A Will To Change (Hope) (24 page)

She picked up the pillow from the couch and tossed it at me. “You’re such an ass!” she smirked.

“That’s my girl!”

I looked over at Gabby and was surprised to find her still awake as the credits rolled up the screen. It felt like it had been so long since we had hung out like this and I missed it. “So, what else is going on with you, Gabby girl? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in ages.”

She leaned her head on the back of the couch and turned on her side to face me. “Well, Witchy Poo…I mean, my mother came to my work yesterday and begged me to come to her Christmas party tomorrow night.” Even through her sarcasm, I could still hear a little hope in her voice.

“So what did you tell her?”

“I didn’t. I told her I would try to make it. She says she wants to try and work on our relationship. I don’t want to hate my mom and I want to believe it so bad, but I’ve heard it all before,” she sighed.

I raised my eyebrows at her. “Well, that’s a choice that only you can make. Gabby.”

“Yeah, I know.” She bit her bottom lip and stared off into space before a deep grin stretched across her face. “You were invited, too.”

“When is it? Tomorrow?” She nodded. “Oh shit, I would go with you, but I got Kroger’s bachelor party.”

“Don’t be silly, Will. I don’t expect you to go. I just think the mere thought of you attending with all of those uppity assholes is hysterical.”

“Well, I would. I can cancel on the guy’s if -.”

She placed her warm, soft hand on top of mine, rubbing her thumb over my knuckles. Her eyes lit up with emotion and the most beautiful smile appeared on her face. “I know you would and I appreciate it very much. But
if
I decide to do this, I have to do it on my own.”

I pushed her hair from her face and pressed my forehead to hers. “Well,
if
you decide to go and
if
you change your mind about needing someone to go with you, I’m here.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. I would always be here for her whenever or whatever she needed me for. I would be here forever for my sweet little Gabby girl.

“Oh, my god! Oh, my god…Will!” Gabby exclaimed as she stood by my bed and nudged me.

I shot up from a dead sleep, rubbing my eyes. “What’s the matter?!”

“I got up to go pee and when I turned on my bedroom light, a mouse ran under my bed!”

I sighed heavily and laid back down, relieved that’s all it was. The way she was acting, I thought that someone broke in and attacked her. “I’ll get traps tomorrow.” I yawned and closed my eyes.

“Will!” she cried, still standing over top of my bed.

“What?”

“I can’t sleep in there with a mouse!”

I was so damn tired, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and go back to bed. “Gabby, it will be fine. He won’t hurt you.” I closed my eyes again, hoping that would calm her down.

“Will!”

“Gabby, I’m not searching for a mouse in the middle of the night. He’s probably gone by now anyway.” I could still feel her standing over top of me when I closed my eyes again. I finally sat back up and grabbed my pillow. “You sleep here and I’ll sleep in your bed.”

“Well, what if it comes in here when I’m sleeping?”

“
Gabby
! I’m so freakin’ tired.” I moved over and tapped on the bed. “Last option or you’re on your own. I promise, I’ll keep my hands to myself and protect you from the big bad mouse.”

She sighed heavily before reluctantly getting in bed.
Thank you!
I said to myself. She pulled the covers over her and I turned on my side so my back was facing her. “Good night, Gabby girl,” I whispered before closing my eyes and falling right back to sleep.

I awoke the next morning with a hard-on, my arm draped around Gabby, and my hand pretty damn close to her tit. Thankfully, she was still sound asleep. My dick was pressing into her back and even though I was completely turned on by her being so near, she didn’t need to know that. I went to move over and get as far away from her as possible when she latched onto my arm. She whimpered in her sleep and pressed her back even closer to me. I breathed in the familiar scent of her shampoo and got even harder. God, this was torture…the best kind of torture. When I couldn’t take any more, I gently removed my arm from her grip and finally rolled over. I looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down my friend below.
First priority today? Mousetraps.

The dark green crushed velvet dress that I had picked out on the clearance rack earlier in the day didn’t look half bad on me as I gave myself one last look in the full-length mirror. I took a deep breath, hoping that it was up to my mother’s “standards”. I didn’t even know why I was worrying or why I was even attending, for that matter, but a small part of me was hoping for a Christmas miracle, hoping that maybe my mother really did mean it when she said that she wanted to work on our relationship. I had been on Will so much about mending fences with his dad that I felt like a bit of a hypocrite for not even trying with my own mother. So, tonight, I was going to do just that.

“Wow! Look at you!” Will said with a huge grin on his face as I walked out of my bedroom.

“Are you sure this dress isn’t too short?” I asked.

“Nope. You look great. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I’m actually looking forward to it. I know I’m weird, but it would be nice if we could work things out. Sometimes I just feel so alone.”

He bit his lip and moved closer to me, placing his hand under my chin and forcing me to look up at him. “Hey, you’re not alone, Gabby. Don’t ever think that way.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. When you were out shopping earlier, the suspect was apprehended.”

“Really?! How?”

“A mousetrap.”

“He’s dead?”

“Yup!” I felt the smile disappear from my face. “I thought you’d be happy. Now you can sleep and not have to worry about that big ol’ mouse getting you.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t think you were gonna kill him.”

He shook his head and laughed. “Well, what did you think was gonna happen to him?”

“I don’t know. Couldn’t you have put him in the dumpster with a Christmas cookie or something? You know, that would have been kinda like you were sending him to a resort for mice, instead of decapitating him.”

“Gabby, you are crazy, you know that?” He rested his lips on my forehead, making be remember how good it felt having his warm body next to mine as we slept together last night. “Hey, one second,” he said as he ran off to his room, quickly coming back with a Christmas present in his hand. “This is for you,” he said, placing the box in my hand.

“Christmas is a week away. What are you doing?”

“Well, I figured that you may be able to use this tonight. Besides, we’re both working on Christmas.”

We took a seat on the couch and I slowly began to unwrap the present. I gasped when I took the lid from the box. My eyes instantly filled with tears as I looked down at the beautiful angel necklace. Her wings were made of diamonds and when I flipped it around,
Gabby
was engraved on the back of one wing, and
Girl
was engraved on the other. “Will, this is so -.” I couldn’t even get the words out. This was one of the best presents that I had ever received. I pulled him close and hugged him tightly, tears rolling down my face.

“Hey, stop crying. You’re messing up your face,” he teased. I didn’t care. At that moment, nothing else mattered to me except for him and that beautiful angel. He unclasped the chain and I held up my hair as he put it on me.

“This is so beautiful,” I said, looking down at it and smiling. “Thank you so much!”

“Well, now you have your angel with you tonight.” I nodded, trying to avoid another round of tears as I placed both my hands over it.

I grabbed a tissue and dabbed my eyes, pulling it together a bit. “Well, since we’re exchanging Christmas presents, wait right there!” I went into my bedroom and got his gift, placing it in his hands.

He opened up the envelope and a smile stretched across his face. “Gabby, why did you do this?” he asked, looking at Rangers tickets.

“Because I wanted to. Did you notice that there are four tickets there? Two for one game and two for another.”

He nodded. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, there was a method behind my madness.”

He raised his eyebrow, waiting for me to explain. “One set is for you and a friend of your choice.” I took a deep breath before blurting out, “The other set is for you and your dad.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Come on, Will. We’re heading into a new year. It’s not good to go into it harboring bad feelings.”

“Ah, Gabby!”

“For me…please!” I smiled, batting my eyelashes.

“Okay, fine!” he finally relented. “Thanks, Gabby.” He placed a gentle kiss on my cheek that lingered a little longer than it should have, while my stomach flipped a little more than it should have. “Do you need a ride?” he asked.

“Hey, sure, if you’re going that way.”

“Come on, you little conniver.” he said as he grabbed his keys.

“One day, years from now, you will be thanking me,” I teased as we walked out the door.