Amid the Roar - Sequel to M.A.L.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the morning light pouring in from the shades. It was not her house, it was not her bed and the arm wrapped around her waist was worse than awakening in the arms of a stranger. Gabrielle inhaled deeply and slowly, remembering the passion from the night before. She swore loudly in her mind when she realized last night actually happened and was not a dream.

Charlie laid beside her, deep in the sleep he had been deprived of for weeks. His breath tickled her shoulder blade as she tried to stay still. She was torn. Being beside him felt peaceful yet it also made her skin crawl. It took her back to the days where she was at the Kingdom, held there against her will. That woke her up enough to realize it was wrong for her to stay. Gabrielle slipped from the sheets as quietly as she could and gathered her clothing haphazardly thrown on the carpet. Her necklace, which was tossed to the nightstand on his side of the bed, was left where it was. She didn’t want to take the chance to wake him.

I was right, she thought to herself. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done this. How could I have…?

The girl pulled her shirt over her head and dared to take a peek at the sleeping man. She bit the inside of her lip when she saw the blissful smile he wore. He really was handsome. Unfortunately, her mind was fully rested and her wild heart’s affection for him was being tamed. She could see again just how much of a monster he really was.

“Such a beautiful monster,” she sighed quietly.

It was romantic, dreadful, a wonderful way to wake up and still one of the most terrifying things that had ever happened. She went too far and it was entirely her fault.

Gabrielle took her shoes in hand and tiptoed to the front door. Noticing the gun, she took that too and twisted the doorknob as quietly as she could. A sudden creak from the hinges made her heart race but Charlie stayed asleep. The last she saw of him, he was turning on his stomach with the corners of his lips still turned up in joy.

The sun snuck through the intermittent clouds that littered the sky. Finally outside the apartment building, she scanned the street before putting the gun down and quickly slipping on her shoes. Her hands trembled with the laces. As much as she tried to push her emotions down, they were still bubbling up on her. Gabrielle jammed the gun into the side of her waistband and layered her shirt over it. Walking home would be a journey, no matter how close she really lived.

It wasn’t rape since she truly wanted to be in Charlie’s arms last night. But her mind didn’t let her think like that. Her steps staggered on the pavement before she finally broke down. Looking to the stop sign just a few yards away, she burst into sobs.

Gabrielle kneeled pitifully on the retched sidewalk where she was taken. It was the cursed spot where she would forever remember the terrible man who took her. He was obsessed, terrifying. He choked her until she had passed out only to take her away from her home and her safety. Gabrielle went through it all again. The pain, the sorrow, the underlying affection. She didn’t want to remember any of it but it was all she could think about.

Last night, she slept with the same man that took her mind’s innocence. The old Gabrielle was fully gone and yet there was still a part of her that wanted to reclaim her younger soul. Picking herself up and heading to away from her home, she texted her cousin. There was something he needed to hear.

Half an hour later, an overtired and very grumpy Jason greeted her at the riverside. His feet sloshed through the mud as the drizzle grew in intensity. Gabrielle was unaffected by the rain. The only thing she was grateful for was its disguise for her already damp cheeks.

“Where were you last night? I had to cover,” Jason complained, exhausted from having to wake early on a Saturday and hike out in the rain. Her cousin stopped when he saw the worn look on her face. Something was very wrong.

“I went to see him,” Gabrielle spat out. Jason’s eyes widened and he hurried over. Her bottom lip was already quivering from trying to keep herself together. But with Jason there, she knew she could collapse and finally not have to be the strong one. She was disgusted by herself for being so easily swayed by Charlie’s passionate stare.

Gabrielle took the gun from inside her jacket and placed it on the ground. Her entire body shook as she told Jason what had happened. She left out the ending where they shared a bed and replaced it with her being locked away in the closet, escaping in the morning as he showered. She didn’t want to confess her actual attraction. Jason held his weeping cousin, rubbing her side comfortingly.

“Gabby,” he mumbled. The girl looked to Jason with eyes burning from sorrow. Her cousin picked off the gun from the rain soaked ground and buttoned it into the large pocket on the side of his black cargo pants. “We have to end this. You know what we have to do."

Gabrielle nodded. It was time to finish her nightmare.

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