Page 117 of Black
“Gosh, your boyfriend is hot.”
I clenched my jaws. “Yeah, he’s handsome.”
“I can understand why you worry he’ll cheat on you.”
I whipped my head around. “Why would you assume I worry about that?”
She gave me a side-glance smile and tapped her index finger against her temple. “Psychic, remember.”
“Well, if you’re that good, then why don’t you tell me if he’s going to be unfaithful to me?”
She got an earnest expression on her face. “People think there is only one future ahead of them but it’s like a trail system all leading to the same place. What you’ll experience on your journey all depends on what choices you make.
“I could tell you he’ll cheat on you, in which case you would break up with him and not even give him a chance.
“I could tell you he doesn’t cheat on you, which is true if you and he find a way to communicate better. But untrue if you don’t, as he’ll be so lonely that another woman might tempt him in a moment of weakness.
“I can’t give you any guarantees, Cia, no one can, but I can tell you that he’s one of the good guys.”
“Why do you call me Cia?”
“Because the first time I heard him say it, I knew that was your real name. That’s what your soul wants you to be called.”
Oh Christ…what do you even answer to craziness like that?
It shouldn’t have surprised me that Darren and Violet were an instant love match. When she walked into his gallery and spoke about the loveliness of the energies in place, he was all in. Turns out that Darren believes in this stuff, and before long he had arranged for her to do readings at the evening’s art exhibition.
“I’ll make sure to set up a table in the corner for you.”
“Wonderful, I’ll bring my own tablecloth and tarot cards.”
I rubbed my face and groaned, afraid to tell him that I didn’t really think that fortune telling had anything to do with my exhibition. It was his gallery, and I didn’t want to make demands like some sort of diva.
Violet hummed with internal sunshine as she dropped me off at Gabriel’s place forty minutes later. I, on the other hand, walked up to have a grown up conversation, feeling nervous and defensive.
To my surprise Gabriel wasn’t there. There was a note saying:
Hey Cia,
Melody and I are going to grab something to eat.
I’ll see you later and the box is for you.
G
I picked up the package wrapped in tin foil and found a phone inside and another note saying,I already set up the phone. Your pin is 9999, your phone number is on the other sticky note, and my number is already in it. Please text me when you’re back.
It was a thoughtful gift that would make my life much easier, but he had already given me so much. Surprisingly, one of my first thoughts was that I would only keep it as long as we were together, meaning I didn’t believe we would stay together. Someone like me wouldn’t be enough for someone like him long-term, especially since he had already admitted it was his pattern to swap when something better came along. It was pointless to fool myself into thinking otherwise.
I sent Gabriel a text, thanking him for the gift and telling him that I was back in the apartment.
He answered right away. “Good, I’ll see you in a bit.”
It was past six and I was hungry, so I grabbed a snack and played around with my new phone.
When Gabriel walked in an hour later he came to sit beside me.
“Do you want to talk?” he asked.
