Page 47 of Fire Me Up
“Well, his coping mechanism is going to put him back in the hospital.” Liv sighed heavily. “He’s got the worst hero complex I’ve ever seen. Thinks he can save everyone.”
They were talking about Gael. My chest tightened, a new kind of worry threading through me. I knew he was dedicated to his job, but this sounded different. Worse.
“I wish Dylan would get his head out of his ass and go talk to him.” Liv’s words made me flinch. “Gael was so happy those three weeks. So relaxed. Dylan was good for him.”
“Liv,” Marisol chided gently. “It’s not our place.”
“The hell it isn’t. Our brother is working himself into an early grave, and the one person who got him to slow down is—”
“Gael isn’t happy and relaxed?” I blurted out, stepping fully into the shop. Because honestly, happy and relaxed was the only way I could picture him.
Both sisters turned to me with identical startled expressions. Liv recovered first, her surprise morphing into a look so eerily similar to Gael’s that it made my chest ache.
“Not usually, no.” She crossed her arms. “You know him. He’s so wired, so focused on his work. And your disappearing act isn’t helping.”
“Liv.” Marisol placed a gentle hand on her sister’s arm before turning to me with kinder eyes. “Gael has always been... intense about his work. It’s probably not how you know him because he was on leave, I suppose.”
“And you were fucking good for him. He doesn’t know how to slow down.” Liv’s voice softened slightly. “Not unless someone makes him. That’s why we were so happy when he started spending time with you. He was enjoying his time off, and finding ways to relax.”
I tried to reconcile this image with the Gael I knew—the guy who’d spend hours playing with his cat, who’d drag me on hikesjust to find the perfect picnic spot, who’d laugh at my stupid jokes until he snorted.
“I never knew,” I said. “He seemed so... balanced.”
“Around you, maybe.” Liv’s expression was pointed. “You’ve never seen him at work. Didn’t you wonder why you’ve never met him before? Because we always visited him in the Springs. He never came to us—said he couldn’t get away from the station.”
The weight of what they were saying settled in my gut. I’d gotten a version of Gael that his own sisters rarely saw—relaxed, playful, present.
“How is he?” I asked, hating how small my voice sounded. “Now, I mean.”
Marisol’s smile was gentle but sad. “He misses you. A lot. But he seems convinced you just need time to process your emotions.”
I laughed, the sound hollow even to my own ears. “He said that?”
“He’s been researching ADHD. Trying to understand what happened, what made you run. That’s his current theory.” Marisol chuckled. “Of course, I believe most of his sources are Instagram, so…”
The thought of Gael trying to understand me better instead of just writing me off made something crack open in my chest. No one had ever done that before. Not my parents, not my friends, definitely not my exes.
“That’s...” I couldn’t find the words.
“That’s Gael.” Liv’s voice was softer now.
I leaned against my workbench, suddenly needing the support. “My last boyfriend told me I was too much work. Too loud, too impulsive, too needy. All the fun parts of my ADHD were sexy until they weren’t anymore, you know? The hyperfocus, the energy, the intensity... they loved it until they realized it didn’tgo away. And it comes with a heaping dose of forgetfulness, emotional dysregulation, and fucking chaos.”
The sisters exchanged a look I couldn’t interpret.
“Did you ever think that maybe he needs a little of your chaos in his life?” Marisol stepped closer, her voice gentle but firm. “And you need a little of his steadiness?”
I thought about Gael—his steady presence, his quiet strength, the way he looked at me like I was something precious instead of something broken. The way he’d reached out again and again, despite my silence. The way he’d been researching how to understand me better while I’d been hiding from my own feelings.
He deserved better than what I was giving him.
“I’m going to Colorado Springs.” The decision crystallized suddenly, absolute and clear. “I’m going to win him back.”
“You never lost him, dumbass.” Liv rolled her eyes, but I caught the hint of a smile. “You just did a bunch of jackass stuff.”
“Thanks for the support.” I flipped her off, but I was smiling too.
“When are you going?” Marisol asked.
