ISOLATED

c h a p t e r 4 7

Chapter 47

Her wardrobe is full. Fuller than she expected. When she goes through the clothes, she notices that some of them are unfamiliar. Well, unfamiliar to her wardrobe because Genesis has seen these shirts and jeans. In the store the other day, and she looked at the clothes on the mannequin but decided not to go in and buy things.

Gael got them for her. She walks out, and again, she doesn't mention it. Gael needed last night, he needed the closeness she allowed him to get to the night before. He fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her waist and his face nuzzled into her neck. She didn't say anything and just allowed him to stay that way.

When he woke a few hours later, he climbed out of the bed and went back to the couch. Genesis woke up as well and she felt him leave. She kept her eyes closed so that he wouldn't feel guilty for waking her up, but she wishes he would've stayed that night. The conversation did her good, that was the first time he told her where he stood and what was going on in his mind.

That was what she needed to hear. For Gael, it felt like there was a weight lifted off his shoulders, he finally said what was on his mind and he didn't overthink his words before saying them. It was a breaking point for him and he hopes that for her it was just as much impactful.

He hates having her so close and yet so far away from him. But the conversation from last night was what brought him closer to her again and it broke a barrier he felt but couldn't see. "Morning," Genesis says and she joins him at the breakfast table. Gael smiles when he sees her. "Hey," he greets her back. Genesis takes a croissant and she opens it up.

"How do you feel?" He asks it's not a 'how did you sleep' so Genesis knows it's aimed at something different than her night's rest. "Do you mean about last night?" She asks him, her eyes lock with his and Gael stops eating.

He nods.

"Relieved, I guess," she starts, "I'm glad you said what you did." Gael smiles softly. "Me too," he says, wondering if she already noticed the things he got her. But she hasn't mentioned them, so he's not going to bring it up first and make her feel like he's using it to make things okay between them when he buys them because he wants to.

And he uses buying cute things for her to make things okay between them. But the main reason is because he wants to and because he cares for her.

"I was terrified first," he admits, "to lose you – " Genesis stays quiet, eating her croissant. But she does listen to every single word. Gael continues to eat again and Genesis realizes that he's finished. "I liked seeing some emotion about it," she says, "I've seen you work your ass off for me, but I haven't heard you talk."

Gael knows she values words more than actions, but he's a guy who'd rather show than say things. He grew up being told to man up, being told to just grab the issue with both hands and work to fix it. He's never fucked things up with someone who needed words over actions.

"But I know that's not what you do," she says, "Except I needed to hear it so how you like to fix your mistakes isn't really my concern, I needed you to meet my wishes and you did." Gael smiles and he looks at her. "I'm glad I did," he says. Genesis knows he only started the topic because he got nervous that it wasn't enough.

It was more than enough.

Genesis doesn't say anything else about the topic. "Breakfast is great again today," she says. "I went to another bakery," he explains. Genesis leans back in her seat after she finishes. "Can I ask you something personal?" She's curious if she's already spent too much time with him talking about his feelings that he's now over the edge.