about where to go from here.
“I have to admit that I’m pleased to see you out of it, Gabi. You know how I felt about those boys.”
“Dad, please. I don’t need a lecture. I just need to know what I’m supposed to do about Cole.”
“I don’t want you doing anything. It’s not your place. He’s still under his foster family’s roof for the moment, so they should be the ones to handle whatever trouble he’s gotten himself into, not you.” He thought for a moment and then said, “Would it help if I had a word with him?”
“No! Please don’t, Dad. That won’t help at all.”
“Maybe I should have a word with his foster parents instead. If I was able to convince them to keep him home, or not let him borrow the truck, would that help?”
I allowed my heart to lift with faint hope. “I don’t know how much, but maybe a little.”
“When does he need to borrow it?”
“Tomorrow night, I think.”
My dad nodded. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”
I didn’t want to get Cole in trouble, but I had to do something. He was under his foster parents’ care for the moment, and perhaps it would be a good thing for Emily and Stephen Cowen to speak to him. Even though Cole had butted heads with them on occasion, he did respect that they’d done their best for him. I didn’t think I had any other choice. He wasn’t going to listen to me, and he’d hate it if my dad tried to talk to him—in fact, if he knew I’d spoken to my dad about this at all, he’d go crazy.
I just hoped they would be able to talk some sense into him.
***
I WENT TO SCHOOL THE next day, trying to ignore all the whispered comments and nudges that followed me as I passed through the halls. I’d hoped Cole’s treatment of me in the hall the previous day might have been forgotten, but it clearly hadn’t.
Jasmine caught up with me. “Hey, how are you doing?”
“I’ve been better. Have you seen Cole today?”
She shook her head, but glanced away.
I frowned. Why did I get the feeling she wasn’t telling me something?
We went to class, and I sat through my lectures, not listening to a single word said. My mind stayed on Cole the whole time, wondering if my dad had been to see his foster parents yet, and if Cole would hate me for saying something. I hoped he’d understand I was desperate. Plus, it didn’t matter if he hated me as long as he agreed to stay away from Ryan and his gang.
Jasmine and I decided to have lunch outside. I was happy to find a tree, where I could sit in the shade and hide behind the trunk. People were still looking at me, though I did my best to keep my head down and ignore any comments, though I couldn’t miss a couple.
“—going to be a cat-fight when she finds out.”
More giggles.
“—cut off his balls ...”
I turned to Jas. “What are they talking about?”
“No idea. I’m sure it’s nothing about you and Cole.”
But as soon as she said it, I knew she was lying. “Jasmine, just tell me.”
She shrugged. “It’s nothing, I’m sure. People are just gossiping ...”
“About what?”
Her eyes widened, staring in the direction of the building which housed the gym. I followed her line of sight and my heartrate skyrocketed. I’d have recognized Cole anywhere, even from behind as he was standing now, one hand pressed against the wall, his head ducked slightly as he talked to someone. The position made my stomach drop and I suddenly felt sick. He had someone pinned up against the wall, and it wasn’t in a violent, aggressive way. Quite the opposite. I could tell from the way his body was positioned that he had no intention of fighting the person he was speaking to.
Jasmine’s hand on my arm drew my attention momentarily. “Come on, Gabi. Let’s go back inside.”
I tugged my arm away. “No, I need to see this for myself.”
I suddenly understood what all the gossiping in the halls was about. It wasn’t just that Cole had dumped me in the middle of school yesterday, it was that he was now hooking up with someone else.
With my heart pounding, I stomped across the grass toward him.
He must have sensed me coming, because he glanced over his shoulder and spotted me. I thought seeing me might have made him jump away from whatever tramp he had cozied up to, but he did quite the opposite. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist, ducked his head, and kissed her.
I froze.
This wasn’t a ‘peck on the lips’ kind of kiss. It was a full, ‘bodies pressed together, tongue in mouth, dry-humping’ kind of kiss. The same kiss we’d shared on so many occasions.
Well, never again.
And then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I realized who the bitch was he was kissing.
Taylor.
With blood pounding in my ears, the world distant and faint around me, I turned and ran. I only wanted to get away from there. I was done. With my friends. With school.
With Cole.