Etched

Chapter 42

Sometimes being close to someone, considering them your only, restricting to them isn't enough because in the end they were never really yours.

No matter the illusion, the picture, the thought, they weren't ever yours to begin with. It is not easy to adapt to this reality though, not easy to understand the depth of the situation because all that ends up happening is a growth of a thought that somewhere it would all be the way it's in the mind; where somehow they end up being yours.

The surgery was a success, Jerdy was recovering. The doctors had put him in a medical induced coma for him to heal better. His wounds and the repercussions were far worse. He was declared lucky enough to have survived the fatal attack.

The doctors were inquisitive about his condition and what had led the bullet to lodge in him but Ken managed to inform them that the legal aspects had been dealt with and it shouldn't be a worry.

Matt looked at me from the corner of his eye when I heard Ken's statement. Matt had already informed me earlier that Gabriel would do his best to steer the topic of attempted murder away from him and wouldn't let any lawful medium to dig fingers in the matter.

I didn't believe him no matter how close a friend he was to me but now that everything he had said was leading towards the truth, I felt helpless. It was obvious that Ken would assist Gabriel in anything he does, they were bestfriends for a reason and there wasn't a way one would leave the other in trouble.

But, if Matt was so against Ken for siding Gabriel then what was going on between him and Ken. There was a sort of communication that seemed hidden. They exchanged glances so often that it was devastatingly visible. If they were going for conspicuous, they were failing miserably.

Gabriel almost looked devastated at one point when he saw Ken and Matt smirking at each other. As his eyes met mine, he schooled his expressions and no-one but me knew what had happened.

Matt wasn't allowed to stay at the hospital because in another instance when I'd gone to the restroom, Gabriel had charged at Matt, breaking yet another facial bone of his. From what I heard by the murmurs in the hospital, it had gone uncontrollable and it took authorities to break Gabriel away from Matt.

Gabriel, because of his influence couldn't be kicked out and Matt was taken away to possibly fix his bones and send him away. Safe to say, he hadn't returned since then but what he'd said before to me had been running in circles in my mind.

It was indeed the truth that in my moment of weakness, I had craved for Gabriel and no wonder his touch and reassuring words had calmed my crushing nightmares. But that's what it was, a moment of weakness; nothing else. I wanted to regret it, reprimand it but I couldn't even if I tried and well, we never had any conversation after that of any sort.

I'd seen him gazing at me, not even breaking it off when he saw me look at him. I was way too angry to hold the gaze but that did not deter him. He kept me locked in his captivating eyes, ignoring the glares I was sending his way. He was doing his normal of getting heaps of food take-outs for me and diverting it all towards Ken. As if I didn't know that it was him who'd brought me the food and not Ken.

The security around me was stronger and I couldn't even explain how irritated I was but I held it in. It was only a matter of a couple of days and it would stop. Even when I had some motivation to talk to Gabriel, the situation with the security had me so annoyed that I didn't even want to look at him because I was certain that I would lash out and that was the last thing I wanted.

I didn't want to make a scene at the place when there was already so much nuisance going on encircling us. I didn't want Jerdy to be affected by all of it. It was already too much, there wasn't the necessity for another fall out.