Jolayemi

Chapter 36: The Camping Trip

"Gabby, why'd you do that?", he teased, and winked at her. "I know right?", Gabby laughed. "Fuck you", I said, and flipped them off. Gabriel grabbed me. "I'm sorry okay. Here, I'll go grab some ice for you. Come", he said, and led me to the kitchen. He took out a bag of peas, and came closer to me. "Here, I'll do them myself", I said. The last thing I needed right now was Gabriel being that close to me. It would affect my ability to think since I was barely rational around him.

"You're in pain. I'll do it", he insisted. "I'm not in that much pain. I can do it", I said, holding out my hand. "No, I insist. Please", he said. I sighed, and let him go to work. We stared at each other for some moments, neither of us saying a word. That was why I didn't wanna be in that much close proximity with him. He made me feel things I didn't wanna feel. I cleared my throat, after what seemed like hours and looked away. I felt his stare but ignored it. "So, how was your night?", I asked. "The usual", he said. I frowned and looked at him. "What do you mean the usual?", I asked. He shrugged. "I don't sleep much recently. I've been out of it I guess", he said. "Nightmares?", I asked. He scoffed. "Something like that", he said.

"Wanna talk about it?", I asked. "Already did", he said, and stared at me so intently I didn't know what to do. I cleared my throat and removed my gaze from his. "Are you all packed for the trip?", I asked. "Yeah", he nodded. I nodded, and we didn't say anything for some minutes. I just kept getting trapped in his eyes. "I think I'm all good now", I said finally. He nodded, and removed the peas. I stood up, and before I could blink, he kissed my forehead. I stared at him in surprise. "What was that for?", I asked. He shrugged. "To keep the nightmares at bay", he said. And with that statement, left the kitchen. I opened my mouth, and closed it, still surprised. What did he mean by that?

I gave Gabby one last glare, before going to my room to do my business. I removed my clothes, and I stood completely naked in the room. I took my phone with me to play some music, and put it on the sink. I was about to go take my paste out of the cabinet above the sink when my phone rang. I smiled when I saw Jer wanted to face time me. Without thinking, I picked up the call. "Hey", I said softly. "He-eeeeey", Jer said, and I frowned. Why did he look so shocked to see me? "Why are you looking at me like that?", I asked. He gulped and said nothing for a few moments. What the hell was wrong with him?

It took a moment for me to realize that my breast was in full display for him to see, and I gasped. "Jeremy Brown!", I yelled. "What did I do? You picked the call, besides its nothing I haven't seen before", he smirked. "God, the amount of Browns I'm gonna kill today", I muttered, and ended the call. Its like he said, it's nothing he hadn't seen before, but it felt so different. I brushed my teeth both in anger and embarrassment, and glared at my reflection.

Few minutes later, I was done. The problem was I didn't bring a towel with me to the bathroom but that didn't matter since it was my room, and nobody would see me. I sighed again, and closed my eyes in embarrassment. How was I gonna face Jer when I see him later? I gripped my hair in frustration and got out of the bathroom. I threw my phone on the bed, and moved to my closet to pick out an outfit. The door opened and I gasped. I watched in horror, as Gabriel stared at me, shocked. "What the fuck?", I screeched, as I desperately looked for something to cover what remained of my dignity. I grabbed the covers and threw it around me, then turned and glared at Gabriel who stood still without moving, eyes wide as saucers.

"Gabriel Brown, have you never heard about knocking? The fuck is wrong with y'all today?", I asked. He blinked, and shook his head, then turned. "I'm sorry", he said. "I'm covered now, why did you barge in like that? "What was so important you couldn't wait five seconds?", I asked. He turned slowly, and handed something to me. "I wanted you to have this", he said. I turned the cloth in my hands, and frowned. "Your sweatshirt?", I asked, and he nodded. It was the sweatshirt he'd given me when I came over for the sleepover months back. God, it felt like forever ago. "Why do you want me to have this?", I asked. He shrugged, and stared at me. "I just want you to have something of mine with you", he said. I shook my head, as I stretched out the material to him. "I'm sorry I can't accept this, Gabriel", I said.