A Will To Change (Hope) (11 page)

“Now why would I do something like that?” He smirked. “Hey, Gabby, if you liked what you saw down there, you could have come out and told me sooner.”

I shook my head and spewed with laughter. “I’m an award winning actress, remember?”

“Yeah, whatever you say.” Clearly my acting skills were lacking at the moment because I was pretty sure that he knew exactly what I was thinking. I
loved
what I had seen down there.

Two movies and some Chinese food later, and I was shocked to see that it was already after ten. “Well, I better get going. I have that long commute over the bridge,” I teased.

“I'll drive you home,” he said.

“Oh no -.”

“Will you just shut up?! I'm driving you home. It’s not up for debate.”

“Okay, fine.” I smiled.

He got up and grabbed his keys. “Your boyfriend isn't going to get pissed, is he?”

I looked away. I was having such a nice time that I hadn't even thought of Evan and my mess of a life all day. “Actually, he's not my boyfriend anymore. Just a roommate until I can find a place of my own.” I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I hated myself for having to suck it up and be in the situation that I was in.

Will placed his hand on my shoulder and tipped my chin up so I was looking right into his eyes. “Hey, why are you crying?”

I quickly wiped my eyes before any tears could fall, trying desperately to pull it together. “I'm not.” I tried playing if off, but I knew he wasn't buying it. “I'm okay. Really.” I forced a smile.

“Gabby, if you need anything, you know -.”

“I know and thanks.” I quickly cut him off, hoping to get off the topic. He looked at me sadly. “I had a lot of fun today.” I smiled.

“Yeah. Me, too. Hey, I got an idea.”

“Oh boy. That could be dangerous,” I joked.

“Since I'm down to changing this dressing once a week, how about I hire you as my private nurse? I'll pay you with burgers with lots of ketchup and relish.”

I giggled. “You don't have to pay me with anything, Will. I will gladly come over and help you. It's nice to have someone to hang out with.”

“Thanks, Gabby girl.” I didn't know why, but every now and then, my heart would race when he flashed me that beautiful smile. At that particular moment, my heart was beating at warp speed. 

The weeks passed. Before I knew it, I was released from physical therapy and, thankfully, back to work. Besides the suspected scarring, my arm was healing nicely. I still made a point of hanging out with Gabby, sometimes more than once a week. There was just something about her. I had so much fun when I was with her. It was like hanging out with one of the guys, except she was a lot nicer to look at. I felt like I could talk to her about anything and she wouldn't be offended. She still hadn't cracked and told me about what was going on with her home life, except that she was adamantly looking for an apartment in her price range. I made sure that I kept a close eye on her every time I would see her, making sure there weren’t any physical marks on her to indicate what I had suspected.       

Yesterday was her birthday and I felt really bad when she told me that she didn't have any plans. I ended up taking her out to lunch and surprised her with flowers that I had actually gone to the florist myself and picked out…with just a little help from the florist. When I saw the look on her face and how much it meant to her, I was really glad that I did. Basically, she had no one. Her mother couldn't be bothered with her, her dad was dead, and she didn’t have any siblings. As much as I complained about my family, I knew that I always had my mom and my brother and, as much as it pained me to admit, my father. I couldn't imagine having no one. Yet, she always seemed so happy with her quick wit and beautiful smile, but part of me wondered if that was just a façade to mask what was really going on inside her heart. I hated to think that she was hurting in any way. I was hoping that she would feel comfortable enough one day to open up to me and let me know.

I had just gotten home from work and was waiting for Janelle to come over. I needed to get some really bad and since I knew she was always up for that, it was a win-win. As long as I didn't put any movies on that would encourage her to sing and I could think of an excuse to get her out of here right after, everything would be perfect.

I sent Gabby a quick text before heading into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Did you kill your flowers yet?

She had joked around yesterday when we were out at lunch that she could kill a cactus. I was just getting ready to get into the shower when my phone beeped. 

Nope, not yet! But I'm babying them. Thanks again for everything yesterday. It really meant a lot to me.

No prob, Gabby girl. Have a great night.

You, too.

I put my phone down. Suddenly, my physical wants were overpowered by my emotional ones and I was finding that I would much rather be hanging out with Gabby watching TV than getting laid. This was so not like me. I jumped in the shower trying to shake off those feelings. After about twenty-five minutes of standing under the running water and trying to chase away my thoughts, I finally decided to get out, wrapping the towel around my waist. I grabbed my phone to find a missed call from my mother. As I dialed and waited for her voicemail to play, I was praying that it wasn’t anything that would warrant a return phone call. “Will, I'm just calling to see if you're still alive, and to see what your plans are for Thanksgiving. If you're not working, it would be really nice for you to spend it with your family. Call me.”

I looked at the date on my phone.
Was she fuckin’ serious? It was only October 5
^th
. Why the hell was she worried about Thanksgiving when it was well over a month away?
I threw on some clothes just as my doorbell was buzzing.

“Hey, baby!” Janelle exclaimed as I opened the door.

 I looked down at the plastic bag strung around her arm and the DVD in her hand. “What's that?”

“Oh, I stopped at the deli and got us some sandwiches. And look.
Dirty Dancing
!” She happily held the movie up in the air.

“Well, actually, I don't know if I have time for a movie because I may have to go back into work, and I'm not hungry for food.” I closed the door and pushed her up against the wall, immediately placing my hands up her shirt as I kissed her.

“Will,” she whined. “There's plenty of time for that after.”

“After what?”

“After the movie, silly!”

Did she really think that her pussy was worth wasting an hour-and-a-half of my life listening to her sing?

“Janelle, I told you that I might get called back into work.”

“Well, that's just a chance we're going to have to take,” she said, rubbing her hand along my cheek. “Now, where are the plates?” she asked as she walked into the kitchen.

I sighed heavily and pointed to the cabinet.

After twenty minutes of pure torture, I decided it was time to make my move. I moved in closer and kissed her, lifting her shirt over her head and unbuttoning her pants.

“Wait, wait, wait! This is my favorite part!” She suddenly stopped kissing me and focused on the TV.
Damn it, Janelle!
Why didn’t she get it? I don’t hang out with women for anything other than sex. There was only one exception to that…my sweet little Gabby girl. I threw my head back on the couch, trying to figure out which was worse…my case of blue balls, or the chick flick on my television.

I stepped out of the shower and changed into my sweats, planning a nice quiet evening in front of the television. Evan had been away on business for the past three days, and from what I had gathered from listening to parts of his phone conversations, he wasn't due home until tomorrow. As I cracked the bathroom door to let some of the steam escape, I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. My mind began to wander.
Did I lock the door? I could have sworn that I did.
When I heard it again, there was no doubt that there was someone out there. I looked around for my phone, remembering that I had left it on the kitchen counter when Will had texted me earlier.
Shit, Gabby, think! What are you going to do?
I slipped on my flip flops so I would at least have shoes on my feet in case I needed to make a quick getaway. I scoured the bathroom for a weapon, but the only thing I could find was the can of air freshener. If worse came to worse, I would spray it in their eyes and make a run for it.

I slowly inched my way out of the bathroom, trying to get to the front door so I could at least get to my neighbor's apartment and call the police. My stomach dropped when I saw movement coming from the kitchen. Relief and dread spread over me when I realized that it was Evan. Once I saw the glassiness in his eyes and the stagger in his stance, I was thinking I would have been better off taking my chances with an intruder.

“Who the fuck is Will?” he said as he read over my messages on my phone. His words were almost incoherent. He was totally wasted.