Damaged Beyond Repair by Kashmira Kamat (KittyKash) (ebook reader below 3000 .txt) 📖

"You can't do this. It's too much. I can't accept it."

He nodded. "Give it to someone else or throw it away. I don't care. It's your birthday gift, although I can't have you begging me later for another gift."

"Where did you get the money?"

"I sold two paintings. You know, the titanic one you were so fond of." He laughed, "and Nina helped with the other half of it. This gift was her idea, actually."

"I don't know what to say Chez..."

I had no words. Tears trickled down my face. "What did I do to deserve friends like you? How do I repay you for this kindness?"

"With your body."

I punched his biceps lightly.

"I'm just tired of seeing you mope around, thought you would like a change."

I wrapped my arms around Chez. "Thank you so much."

"Now I want to see that old smile again."

    We talked some more and then drove away, said he was working on a new art project. Just when I was stepping inside the large gates, a silhouette of a person moved under the shadows when I turned, my gave travelled to the tall large figure standing across just a few feet away, studying us with hawk eyes.

  "Gabriel, hey." The blond cat's jaded green pierced through the darkness. It looked like two sparkling gems.

   "Alana, I wanted to talk to you about something."

   I folded my arms across my chest. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Inside my truck, come."

Gabriel helped me inside the truck and took over the driver's side. "This thing has been eating me since quite some time now and I really want you to know about it, I can't keep it buried inside. Not anymore."

I think I knew just what he was planning so I raised a palm up to stop him. "I have a boyfriend and if you're gonna suggest double dating, then I'm afraid, I'm gonna have to say no."

        "That's not it, I mean; I like your suggestion about double dating." Gabe smiled coyly, "but this is something else."

        "Tell me." The heart wouldn't stop pounding; I wanted to get it over with now and fast.

        "You have to promise me, you're not going to tell Rowan." He took my hand in his; the gesture seemed instinctive rather than done on purpose. I hesitated for a moment but let him entwine our fingers.  I needed moral support if this was some serious shit.

         "Rowan is involved?"

         "Of course he is, in fact, it has nothing to do with you Alana." Gabriel cleared his throat, like a principle doing it for a very important speech during the morning assembly. "What do you know of Rowan's past?"

        "Everything that needs to be known." I said in a weak voice. "At least, that's what I've believed."

          Gabriel analyzed me for a second. "Did he talk about his early childhood? About the people close to him?"

          I shrugged, "well, yeah. He told me once about this best friend he used to stand up for. That's when he started to..."

         "Cooper, right?" Gabriel asked me. "Rowan had a best friend named Cooper, who lost touch with him after Rowan was expelled from school."

"Why are we talking about that right now? Do you know that guy?" I asked him.

Gabriel smiled warmly at me, his jaded eyes twinkled. "That's me. I'm Gabriel Cooper."

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