• [ e x p r e s s i o n o f h u r t ] •

♥ gabriel ♥

GETTING TALKED ABOUT by others when you're right in front of them never gives you a good feeling, especially when you have a middle-aged asshole smirking at you whilst an audience of couples and grandma's eating croissants oggle in your direction.

"Being so attractive has its downsides," I shrugged vainly, my cheeks pulling into a sincere expression as I answered her question.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance before whispering. "Please shut up and let me sort this out."

I folded my arms, tipping an imaginary hat. My pebble coloured eyes twinkled in a concoction of sarcasm, mischief and alcoholic remnants. "Yes, ma'am."

"Louisa?" The woman, who I presumed to be the manager, asked. She gave me a dirty look from the corner of her eye before continuing her conversation. "Do you know this man, Louisa?"

Just when I was beginning to think ladies couldn't help falling at my feet.

Louisa unsubtly bit the inside of her lips, that were carefully painted a matte nude shade, as if holding back a scream. "Yes. Yes, I do. I can explain, Catherine." My eyes wandered across her figure loosely as she made up some story.

Her toned legs seemed to run on forever whilst her delicate ankles were partially covered by nude heels, coated in a glossy sheen that highlighted their dainty size; one strap wrapped itself around her toes whilst the other was laced enticingly around her ankle. Lou gestured as she spoke, occasionally lifting her slim, model-like arms before dropping them to her side again. A few expensive-looking silver rings sat proudly on her fingers, glinting in the light that entered in through the shop window.

Damn, she sure was something.

"...it's just that he suffers from periods of abnormal behaviour and unfortunately, he must have slipped into one of those moods. I do apologise sincerely on behalf of him and I'll get him to write an apology to your employee Christopher as soon as he's in a better state of mind."

You know that joint that links your jaw and skull? In that moment, mine loosened considerably as my mouth fell open. She was telling people I was crazy? I held back a laugh of disbelief and instead, putting on an act as they looked at me in pity. Yeah, and she said she was going to 'sort this out.'

Ironically, it worked and within minutes Lou had sorted out the situation and we were sitting in a secluded corner of the place with everything returned to normal. It turned out her parents practically kept this place afloat owned meaning the staff couldn't throw us out even if they dared unless they wanted the company they were walking out to go bust. Louisa somehow convinced them to give us a seat on the rooftop terrace.

To be honest, I wasn't sure whether they agreed because of how affluent Lou was or because they thought I was a harm to other customers.

"Periods of abnormal behaviour?" I asked, swirling what remained of the surprisingly good latte around in the cup. The corners of her mouth lifted as she smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

"It did the job." Narrowing her eyes, she leant towards me. "Plus I get to see you struggle to write a sappy apology letter to Christopher. The thought of that fills me with joy."

"I can't contain my excitement at that part," I said dryly, my voice submerged in sarcasm. "I can imagine what I'm going to say. Dear Christopher, you utter twat. I hope you bubble in a cauldron of lava and poison until you grow so delusional that you see a hundred duplicates of yourself for company. Hopefully, then, you'll understand how utterly painful and ultimately sad your personality is. Lots of love. Gabriel. Ex oh ex oh."

The corners of her eyes crinkled as she broke out into a smile, revealing a full set of pearly teeth. Strands of almost black hair that had escaped from her bun framed her oval face. "You absolute devil. You know the only reason I made them move us to the rooftop was that I could smell the alcohol on you and didn't want you to do something stupid."

"Alcohol? What's that? Never heard of that before," I lied, shrugging my shoulders and looking at how well set up this place was. The location had a strong heaven-like vibe to it. Majority of the decorations were white and seemed to enthusiastically glow under the bright sky that was dotted with clouds. Even the tables and chairs were included in the airy and open theme with futuristic yet minimalistic designs. "I am an alcohol virgin," I proclaimed, resting my sharp jawline against my hand.

Lou raised a long eyebrow and leaned back in her chair as I gazed at her long, olive neck. Jeez Gabe, calm down. "Already forgotten about the day I found you sitting on the school roof, beyond drunk? Dammit, I should have taken a video."

I frowned as I thought about that day. That was when those nightmares were especially bad. "Well aren't you an absolute angel?" I retorted, taking off my jacket to reveal my shirt. Whilst I rolled my sleeves up slightly, a smile flashed onto her face yet she almost immediately forced her lips into a straight line again. It was almost as if she wasn't allowing herself to laugh around me.

Gabe, you've been watching too much Sherlock Holmes. Sit down.

I decided to drop it, remembering I had bigger things to worry about.

"Okay, Lou Darling," I started, smirking as she scowled at me. "Let's not beat around the bush. I'm pretty sure you've guessed why I wanted to meet you. How on earth did you know where I was yesterday?"

Louisa froze for a moment as if she hadn't yet prepared herself for my question before her muscles relaxed and a settled expression moulded onto her face. "I didn't know anything and I still don't know what's going on Gabriel."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she gazed at her expertly designed eclair in confusion. "How about I fill you in on my side of the story?" I nodded, urging her to continue. Right now, it was as if I'd been thrown into a room made of broken jigsaw pieces that didn't quite fit together.

"I was just relaxing at home yesterday when I got an anonymous message on my phone. I was going to delete it because I assumed it was a prank call but then I decided against it since they were sending numerous messages." Her coffee brown eyes softened as she looked at me before shifting her gaze absentmindedly to the other empty tables on the rooftop.

"And what did they say?"

Lou's eyelashes fluttered down towards her hands. "It wasn't exactly clear. The first message said to warn Gabriel whilst the next few mentioned the name of the hospital. The last simply said the cops are on the way. I couldn't tell if it was a threat or somebody trying to help you."

I tried to swallow the lump that was growing in my throat as I thought back. I hadn't told anybody I was going to the hospital apart from perhaps mentioning it indirectly to that therapist and I was almost certain she wouldn't have gone to the police. Was the person who anonymously messaged Lou the same person as the one who told the police?

What on Earth was going on?

"This is more confusing than I thought," I said, rubbing my tired forehead as I blinked heavily, last nights lack of sleep catching up with me.

Lou looked at me sympathetically before shrugging her shoulders, "I'd offer to show you the texts but I deleted them as soon as I'd warned you and blocked the number."

"They sound so ambiguous. I can't tell if they're good or bad."

"Neither could I."

I thought back to the hospital. There were two people who I'd seen there. The first was Cathy, the receptionist. To be honest there was a big chance she'd reported me in the time it took her to finish her shift. Maybe I shouldn't have hinted at looking at some files beforehand. Despite this, she looked surprised and scared when I told her the police was in their way although she could have been acting.

The second was Lexi. Although she was at the hospital that day, she hadn't asked me why I was there and I hadn't told her anything. Besides, she had far too much in her plate to do anything. I wondered how her obstetrics appointment went.

"Hang on. That doesn't explain why you sounded so panicked. For all you knew, it could have been fake. Why did you sound so stressed?"

I carefully watched her reaction for anything that might suggest she was lying yet she only sighed. "I-I didn't want to talk about this but they didn't just send some warnings to you."

The atmosphere between us was tense and it felt as if the pressure was increasing so much that all would combust writhing mere minutes.

Sighing, Lou tucked a couple of strands of hair behind her ear, her eyes flickering between my sculpted, tanned visage and the table surface. "I was scared because they knew something I didn't think anybody knew."

The rhythmic thumping of my heart has grown more rapid before uttering five words I didn't expect to hear. "My father's affair with Lexi."

My eyes widened in surprise. Lexi had slept with Louisa's father. "What the fuck? That's a bit messed up," I said, sucking in a breath lowly. The cool air battles with the warmth of my mouth before subsiding.

Her mouth opened and closed in surprise as I heard her mumble under her breath. "Wow, why did I just tell you that? That was dumb."

I was still trying to process it all. "Lexi? Really? I knew she had a reputation for reckless nights and seducing men but doing that to somebody the age of your father was crazy. Your friend's father?"

Louisa laughed bitterly and shook her head. "We're not friends, Gabe." Spitefulness encased her voice as she spat my name although I was well aware that it was directed towards Lexi, not me.

"And that's why you gave her those dodgy pills at the party?" I asked curiously, watching as she pressed her lips shut and gave me a tiny shrug.

Louisa rolled her eyes as if thinking of something unbelievable. "You don't belong in our world, do you?" she said gesturing to the expensive cup wares and incredible rooftop view. "Giving somebody a couple of expired drugs is nothing compared to what she deserves and it's nothing compared to what she's going to get. This isn't recent Gabe. I've known this for almost a year now and for all I know they're still screwing."

Lexi knew about this piece of information and knew I was at the hospital. Could she have been the anonymous texter? I faltered, my eyes softening.

"I'm so sorry Loui-"

Louisa paused blinking a few times before composing herself again. "It's fine," she interrupted curtly. "Don't you dare tell anyone this," The threat was harsh yet she soon moved on, clasping her hands and changing the topic. "Anyway, we've gone a bit off track, haven't we?"

Understanding that she didn't want to talk about it anymore, I smiled tightly to which she did the same. "Yeah, we have."

"Why were you at the hospital anyway?" Curiosity filled her voice as my eyes darted down to the black metal Breitling watch wrapped around my wrist.

I found tremors begin to run through my body as the image of the girl who haunted my nightmares ran through my mind. She was more clear than ever after I'd recently seen her photo. Lou noticed the shaking of my hand but didn't comment on anything.

Fuck Gabe, get a grip.

For a few moments, I wondered whether it would be a good idea to tell her about the accident that I couldn't remember. The accident that didn't make sense. A gut instinct deep within warned me to be careful around all the people at Forteaux Academy. Everyone always seemed one step ahead of me and nothing was ever as it seemed.

Despite this, I also felt the need to thank her. For all I knew I could be stuck in a court case right now and Nanna would be beyond disappointed. I'd be shipped back to Brighton immediately.

"I uh- needed to sort something out." Louisa looked at me curiously, silently pushing me to say more. Sighing, I ran my hand through my tawny brown hair. "Something happened a year ago and I can't remember. Yeah, I know it sounds dumb and all but it's not. It's-It's complicated." The words tumbled out of my mouth as I struggled to form proper sentences. Anything linked to that night scared the life out of me.

The last time I'd told people my age about the incident, they cut me off because they thought I was crazy.

"And did you find anything?"

The young teenagers face flashed through my mind. "Yes. Yes, I did."

Louisa fell quiet for a few seconds, distantly chewing the inside of her lip. An odd emotion ran through me; something I hadn't felt in a while. It was gratefulness.

Damn Gabe, you're going soft.

Gosh, I was so damn thankful that Louisa had warned me in time. I grimaced imagining what my life would be like if I had to move in with my parents again. My father would say that her grandson's court case isn't something Nanna should be dealing with and drag me away from her house by the time I could count to three. I'd be devastated if I had to leave her. She meant the world to me.

Exhaling, I moved my hand on top of hers causing her eyes to quickly dart up and lock with mine. "I know I haven't said it properly but thank you so much, Louisa. I'd be in a pretty bad situation right now if you hadn't warned me."

To be honest, Louisa could have just ignored the messages and left me to my fate however instead, she chose to help me. Her thick eyelashes avoided my gaze as she looked anywhere apart from my eyes."Clearly you're the only one I can trust around here, Lou."

I let out a shamefully shaky breath thinking about Logan who had used me to protect his reputation as King and Lexi who had used me to climb up the rankings. "Everyone else around here is so damn confusing and manipulative.

Louisa still didn't say anything. Her high cheekbones glinted in the sun that had peeked out from beneath the clouds as she gazed down at my hand what was placed on top of hers, thinking.

What I didn't expect for her to do was curse loudly. Furrowing my eyebrows, I lifted my eyes to her face noticing that she was looking behind me. I whipped my head backwards to see a slender figure staring at Louisa and I wearing a miniskirt and clutching numerous shopping bags.

Talisa froze, her eyes locked on Louisa and my hands that were carefully intertwined. She raised an eyebrow at me before turning her attention to Louisa to whom she shot an icy glare meanwhile hiding the expression of hurt that occasionally coruscated upon her face.

Probably should have warned you that part two of this chapter would be more serious.
I'd love to hear your opinions on all the drama right now. Louisa lying to Gabriel, Gabriel trusting Louisa, Louisa opening up about her fathers affair to somebody she didn't expect, Talisa seeing Gabriel and Louisa on what looks like a date...

Thank you so much convergings for being such an awesome, genuine reader! It's so motivating and means a lot! (:

♥ 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫! ♥