I Made You

Chapter 23 - The Escape

Chapter 23 – The Escape

“W-what?” Gabby couldn’t believe her own ears.

Devon laughed before turning around to put an arm over Alyssa. He kissed her cheek with a loud slippery sound. “Come, babe. Let’s leave her with her perfect boyfriend.”

Alyssa’s chortle made it Gabby’s stomach churn. Speechless, Gabby stared at their walked away with their arms around each other, their laughter echoing for moments after. She gulped and slowly turned around to look at Damien.

“Is it true?” she whispered.

He didn’t meet her eyes. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the ground, and he gave an awkward kick with his foot.

“You like Danni?” Gabby’s voice rose with her anger. “Danni is your mysterious crush?”

When he still didn’t answer, Gabby had to fight to keep her emotions under control.

She took a deep breath. “Why, Damien? Give me a reason. Right now.”

“Errh, technically—“

Gabby didn’t give him the possibility to finish, there was a lump in her throat, and she was afraid she’d break down in tears. Patting her pockets, to check if she had a wallet, she started walking away from him—she didn’t want to look at him any longer.

He yelled, but she didn’t stop. Ignoring him, she gritted her teeth and marched out of the area. She was furious, and she needed time to think about why that could be. At first, it didn’t stand out to her, and she wasn’t sure what she should do about it either.

Gabby spotted a cab a little longer up the road. Luckily, she managed to wave him over. The cab driver took one look over at her, butted his cigarette, and then opened the door for her.

When he got into the driver’s seat, he turned on the engine and asked, “Where to?”

She muttered the address, and then she turned to look at the view.

The drive was silent, and Gabby was happy that he left her alone with her thoughts. A headache was forming, and she felt slightly nauseous. “I only have around fifty bucks.”

They were still a considerable way from home when the taximeter neared forty-five, and Gabby needed some air.

“I can drive you all the way home for that, don’t worry about it,” the cab driver said. He smiled. “I’ll just take a short cut.”

She shook her head. “No thanks, I need some air. Can you please drop me off here?”

He pulled over and waited for her to get the money out of her pocket. When she handed them over, he smiled again. “Take care, okay?”

She nodded and left the car in a hurry. The wind blew her hair around, and she wasn’t surprised to see that the former blue sky had turned to an overclouded grey color—it suited her mood perfectly. Now all it needed was some rain, and with her luck, Gabby figured it’d come soon enough.

She snorted and began to walk.

Damien likes Danni. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it, but it surprised her that she didn’t particular mind. What she did mind was being lied to, and she couldn’t stop the feeling of being played. Why had he agreed to the whole plan with Peter if he liked her? Surely, he could have simply volunteered.

Which brought her to the idea that Peter and Damien might be fighting over Danni. She groaned and sped up her pace. If only he would have talked to her before they did all this.

The prospect of hurting Damien with Peter’s current involvement with Danni made her sad. She shouldn’t have messed with Danni’s life, and right now, she regretted all of it.

Gabby turned the corner on her street, and in the distance, she could see Danni getting out of Peter’s car. It was hard to watch as her sister turned around and leaned inside the car. Gabby imagined her fluttering her eyelids and thanking Peter for the ride before kissing him goodbye with a small giggle.

The thought made her stomach churn, and now it seemed to be more related to Damien than anything else. Did Danni know that Damien liked her?

Danni’s laughter reached her ears, and Gabby had to stop and breathe deeply. Her eyes were dry, and her stomach ached by the sound. She stepped to the side and leaned against a large oak tree. Sliding down to the ground, Gabby hid her face in her palms.

What’s happening to me?

A mixture of emotions whirled inside her. She had love for her friends and her sister, but also the feeling of hurt, and betrayal mixed in between—it confused her.

She didn’t move from where she was until she heard an engine roar to life, and she looked up to see Peter driving by her. At least, Danni hadn’t invited him in. Gabby silently thanked her for that because she wanted to make some sense of all her thoughts and feelings before confronting either.

She knew that Peter had lied to her, as well. And she hated that fact more than anything. Gabby had really felt bonded with Peter, but he had said everything was fine.

Gabby looked at the sky—this didn’t help. She needed to put on her big girl panties and find a solution to all of this. It had been her idea at first, and even though she’d been held in the dark, she’d still feel responsible if anyone were hurt over this.

She stood up and walked to the house; she didn’t bother with a greeting, but simply aimed straight for her room. Mr. Cuddly was waiting for her, and she dived head first over and hugged him tight to her chest. She rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

Something tickled her leg, and she reached down to discover her phone vibrating. Gabby hadn’t noticed it before, but there were over fifteen missed calls and a bunch of texts waiting for her. She didn’t need to check who the caller was and she threw it away without looking any further.

Damien was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. She needed to think.

Betrayal was the main issue between her and Damien right now. No matter how she turned it around, she couldn’t justify him lying to her about his feelings for Danni. And she was further annoyed that he’d made up this whole fake-dating thing just to get Danni’s attention. He should know it wouldn’t have worked since Danni was into Peter now—at least Gabby thought so.

The idea of Peter and Danni dating still made Gabby’s stomach churn. She figured she might as well stop trying to ignore it. Why did her body react so strongly when she thought of them together? Why did she react to him? Gabby rolled her eyes. How classic it would be if she’d fallen for her sister’s date. But there was no way that had happened—had it?

Gabby thought it over. She found Peter hot. Just the memory of his muscled chest made her shiver slightly. But that didn’t mean she’d fallen for him. At least, she hoped not.

Gabby tried to relax to that thought, and after a while dozed off. 

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, I had a bit of a struggle with my procrastination. I hope you like it, and I promise there will be some explanations and other fun stuff in the next chapter. Please remember to vote if you like this story, and toodles! :)