The Brightest Stars ✨

Chapter 26

"Where have you been?" Gabe rounded on her as soon as Natalia had stuck her key into the door and opened it.

Natalia ignored the question, walking by him silently, taking her shoes and cardigan off as Max, the puppy yipped at her feet anxious for reassurance. As with all animals he had the supernatural ability to pick-up on the tension between them.

She bent down to scratch at his ears and whisper endearments to him and then cursed lowly as she got up as fast as her protruding belly would let her. It was cute as hell and Gabe would have allowed himself a smile at the sight had he not been so damned angry.

She had been gone for more than two hours after school, during which he had time to envision all sorts of gruesome incidents. He hadn't called her, trusting her enough to think that she hadn't gone to that rough area of town he had specifically asked her not to.

"What's for dinner? I'm starved," she announced walking into the kitchen.

Gabe had no choice but to follow her into the room. He felt a bit of his anger dissipate but not enough to drop the issue. "I asked you a question."

"Yeah and I ignored because I didn't want to trigger myself," she sniffed the air experimentally, and then went to the sink to wash her hand. "I took the dog for a walk, I'm assuming I'm still allowed to do that?"

Gabe pressed his lips together, "Don't —"

"— Don't what, babe?" she cut him off. He was only ever 'Babe' when she was spitting mad. The sarcasm dripped off the word. "Don't take that tone with you? That's really rich, Gabriel."

He wanted to press the issue, "Natalia —"

"Look, can we postpone this argument? I'm hungry after a long day of incubating your child."

Gabe studied her face, frowning, wondering how to proceed next. This was new and unprecedented, Natalia avoiding an argument that is. Usually she started and ended them.

Gabe had no point of reference for this and didn't know how to navigate it at all. She was clearly still smarting about what he had said to her that afternoon — anyone would be, it was a callous remark that he had made in the heat of the moment and which he would have liked to apologise for if she'd let him.

"Are you going to feed us or not?" She sat at the dining table expectantly and raised a haughty, defiant eyebrow.

Gabe wordlessly fixed her a plate of the dinner he had made. "Anything else, your highness?" he asked gruffly, doing well to keep his temper in check despite her repeated provocations.

"Can I get a drink please and can you also feed your dog, while you're up?"

"I get it, Natalia, alright? It was wrong of me to say. I'm sorry. Can we discuss this like adults now?"

"I don't want to discuss it."

"What do you want to discuss?"

"Nothing, I just want to eat and then I want to take a bath and then I'm going to sleep."

"Okay, I'll leave you to it." He left the kitchen, Max dutifully following behind him, hoping for some attention.

After distracting himself with watching TV mindlessly, Gabe dozed on the couch, the dog curled up next to him as he waited for Natalia to finish her bath. He expected that the hot bath would soothe her mood and she'd want to talk before bed. When he woke up from his impromptu nap it was already gone past ten in the evening. Natalia hadn't been up past 9 since they had discovered that she was pregnant. She was probably out like a light.