cover by @JaelynnMoore
𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥
It's so much easier to spread lies about people than it is to spread the truth. That's what Gabriel knows to be true, at least. According to everyone in his town, he's a monster. He doesn't deserve to be walkin...
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"I thought you were running errands today. Why do you still not have furniture?"
That's how Kiara greets me when I let her inside my house after I get home from retrieving my car.
"She probably ordered some when she went out. They take all day to deliver, you know," Nadia tells her, going down the hall to my bedroom.
I shut the door, wishing they'd texted before they came over.
"I didn't order any furniture. What are you doing here?" I flip the lock on my door.
She looks confused. "Why wouldn't I be here?"
"Did you forget the shit you said to me last night? I didn't."
She frowns. "I'm sorry. I brought you barstools as a peace offering."
"You called me desperate." I still can't wrap my head around why it bothers her so bad that I'm attracted to her brother.
"I was drunk, Alyna. I didn't mean that."
I don't feel like getting into it with her again, so I sigh. "Where are the bar stools?"
I help her carry the three boxes out of the trunk of her Range Rover and into my kitchen. The stools will need to be assembled, but I'm not doing that today. If she really wanted it to be a peace offering, she would've brought them already assembled.
"I see you've got your car," she chirps as we enter my bedroom. It's in a bit of disarray because I'm hanging some of my things in the closet.
"Yeah, it's fixed."
"That was fast, wasn't it?" Nadia asks, lying across my temporary bed.
"I don't know. Gabriel said he would have it fixed today. It was fixed."
He fixed it for free. He was insistent on not taking my money.
And before that, he asked me out on a date. Honestly, I'd been thrilled. He seems like a genuine guy, and I'm incredibly attracted to him. I don't think I've even looked at another man since I left Vic.
That had nothing to do with any feelings for Vic, though. I can't say that I loved Vic, because I didn't and I don't. I cared about him at first because he was my friend. But, I was pushed to date Vic, and when he proposed in front of our family and friends, I was pushed to accept.
I remember expressing my hesitance to Kiara and my mom. My mom told me that I wasn't going to find anyone better and it's already been established that Kiara loves Vic. Everyone does.
I got so much shit for breaking off the engagement, I'd almost questioned if I was missing something everyone else could see. I was tired of being unhappy and doing what was expected of me. I wasn't going to be knocked around the rest of my life just to make everyone else happy.
