GABRIEL
***
“I should have called before I came,” Emily said.
“It’s fine,” I said, “it’s a good thing you found me. Would you like to take a seat?” I asked
.
We were both standing awkwardly at my door. She had come in and just stood there and I couldn't take a seat if she was standing. I had been afraid that it was Harry but at that moment I preferred him. I preferred being punched in the nose. It was better than this awkward interaction. Why was she here? She had never come to see me of her own accord.
“Sure,” she said as she made her way across the room to the seat on my desk.
GABRIEL***“Harper, what are you doing here?” I asked, loud enough for Emily to hear. I was informing her that we had company and things were about to get ten times more awkward.“I came to talk to you,” she said as she made her way past me into the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Emily who stood up. Harper looked back and forth at us, trying to figure out what was going on. She then rolled her eyes and scoffed. We were in big trouble.“So you lied to me and still met her? In your room?” she asked.“It’s not what you think,” Emily said, “I had come to ask him about the
EMILY***If I could describe my life at that moment, I could describe it as limbo. Things were just hanging in the balance. Nothing was happening but I was not at peace. There was so much chaos inside of me. It was as if I was waiting for the sky to drop on my head. I regretted going to Gabriel’s room.Only had nothing come out of the conversation, but I had also run into Harper and possibly made a bad situation worse. Everything was falling apart but to the outside world Everything looked calm and I hated it. I hated that life was going on and required me to do the same.If I was being honest, I was a bit jealous of Gabriel. Harper must have come to see him talk things out and if I hadn't done too much damage, they were going to work things out and restore their relationship. And then there was
GABRIEL *** ‘I think you need time to think about what matters.’ Those were the last words Harper spoke to me and they had stuck. They had stung as well because she had been right. I needed to get my life together and decide what was important to me because I was getting swayed by every wind that came my way. And, not coincidentally enough, all those winds just had Emily written all over them. She was the reason behind every impulsive decision I had made. Becoming friends with Harry. Dating Harper. Wanting to stalk Tiffany. And now, discarding the people I had gained. I had to think back. Why had I agreed to move? Had it only been because of my mother? Of course not. She was moving for a fresh start and so was
EMILY***I was going to kill him.I was going to encircle my hands around his neck and I was going to squeeze the life out of him. He would beg for mercy but I wouldn't listen to his cries and pleas. He didn't deserve it.I would watch the life go out of him and when I would be asked if I was the one who did it I would admit it. I would go to jail. Hell, I would even get executed if it meant I would never have to worry about Gabriel ever again. I was sick and tired.I was seeing red. My heart was in my throat. There was a buzz in my ear. I could not reason anymore. Three words kept repeating themselves in my head. How dare he. How DARE he. HOW DARE HE
EMILY *** Nothing was standing in my way now. I had nothing to lose. I had one goal and one goal only: I was going to ruin Gabriel’s life so badly that he would break out in hives every time he thought about me. I was tired of being the victim. I was tired of being at his mercy. I was tired of allowing my life to be determined by how he had woken up that day and what kind of mood he was in. I was going to raise hell. I was going to treat him exactly how he had treated me. I was no longer going to be the bigger person. It was overrated and for me, all it had meant was shrinking myself, making myself small so that the impact of his actions didn’t affect me as much. But now, I was going to the depths of hell and I was goin
EMILY***I have a deal for you that will be hard to pass up.You should be telling me whether you and your teammate got on the same page.We didn't. But that's not what matters. I think you misunderstood me. I'm not suggesting the deal. You have no other choice.And why's that?Because I know who you are and I can easily report you for stalking and threatening me.You're bluffing.Would you rather find out I'm not?I'll meet you on the
GABRIEL***"Are you okay?" Harper asked me from across the table."Sure," I said, placing my phone back in my pocket.I was not okay. I could feel my heart fall all the way to my feet. I was overwhelmed by a sinking feeling. Something was not right. Things were about to go wrong. Extremely wrong.I decided to think about that later. I decided instead to focus on my date with Harper. I had told myself that she was my priority and I wasn't going to let anything change that. I would think about the text when I got to my dorm room.I was somehow able to forget about th
EMILY***“Why?” I asked, not knowing what else to ask.It was the question that summarised all the other ones that had been swimming in my mind ever since I got that first text. Tiffany was seated next to me, and as soon as I asked that question she started crying. I hadn’t expected that sudden burst of emotion.Why was she crying? If anyone should have been crying at that moment, it was me. Wasn’t I the one who had been wronged? Wasn’t I the one who was under threat of being exposed? I found myself getting angry but I decided against it.I patted her back softly as she cried and rummaged through the jacket pocket for tissues that I handed to her. She calmed down and wiped her face. She took a dee
EMILY***"You guys knew about it, didn’t you?" I asked Nila and Julie who were suddenly awfully quiet when Gabriel walked in."Who, me? I have no idea what you're talking about?" Nila asked while holding her hands to her chest in mock surprise.We all laughed."I won't lie and say I didn't know. In fact, I had a meeting with him to make sure he had changed for good," Julie said.She was always so intense. I loved it."Thanks for looking out for me," I said to her."You know I got you. Always," she said.
GABRIEL***"We're home," Mom said as she opened the door to our house.She dumped her bag onto the living room floor and went around every room as if she was announcing her presence. I shook my head. I knew she had forgotten all about it and so I picked it up and carried it to her room before I went to mine.It felt good to be back. It had been a great year, a year I would never forget but being home felt great. It felt like a sigh of relief. I had made it back. I had done it. My mother and I had chosen to relocate temporarily because it felt like a good idea to just start over in a place that was unplugged and away from real life and all the responsibilities that real life demanded from us.It had been healing to be in a place where no one kn
EMILY***“We’re gonna be late,” Nila said to me.“Just a minute,” I said as I put the finishing touches on my outfit.I was a perfectionist in everything my dressing included. Besides, today was a special day for someone special to me and I needed to look the part.“Okay, I'm ready,” I said as I turned to face Nila, “how do I look?” I asked.“You look.. Stunning,” she said, “you look really great.”“Thank you, you do too,” I said to her and she curtsied and smiled.
THE END(Bakersville High school)“Emily doesn’t want to see you right now,” Terry said to Gabriel and he could tell by the tone of her voice that she didn’t want to see him too.He still didn’t know what he had done. Was this still about the stupid argument they had had that past weekend? He wanted to believe that that was what it was but something felt incredibly off.Something very bad had happened but he had no idea what it was and he had no way of finding out either because Emily wouldn’t see him. She wouldn’t pick up his calls or answer his texts either.
EMILY***“See you on the weekend,” Mom said as she dropped me off in the parking lot.“See you,” I said as I got out of the car. I watched her drive off before I walked to my dorm room.I had a new roommate because it was part of the school rules to change roommates at the beginning of every academic year. Nila and I had hoped and prayed that fate would let us meet again as roommates but that hadn’t been the case.It almost didn’t matter, though, because we remained good friends who were always together around the school. It had been months since the school year started. In fact, it was closer to the end now than it was in the beginning. The semester in which Gabriel felt like it was ages ago- it was almost
GABRIEL **** “I heard that you were leaving,” Emily said. “At the end of the semester, yes,” I said. “What?” she asked, turning red, “I came running over because Harry made it sound like you were leaving today!” I laughed. “He probably did that on purpose,” I said, “I should thank him for that.” “We should thank him for that,” she said, “it’s about time we had this conversation anyways.” “Yeah,” I said, “I was going to save it for last but I guess now is just as great, considering you ran over and everything,” I
EMILY***“Are you sure you’re okay?” mom asked as she helped me pick up my last bag from her trunk.“I’m sure, Mom,” I said, “plus there are only a few days left until the end of the semester and I'll be back home.”“I’m only letting you go because you have finals,” she said and I couldn’t help but smile.My parents had been watching over me more carefully than ever since I went back home and it had become suffocating- I used the fact that finals were ongoing to free myself and go back to school. I just needed a few days.&ld
GABRIEL***“I think you already know what I’m going to say,” I said to Harper who was seated across from me.She was crying.“I do,” she said as she sniffled.“I am sorry for all the hurt I've caused you. I shouldn’t have dated you when I knew I had so much baggage. I only hope that you’ll find someone who will be easy to love, someone who won’t cause you as much heartbreak and pain as I have,” I said.“I’m sorry too, to you as well as to Emily. I shouldn’t have let my insecurities control me.”“I shouldn’t have pu
EMILY***“Dinner’s ready,” my Mom said, snapping me out of my thoughts.It seemed she had been standing there for a while, watching me, and I hadn’t even noticed.“I’ll be right down,” I said, and she smiled at me before she left.I had been home for the past three days. My parents had gotten wind of the news and they had come to pick me up in the evening after I talked to Harry. Final exams were ongoing, and I had been against the idea of being at home but my parents had insisted.I had appreciated the rest and being away from what had happened for the first few days, but now I wanted to go back to school. Doing nothing all day did not sit we