ISOLATED

c h a p t e r 3 2

Chapter 32

The silence in the car consumes Genesis as she stares out of the window. "You've gone quiet," she states, finally looking at Gael. The auction Gael's so anxious about is tomorrow and he's gotten a little more quiet every day from the moment his friends came back. He went to boxing, but he stopped talking to Genesis about what happened at the office.

Gael loved talking about everything that was wrong with his father and in the office, but as the days went on, he didn't want to keep raining his bad news on her. "I don't have much to say," Gael answers, tightening his fingers around the wheel.

"To me or in general?" She asks. "In general," Gael says and he lets go of the wheel, taking her hand in his. Genesis nods in relief and looks back out the window. "I don't want to talk about it," he says and he parks the car at the warehouse.

Then he gets out, his entire body language changes and it's like he wasn't upset just 30 seconds ago. Genesis waits a few seconds and Gael walks around the car, opening the door for her and the girl gets out. She hooks her arm with his and she walks inside. "I'm just going to go to the back really quick, you can wait with Hannah and Nat," Gael says and he gestures towards the others, moving his arm so that hers drops.

"No," Genesis says, "I'm coming with you." Gael looks down at her and he takes a deep breath, which Genesis interprets as a sigh, but she doesn't change her mind. "You don't have to talk about it, but I'll still be there."

Gael nods and he places his hand on the small of her back to help her to the back rooms. The fact that this place has these rooms is a luxury and it's the only reason Gael even stayed here. "You know what you should do?" She says.

He really doesn't want to talk about anything right now, so he just pulls his hoodie over his head, ignoring her every word. "Pretend the guy you're fighting is Johnathan," she speaks up and she smiles wide.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to talk about it?" Gael's voice is calm, but it carries just the right amount of warning to stop her from talking. She'd ask what his problem is, but he's right, he did say that he didn't want to talk about it and she did continue talking.

She goes quiet and leans against the door, watching him get changed into his outfit. Gael finishes up and he looks up at her. Genesis wants to ask him a thousand questions, but she wisely keeps her lips sealed and looks away when their eyes meet. "Yes," he randomly says, walking over to her.

Genesis looks up and she furrows her eyebrows together. "What?" She asks, trying to remember if she asked something or if it's just him acting like he can read her mind. "I'll win," he says, "And I'll be more relaxed after, and when we get home, I'll act out the rest of my frustration onto you in a way that you enjoy."

Ginny can't help it but smile when she sees the look in his eyes. Gael's still frustrated, but he'd rather pretend to be better than to see her hurt. She didn't follow him because she wanted to, she wanted to figure out what was wrong and she wanted to make sure that he was okay. He knew that.

He knew her.

Gael walks to her and he stands in front of her. Genesis looks up at him and she narrows her eyes. "What way?" She bites her lip to hide the growing smirk. Gael plants his hand around her neck, gently stroking the skin and Genesis holds her breath to see what he's going to do next. "I think you know," he whispers.

Her heart races in her chest and her eyes are locked on his. "But I have a fight in 5 minutes, so go wait with the others, I'll be out in a second," he says before locking his lips on hers and carefully kissing her. His tongue brushes against hers and he moves his hand from her neck to the wall right next to her head before pulling back.