Until Her...

Chapter Forty-Nine

I keep ringing Gabriel but I haven't gotten a reply once, so I leave him a voicemail this time.
"Gabriel, it's me" and that's all it takes to start breaking down. All of the overwhelming emotions I've been feeling from the last few days come rushing into me, and I sob down the phone while talking to him.
"I get that you're angry, but you can't keep ignoring me. I need you to come back. To talk to me. I need you Gabriel" I beg him through my tears. These three days have been the hardest, and he won't even call to make sure I'm okay. All he does is run away when he should be here helping me through it. He destroyed my life, and he's not even here to help me put it back together. He's so selfish. He doesn't care that I'm here hurting or that I'm upset. He's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't care about me. So I'm not going to waste anymore time worrying about him. I'm going to go out and have some fun, without him. I call my friend Bethany from art class and see if she wants to go out for some drinks. I don't usually like to go out, but tonight I want to forget everything.

...

WE'VE BEEN DRINKING for over three hours and I've gotten very drunk. Good, I need a distraction. Bethany's friends are really nice and welcoming, and a lot of fun to be around. They're older than I am so they kind of treat me like a little puppy dog, not in a bad way, like I'm young and naive, which I am I guess.
"What about you Norah? You have a boyfriend" Jenny asks me. I've been pretty quiet throughout there conversation about boys.
Everything I've been trying to ignore for the last few hours spring to mind. Gabriel right there in the midst of it, "Umm...it's... umm, it's kind of complicated"
"What does that mean?" Bethany wonders and all the girls all turn there focus on me, wanting to hear all the gossip. Maybe this is a good thing, none of them know Gabriel or Xavier so I can get there impartial advice on the situation I've found myself in.
"I've been seeing this guy on and off for a couple of months. But we got into a huge fight the other day, and now he won't talk to me. And on top of that his best friend just admitted to liking me. And now I'm so confused and don't know what to do. Because I really like Gabriel, even though he treats me like shit. But Xavier's so sweet and kind...and, oh, I just don't know what to do" I blurt out in a rush. And it feels good to get it off my chest.
"Wait, hang on, Gabriel? As in Gabriel Bennet?" Bethany asks me. Shit, I should have kept my mouth shut. "You're dating Gabriel Bennet" she repeats, more astonishment in her voice.
"Umm... yeah... kind of" I apprise. And the girls give each other looks, like I'm missing something. "What? What is it?"
"Nothing, it's just, he's got a bit of a reputation is all" Bethany says.
"That's putting lightly" Rosie scoffs, and Bethany glares at her.
"Gabriel's just not one to date that's all" Jenny explains and the girls keep looking at each other strangely.
"Okay..." I'm missing something here.
Rosie gives me a nasty glare before she bitterly says, "I can't believe you're dating him" then suddenly storms off with Jenny following her.
"I'm sorry. Rosie's got a bit of history with Gabriel" Bethany tells me.
"I didn't know. I'm sorry" I apologise to her. We were having such a fun night, and I go and ruin it.
"Not your fault, it's his" she says, "They hooked up at a party, and when she woke up the next day he was gone. She saw him a couple of weeks later, and he pretended he didn't even to know her"
What the hell, I know Gabriel was a jerk, but I didn't think he would behave like that. Especially with someone he's slept with.
"Then he slept with a bunch of her friends" adding more fuel to my jealousy and anger. I down my drink in frustration.
"I need another drink do you want one?" I ask Bethany.
"Yeah sure, I'm gonna make sure she's okay" she tells me and gets up from the table. I order us all a bunch or drinks and decide to apologise to Rosie on Gabriel's behalf. I know it won't make a difference but, I can't help it. I grab our drinks and head back to the table where the girls have returned. I can hear them talking.
"You heard her, she's going around with both of them. She's just as bad as Gabriel is" Rosie tells the girls. Clearly talking about me, so I stop before they see me so I can listen.
"I thought you said she was a boring loner" Jenny says.
"She is... she's always on her own and hardly talks to anyone in class. I felt sorry for her so I tried to be nice. I didn't know she was such a slut" Bethany declares to her friends. How can they go from being friendly and nice to mean and bitchy, they don't even know me. Rosie's upset about Gabriel, but it's not fair to take it out on me. I can feel the tears forming so I snatch my jacket and bag from the table and I run out of the bar. They know I heard them as Bethany calls after me. When I get outside it hits me like a wave, all the alcohol comes rushing to me and I feel really dizzy. I grab my phone and call Gabriel knowing hw won't answer.
Until his groggy voice appears on the other end, "Norah"
"Gabe-ee" I exclaim. What's wrong with me? And what was that nickname I gave him?
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he worries, his voice more authoritative.
"You're cute" I slur down the phone and I'm more drunk that I thought I was. Downing those shots of Tequila wasn't a good idea.
"Are you drunk" he says concerned.
"Maybe" and I giggle to myself.
"Where are you? I'm coming to get you" he demands.
"Why have you been ignoring me?" I ask him again, ignoring his questions.
"Norah! Tell me where you are now" he says impatiently, not enjoying the drunken playfulness that's taken over me.
"I'm walking home" I tell him, trying to look around to see if I recognise anything, "I think"
"What the hell are you thinking? Walking the streets at 3am drunk, are you alone?" I can hear him fussing about in his room.
"You're so bossy" I grouch at him.
"Norah who are you with?" he snaps at me.
"I'm alone okay. The girls were mean to me so I left" I explain to him.
"What girls?"
"Bethany...and Rosie, she's a peach by the way. I can see why you slept with her" I say bitterly down the phone.
"Why are you hanging out with those girls" he ask in disgust, obviously not liking them.
"If you haven't noticed I don't have any friends anymore. And you weren't answering my calls" I shout at him through the phone. Stumbling down the street, in what direction I have no idea.
"Norah I'm not talking about this right now. Tell me where you are before I ..." he says but I hang up on him before he can finish. He never wants to talk, he just runs away instead. Gabriel rings me a few times but I ignore it, I'll let him fester a while longer. Five minutes later he rings again, so I answer.
"Stay where you are, I'm coming to get you" he snaps down the phone. I can hear that he's in his car already, clearly looking for me.
"Look -" I start to stay but he shouts at me.
"For fuck sake Norah, just listen to me for once. Stay where you are, I'll be there in five minutes" and he hangs up on me. He doesn't even know where I am, but I do as he says. It's cold now that I've stopped walking, and I'm getting tired. I can feel my eyes getting heavier and heavier.
"Fucking hell Norah, what the hell were you thinking" Gabriel's voice sharply wakes me ups and my heads throbbing.
"Don't yell at me" I snap back at him.
"Do you not realise how stupid you were tonight. Good thing I came looking for you" he says dragging me into his car. He does my seatbelt for me and gets in on the drivers side.
"You're not the boss of me" I wrap my arms around me as I'm cold. Gabriel watches me and turns the heating up.
"You can't just go off on your own when your this drunk" he yells. Clearly still angry with me.
"I couldn't stay there anymore"
"What did they say" he asks me gently.
"That I'm a boring slut. And you've fucked half of the girls in New York. I can't believe you did all of that to Rosie"
"What did I do to her?" he shrugs off my bitterness.
"You slept with her, left in the middle of the night, and then pretended not to know her"
"That's bullshit" he says, hands tightening on the steering wheel. He's trying to control his temper.
"That's what the girls told me. Then you fucked all of her friends too" my anger and jealousy clear in my voice.
"That's not what happened" he assures.
"What happen then?" I ask.
"It's none of your business" he snaps at me.
"Of course. You never tell me anything" I yell at him, my patience has just about snapped. I can't fucking stand him, I scream at him, "Let me out. Let me out now. Gabriel I swear to god if you don't let me out now I'll—"
He interrupts me, "You'll do what Norah? Scream at me some more, and tell me how much of a prick I am. Go head, I don't care"
"Exactly...you don't care.Everything's always about you" And I sulk back into the seat, crossing my arms.
"Oh please" he dismisses me. I dig my fingernails into my palm again, trying to control my temper. He drives straight past my dorms.
"What are you doing? You just drove right past" I moan.
"Your staying at mine tonight" he tells me, instead of asks.
"No, I'm not. I don't want to be anywhere near you"
"I'm not leaving you alone this drunk. I might be an asshole but I'm not stupid" he says.
"Argh you're suck a dick" I snap at him.
"Yeah well I'm a dick who cares about you"
"Bullshit. If you cared about me you wouldn't have left me all alone these last few days. You'd have returned one of my hundred calls" I yell at him as we pull up to his apartment. He doesn't reply, instead he gets out, slams his door and comes over to my side.
"Get out" he says as he opens my door.
"No, not until you tell me the truth"
"Get out Norah. I mean it" he snaps. When I don't budge he leans over me undoes my seatbelt and lifts me out of the car. Gabriel swings me over his shoulder and I shout for him to let me go. I don't care if he has neighbours or if it's the middle of the night, I'm not some child that he can drag to bed. When he finally lets me down inside his apartment, and I storm off straight down the hall. He follows close behind me, but I don't go into his bedroom. Instead I lock myself in the door down the hall, so he can't come in.
"Unlock the door" he commands, his voice raised slightly and banging lightly on the door.
"Leave me alone" I shout at him. I grab the blanket and pull it over me as I lie on the sofa. I'll sleep here until morning, but there's no way I'm staying in a room with him.
"I mean it Norah. Open this fucking door or I'll knock it down" he shouts, slamming hard on the door. But I just ignore him until the banging stops, and I can finally sleep.