Love, hate and everything in between

~Chapter 19~

"You got the call." I say, my voice shaky and my heart pounding.

"I'll finish the shopping. Give me Gabby. I'll meet you at check out." Vanessa says as I hand over a sleeping Gabby. My eyes begin to burn and I realize I haven't blinked for a while. I blink and I feel a few salty tears roll down my cheeks. Before I even have time to wipe them away I'm welcomed into the embrace of James' arms.

"You're okay." He whispers against my hair. I nod vigorously and hold myself tighter to him. He leans us back and he focuses his eyes on me. He lightly traces his finger along my jawline before he slips both hands behind my head and links his lips with mine.

"I missed you." He whispers between each kiss. I smile and take in his scent and every moment of this. Who knows how long it'll last.

"Are you okay? With Troy shooting you?" I ask when we pull away.

"Yeah. Doctors took care of everything." He replies. "We have a ton to talk about."

"I know...I really hope you aren't mad about Gabriella. She's adorable and sweet and honestly I-"

"Brooke, I'm not mad in the least. I love her. I love you."

I breathe a sigh of relief and realize he can't stay here. He has to leave. Troy will find him.

"James, you can't stay here." I say.

"No, you can't stay here."

"I can't leave. Troy will find me! He always does! We know how this routine works!"

"That's why he'll believe that you're dead." Vanessa chimes in as she walks back over. "You and Gabby both.

"What? How?" I reply.

"I'll park the car somewhere deep in the woods. I'll return home informing Troy that we were in a car accident and you and Gabby had died. The car was in a lake and your bodies could not be removed."

"How lovely..thanks for that beautiful image."

"Hey! It'll work!"

"Come on! What do you say?" James whines.

"Well, of course I say yes! What makes you think I want to stay here with satan?"

Vanessa hands Gabby, who is still asleep, to me.

"I'll see ya in another world." She says smiling.

"Thanks for everything." I reply back to her.

"It's the least I can do to make it up to you."

She walks away out of the doors as I stand with Gabby in my arms and my hand inside James'.

"Ready?" He asks. I nod and all three of us walk to the bus stop where, hopefully, I'll be taken home.

*************************************

When Gabby wakes up we're already on the bus on our way to California.

"Mommy, where are we?" She whispers.

"We're on our home. With daddy." I reply.

"Daddy? Daddies here?" James looks over and smiles at her excitement. Gabby blushes and smiles at him.

"Aye, pumpkin." He says causing her to blush more. She sits studying him for a minute and then frowns.

"You don't hurt mommy, do you?" She asks crossing her tiny arms over her chest. James' eyes go wide and gets serious.

"Of course not, sweetie. I would never hurt you or mommy." He replied giving her sides a tickle. She giggles and scoots over on James' lap. I lay my head on his shoulder and let myself drift off. As we approached the airport James shook me awake and took my hand tightly. Gabby was still in his arms hanging onto him. It didn't take long before they were seating us on our plane and we had found our seats. Gabby sat by the window, I sat by her, and James sat behind us. As the plane began to take off Gabriella was already fast asleep. The lights were dimmed on the plane except for the small night lights they left on. I turned around when I felt James' hand fall to my shoulder.