My Section of Dysfunction

Chapter 7 A Piece of Peace

I roll over onto my side and rub my burning eyes. Gabe,still asleep, comes into view through my blurry vision. Yesterday's memories flood back and crash into my mind. My head throbs and muscles ache.
Gabe's chest rises and falls in slow, even breathes. How he still looked so peaceful at a time like this amazed me. His body shifts and his eyes flutter open as his long eyelashes beat together. His chocolate brown eyes quickly search the room before settling on me. "Hi." he offers, a small smile on his lips. I try to say hi but it gets caught in my throat. I attempt to put on my most convincing smile, but then I realize there's no point, he knows the truth. That scares me.
My heart rate picks up as I realize I need to go to the hospital. Aunt Kali needs me,and I need to see her. I kick my legs out from under my comforter to get dressed when Gabe reads my mind. "I asked her nurse to call us when she wake up. There's no need in stressing yourself out more when she's not even awake yet. Lets just try to relax for a bit. Okay?"
"Okay." I mumble keeping my eyes on my hands. Gabe takes my hand, and leads me to the stairs.
When we reach the bottom Gabe releases my hand and continues to the kitchen. I pull myself up on the counter and observe him preparing breakfast. He hums softly as his long strides take him across to kitchen, first to the fridge where he grabs a carton of eggs and then back to the stove. He grabs a skillet,a bowl,a spatula, and a spoon from the cabinets, then gets to work. Once the eggs have been poured in the skillet he turns to me. "I hope eggs are okay." He says,his voice rising at the end as if asking a question. "Yeah that sounds great." I reply, as I pull my knees to my chest. "What song were you humming?" I ask.
"Oh,that,um that was Yiruma, A River Flows in You." He says quietly, a subtle blush appearing on his cheeks.
"It sounds nice." I reply, I kick myself for not think of something better to say,although right now impressed my brain is functioning at all.
"Thanks." He replies as he turns back to the stove.
He grabs the spatula and stirs the eggs. A few moments later he returns to the fridge and grabs a bag of cheddar cheese, my favorite way to eat eggs. He grabs a handful and tosses it into the pan, melting the yellow and orange together. Before I know it, Gabe grabs two plates and spoons a equal amount of eggs on each. He hands one plate to me, then hops onto the counter beside me with his. The plate warms my cold hands and makes my mouth water. I'm realizing how hungry I am since I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I devour the plate in a matter of minutes.
"Thanks for making breakfast." I say. His eyes meet mine before he speaks, "I was happy to." A wide, adorable smile fills his face. I know I should be focused on Aunt Kali right now, but I can't help but smile back.
~
After we've both finished our food and wipe the kitchen of our use, we still haven't received a phone call. We decide to go sit on the porch swing. We fill it with pillows and blankets to make ourselves more comfortable. I rest my head on Gabe's chest, and he wraps his arms around me tightly. I listen to his heartbeat and breathe in his scent of soap and cologne. I close my eyes, focusing on the swing slowly swinging back and forth.
We swing in silence for a while. I anxiously wait for a call that does come. I try not to think about it but I do anyway. I'm filled with relief when Gabe finally speaks:
"Do you want to hear the song?"
"Yiruma."
"Yeah"
"Yes." I reply quietly.
He sits up, raising me upas well, then gets up to grab his phone laying on the table beside us. He comes and sits back down, the song starts playing, as loud as it can. It starts out quiet and slow, beat by beat. I look over to see a small smile on Gabe's face. He slightly bobs his head to the music. I would find that annoying if it were anyone else, but with Gabe it's just plain adorable. I smile to myself and close my eyes, focusing on every note.
I feel the swing shift slightly. When I open my eyes, Gabe stands in front of me. His gorgeous brown eyes look down into mine. A small style plays on his lips. When he looks at me like that I can only think that looks only for me. He stretched his hand out, offering it to me. It takes no time for me to react, I take it. The song picks up as he pulls me of the swing and close to him. He gently places his hands on my waist and I wrap mine around his neck, barely able to reach that high. We move from side to side with the music, he gives me that look the whole time, like he sees me in a special light. I lower my head to his chest and he hums along to the song.
As the song comes to close we stop moving. We stand there in each other's arms, holding each other close. Neither one of us wants to be the first to move. Gabe hesitantly pulls back, just enough to see my face. He brings up one hand to graze my cheek, then rests it on my neck. I want to be closer, to close this distance between us, but in I'm too afraid. Gabe seems to read my mind. He slowly brings his head down to mine, resting our foreheads together. There's such a small gap left, who will close it? Our lips are about to collide when the ring of Gabe's phone makes us both jump and jerks me back to reality.