Gabriel's Rule by Unknown Page B

be sorry if I left
him and that was it – I left the next day.”
    She
fell silent and Gabe took in his first real deep breath since she started
talking. He wanted to drag her to his side and promise her that no one would
ever hurt her like that again. But friends didn’t do that, right? But he
couldn’t not touch her so he reached across the bench with his right hand and
grabbed her left hand in his and squeezed hard. She didn’t look at him but she
squeezed his hand back.
    “Riley,”
he said quietly, his voice serious. She turned slowly to look at him as if
dreading what he was going to say. “You really suck at bowling.”
     
    ***
    Riley
waited for Gabe to come around and help her out of the truck. She probably
could’ve managed it herself, but he told her in that no nonsense voice of his to
stay put. She figured she should pick her battles wisely with Gabe and if it
meant having his hands on her for just a few moments more, she’d happily wave
the white flag. Besides, she needed the extra few seconds to pull herself
together. Once he’d gotten her started talking about her past, she hadn’t been
able to shut herself up.
    It
was like she was testing him; throwing as much as she could at him all at once
to see if he would still want to be around her. She’d gotten so used to people
disappointing her that she realized she was in a constant state of anticipation
as she waited for Gabe to do the same. But he hadn’t – he’d let her off the
hook with a swipe at her bowling skills. She was losing more and more of her
heart to him every second she was with him and they would never be more than
friends. She needed to be grateful for having at least that, but she was
selfish and she wanted more.
    Gabe
opened the door and helped her out. He released her hand once she was out of
the truck and she instantly missed its warmth and strength. They walked side by
side up to the walkway to the apartment building.
    “Are
you working tomorrow?” he asked.
    “No,
I’m off. One of the other waitresses asked to switch days with me. I was
thinking about going to the store to buy some paint. The walls in my apartment
are pretty disgusting.”
    They
were just reaching the top stair as Gabe said “Well, let me know if you need
any-” He stopped so abruptly, she instantly stuck her arm out to grab him
thinking he was going to fall backwards down the stairs. She looked up and saw
what he did. A scraggly women, in her mid-fifties maybe, with greasy,
shoulder-length brown hair stood leaning against the wall next to Gabe’s door,
her skinny arms cradling her gaunt body. Her skin was pale and drawn tight over
her sunken features and Riley could see the bones of her collarbone sticking
out against the worn fabric of her dirty, green sweatshirt. Gabe still hadn’t
moved and Riley instinctively knew who the woman was.
    “Hi
Gabriel,” the woman said, her scratchy voice high and thin.
    “Mom.”
Gabe finally took a few steps forward towards her, Riley understandably all but
forgotten. She watched as he took in his mother’s appearance from head to toe
and Riley saw the pain flash through his gaze. God, how she wished she could
take that from him. Gabe slowly and carefully enfolded his mother in his arms –
she was so small and skinny she almost disappeared in his embrace. When they
pulled apart, Gabe’s mom looked pointedly at her.
    “Oh,
um, Mom this is Riley. Riley, this is my mom, Abby Maddox.”
    “Hi
Ms. Maddox, it’s good to meet you,” Riley said as she gently shook the woman’s
hand. It was cold and frail.
    “Come
on inside Mom,” Gabe said as he opened the door. He cast Riley an apologetic
look. She nodded in understanding and watched him disappear into the apartment.
     
    ***
    Riley
tried to keep her attention on the paint samples she’d taped to the walls
earlier that day, but all she could focus on was listening for any sound coming
from Gabe’s apartment. She’d caught herself with her ear close to her own