"You want to know what I think!"
"Yes I want to know what you think!" I yelled back at him.
"I think you're afraid of commitment, afraid that you'll get hurt! But damn it Marnie sometimes its worth the risk!" He shouted, raw emotion on his face...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The weeks following the small holiday were filled with festive decoration crafts, baking cookies and reading stories of santa. The kids were hard to control as the usual pre-holiday madness set in. Gabriel had stayed true to his word and texted me throughout the weeks. Sometimes they were only short messages during my break, sometimes longer conversations about how my week had been.
They served as a gentle reminder that he was still there despite not being here physically with me. I had grown so accustomed to the quiet ping of my phone indicating a new message that when it wasn't from Gabriel I had to suppress a rush of disappointment.
But we hadn't managed to Skype, and I missed seeing him, missed seeing the mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and the way his lips would lift into a boyish grin when he found something funny.
*
When the 18th finally rolled around and every child left the classroom with a santa hat on their head, I sat back and let out a content sigh. As tiring as teaching sometimes was, the prize of seeing their happy faces in the morning - save for Charlie, who still couldn't say bye to her parents - and watching them grow throughout the year was rewarding.
Apart from ending another successful school year though, Gabe and I had finally agreed on today to Skype.
Rolling into my driveway I appreciated the way the small christmas lights twinkled on my porch, and the view of the decorated christmas tree in my front window. I killed the engine and got out, my steps crunching in the fresh blanket of snow that added to the whole Christmas feel.
I hurried inside, dropping my stuff in the hallway before rushing in to my room. The signing in on Skype seemed to take forever, until I could finally see my contact list pop up.
Gabriel was offline.
Blowing out a sigh I sat back. Admittedly, I was a little early, so I opted to making dinner in the mean time.
I swung my hips along to the music as I warmed up the leftovers from yesterday, rearranging the knives in the knife block and unloading the dishwasher. When the microwave finally dinged, I took the food and trailed back to my bed where my laptop was blinking with new notifications.
Marnie? Sorry I'm late, work took longer than expected.
Hello?
Well this is awkward...
Grinning I set my plate down and shot back a quick reply before calling him.
When the connection was established and Gabriel's handsome face filled my screen I smiled.
"Hi Gabriel"
He ran a hand through his hair and pulled his collar straight without reacting to what I had said.
