His mother… that woman… how had he survived such conditions with no love?
I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams a scene so dismally full of hate. The deadness in his mother’s eyes haunted my thoughts. He said the home he grew up in wasn’t as bad, but anything remotely in the same arena would be unacceptable.
Imagining Gabe in such conditions when he was young and defenseless broke my heart all over again. My hand reached for him but retracted on a second thought. The muscles on Gabe’s arms tightened.
He still needed time.
I kept to myself as we sped forward. The exit approached. Unexpectedly, the car kept moving forward. Maybe they were taking the next exit. Sometimes when traffic backed up, the other highway had less traffic though it was longer.
The silence between us became overbearing. The next exit came and we passed it without a thought. Was something wrong? I glanced out the back. Only one of the two of the SUV’s was behind us.
“Where are we going?” My voice penetrated the edgy environment.
No one answered for a few seconds, but Andre looked back in the rearview at Gabe while still on the phone. I almost said something when finally Gabe responded without looking my way. “We’re headed out of town. To Italy. On Carson’s plane.”
Italy? Carson’ plane? What the hell was going on? I waited for an explanation, but all I received was the view of Gabe’s back. Stay calm, Willow. It’s been a stressful afternoon. I shifted in my seat to face Gabe and counted to ten before probing.
“Why are we going to Italy?”
Again silence from Gabe. The irritation bloomed.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
Keeping my voice calm, I became sterner. “Gabe, please tell me what is going on.”
He looked at me with a set jaw, face devoid of emotion. “Not now, Willow.”
Not now? Not NOW! NOT NOW! This involved me as much as him. I tried again, hoping he made the choice to elaborate. “Carson’s plane?”
“Yes, damn it. Not now.” There was the use of those two words again. Not now. The cold tone sank bone deep and sent me back to the days I lived with Alex. I clinched my fist, furious I from dismissed so easily.
Any calmness I had evaporated. My lips pressed together as I stared daggers at the unresponsive man I didn’t know in this moment.
Carson knew.
I bristled at the thought of being left in the dark. Irritation flared to an all-time high. Taking out my phone, I thought about texting Carson for a brief second before I put it away. I refused to undermine our relationship by bringing Carson in the middle of it. We would have to work this out together or… that wasn’t a thought I wanted to entertain.
Gabe glanced at me and then resumed his intense stare out the window.
With every ounce of venom I was able to muster, I said, “I’m glad we got that all cleared up.”
No response.
I took a deep breath and mirrored his pose while looking out my own window. Utterly ridiculous. Wait, what if Alex changed places with Gabe? This cold distant act was unlike him.
“Show me your stomach where the scar is supposed to be.”
My words sent an electric jolt through Gabe as his detached gaze met mine. Without a word, he lifted his shirt to reveal a smooth hard abdomen. I breathed a sigh of relief. This is Gabe.
I whispered, “Why are you acting like him?”
No response.
Part of me wanted to demand Trent take me home. But, I trusted his decision. He went against Gabe before regarding Apple Blossom. Something was wrong. First, I needed to be safe before I had it out with anyone.
Before long we pulled up to the tarmac. The gates slid open and we pulled into the private hanger of Whitmore Hotels. The men exited the vehicles. Six boarded the plane in front of me.
The car door opened and the heat of the day fueled my temper. At a clipped pace I boarded the plane, staying away from Gabe. Trent gave some hand signals and the men moved about.
Upon entering the cabin, the flight attendant, Vanessa, greeted me with a cheery expression. “Good afternoon, Ms. Russo.”
Gabe stepped to the side to talk to the pilot at the cockpit door. Men came on board from our little convoy. “I’m going to takeoff from the bedroom if that’s okay. I need some time to myself.”
I should have been more pleasant, but I needed to be alone. Later I would apologize for my behavior.
“Of course. There are seat belts on the couch.”
“Thanks.”
Without glancing at anyone, I walked past them but Trent caught my eye. He took the phone away from his ear. “You okay, Willow?”
“What do you think?” I snapped, then held up my hand. “I get it. Something is up. But, we’ll be talking later.”
He nodded. “I’ll come back and explain if Gabe doesn’t. There was a lot of shit happening at once. Your safety is my number one concern. It’s too much to go over until we’re safely in the air. I have to finish making some arrangements first.”
At least my suspicion was right. This pressure was not good for the babies and needed to calm down. “I want you to keep anyone from coming back and disturbing me. And I mean anyone.”
“I understand. Let me know if you want me or Gabe to come back to talk when you’re ready.”
I felt the hard stare of Gabe behind me, but I refused to turn around. Instead, I marched forward and shut the door with more force than needed.
Voices, particularly Gabe’s and Trent’s, were faint in the cabin. It sounded like an argument about coming to see me.
Click.
The voices stopped as I locked the door. I leaned against the wall and blew out a breath. How had things flipped upside down? Understandably, Gabe was upset from the visit. What I had a hard time understanding was the tone and attitude he’d used with me.
Unacceptable.
I had to calm down for the sake of the babies and me. The flight attendant came over the intercom to advise everyone to buckle up. On the beige leather couch, I fastened my seatbelt.
Now, I could calm down.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Fuck.
“Willow, can I come in?” Gabe’s voice had lost its nasty edginess.
Now, he wanted to talk. Well, too bad. I wasn’t in the mood anymore.
“Willow.”
“Not now, Gabe.” I said, throwing his words back to him with all the irritation I felt. Take those terrible words and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine!
“Willow?”
I refused to answer. And if he walked in here, I would call Carson and get off this plane. He was lucky I’d let this stunt go as far as it had.
The reasons I had stayed were one, I trusted Gabe, two, Carson knew and trusted Gabe, and three, Trent knew and trusted Gabe.
However… I still had the right to be furious for the time being. Maybe after we took off and I’d had something to eat and a nap, we might try talking. For now, Gabe needed a reality check. I was not the enemy.
The plane moved forward and I stared out the window at the concrete, watching it move faster. The wheels lifted off the ground giving that sense of brief weightlessness. I hated the feeling. Flying always made me a little nervous.
My phone vibrated with Gabe’s name.
Gabe: You okay? I know you hate flying.
Things were not going to be fixed via a text. I thought about not responding, but I decided against that action. Without an answer, he might bust the door down, thinking something was wrong.
Me: I’m fine.
Gabe: Can I come back there to talk?
Me: No.
Vanessa’s voice came over the intercom, announcing we were able to move about the cabin. Another text came.
Gabe: I’m sorry. I love you.
The damn broke as I crawled into bed and silently cried into the pillow, unable to answer him. I loved him more than anything. But for the first time with Gabe… I felt lost.
/> Groggy, I opened my eyes and rolled over. Where was I? The plane. Carson’s plane. Headed to Italy. I threw my hand over my face, wishing I could go back to sleep and ignore it all.
The white noise of the engines purred on. They had put me to sleep shortly after all the tears were expelled. I wiped my cheeks feeling a little of the moisture from my wet pillow.
The fight with Gabe. His tone. The coldness. It had been horrendous. I hated feeling out of sorts.