Page 63 of Every Broken Piece
His blue eyes narrow. “Liar.”
My spine snaps straight. “What did you just call me?”
“I see the fear in your eyes. I see the battle going on inside you.” He points toward the office door. “That kiss out there certainly wasn’t you telling me to get lost.”
He hooks his foot in the leg of my chair and rolls me closer to him. “Let’s make this clear once and for all. I’m not going anywhere no matter how many times you tell me to leave. I’m not giving up on you no matter how many people have in the past. I’m not abandoning you to whatever it is you think you need to run from.” He pulls my chair between his spread knees until I’m right up against the bed and he’s right in my face. “Understand?”
I want to believe him, but reality is my only truth. “You say that now but when things get tough, you’ll take off.”
He leans even closer and whispers, “Never.”
He will. They all do.
Suddenly he’s holding my chin between his thumb and forefinger, his touch gentle, his ring finger skimming the bruise on my jaw. “Look at me, Tess. Really look at me. I. Am. Not. Leaving. You.” He releases my chin and sits back, looking smug.
Don’t believe in fantasies and fairy tales because those types of things don’t happen to girls like you, Tess.
He taps my laptop. “We need to talk about this.”
“I know I’m behind on your stuff. Tomorrow I’ll call Mary, my manager, and have her reset my password.” I frown at my computer. Amelia said she told Mary about my accident the day after it happened. There’s probably just some IT issue going on.
“Do you know how I found out about your attack?”
I shake my head.
“Monday morning, I received an email from Jacob Davis. My new VA.”
My gaze flies to his. “What?”
“I called Mary because I was so pissed they took you away from me. She confirmed that Jacob is my new VA because...” He drops his head and runs a hand through his beard. “Shit.”
No, no, no, no. Please, no.
Without my job I have no money to live. No means of escape.
“I’m sorry, Spitfire.” He squeezes my knee. “I’ll fix this. I don’t want you to worry about anything because I’ll fix it.”
“They let me go? Wh-Why? Was it because I took time off?” I had the PTO. I never use my sick time, so I had enough.
He releases my knee to wrap his large hand around the back of my neck, fingers skimming the sensitive skin there. “Tess... Fuck. This is my fault. All my fault. And I’ll make it right. I don’t want you to worry about anything.”
I frown. “How is this your fault?”
He turns his head away and swallows. “When Amelia called Mary.” Another swallow. “They found our text messages. Mary said you...we...violated the no fraternization policy.”
My hand goes to my chest, pressing against my pounding heart. I push a foot against the bed frame and roll myself away from him.
Gabe’s hand slides from my neck and drops to the bed. Pity. Sorrow. It’s all written in his eyes. This is why he won’t leave me? Because he thinks it’s his fault I lost my job? I’m a problem he needs to fix?
See? This is why you shouldn’t trust people. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with appeasing his guilt.
“I don’t blame you for this,” I say. “I knew the rules and I violated them. You don’t have to stay to make this right.”
“You think I feel obligated?” He shakes his head. “You got it wrong, Spitfire. I’m not staying because of obligation. I’m staying because you mean something to me. Because when Mary told me you were no longer my VA, I felt this...loss. Because those late night texts saved me from a loneliness I’ve been livingwith for too damn long. Yes, I want to make this right. Yes, I want to see you heal.” He pulls the chair back to him. At this point I might end up with whiplash with the way we’re driving this chair around. “I want to help you not because I feel guilty, but because I care and want to get to know you better. Will you let me help you?”
There's a war going on inside me but to be honest, I've been fighting one war or another all my life and I'm so tired of fighting alone. Of having no one on my side. I don’t want to think four steps ahead. I want to reach for something I want instead of something I need. So I do what I've never done before, what I've been scared of for years. I give in.
“Yes,” I whisper.
