SEPARATED

SEVENTEEN

GABRIEL:

I think a missing child case should be treated like a missing child case, not a murder case. What do you think? Well, you can be sure that won't happen when the missing child is Mrs. Stewart's son. Jacob's mother had gone to all lengths to find her son. And to her, the fact that I was Jacob's best friend didn't matter. To her, I was the prime suspect in the disappearance of her son.

Evidence number one; Jacob sent her a text saying he'd be staying at my place the night he disappeared.
Evidence number two; my finger prints were found on the note Jacob had apparently left behind in his room before his departure. Really? Finger prints?
Evidence number three; a young gentleman came forward and claimed to have witnessed Jacob and I together at the bus station on the night of Jacob's disappearance.

Well on the bright side, I now had something to brag about when talking to the boys. They always boasted of spending a night in jail. Well now I was king cause I had spent an entire three nights. Yep, and if it wasn't for my mother's prestigious reputation and influence, maybe I'd have been there longer.

And just when I thought my troubles were over, I had received a visit from a furious husband. How he had come to know about me, I have no idea. Contrary to Jacob's description of him, Antonio was fierce and nothing close to a gentleman. He had handcuffed me and taken me to his mansion for interrogation.

With threats towards my mother, he had drawn the truth out of me. Or at least, what he thought it was. Yes, I lied to the bustard. He had released me with more threats, promising that I'd regret it if I had mislead him.

And on my way out, that's when I had met her, the love of my life. I needed not think twice about it, it was love at first sight. She smiled and giggled as I stared at her.

"What's your name?" I had asked.

"Eve" she had responded shyly.

And suddenly I had felt grateful for all my misfortunes. Eve was worth everything and more. Thus, as Jacob had once dared to, I too was now on my way to the mansion once again, this time by my own will, to meet my soul-mate. But I was being followed....

"Mrs. Stewart, I know you're there" I called to a shaking bush. She had been stalking me from the moment I was released from jail. She believed I still had something to hide.

She stood up embarrassed. She came up to me and said "I'm sorry."

I groaned. "I know Mrs. Stewart."

"No, I mean I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I.... made you... sleep in a prison cell."

"I understand; maybe if my son goes missing one day, I'll also make his best friend sleep in jail for three nights" I said sarcastically.

She frowned. "Gabriel if it wasn't for me, you know you might still have been in that cell."

It's true. She was the one who had asked the police to release me assuring them that I wouldn't do anything to harm Jacob. But it was also her fault that I landed there in the first place. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even have been arrested in the first place!"

She suddenly grew depressed, and I could see she was about to about to break into tears. She had cried more than enough for an entire lifetime over the past few days. She really loved her son. She loved him so much and that was probably why she was doing all this stuff. She needed support and encouragement and instead I was making her feel terrible.

I embraced her as she began to sob. "I'm. sorry Mrs. Stewart. I didn't mean to upset you" I apologised.

"I just wanna see my son again" she said between sobs.

"You will" I assured her.

"I've tried to call him but it's off. Ever since he left..."

"He changed his number. I'll give it to you but first I've gotta tell you something" I said handing her one of my clean hankies so she could dry her tears. She did so and looked at me attentively. I spoke; "Mrs. Stewart, you have to understand that Jacob's almost grown up now. You have to let him make his own decisions now. Let him make mistakes and learn from them. If Jacob left, I'm sure he had a solid reason. And he said he'll be back anyway. All you want is for your son to be alive and happy, right?" She nodded. I continued; "Then give him a chance to find that happiness."

She smiled and thanked me. I then gave her Jacob's number and offered to take her home.

I couldn't believe I had betrayed my best friend. I knew the police could track Jacob down through a phonecall. But what I really couldn't believe, is that I had made that speech. Gosh I was wiser than I knew. I trusted Jacob's mother to do the right thing. I didn't really know what the right thing was anymore, but I was certain Jacob's mother did.

★★★★★