Chapter Seventy-three

**GABRIEL**
I sat in my office, reclined in my chair with my head on my hands and a pounding headache in the back of my skull. Above my brow, a vein throbbed, only serving to add to my stress. As I sat there, one thing only occupied my mind. One person…Oliver.
My mind replayed his words from the previous night, and I felt hurt afresh as though he had said them right in front of me at that moment. I wondered what had pushed him to say those, to hurt me the way he had, how long had he been harboring those thoughts? Did he mean then or was he just angry? So many questions, and yet, no answers.
I groaned and took a deep breath and I began to massage my temples in a vain attempt to relieve myself of the headache, it only intensified alongside my thoughts. I blinked rapidly, as I thought of Oliver again…of his bright blue eyes that twinkled when he was happy, to the piercings on his ear that seemed to pull me into him. I thought of what went wrong…and how. Most importantly, when? I swore under my breath as I realized that those questions were all questions I had answers to.
It had all begun back in my hometown…back when he met Carrie, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what had happened between the two. On one hand, there was Carrie with her bubbly personality who kept trying to get closer to Oliver, to know him how she knew me…like a brother. And then there was Oliver on the other hand, who wanted Carrie thrown to the farthest corner of the world.
It didn’t make sense to me. And Oliver wouldn’t tell me what the problem was.
A rhythmic rap on my open door drew me out of my thoughts, and I smiled widely as I saw Carrie standing there, a large bag in her hands. She smiled brightly and giggled at my expression. My sweet Carrie, my Carrie that I would rock to sleep during nap time, my Carrie that I built sand castles with. My Carrie that Oliver hated.
“Hi,” she greeted, her voice rising to a pitch as she sauntered into my office. “I just wanted to stop by and see you. I hope I’m not intruding…”
I threw back my head and laughed. I was more than grateful for the distraction, I had grown tired of worrying over the same thing over and over. Over a person. And not getting any work done. She was a welcome distraction. One which I craved.
“No, Carrie. You could never intrude,” I replied. “Take a seat.”
She chuckled and plopped herself down onto my plush sofa, dropping the large bag on the coffee table next to her. “Oh, Gabriel, you’re so sweet.”
I rounded my desk, and sat next to her on the sofa, leaning back and kicking my legs forward. From the bag, the smell of food drifted up my nostrils, momentarily making me forget about my worries and transporting me to a different time. A time when things were easier, better, calmer. A time when love wasn’t difficult.
“I brought you food,” she said cheerily and pointed to the large bag that sat on the table.
“Yeah,” I said smiling. “Thanks a lot.”
Carrie nodded and pulled out two small coolers filled with piping hot food and set them down on the table. “And also, I wanted to discuss what happened last night…” she added. “And I also want to know if you’re okay.”
A tight smile spread across my lips and I thanked her as she handed me a spoon and then the cooler. “I’m sorry about Oliver, Carrie…” I said, remorse heavy in my voice. “I don’t understand what’s going on…”
Carrie’s lips spread in a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and she shook her head sadly. “I don’t know either. He seems to despise me, and I want him to like me,” she said as her voice broke. “He’s important to you, and I am going to make him like me because he’s important to you.”
My heart broke at her determination, at the wide smile that sat on her lips, at the determined bob of her head, at the way her shoulders squared in determination and a part of me hated myself, blamed myself. Maybe I had done something wrong upon their meeting? Is he punishing her because of me? Oliver had always been a confusing individual, and even more confusing now.
“I’m sure Oliver didn’t mean any of that,” I said solemnly, trying to salvage whatever was left of the situation. “He’s just in a bad place.”
Carrie smiled sadly. “I understand…more than you know,” she said, her voice low. “I came into his house, into his space unannounced…with no warning whatsoever. I’m a strange face in your home intruding on your happiness…”
“Don’t say that, Carrie…”
“Trust me, I understand. But it’s only for a little while, I’ll be gone soon,” she said and her voice cracked.
I gently take her hand in mine and raise it to my lips. “I promise, Carrie, you’re always welcome in my pack…”
“But…”
“You’ll always be welcome in my home. Anytime, any day, and any place that home might be. Do you understand?”
She smiled warmly, and tears gathered in her eyes. She nodded and pulled me into a hug, and I felt her tears roll down her cheeks and soaked through my chest. I rubbed her back in slow circles, offering her the comfort she so desperately needed. Carrie was an essential part of my life and always would be. She wasn’t going anywhere.
Oliver would have to deal with that.
She pulled away from me slowly and shoved the cooler into my hands with a playful smile on her face. “You should eat,” she said.
And so I did.
I closed my eyes as I shoved the first spoonful of rice into my mouth, smiling to myself and nodding approvingly as the taste exploded in my mouth. The taste sent me back home, as I ate, I was once again five years old, and cooking with my mother in the kitchen. I smiled wryly as continued to eat, my mind drifting in and out of topics, my head a steady mess.
Carrie set her cooler gently on the table, and chugged in the bottle of water, not stopping until the last drop flowed into her mouth. I watched as she dabbed at the sides of her mouth, and placed the cooler back into the bag.
“I…I want to apologize,” she said. “I know that I’m the one causing the rift between the both of you. I just want you to know that it was never my intention.”
I groaned and shoved the last spoon of food into my mouth. I followed her steps, chugging down water and returning the empty cooler to the bag. “And I’ve told you that there isn’t any reason to apologize, Carrie.”
“Yeah, there is…”
“No. It wasn’t your fault. He’s been like this for a while now, unfortunately.”
A frown graced her face, and her ears perked up. “How do you mean?” She asked.
I sighed heavily. “I think it began at the hometown. Oliver didn’t like it much. He told me as much, and that was why we left so horridly. And I genuinely think that he’s just blaming you for that,” I said. “And for the life of me, I cannot seem to figure out what the problem was. He wouldn’t speak either.”
“Hmm…” she says. “He seems like a strange person.”
I chuckled. “He is sometimes…” I answered fondly.
We sat silently on the couch, our minds in different places, thinking of different things. I wondered how she felt about her husband’s death but knew better than to ask her. I was just happy that the bastard was dead.
“I have an idea.”
“About what?” I asked, turning to her.
“You should spend more time apart from each other…” she said.
My brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“Since you both have tried spending time together and that didn’t work out, how about you try spending time apart?” She asked and shrugged. “After all, distance makes the heart grow fonder, yes?”
I chuckled. “Oliver wouldn’t like that. It will hurt him.”
Carrie scoffed. “We can both agree that Oliver isn’t quite the best at making decisions right now, Gabriel,” she said. “It now falls to you to make those sensitive decisions to save the both of you.”
“But—“
“No. You need to do that.”
I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair, running my hand through my hair as I thought about Carrie’s suggestion. I thought about it, she might have been right, but if there was a small chance that she was wrong, I would have destroyed our relationship completely. I picked up my bottle of water and chugged down what was left of it, sighing as the cool liquid went down my throat.
Even long after she had left, I found myself thinking about it, the possibility of it working out, of us going back to normal should I take Carrie’s advice. The headache returned, with a vengeance this time.