Breaking free - Gracie Abrams

010 Jealousy 101

Jealousy 101
010

April 28, 2024

the light coming through the window wasn't what woke her up but the frantic, almost desperate, shaking from someone looming over her. her eyes snapped open, immediately greeted by nate's face, far too close for comfort.

"what the fuck," she groaned, her voice scratchy from sleep.

"gaby, it's nearly five pm. get up," he said with a laugh, his tone way too cheerful for someone delivering bad news.

"what?" she mumbled, fumbling blindly for her phone on the nightstand. when she tapped the screen, a glaring 4:47 pm stared back at her like an accusation.

"fuck, why didn't i wake up?" she muttered, sitting up so quickly that the room swayed.

"i don't know. i just got here," nate shrugged. "glenn told me you missed your run, and when he stopped by earlier, you were already out cold. figured you'd need someone to drag you up."

gabriella groaned, rubbing her temples. "okay, just... give me ten more minutes." she flopped back down, pulling the blanket over her face.

"nope," nate scoffed before yanking the blanket off her. "no more 'five minutes.' you have stuff to do."

"leave me alone, nate. seriously," she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

but she didn't anticipate what came next—nate grabbing her arm and quite literally pulling her off the bed, sending her crashing to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

"what the actual fuck?!" she yelled, her voice echoing off the walls. the jolt of the fall did nothing to help the throbbing ache already simmering in her head.

"hey, we gotta be ready for tonight anyway," he said, grinning mischievously, far too pleased with himself.

gabriella glared up at him from the floor, one hand pressed to her forehead. "you're an asshole."

"i'm your brother. it's my job," he replied with a shrug, offering her a hand to help her up. "come on, gaby, don't make me call glenn for backup. you know he'd love the excuse to nag you, too."

she reluctantly took his hand, muttering a string of curses under her breath and she let him pull her to her feet. "if you're this annoying all day, i'm not sitting with you tonight."

"yeah, yeah," nate teased, already halfway out of the room. "just don't fall asleep in the shower."

against her better judgment, she dragged herself into the bathroom, catching her reflection in the mirror. her face was swollen, her eyes faintly red—either from crying over gracie again or from the sheer number of hours she'd spent buried under the covers. maybe both. with a sigh, she pulled off her shirt, stretching her arms high above her head. faint lines from the crumpled sheets traced across her skin, marking her shoulders and back, evidence of how deeply she'd slept.

the cool air in the bathroom made her shiver, she leaned over the sink, splashing water onto her face in a desperate attempt to wake up.

gabriella stayed quiet, her thoughts spiraling into chaos. she wanted to scream. why did it have to be this complicated? was that it? gracie just moved on, like everything they had meant nothing?

the memories hit her, gracie kissing her for the first time, the way she looked at her, the way she made gabriella feel seen, wanted. she felt like an idiot for clinging to those moments, for running with glenn every morning and pretending it didn't hurt to know gracie was now with harry.