When The Smoke Has Cleared

Chapter 13 Gabby: The New Woman

Back To The Present: 3 Years Later

Gabriella Carter

"Baby, I don't think I can take it anymore...Come here." She whispered as she grabbed my face to pull me up for a kiss.

"Hm, you tapping out? That's a first." I laughed and kissed her back slowly, as she tangled up her fingers in my hair, gently pulling as she bit down on my bottom lip.

"I've been in your bed for the past 12 hours baby, technically I've worked a whole shift."

"What about over time?" I said as my phone started ringing, She looked at me and laughed before getting up and heading towards the bathroom.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Hi, can I speak with Gabriella Carter? It's Ms. Smith...Gabe's principal. There's been an incident and we need you to come down to the school." As soon as she was done talking I started overthinking. The kids never had any issues in school before, and usually Reagan would be the first one to be called. I hung up the phone and walked into the bathroom to shower before heading over.

"Baby listen I have to go get the kids, the school called." I said getting in the tub beside her and wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her into me. She eased her back into my body and turned around to face me as the water dripped down from her curls.

"Their mom can't do it?" she asked as she planted a kiss on my lips.

"No baby, they called me so I have to go." I replied as I returned the kiss. She didn't say anything but I could feel the tension immediately in her body language. Reagan has always been a sensitive topic for us. And for those of you who are confused, yes I'm currently in a new relationship with someone that is the complete opposite from Reagan. I met her at a coffee shop and after 3 months of me consistently over buying coffee just to see her, she put me out of my misery and ended up asking me out. At first, Cami preferred not to know anything about my past relationships, and things were going great. That was until one day, she saw Reagan dropping the boys off. Since then, Cami's questions about my past with Reagan started coming more frequently, and with each answer, curiosity grew, but so did the distance between us. No matter how much I reassured her of my commitment, the past kept creeping into our present, stirring up more problems than I'd ever expected.

"Baby say something." I said as I grabbed the soap to wash her up.

"It's fine, babe. I don't have anything planned. I just hope the kids are okay," she replied, her voice soft but distant. The rest of the shower was filled with silence, her thoughts clearly elsewhere, leaving a tension in the air I couldn't quite shake..

"Mom, I didn't start it," Gabe blurted out as soon as I stepped into the principal's office. His voice was hurried, his eyes pleading. I glanced at him, then noticed another student sitting beside him, both under the stern gaze of Ms. Johnson, the principal.

I gave Gabe a quick hug before sitting down, my heart already sinking. "What happened?" I asked, turning to face the principal.

Ms. Smith cleared her throat, her expression stern. "He punched another student in the face. This is the second incident this week."

I turned to Gabe, who sat there with that familiar guilty, but unrepentant, look on his face. My stomach twisted. This wasn't like him. Or was it?

"Why?" I asked, my attention fully on Ms. Johnson now, my voice sharp.

Her professional demeanor didn't falter. "What's important here is that we have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and violence at this school. I'm sure you can understand that."