Page 49 of Redemption
Suddenly, my phone buzzed on the coffee table, across the room, startling me more than it should have. Gabriel retrieved my phone then handed it to me after looking at the screen. Emma’s name flashed abruptly in the dim light of the room, pulling me back into reality. Emma was there last night too; she went through the same thing. She was probably just waking up, terrified.
Emma's voice giggled through the phone. "Sophia! how was your night?
Why was she so happy?
“Um, what? What do you mean?” I asked. “You first,” I said cautiously.
“I was dancing with Dan—well, I thought that’s what his name was, but it’s actually Damien. I looked through his wallet. Anyway, we were dancing, and then the power went out, which at first was a bummer, but then I really felt the alcohol, like, I could barely stand. Next thing I knew he was driving me home and saying you and his brother hit it off and were following us. I told him we can't go to my house because it's actually my parents' house, then I woke up in a hotel.”
I put it on speaker phone and watched Gabriel with wide eyes. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for me to speak.
“Did you guys do anything?” I asked hesitantly.
Emma sighed and said, “No, I was too drunk sadly. It’s so weird, I have a huge tolerance but just a couple drinks knocked me out.
“Where is Damien now?” I asked. Looking at Gabriel cautiously.
“He's asleep on the bed next to me, surrounded by empty bottles. It looks like drank all night.” Emma whispered. “It was dark in there, but I could have sworn he was a blond, but still, He’s so hot Sophia. He’s laying here without a shirt on, and I can't stop staring at him.”
Gabriel waved away the phone. “Hey, give me a minute, okay?” I said as I pressed mute.
“She doesn’t know what happened, and you cant tell her.”
“I have to!” I said.
“No, you don't. You want to because you think it's the right thing to do, but it's not.”
“Just because the truth hurts doesn’t mean we should lie. Haven't we just been over this?”
“This truth doesn't just hurt; it destroys. Don't tell her.”
Gabriel's voice was firm, decisive. His eyes bore into mine, the intensity of his gaze almost felt threatening, but I knew he was right. There was no way I could burden Emma with this knowledge—the truth of last night's bloodshed, the realization that our innocent night out had almost spiraled into something much darker.
"But she needs to know." My protest was weak, laced with uncertainty. Gabriel shook his head in response.
"She doesn't need to know." His voice was softer now, almost pleading. "She can't know."
I stared at him for a long moment before lowering my gaze to the floor. The weight of the secret we were keeping pained me, but he was right.
"Alright," I agreed after a heavy silence, my voice barely more than a whisper. "I won't tell her."
His hand returned to mine again, his fingers intertwining with mine in a silent thank you. We sat there in silence for a few more moments before I unmuted the phone.
"Hey, Em," I tried to keep my voice steady as I responded. "Sorry about that... so about last night..."
I recounted our night as though it were any ordinary outing, leaving out the part where two men who tried to kidnap us were left dead and I was left with an unspeakable secret.
"That felt... wrong," I admitted once the call ended, tossing the phone aside as though it were tainted. Gabriel was quiet for a moment longer before he moved closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“Just because something feels wrong doesn’t mean it is.” He said. His grip on my shoulders tightening reassuringly. I leaned into his embrace, hoping the warmth of his body would comfort me. His response was a weak platitude that did little to help. He was my anchor, keeping me steady while dragging me down into a what felt like a bottomless pit.
"I'm scared," I confessed quietly, my heart hammering in my chest as I admitted my fear out loud.
"I know," he responded simply. His hand softly stroked up and down my back. “I’ll handle it."
His words offered to comfort me, I wanted them to, But I couldn't shake off the gnawing feeling of dread that settled heavy in my stomach. It wasn't as simple as he made it sound; this wasn't something he could just 'handle.'
"How can you be so sure of yourself?" I asked him after a while. "How can you be so confident that we'll make it through this?"
