Chapter 48 A Wild Night Five Years Ago
Sure enough, no sooner had Jessica finished speaking than the RV beside them took off.
Zoey looked out in surprise, "Wow, Jessica, you're like a mind reader."
Jessica remained expressionless, "Let's go."
She had plenty of experience dealing with the erratic tempers of entitled divas. Deborah was a lightweight compared to Trinity, who, in the quest for fame and love, was capable of starting a fire that could kill her sister.
It was well past eleven at night when Jessica opened the door to her house.
Danielle had stayed at preschool again since Jessica couldn't make it home to take care of her due to the night shoot.
Exhausted and drenched in sweat, a shower before bed was non-negotiable. Holding a change of clothes, Jessica hesitated at the bedroom door. Spencer was surely asleep at this hour. It felt rude to wake him, but she couldn't just go ahead and shower, could she?
After pondering for a while, her sweaty skin's discomfort won over, and she tiptoed into the room, relieved to see that Spencer was indeed asleep. She tiptoed again toward the bathroom, entered, turned on the light, and locked the door behind her.
She had carried out these actions as quietly as she could, thinking they wouldn't wake anyone.
However, Gabriel had been awake since she walked through the front door; he was always a light sleeper.
Gabriel heard Jessica trying to slip into the bathroom for a shower quietly, determined not to wake him. The sound of water running made an odd phrase pop into his head, something Danielle had said once: "Hey Siri, what does 'harboring ill intentions' mean?"
The memory of another time Jessica had unexpectedly fallen against him right in front of the bathroom door surfaced. He had instinctively caught her in his arms.
At that time, her bath towel had come undone.
It was, Gabriel thought, the closest he had ever been to a woman.
Except for one confusing, wild night five years ago, the details of which he still couldn't fully recall.
He should have been thinking about Jessica since she was right there. With Danielle out of the house and it being so late, it was just him and Jessica—and she had gone straight into the shower. He didn't like being disturbed by women, but that didn't mean he was a saint.
Why did the memory of that night—something he swore never to mention to anyone—suddenly leap into his mind?
Getting up, Gabriel walked into the living room and poured himself a glass of cold water.
Suddenly, he heard a strange noise coming from the bedroom – a series of thuds and bangs.
He returned to the bedroom and saw the bathroom door was still shut, the noise coming from within.
He approached and knocked on the door, "Jessica?"
First, there was silence for a few seconds, and then the door suddenly opened.
Jessica stood there, post-shower and already in pajamas, holding a slipper in her hand, surprised, "Oh, you're awake? Was I making too much noise killing a cockroach?"
Gabriel took in the sight of her, slipper in hand and looking ready for battle.
"You were killing a cockroach?"
"Yeah," Jessica said matter-of-factly. "This apartment complex is old, and the main water pipes in the hallways are too. No matter how clean we keep the place, when it's this time of year, the cockroaches seem to find a way in. I can't exactly keep them as pets, can I?"
After speaking, she went back into the bathroom to rinse off the slipper, then walked past him without another word, casually waving her hand, "I'm off to bed. I have a scene tomorrow afternoon and, thankfully, don't have to wake up early. Don't wake me up before eleven, okay? I need a good sleep, or I might drop dead!"
Gabriel stood at the bathroom door, glancing inside. He noticed a cockroach, squashed beyond recognition, lying lifelessly in the corner of the trash can.
