Gabriella felt like she was walking a tightrope. Every interaction with Zay pulled her further from the life she'd known and closer to something she didn't fully understand. He seemed to have endless patience for her guardedness, but she couldn't shake the feeling that trusting him was a risk she wasn't ready to take.
That didn't stop her from accepting his rides or reading his texts late into the night. It didn't stop her from replaying their conversations when she was alone in her room at the shelter.
But her world shifted again one evening when Zay showed up with a proposition.
"You're serious?" Gabriella asked, staring at him across the diner booth.
Zay nodded, his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. "Dead serious. You got potential, Gabby. All you need is a start."
"I don't know anything about running a business," she said, shaking her head.
"And you think I did when I started? Nah. I learned as I went. And you can too."
Gabriella frowned, her thoughts racing. Zay had just spent the last twenty minutes outlining a plan: he wanted to help her set up a small online shop, something simple to start. He said he'd handle the initial setup costs, and she could learn the rest along the way.
"You don't even know if I'll stick with it," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if I mess it up?"
"Then you mess up," Zay said with a shrug. "That's part of the process. But you'll learn, and you'll get better. You just gotta try."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.
Zay leaned back, his expression softening. "I already told you—I see somethin' in you. And I wanna see you win. Ain't no strings, Gabby. Just a chance for you to prove to yourself what you can do."
Her chest tightened. No one had ever believed in her like this before, and it scared her.
The next morning, Gabriella sat on her bed, staring at her phone.
Zay:
You think about what I said?
She typed and deleted her response three times before finally settling on:
I'm not sure.
A few minutes later, her phone buzzed again.
Zay:
That's cool. But don't take too long to decide. Opportunities don't wait forever.
She sighed, setting the phone down. She wanted to believe him, but her fear of failure loomed large.
A week passed before Gabriella worked up the courage to text him back.
Okay. I'll try. What do I need to do?
Zay's reply was almost immediate.
Zay:
Meet me tomorrow. I'll walk you through it.
The next day, Zay picked her up and drove her to a coworking space downtown. The building was modern and bustling with energy, a far cry from the shelter's dim, quiet halls.
"This is where it starts," Zay said, holding the door open for her.
They spent the next few hours setting up a website, brainstorming ideas for what she could sell, and outlining a simple plan. Gabriella felt overwhelmed but also strangely exhilarated. For the first time, she saw a glimpse of what her life could be if she stopped letting fear hold her back.
Zay watched her carefully, his calm demeanor keeping her grounded.
"You got this," he said when he noticed her hesitation. "One step at a time."
Later that night, Gabriella lay awake, her mind buzzing with everything she'd learned. She still didn't fully trust Zay—she wasn't sure she ever could—but she couldn't deny that he was pushing her to see herself differently.
For the first time in years, she felt a spark of something she hadn't allowed herself to feel in a long time: hope.
To Be Continued...
