Psychotic Love

Chapter 20

Of course, I didn't get to go. Gabriel had a conniption and we ended up shouting at each other for most of the night until he outright forbade me from leaving the house. I hurled curses and insults at him for a good hour, then I went and stormed out of the house for good measure. He wasn't going to keep me locked up like a prisoner. I walked for hours, out in the woods, by the cliffs, and even partway up the drive, refusing to give in to his demands. Finally, beyond exhausted and heading towards dropping where I stood, I headed back home. By this time the sun was starting to come up and a revelation hit me as I walked down the drive. Gabriel was baiting me. He could never stay angry at me for long, so continuously provoking me to keep his ire up was the goal. I decided sleeping on what I had discovered was the best thing in the world, and thankfully the door was unlocked so I immediately went up to my room and crashed, not even bothering to change clothes, just kicked off my shoes.

The next couple of weeks felt like an oxymoron, passing both swiftly and torturously slow. The boys managed to get enough to appease Gabriel, so I was unable to take my frustrations out by torturing and killing them. He continuously tried getting under my skin, and while he almost always succeeded I kept a tight leash on my temper. I had finally managed to get to my black market dealer and she was so impressed by the handful of miscellaneous gems I brought her that she paid me top dollar. With just part of that money I bought a clunker of a car that I was fixing up my way. Peter turned out to be very helpful in the garage, so to speak since it was full at the moment, so I spent most of my time with him out in the yard.

Week three Gabriel decided to quit being an ass. It could be that he was tired of being angry and upset, but I'd bet my bag of pink diamonds that it was because his nightmares had returned full force. I know mine had so after trying to sleep once at night and waking up in a cold, clammy sweat, I'd get up and go do something. Working on the car at night wasn't lucrative so I spent many nights running, or working on my knife skills. Thank goodness it didn't upset my appetite. By mid-week I was wondering if he was ever going to earn my forgiveness since we tended to avoid each other now. I noticed he left for longer periods of time, but Joey informed me while he was taking me out to get my hair trimmed that Gabriel wasn't doing anything but sit in his office and work.

By the time week four rolled around I was ready to crack. I barely got an hour of sleep a night. Thursday I received a note, slipped under my door, asking me, very politely, to join Gabriel in the living room at four that afternoon. I was touched that he had asked instead of demanded and decided to acquiesce with great grace. I dressed casually in jeans and a nice top, meeting Gabriel at the bottom of the stairs. He led me into the living room and over to the couch. On the coffee table in front of it was a package wrapped in dark red paper.

He had me sit down before taking my hand in his. "I know I've been an utter bastard these past few weeks. I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I also want you to know that I thought about it and you're right. I am yours. The problem is that I don't change easily, habits are easy to fall back into, but I'm willing to try. However, I do have something for you should I start falling back into my old ways." He gestured to the package.

I opened it curiously, noting that it had also been wrapped in black tissue paper. Once I got a good look at it I couldn't help but start laughing. Nestled there was the exact same bat I had beaten him with. It had been refinished so it looked shiny and new, but I would never forget it.

He grinned at me. "I knew you'd like it."

"Oh, Angel, it's perfect!" I exclaimed before hugging him.

He hugged me back. "You haven't even seen the coolest feature yet." Angel took the bat from me and pressed a hidden button at the bottom of the handle. Parts of the bat slid away and spikes shot out turning it into a modern day mace. "Tada! A spiked club just for you, Siren."