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12
Three weeks was what it took for her to be able to walk out of the hospital. The doctors had done four surgeries over those weeks. Bree handled each one with a sense of grace. Though she hated being trapped in the bed. She hated nearly everything and everyone who stepped forward into her room. Though she tolerated Gabe. She wasn’t happy about anything.
On the second to last day, though, she was allowed to stand for the first time by herself. She was so happy they had let her do something. Then she got to take a shower. When she got out, she was allowed to put on clothes for the first time since the accident. Gabe had brought some from her things. He smiled when he saw her.
“Come here.” He said softly when she walked into the room.
“They don’t fit anymore,” Bree said.
“Sweetheart, you have lost a lot of weight.” He said as she got nearer. “I will try to do something with your hair.”<
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Bree was still getting tired easily. Gabe knew when she was ready to lay down though he waited until she was asleep to leave. There hadn’t been any celebration for her eighteenth birthday, which would be the day she was released or the fact she graduated high school. She had a diploma that was handed to her by the principal, and then he left. Gabe thought it was all pretty pathetic. He planned for the night she came home to give her a few surprises.He had been left alone from everyone he had met when he was with Ann. Though he hadn’t gone out of his way to say anything to them either if they had run into each other. He wasn’t surprised that Matthew had called his brother and mother again and again. That was the extent of some of the things he did expect.The night when he got home from the hospital, Bree was supposed to be released from the hospital the next day, he received a phone call from his mother that he did not expect, “Ga
Fate Teaches Them 14
Gabe got to the hospital and walked in. the nurses were looking at him like he was someone new. He knew he was dressed down today, but he was himself. He walked into her room and saw her looking at him differently, as well.“What?” He asked as he walked over to his chair.“You’re in sweats.” She said. “You almost look like a normal person.”“So?” he asked, confused.“When you normally come in, you are dressed for class.” She said. “You just look different.”“Well, I guess that is okay.” He said with a shoulder shrug. “I remember thinking that teachers lived in their classrooms. I don’t think it would a great place to live, though, with all the cameras.”“You never told me why you had to put up the cameras,” Bree said as she looked at him. The doctor walked in and looked at the two of them.“I&rsqu
Fate Teaches Them 15
“I just don’t want anything else to happen.” She said as she looked at him.“Anything that does, I have gone into this with my eyes open, Bree. I have taken steps to make sure that neither of us will have any problems because of this.” Gabe said with a grin, “if he wants to throw away years of friendship because of a girl that doesn’t even really care all that much for him, then that is on him and not my problem.”“Why would you say she doesn’t care all that much?” Bree asked as Gabe started up the car.“Because she broke up with him because her sister told her too,” Gabe said. “I am sorry, but I love my sister and my brothers, but I wouldn’t give a rat's ass if they told me I had to break up with someone because they got dumped by someone else. That is showing you how much Ann likes to control the people around her and why I couldn’t be wi
Fate Teaches Them 16
“Just rest until we get there.” He said as she continued to rest. His hand still holding hers in his. He smiled at the sight. He looked at the back mirror and saw the car was still following him. Though he wanted to lose it, he wasn’t going to do anything to spook her. He was laying the groundwork for her to stay. Dealing with Matthew was not the best way to do that, but it would be the easiest to assure her that he was serious. Though she wouldn’t know that until they got back to the apartment.He sighed a bit and then just continued to the store. When he looked around when he pulled into the parking lot, he didn’t see the car following him anymore. He figured at some time he would receive a phone call from his mother. He had already told her that he would be busy for the next few days. So even not answering her would be okay at this point.He pulled into a spot, and he looked at her. “Come on, kid.” He said with a smile.
Fate Teaches Them 17
They began their trip back to the apartment in silence. He knew that she had pushed herself, and she was tired. He also knew that when she got to the place, they would have to talk about everything. He had gone over this a hundred times in his head and only a few times did it work out the way he wanted it to. This was the time to prepare himself for the fact he really didn’t know her all that well.He had been her teacher, and though he did watch her closely, he realized when she was in the hospital, he really didn’t know her all that well. The age difference wasn’t the thing that would be holding them back. It was the fact that a lot between them was still unknown. He hoped that he wasn’t pushing it already, but he knew they had to clear this first hurdle in front of them.When they got to the apartment, he helped her out of the car like he had at the store. Then popped his trunk and grabbed all the bags, and loaded them on one ar
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“No, we really don’t.” She said as she looked at him as he was grasping for the right words to say. “But you have been a good friend regardless.”“Well, I want to expand that friendship.” He said quickly. He looked surprised that those words came out of his mouth without thinking any more on how to move forward.“Expand?” she asked him. “What do you mean?”“Bree, I would like you to stay here with me,” Gabe said as he took her hand in his. “I find that I like you probably more than I should. I think I did before and couldn’t let you know, so I was the annoying teacher because of it.”“Wait, what?” Bree asked as she looked at him. She was confused right then, and he didn’t have a response for anything like that. The confusion was not one of the things he had planned for. She was looking at him with widened eyes, and he just got lost in the dept
Fate Teaches Them 19
“Gabe.” She said softly, “We can’t.”“Why?” he asked as he looked at her. They were still only inches away from each other. Her breathing had changed slightly, and so had his. He knew what he wanted and needed, but that was not going to happen then.“Because it is wrong.” She said.“How is this wrong?” he asked as he pressed his head closer to hers as their foreheads touched.“Gabe, you’re my.” She started to say, and then he cut her off, “I am not your teacher. I am not seriously older than you. Tell me how this is wrong.”“Gabe.” She said she looked at him and she couldn’t find anything. She knew that he was telling the truth to her. “I don’t know.”“You don’t have to know.” He said, “Not right now at least. Bree, I want more from you than being your friend, but this is no
Fate Teaches Them 20
“How?” she asked as she turned and saw him now against the door jam. Propped up against the wall looking at her. He was judging her reaction.“That whole conversation my father had with me.” Gabe started. “I heard the news along with you for the first time. Afterward, I thought about it and realized how I felt when I heard. It was like it was mine. Bree, I was so happy, and then I remembered it wasn’t. I knew you would need the extra help, and I don’t mind anything that I did. I would help regardless because of our friendship. The more I thought about it, though, the more I wanted this to be real. I want you here with me. I want to make this life better for each other. The baby deserves a chance.”“I am not following you.” She said as she looked at him.“I think that you and I both need to get a few things out of the way. Bree, you are not your mother. You didn’t plan this. You didn’t
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