Her Last Wish

Her Last Wish - Chapter Twenty Nine

Trigger Warning: this chapter very briefly touches the topics of abuse and miscarriage.

Her Last Wish
Chapter Twenty Nine
Owen
(Monday)

I stare into my closet, my eyes bouncing between my suits and my casual attire, unable to choose what to wear for my early morning outing with Sang Sorenson. It seems silly to put on a perfectly pressed suit just to go and sit at the lake, though it wouldn't be the first time. It's not like it's a date. Or is it? Neither I nor Sang said it was; I invited her out to my safe place because I want to get to know her and in turn I would like for her to get to know me.

The real me.

I want her to understand why I am the way I am. Nobody is perfect, including me, but I try to be because that's how my childhood was. My father may not be around any more, but every now and then, I can still hear his voice telling me that I'm not perfect enough.

A heavy sigh escapes me and my shoulders sag, my muscles relaxing as I move further into my closet and make my way over to my casual attire. I'm not going to waste a perfectly dry cleaned suit for this. I want...no I need Sang to know that there's more to me than the suits. She's seen me in my casual clothes a few times now and every time her eyes light up. Gabriel has always said how someone's clothing can say so much about them, that it shows a hint of their personality.

Though choosing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt I find to be quite difficult. Do I go with faded jeans? Dark jeans? I even have a pair of ripped jeans. My suits are all the same; they come from the same store, made by the same company, all in the same shade of grey. It certainly makes my life easier as I'm colour blind.

Does Sang know that about me?

Possibly not.

Thanks to Gabriel, my closet is organised just right. Lighter colours one end, dark colours the other. I take a pair of dark fitted jeans from the hanger and pull them on, buttoning them up quickly before threading a leather belt through the loops. Now, do I dress the jeans up or down? A shirt, or T-shirt? Sneakers, converse or loathers?

I hear a knock at my bedroom door but before I have the chance to call out that it's okay to come in, I hear it opening. I roll my eyes; there are only a few of my brothers that do that, just walking in without a response. If it weren't for the fact that I know Sean already left for the hospital, I would have guessed him.

"Jeans. That's good. Now a T-shirt," Gabriel says, walking right on in like he owns the space that is my closet. Hell, maybe he does.

"I was thinking more smart-casual," I told him. "A button down with some loathers."

"It's a morning date," he deadpans, bringing his gaze to focus on me.

"Is it? Because neither of us mentioned the word date."

"It's a date."

I turn away from him so I can roll my eyes. "I don't want to assume it's a date, Gabriel, when there's a chance that it's not."

He sighs heavily. "Dude, trust me on this. You're taking her to the lake, yes?"

Gabriel Coleman is the only person in my life that will ever get away with calling me 'dude'. I turn back around to face him, finding him with his arm outstretched and a T-shirt being held out to me. It's light in colour, and I trust Gabriel to dress me when needed to do so. This morning is one of those moments. I take the item of clothing and slip it over my head. "That's the plan, yes," I answer, straightening my glasses as I go over to the full length mirror.