Addiction [Rick Grimes]

Chapter 5

Saturday morning came quicker than Gabriella was hoping. She wanted to stay in her own little world and at least pretend her marriage was happy, but she knew deep down that her world was going to break down in a matter of hours.

Shane was already showered and dressed when she finally made her way downstairs, she eyed his duffle bag at the front door and watched him curiously as he walked out of the kitchen with a slice of toast hanging from his mouth as he texted on his phone.

He removed the toast from his mouth when he saw her and pocketed his phone quickly, "I'm leaving now baby, I don't want to be late," he said with a smile on his face.

He quickly kissed her on the cheek before picking up his bag.

She smiled, pretending to be okay, "I'll see you Sunday evening," she replied.

She watched the door close behind him and waited until she could no longer hear his car driving down the gravel driveway.

"Go time," she announced to the empty room before picking up her car keys and heading for the door.

Gabriella drove with sweaty palms, her heart thumping hard against her chest. She saw Shane's car parked in front of the hotel, he was still inside the vehicle, looking down, no doubt texting.

She parked at the other end of the parking lot, her hands trembling as she turned off the ignition, she watched him intently, not taking notice of the cars coming and going. Eventually, he proceeded to leave the car, taking his bag from the back seat and locking up the car.

She watched with tears in her eyes as he walked towards the door, a brunette woman greeted him with a hug and they walked inside hand in hand. She only wished she had been close enough to see the woman's face and she hoped the familiarity of the woman was all in her head.

She couldn't believe it. Her heart shattered in seconds and the pain of knowing that he was with another women hurt worse than anything she had ever felt before.

She began her drive back to the house, it felt shorter than on the way there. She finally parked up outside the house and sobbed in her car for over twenty minutes before checking herself in the mirror. She looked a mess, but somehow she managed to clean herself up to look reasonable again.

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down and took her phone out of her purse. She dialled the number of the only person who knew about what had been happening.

"Hello, hello? Are you there, Gabby?" She heard Rick question through the phone.

"Hi Rick," she finally replied.

"Are you okay? How did it go?" He asked. He was talking louder than usual, due the noise in the back ground. "We are at Eds Feasts and Treats, if you want to join us? We haven't been seated yet, it's really busy. We are happy to wait for you," he sounded hopeful that she would agree to join.

"That sounds good. I'll be there soon."

_____

Gabby pulled up to Eds Feasts and Treats and parked in the last spot available in the large parking lot. She could see through the windows that the place was full of people, but smiling and waving through the far window was Rick and Carl motioning for her to come in.