Obsession

Suspect: Chapter 32

But he was a master at control. He had learned to hone his anger and let that pain he felt, the pain of rejection fuel his actions, and guide him accordingly.

Today, however, Nico Hoffman and his goons had crossed a line.

The young man had watched as they'd chased Gabriel out of the school compound and something in him had just snapped. He had left the school compound, turning the corner, and once out of sight, he'd burst into a light jog to prevent losing sight of the gang.

He had tailed them all afternoon.

Tailed them as they followed Gabriel, and he watched as the object of his desire ducked into a small family-owned coffee shop that served the some of the best coffee and cakes in all of Shaw. The coffee there gave the one served at Angie's Grill a run for its money but couldn't beat the coffee and cakes served at its direct competitor – Mildred's. But it was a close second.

He had watched from a distance, completely invisible to the group, as they lingered and loitered outside the shop, never once going in. Then, after about five minutes, they had left the front of the shop and disappeared down Seventh Street. The young man had kept watch, staying put and for more than an hour, he'd remained sitting out on the veranda overlooking the afternoon crowd of working adults and highschoolers bustle up and down, buzzing in and out of the shops. He had even ordered himself something to munch on lightly, watching the shop's entrance every few seconds for when Gabriel would exit.

At half past five, Gabriel finally did. He had looked left and right, obviously searching for Nico and his gang before turning and disappearing around the corner of the street down Seventh Street.

The young man remembered that Nico's gang had disappeared in that direction too. So, he followed. At a distance, and completely submerged by the bustling bodies around him, he followed Gabriel down Sixth Avenue and paused, ducking behind the low-hanging branches of a tree from someone's front yard as Gabriel suddenly stopped and hesitated to push on further.

The young man knew why. Nico Hoffman and his goons were higher up the street, and no sooner that Gabriel had been turning around to flee in the direction he had come from, or perhaps take another route, Rod Maxime's bellow alerted the entire group to Gabriel's presence.

A chase had ensued causing the young man to squish himself into the wooden fence, face turned the other way to avoid detection. Though, he would admit, in the frenzy Gabriel was in, and the adrenaline pumping through Nico and his gang, he highly doubted any of them saw him.

Still, he had to be careful.

He followed at a light jog, breathing easily until Gabriel crossed the intersecting streets that was the start of his neighbourhood. Nico Hoffman and his clan of bullies had stopped in their pursuit, but Gabriel continued to run to the end of the street where he paused, looked back, and then disappeared around the corner.

Nico Hoffman and his goons came strolling back up the street after about five minutes had gone by. He was still standing where he had stopped, under the shade of one of those bus stop benches with a roof over the top to protect against sun and rain. None of them took notice of him as they strolled by, and it was for the better anyhow.

As they passed by, they talked about how Gabriel had gotten away this time, and that come Monday, he would not be so lucky. They just had to teach the homo a lesson. Then they dropped the subject, and started talking about a party that was being held later on that night at one of their friends' houses.

The young man thought to himself that Nico Hoffman just did not know when to quit. It was obvious, that even though Gabriel was not afraid of them, he just as much wanted nothing to do with them. The young man had heard of those beatings. He knew what a person looked like when they were concealing bruises, marks of abuse. He recognized the winces and grimaces of pain on Gabriel's face. He recognized that strange way of walking when there was an injury to the leg that resulted in a limp. He recognized that sharp and sudden intake of harsh breath when pain rippled through a person's side, one so severe that it blinded them for a heartbeat, forcing them to stop everything and focus on breathing to avoid passing out.