The Brightest Stars ✨

Chapter 5

Play the song in the header for good vibes :)

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Gabe knew as soon as her footsteps had receded that he had made the wrong decision but he also didn't trust himself in her presence. He was angry and more hurt than he had bargained for. If there was one person who had infinite power over his moods and his feelings it was, Natalia.

She could make him soar and sink with the slightest change in her facial expressions, let alone her words. She practically called him a stranger, that had thrown him for a real loop that he struggled to reconcile.

How could he respond to that? In addition, she wanted him to feel remorseful for protecting her in the best way he knew how. Fuck that, the more he thought of it, the more incensed he became.

Morning came and he went for a run that was as freeing, as it was punishing. Sweat dripped from every pore in his body but his mind was clear. He took a quick shower and got dressed, serving himself some cereal as he waited for Natalia to finish getting ready and come downstairs. She normally missed breakfast to spend time on her hair and makeup.

The dark tones of her winter perfume hung in the air as she met him in the kitchen. He hadn't seen her all morning, the hesitant look and the faltering steps that she took in his general direction felt like another insult to injury. As much as he wanted to put this argument to rest, fold her into his arms and not let go for a long while, he actually didn't know what he needed from her to make this okay.

They sat side by side in the car but the distance between them felt like miles and driving to work felt like hours instead of minutes.

It was Friday. Gabe had a game that afternoon, it was local so they wouldn't need to travel overnight. He focused on getting his team ready for another match in the short winning streak they had developed. The assistant coach had done a stellar job in keeping their winning momentum going while he was out.

They had won the last 2 games, in a turn around that he had never expected from this particular team. The morale of the team was high, bordering on arrogance. He needed to work them hard so they didn't get too comfortable. They were still new to winning, he still didn't have stand out talents on the team but they would get by on grit and hard work.

Just a reminder that I'm out with Porsha this eve — N

She had told him last week that she had been invited to a party by someone from Porsha's crowd. She was leaving with Porsha at the end of the work day. Some type of bar launch. She had been excited to go but nervous about missing one of his games. It was cute, but he had reassured her that they were definitely not one of those couples. He was glad that she was finding her feet in an unfamiliar place and that she had a group of friends she socialised with regularly.

OK — G

I'll pick you up when you're done — G

He added as an afterthought and his phone dinged a couple moments later with a google maps location of the venue she was going to.

He didn't want her staying at Porsha's nor did he want her wandering around waiting for an Uber or driving herself. He was pretty sure the private investigator was an amateur and that they had scared him off when they had ambushed him, but it didn't hurt to still be cautious. Ty was going to update him on the background check he had run on the investigator over a drink after the game.

They won the game by one point. It wasn't a graceful win by any means but he'd take the points anyway. The boys went out for a meal amongst themselves and where then hitting a party after. He gave them instructions to behave, he had bailed them out one too many times out of situations involving their parents and sometimes law enforcement.