Page 290 of Gabriel
“Yes!” I tell him. “You challenge me. You make me feel cherished and safe. You are so different from me in so many ways, and that terrifies me sometimes. But you make me feel loved, and you make me want to live. And not just for you, but for me too. You bring out the very best parts of me, and I want to be that,” I tell him. “I want to be the best version of myself, and I am when I’m with you.”
“Baby.” That one word is said with so much reverence.
“You are something else, Gabriel Herrera. And I think I’d very much like to spend my future with you.”
His eyes are tender as he runs the backs of his knuckles along my face. “I love you,” he says and my heart expands in my chest. “And baby, I’m never breaking up with you. Don’t ever let your head wander in that direction, okay?”
I nod, my eyes suddenly filling with happy tears.
“I gave you space last night because I knew you needed it. But first thing this morning, I was here to get you.” His hands run down my sides to settle on my waist. “I was upset because I was worried about you,” he tells me. “You not being here, not knowing where you were or if you were okay, I don’t want to feel panic like that ever again.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “You won’t.”
He nods, his smile curling the corners of his mouth. “I know,” he tells me. “Because you love me. And now that I know that, I’m never letting you go.”
Laughter bubbles up inside of me. “Is that so?”
Gabriel nods before leaning forward to capture my mouth with his. I sigh into his kiss, his tongue sweeping against mine. “I love you,” he tells me between kisses. “I love you so fucking much.”
“I know,” I tell him, nipping playfully at his bottom lip. “You show me every single day.”
CHAPTER 100
CECILIA
Gabriel and I barely speak the entire ride back from court. The car hums with the weight of what just happened, the silence between us thick but not uncomfortable. It’s over. It’s really, finally, over.
I can feel Gabriel checking on me in the small, unspoken ways he always does. His hand stays wrapped around mine on the drive, his thumb tracing soft circles over my skin, grounding me when my mind wants to spiral.
He brought me coffee this morning, sat with me through the entire sentencing, never once letting go. And now … now we’re going home.
It’s surreal. All of it. The weight I’ve been carrying for what feels like forever, it’s … not gone necessarily. I’m not sure it’ll ever truly go away. But it’s no longer this heavy oppressive thing dragging me down.
Gabriel pulls into the driveway, cutting the engine before turning to face me. His honey-brown eyes are filled with that familiar concern, but they’re softer now, like he knows what's going on inside my head. I’m so grateful for him.
“You ready to go inside?” he asks, his voice gentle.
I nod, my throat too tight to speak. The last thing I want right now is to be alone, but the thought of going home to my parents hovering over me didn’t sound appealing so we came here, to Gabriel’s.
We step out of the car and make our way to his front door. It’s weird, the normalcy of it all, walking back into his house after everything that went down today. The sentencing went quicker than I expected, but it didn’t make it any less emotionally draining. Seeing Austin, Parker, and Gregory again—it brought back all the fear and the trauma, but it was different this time. Gabriel was right there, holding me through every second of it.
Something settled inside of me as each one of them entered their plea of guilty. I know they weren’t confessing to what they did to me last summer. But it was vindication nonetheless. They hurt me. They admitted it in court. And now it’s on the record. They can’t take it back.
I follow Gabriel inside, kicking off my shoes by the door but then I hear a chorus of “SURPRISE!”
My head jerks up to find Felix, Julio, Deacon, Atticus, and Adriana just past the entryway. There are balloons all over the place. Felix is holding a cake. And hanging above the staircase is a hand-painted banner that says “Congrats on Putting out the Trash.”
“You guys—” a watery smile spreads across my face.
“We didn’t want you to be sad,” Adriana says.
“Yeah,” Felix chimes in, stepping forward to show me the cake. “Today is a day to celebrate. Those fuckers got what they deserved, and we’re going to par-tay!”
“Did you know about this?” I ask, nudging Gabriel with my elbow.
He shakes his head. “Nope. But I’m not surprised.” He shifts behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I lean into his embrace.
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, tilting my chin up to look at him. “Why’s that?”
