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 Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:04 pm
'You tell me your story and I'll tell you mine.' Gabriel couldn't accept that deal. He wasn't ready for it. No one knew exactly what had happened to him. Even Lucy knew little, Marisol hardly a thing. Unconsciously he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't think I can tell you everything," Gabriel began, then shook his head. "No, if I didn't tell you the whole story I'd be lying to you but..." He sighed. Why was it so fricking hard to talk to someone? Maybe because she might freak out if she believed he had committed the crime he was imprisoned for. He thought hard, moving his fingers in circular motions on his temples. Finally he let his arms drop.
He took a stuttering breath. "Over three years ago I discovered that my girlfriend was cheating on me. I confronted her - there was shouting. I broke up with her. I thought it would be that simple. I underestimated how spiteful she was. Long story short, she ran outside screaming and crying that I had attempted to assault her. The neighbors were on her side of course, from all the noise." He didn't dare look at Nikki, but continued.
"At the trial I was judged to be guilty for something I didn't do. There was lack of evidence in my favor. I spent three years in jail - I'm suprised it wasn't longer considering the charges. Three years." He ran a hand through his hair, let out a breath. "I won't let you in on all of the details, but once I left, I was different. I found it hard to trust anyone, especially people my own age. I rented apartments, hotel rooms, condos, even extra rooms, but I didn't really stay anywhere long."
"Eventually I ran into Lucy and Marisol when I was short on cash trying to buy some lunch, and they helped me out." Gabriel half-smiled. "I guess that's a recurring theme... and I guess you know the rest." So there it was. Everything, more or less. Hesitatingly, he glanced up to look at her.
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:02 am
She remained quiet throughout the story, her arms wrapped around herself in a quiet hug. Nikki hadn't expected him to agree. As he spoke, she listened carefully, part of her more than a little curious, the other part of her following through with the deal. He was telling her his story, so she owed it to him to tell her own. Studying him, Nikki wondered what he'd been like before the entire ordeal, if he had been a more trusting person, if he would have been able to return her banter.
Or if he had a temper. She'd only known for a day so far and had yet to witness such a thing, but she was still being careful. Nikki shuddered, before focusing once more on him. She could tell he was wondering about her reaction, wondering if he'd made the right decision with her. But it was too late now and they'd both have to stick with their choices.
As he mentioned going from apartments to hotels and more, Nikki found a part of him she could communicate with. Even though they'd been for totally different reasons, there was a part of him she found she could understand. Leaning forward slightly, she unwrapped one arm from around herself and pressed it against the counter for balance, before turning her eyes to his. If he said he didn't do it, then he didn't do it, that's all there was to it. There was a trust in them and Nikki hoped that single looked conveyed her feelings to him. She'd never been good at words of comfort....
A sigh escaped, before she smiled crookedly and looked away from him, her eyes grazing the window once more. Sitting up just a bit straighter, she reached forward to the hem of her shorts and brushed her finger against the scar on her knee. It was only one of many. She wondered if he would find her disgusting; most did, in fact, most demanded she kept the scars covered. To her, leaving them open, even if it was only one of them, was an open reminder, ringing through her like a bell, telling her she'd survived! Finally she turned to look at him, a haunted look in her grey eyes. "From the time I was about six, when my mother died, I've been careful to stay out of my fathers way. He was charming, quick with words and easy with compliment. To the public anyway."
She seemed to drift back into the painful memories for a moment, before quickly pulling herself back to the situation at hand. She'd promised after all. "When he got home, as was as quick to use his fists as he was to give a compliment, though I never got one of those. He always knew the right places to hit, careful not to hurt anything vital, though everywhere he hit still hurt. If he didn't want to uses his fists, sometimes he'd burn me with whatever he had at hand, a cigarette or even a hot pan if I was in the middle of cooking."
Her eyes flickered to his, trying to gauge his reaction, wondering if he was revolted yet. Most would be by this point. Deciding she wouldn't be able to handle it if he was, she turned her eyes to her lap, another grim smile on her lips. Outside, she could see the sun beginning to rise. "Most of the time I was lucky to remain conscious and by the time I turned twelve, I decided it would be better if I was home-schooled. I was tired of getting questions about bruises in odd places and worrying about what would happen to me if they found out about my father. Just a week before I turned eighteen, I didn't have much of a choice. A reporter who'd snuck into the house to get a picture of the powerful senator interrupted a beating. He managed to snap a few pictures, before attempting to help. My father stopped. For the moment.
"When the pictures were published a couple of days later, the day of my birthday actually, my father lost it. If it hadn't been for my friend Jason, I probably wouldn't be here now. He's like a brother to me." She sighed, twisting her fingers in the hem of her shirt nervously. Almost done now. "For the most part, I did the same as you did, going from place to place, paranoid he'd be able to find me. I'd get numerous calls with death threats and no immediately it was him. Within minutes of the call I'd be gone, another city, another state. I haven't seen him in about a year and a half now so I think I'm safe. But I never know for sure."
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:41 pm
As Nikki was finishing her story, her outburst the previous day about the phone call made sense. She'd been through so much... Sure, he'd been attacked, but not by a parent, someone who was supposed to shelter you. Suddenly his problems didn't seem as bad. He wasn't going to pretend it had been sunshine and rainbows, but still. Gabriel moved across the room and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he said into her hair. Even as he did it, he realized that the closer he got to her, the higher his chances were of being hurt. Maybe he was apologizing for his hesitance too. He let go, taking a step back.
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 5:09 pm
His arms around her was the most reassuring thing Nikki had felt in a very long time. She leaned into him for only a moment before he stepped away from her and she could see the hesitancy in his eyes. After hearing his story she could understand why. It was horrible to be betrayed by someone whom you thought cared about you, even more so to be attacked. It seemed they had something in common. "So...what now?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 4:26 pm
The thing that immediately came to mind in response to her question was to kiss her. But he quickly dismissed that as a bad idea. Gabriel had already lowered enough boundaries in this short time. Noticing that the original reason for their being in the kitchen was ready, "Um... coffee?" he suggested.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:05 pm
She laughed slightly though it was just a little awkward. "Right. Coffee. Might as well add breakfast too." She slipped off the counter and walked over to the coffee pot and two waiting mugs, before turning to look at him, amused. "Careful now. I just might start charing you with all the meals you've been getting." There was laughter in both her eyes and her voice.
((Again, I apologize for the delay. I have all weekend to post and then it's MIA again. Sorry.))
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 3:01 pm
[["...might start 'charing' you with all the meals..." What's charing? O_o]]
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:17 pm
((Haha, sorry! It's supposed to be charging...))
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:21 pm
Gabriel laughed. "I might be in trouble if it comes to that," he said with a grin, ducking his head. "Thanks by the way. For everything. I feel bad that you're doing all of this for me." He knew he'd saved her life, but he didn't feel like he deserved all of this kindness from her. He did accept the coffee though. "Do you need any help? Anything I can do?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 3:33 pm
She shrugged. As much as he wanted to thank her for what she was doing she felt she owed so much more to him. And it wasn't so much that Nikki thought she owed him as that she was discovering she liked being around him and doing things that made him smile. Not that she would tell him that; she was pretty sure he was already uncomfortable around her as it was. At the very least she could keep Gabriel as a friend.
Smiling, she glanced over her shoulder again and pointed to one of the higher cabinents. "You can grab the pancake mix and a mixing bowl." Tying her hair up again she glanced around the kitchen. The dried paint from yesterday was still on the floor. Oh well. She'd been wanting to re-do the floors anways. "Any good at pulling up wood?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:15 pm
"You're having fun with this home improvement thing, aren't you?" Gabriel asked seriously as he opened the cupboard. He located the bowl and the pancake mix and lowered them onto the counter. Then he turned to answer Nikki. "Yeah, no problem." As far as he remembered, wood floors were interlocking anyway and only the first board would really be an issue.
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Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2008 12:08 pm
"It's all I have," she replied as she turned to the fridge and pulled out the milk and eggs before moving to stand next to him at the counter. "I'm going to do everything I can to make it more mine." She smiled slightly and cracked an egg into the bowl while motioning for him to pour some of the mix in. "Good, 'cause I'm going to steal you for the rest of the day. Unless you have plans already..."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:51 pm
Gabriel poured the mix in carefully. He hesitated when Nikki claimed she was going to steal him for the whole day. He felt bad for leaving Lucy and Marisol. "I don't have any plans, but can I use your phone?" he asked. He needed to know if they needed him today, but he did want to stay. So he'd leave it up to someone else.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 2:19 pm
"Yep yep." She pointed behind her to the wall behind the table and returned to the process of mixing everything together. She'd never been one for using precise measurements, so she just poured a bunch of the milk in and added more mix when it was a bit too watery. It was still missing something..."Hey, do you like strawberries?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 1:46 pm
Gabriel picked up the phone and dialed Lucy's place. With any luck she'd still be home. As he was waiting for her to pick up he turned back to Nikki. "Yeah, strawberries are great," he answered.
Lucy picked up. "Hello?"
"Oh, hi. It's me, Gabriel. I stayed at a friends' house last night, sorry I didn't call earlier. Look, can I stay for the day? She needs some help around the house. I mean, I understand if you need me to watch Marisol or something."
He could practically see her smiling on the other end. "Oh... 'she', huh? Alright Gabriel, you take your time."
Gabriel blushed, sensing her line of thinking. "It's not like that!" he protested, cupping his hand around the speaker in an effort to keep Nikki from hearing.
"Uh huh, right. You deserve a good girl, Gabriel. Have fun."
"What's that supposed to-"
He sighed as the phone went dead, then shook his head, silently laughing, and put the phone back. "So um, I can stay."
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