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2024-10-29 19:42:56“How?” she asked as she turned and saw him now against the door jam. Propped up against the wall looking at her. He was judging her reaction.
“That whole conversation my father had with me.” Gabe started. “I heard the news along with you for the first time. Afterward, I thought about it and realized how I felt when I heard. It was like it was mine. Bree, I was so happy, and then I remembered it wasn’t. I knew you would need the extra help, and I don’t mind anything that I did. I would help regardless because of our friendship. The more I thought about it, though, the more I wanted this to be real. I want you here with me. I want to make this life better for each other. The baby deserves a chance.”
“I am not following you.” She said as she looked at him.
“I think that you and I both need to get a few things out of the way. Bree, you are not your mother. You didn’t plan this. You didn’t
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Fate Teaches Them 21
“I want to claim him or her,” Gabe said. “I want to watch you grow. I want to be a part of everything. Bree, I want to try to give them a life neither of us had.”“But you had a good family,” Bree said.“On the outside,” Gabe said. “Trust me, it wasn’t all that great. You will know more later.”“I don’t know.” She said as s she looked at him.“Just think about it,” Gabe said. “That is all I want you to do. I want to be open with you from the start.”She looked at him as he stood in front of her. This wasn’t what she had thought of or even wanted a little while before. She knew that she would struggle to try to do everything by herself. Though it had never entered her mind that he would ever want this. A family with her. A former student. The child of a screw-up. His eyes that were a piercing blue most of the time were star
Fate Teaches Them 22
She was tired. He could see the dark circles that were under her eyes still. The time in the hospital was not easy nor a vacation for her. He led her back to the couches and turned on the television so she could watch something as she rested. Life for the two of them was not going to be easy. He was working on that as well. He had heard of a few ways to make some extra money. He was willing to do whatever he needed to so he could provide for the two new people in his life.She rested her head against the pillow on the side of the couch, and he just snuggled her closer to him. He wrapped a blanket that was there on the couch around them, and he just rested along with her. This was the closest to real relaxation he had since she was in the accident.She was there with him. His former student and now friend had agreed to stay there and forge something new together. What that was still remained unknown, and he was okay with that. Time would be the thing to te
Fate Teaches Them 23
There was a knock on the door. He sighed, having a good idea of what it was. He opened the door and was surprised slightly. His mother and younger brother were there. “What are you doing here?”“I came to check in on you, Gabriel.” His mother said as she looked in the room. She spotted Bree and sighed and shook her head. “Really now. What do you think you are doing?”“We were watching TV.” He stated, and his mother tried to push her way into the apartment. Gabe blocked her from coming any further in, though. “This isn’t a good time, mom.”“What are your plans for that child, Gabriel?” his mother demanded loudly.“She is not a child, mom.” He said as he stood up to his full height. “She is very much an adult. The plans do not include either of you, for the time being, so I would suggest before you really push me too far, you leave.”“What do y
Fate Teaches Them 24
“In fact, this leads to another conversation we do need to have. Though I think I need to feed you.” Gabe said.“I’m not hungry, though.” She said, and he looked at her with a leveling look.“Regardless of whether you are hungry or not, I think the baby probably is,” Gabe said as he stared at her, that it seemed like he was staring into her soul.“I will cook something in a minute then.” Bree said, “But you were saying first?”“Where do you want to sleep?” he asked.“What?” She asked as she looked at him, confused. She had a room that had a bed in it as far as she knew. She had slowly and meant it. He knew that she thought.“Bree, you could have anywhere in the apartment. It is ours now, not just mine. But I want you to think about where you want to sleep.” He said. “Things can happen on you
Fate Teaches Them 25
“Well, that mindset is going to have to go.” He chuckled. “Bree, I know your mother did a lot to you and made you think you weren't worth anything, but you are. You are very special, at least to me, you are.”“I will try to remember that,” Bree said softly.“Now, back to the original question. Where do you want to sleep? I am not pressuring you to get you into my room, but I want to check the vents in the other room if that is where you plan on going. Out here is nice right now, but I have to get a cover for the ac unit. It does get a bit cold at night.” He said.“So wait,” Bree said as she wrinkled her nose as she thought, and he couldn’t help but think that was one of the cutest faces he had ever seen her make. “You aren’t worried about not sleeping because you are going to be up a couple of times to check on me or trying to get me to take the easiest answer. You just w
Fate Teaches Them 26
Gabe knew that the meal he had just had was probably one of the best he had in months. Bree was better than most chefs he knew, and she was so good with hardly anything. He knew what she needed to do with her life. Though he would hold off on that for a bit. He was getting ideas the more he knew about her.This girl had been left on her own and forced to grow up way too fast. Somehow he knew that she was going to end up teaching him instead of the other way around. She had disappeared into the deeper apartment as he cleaned up the dishes, and then he decided to go and find her. He just wanted to see what she was doing.When he approached the room, he had set up for her, he heard her moving in it. He stood at the door, propped up on the door jam as she had her back to him. She wasn’t talking or doing anything but looking around. She was just looking around, and it seemed to be something that was on her mind. She saw the notebook that
Fate Teaches Them 27
“I did get the news I wanted to hear, though.” He said with a grin as well. “I don’t think I will be teaching at the high school next year.”She tilted her head and looked at him, “The middle school teacher wants to move to the high school. I think we will be switching.”“Good for you.” She said with a smile.“No, it is good for us.” He said, “That way, you don’t have to worry about other pretty seniors catching my eye.”“So you have a thing for seventeen-year-olds?” She asked.“No.” He said as he moved closer. “I was never attracted to girls younger than me before. I had a tendency to like older women.”“But.” Bree looked at him.“Despite your age, I think you are the oldest I have ever liked,” Gabe said with a grin. “What are you doing in here?”“Looking around for s
Fate Teaches Them 28
She laid down on the bed wrapped up in the blanket he had placed there for her right out of the shower. She was so tired still that standing was a weird thing to do. Moving around for more than a few minutes was also hard. She knew she would have to get used to life soon enough. He walked in and chuckled a bit as he looked at her wrapped up like a burrito in the blankets.He flicked the light on for a minute, and then it was off again. Bree heard the water running in the distance, and she fell asleep before he returned. Though she knew when he was there next to her. The mattress dipped under his weight for a minute, and then he settled into a spot. She didn’t know how close he was, but there seemed to be enough room to move for her though she didn’t want to.“Good night Bree.” He said softly. She mumbled something to the same effect, and he again chuckled softly. That was the last she thought of until the light of
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Fate Teaches Them Epiogue
Five years later…“My wife and kids will be here soon,” Gabe said as he laughed as he looked around the middle schoolroom that he taught in for the past five years. It was the open house for the middle school, and this time he wanted Bree to be there like she had been every time to make sure things ran smoothly. The two of them had changed people’s perspectives when they saw the couple together. The act of getting married had done that, and Bree had to laugh when people said that was when they saw Gabe as not a child predator. She knew the truth, and so did he.“Sorry, we’re late,” Bree said as she walked in the room, knowing that they still had about an hour before parents would start to show up for the meetings with each teacher.“It’s okay,” Gabe said with a smile as he leaned down to kiss his wife and lift up his four-year-old daughter, and kissed her cheek.&l
Fate Teaches Them 35
Bree woke up in the middle of the night because of Gabe’s wandering hands on her bareback. She looked up to him from her perch on his chest. He was smiling. “Feel better?” She asked.“In so many ways.” He replied as he moved her to be eye level with him. “Sex was never at the top of the list. I wanted you to be comfortable. When I heard you thought I didn’t want you that way earlier, I nearly exploded internally. Bree, I wanted you that way when you were my student if we are honest completely with each other. Only you could get through to me, though.”“Why?” she asked as she snuggled closer to him, and he kissed her nose that was right there in front of him.“Because I love you.” He said, and he looked at her and waited. He knew she had never heard those words before, probably even from the people, she should have.“I don’t know what love is.
Fate Teaches Them 34
The dinner was subdued. The place was one of those places that you wouldn’t think that it could be considered romantic, but he knew that she would see the small things more than a fancy restaurant. It was one of the few places he could remember his father taking his mother, too, without the horde of children. It was just for that reason, as well.She sat back after eating a small amount though he knew she had enjoyed her meal by the way she had attacked it. She looked at him and was quietly taking the place in. “Why here?” She asked.“My mother is a foreigner here.” He said with a laugh, “This always reminded her of home. It was one of those places that we didn’t come as a family very often, but my dad used to take her here when she would get homesick. I think the food is good, but the privacy that it has without making it feel private is why I wanted to come here. I just wanted a good night out t
Fate Teaches Them 33
Gabe looked around as he waited for her to come back out. He was still stunned at her last statement. He had been in pain for the past two months with her around. He wanted her more every day. He didn’t give a damn about any scars unless they were causing her pain. He knew those were the lines that doctors had made to save her life. Those were there because she was still there. They did hold some value to him, but they weren’t repulsive. They were victories.He knew it was time. It was time for them to stop just being roommates. He had to let her know how he felt. He needed to show her everything.Dinner was the first step. He changed his plans in his head. This night had to be different. He had just wanted to give her a break. Now he was on a mission. He smiled when the idea came to him, and he knew that was the way he needed to go in. He saw her come out in her new clothes and he smiled at her.“Come on, let&rsq
Fate Teaches Them 32
“What is it?” Bree asked.“It feels like we aren’t alone,” Gabe said with a sigh. “I guess staying in didn’t help either. I should probably call the cops, but honestly, at this point, I just want to go and have our night.”“Gabe,” Bree said as she lowered her head again. He knew she was having the beginning of one of her meltdowns. Normally this woman in front of him was one of the most stubborn and headstrong women he had ever met. However, since they had truly confirmed the pregnancy, he had seen her go through a series of emotions in a matter of a few minutes. He knew it was bothering her as well. As well as the fact he wanted her to stay at home and just help with the small things.“Bree. Honey, it is okay.” He said as he closed the car door. Hoping he could stop the roller coaster of her emotions before they got to the store, he wanted to hurry up. All he wanted was a night out with her
Fate Teaches Them 31
Days turned into weeks. Though the summer was dragging on as the two stayed mostly in the house. The summer nights were cool instead of hot in most places. The apartment was cool as well. Gabe looked at her as he surprised her this day, “Get dressed.” He said as he looked at her.“What, why?” She asked.“Because I am taking you out for dinner.” He said as he tilted his head to look at her. He knew that they had moved past the mostly awkward part of a relationship, but there were sometimes she still surprised him. He watched her as she moved to the room they shared, and she was trying to find some clothes to wear. She came out, and she was wearing something he wouldn’t think she would wear to a nice night out. “Bree, what are you wearing?”“Gabe, there is a slight problem.” She said as she looked at him.“What is it?” he asked.“I can&r
Fate Teaches Them 30
“My ex-girlfriend has been having people call my parents, and they have been following me when I leave the apartment,” Gabe said.“The name of this person?” The officer asked.“Ann Knnorr,” Gabe stated, and the officer looked at him and chuckled.“I see.” The man said. “We have had a few issues with her and that family in the past.”“What issues?” Gabe asked.“We are not at liberty to discuss those.” The man said, “But you aren’t the first to say this.”“The problem is that we can never prove anything.” The second officer spoke up.“Would a recording of her threatening me help?” Gabe asked, and all three people looked at him. he went into the area he had made to be his school area and got the recording. He played for the officers, and both of them nodded.“That will help a lot.”
Fate Teaches Them 29
The next few days were spent inside, just relaxing mostly inside the apartment. With the new distance learning that the schools had, he didn’t have to leave the apartment to do his classes, and she was mostly lying on the couch during the day. Her getting up was a rare thing because she was still finding that her body didn’t like moving that much after the month in the hospital. She had slept later in the morning as she could hear him talking to his class. She let herself drift in and out of sleep longer than she normally did in the mornings.He had two classes, and both of them were in the morning. When she woke up again, she didn’t hear his voice or anything in the apartment. Until she heard the knocking on the door. Everything had seemed peaceful up until that moment.“Are you Gabriel Danner?” She heard a male’s voice ask as Gabe had opened the door.“I am,” Gabe said.&ldqu
Fate Teaches Them 28
She laid down on the bed wrapped up in the blanket he had placed there for her right out of the shower. She was so tired still that standing was a weird thing to do. Moving around for more than a few minutes was also hard. She knew she would have to get used to life soon enough. He walked in and chuckled a bit as he looked at her wrapped up like a burrito in the blankets.He flicked the light on for a minute, and then it was off again. Bree heard the water running in the distance, and she fell asleep before he returned. Though she knew when he was there next to her. The mattress dipped under his weight for a minute, and then he settled into a spot. She didn’t know how close he was, but there seemed to be enough room to move for her though she didn’t want to.“Good night Bree.” He said softly. She mumbled something to the same effect, and he again chuckled softly. That was the last she thought of until the light of
