Mending (7 page)

She fumbled through the stations trying to find music to help keep her awake, but every song that seemed to come on was a song that reminded her of the past five months she’d spent with Bradley an
d they made her lips quiver,
tears prick
ing
the backs of her eyes.  Finally, she decided to cut the radio off all together and roll the windows down slightly.  The cold winter air felt good on her warm splotchy face. 

She was nearing Augusta, Georgia, when her phone rang Falling Slowly.  She knew who it was.  That was his ringtone.  As she glanced down at the caller ID, it showed the picture she
had taken of Bradley
when they had been playing putt
putt
.  It had been his turn and he was leaning forward slightly, knees bent when she had said his name.  He maintained his position, turning just his head to look back at her.  His blue eyes were playful.  His lips were curved into a crooked adorable boyish grin.  The sight of his face was more than she could handle.  She pressed ignore, immediately pulling the car over to the shoulder and let the flood gate
s
do
wn again as her sobs returned.  They caused
her body to quake and tremble. 

Before she had pulled back onto the interstate, the phone rang for a second time.  She knew it wasn’t him.  The ringtone was different.  It was
“Old Time Rock and Roll”.  That was Sam’s ringtone.  It was from their favorite movie with their mom, Steele Magnolias.  They would dance around the living room pretending bottles were microphones, singing and being silly.  The memory made Gabby smile for the
first time since she had left
Bradley’s apartment.  It became clear that no matter what she did, she couldn’t get him off her mind.  She also knew by the timing of the call that more than likely Bradley had called Sam and informed her of what had happened. 

Gabby realized
there was no way she could even begin to talk to another human being.  Her goal was to put herself back together and get back on the road.  It was getting late and it would
be
dark soon.  She still had well over an hour’s drive to get back to Columbia.  Like she had done when Bradley called, she swiped the ignore button.

She sat up straight in her driver’s seat of her Honda and arched her back causing it to pop.  She arched again and stretched to the right, making more popping and repeated again to the left.  She cracked her neck from left to right and back again.  Taking several cleansing breaths in and out, she wiped her burning eyes, and dried her chapped face.

She looked back over her left shoulder again waiting for an opportunity to merge back into traffic on the interstate.  When the time came, she pressed her foot firmly against the gas a
nd accelerated with resolve.  Her new goal for herself was
to make it home without having to stop again for crying over Bradley Banks, to not think about him another minute.  She decided the best way to do that was to cut her phone off and to play car games with herself.  Her favorite was the alphabet game, where you have to find signs or license plates with a letter from the alphabet (in order).  Yes, mindless games would help her forget her worries.

The trip home had taken almost five hours after factoring in bathroom breaks, stopping to get herself something to eat, and the time she had pulled over to cry.  Thankful she was finally at her apartment in
Columbia,
she dragged her suit case out of the trunk of the car, threw her purse on her shoulder and sulked into the building.

When she walked into the apartment, she dropped her things and plopped down on the couch, completely and utterly spent.  She decided she should probably turn her phone back on and let Sam know she had made it home safely.  When it powered up, the voicemail symbol popped up.  She swiped to open the visual voicemail.  There were five messages from Bradley and there were ten from Sam.

Gabby hung her head low and fought back tears once again.  She felt so bad for having caused Sam to worry, but she still wasn’t confident in her ability to talk about the situation with anyone.  Hell, she wasn’t sure of her ability to talk, period. 

She pressed play for the first of Bradley’s messages.

Bradley: 
2:3
4pm

“Gabby, I know you’re upset with me.  Will you please call me
back.
  Let’s talk t
his out, please.”

Bradley: 
2:38
pm

“Gabby, even if you don’t want to talk, at least
text
me back and let me know you’re ok.”

Gabby wasn’t sure she could continue to listen to his voice.  She had not even been aware of the tears that had once again started streaming down
her face as she listened to his messages
.  She had never heard him sound like that.  His voice was always confident and strong.  She could hear in his message that he now sounded weak and upset.  She wasn’t sure, but she even thought by the way his voice had cracked that he had maybe even been crying. 

She didn’t want to hurt him by worrying him, because she loved him, too.  But, there was no way she could talk to him. 
S
he
had no idea how she
could ever be with him again.  He was about to have a child.  Everything she believed about their relationship was now in question.  Even though he had said he had not been with anyone else and continued to profess that as she was leaving, the trust was gone.  He had managed to hurt her just when she had thought that she was safe with him, just when she had let her walls completely down.  She opened her text messages and typed a quick message to let him know she was home.

Gabby: 
6:17pm

*
Go
t your messages, just got home.*

Almost instantly, there was a response
.

Bradley: 
6:18pm

*
What took y
ou so long?*

Gabby wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue the conversation.  She worried she wouldn’t be strong e
nough to be able to end it.  T
hat would lead her right back into his arms, where she
yearned to be despite the hurt she felt. 
Did she owe him an explanation of why it took so long
, she thought?  The more she pondered it
, she thought,
no
.

She then started to listen to Sam’s messages.

Sam: 
2:3
9pm

“Gabby, I just talked to Bradley.  He wouldn’t tell me what happened.  He just said I needed to try to call and make sure you were ok
ay.  Please call me back ASAP.”

Sam: 
2:46
pm

“Gabby, I’m really worried about you.  Please call or text me back.”

Sam: 
2:55
pm

“Gabriella. Nicole.
Gerhart
.
 
Call.
Me. Back.”

Sam: 
3:01pm

“Gabby.  Seriously, I’m worried.”

Gabby couldn’t list
en to anymore of Sam’s messages,
either.  They were making her feel so guilty and irrespon
sible for turning her phone off.  Es
pecially before at least texting Sam back to tell her she was ok.

Before she was able to text Sam back, the doorbell rang.

Gabby’s
eyes bulged at the thought of Sam having driven all the way from Charleston to Columbia to see if she was ok
ay.  And
all because Gabby had been selfish and not communicated with anyone about her whereabouts or whether she was ok
ay
or not.  She grimaced at the thought of how much trouble she was probably in with Sam as she got up from the couch and headed to the door.

She usually looked through the peep hole before she answered the door, but tonight she didn’t because she was so sure it was Sam.  She was completely caught off guard when she opened the door to find Ian standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets.  While he looked familiar, he had matured.  As much as she hated him, he was just as attractive as he had always been.  His timing was terrible, or maybe it wasn’t? 

Chapter 6

August, 2010

The
Past
  ~
  Gabby

Gabby had come in from her date, which ended much earlier than their first date the night before.  Sam was watching television on the couch waiting on her sister to return.  She smiled and muted the sound. “Hey, how was it?  You look like a happy girl.”

“Can you pinch me so I can make sure I’m not
dreaming.
  It just seems way too good to be true.”

“You’re not dreaming silly girl.  A
nd no, I’m not going to pinch you!”

“He’s just…
I don’t know.  He’s everything I could ever ask for in a guy.  He can’t be that good.”

“I’m sure he has his quirks, but he really does seem to be an incredible guy.  If you’d just met him on the street, I’d be more skeptical.”  Sam shrugged her shoulders. “But, he’s Cade’s cousin.  I mean, he comes from a
really nice, might I add, rich
family.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So when are you going to see him again?”

“Next weekend.”

Sam looked concerned. 
“Oh, what about therapy?”

“He said he’d find someone and we could start the weekend after next.”

“Well, that might not be a bad idea.” Sam scooted over on the couch and patted the seat next to her, signaling for Gabby to sit.  “I’m sure we probably aren’t going to get in that quickly anyway.  That will give me some time to get adjusted to my schedule, too.”

Gabby shook her head no to sitting on the couch. 
“I’m
gonna
go pack up and hit the hay.  Goodnight.”

“Night, Gabby.”

When she got to her room and logged onto her computer to check email and Facebook, she was surprised to see that Bradley had already emailed her. 

***

To:  Gabby
Gerhart