"What does your heart want to say, Gabe?"
He was quiet. Quiet as he tried to hear the words his heart had inside. But all he could hear was the crying, keening cries, sounds that couldn't be verbalized.
He sighed.
"It just wants to cry, Kess," he said slipping back into the name he called her when they were little and their small hearts had beat almost as one.
"Then tell her that, Gay," she whispered. "She'll understand. She always understands."
It was true.
His mom always seemed to understand what was going on and wasn't afraid to share that knowledge with either him or Crys and sometimes the two of them combined.
"Do you want me to go with you?" she whispered.
He thought about it. Yes.
"Yes," he said. "But you can't ever tell anyone about it, about me."
He felt her pull away from him and saw her face frowning.
"Why?"
"Why, what?" he answered back.
"Why can't I ever tell anyone about it, Gabe?"
"Because." He was resolute and getting angrier by the minute.
"Because, why?"
"Because, its fucking pussy. That's why!" he screamed.
She took a step away from him, her eyebrows almost to her hairline in shock.
"It's pussy to love your mom?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"Then I don't get it," she said on a sigh. "But, if it's important to you, I promise that I'll never tell anyone about it."
Gabe felt his muscles relax as she spoke.
"Cross your heart, Crys?" he demanded.
She made the 'X' on her chest, right over the duck on the bib, as she whispered up into his face, "Cross my heart, Gabe."
Gabe reached for her and brought her back to his chest and felt her arms go around his waist.
His chest was heaving and his eyes streaming but he could deal with that. Because she promised she wouldn't tell.
And Crys always kept her promises.
"Love you, Kess," he whispered against her hair.
"Love you, Gay," she whispered back .
Chapter Thirty Two
I woke up slowly, my eyes sticking.
There was a leg between mine and a warm, hard chest against my back.
I wiggled my ass and felt a stirring on the soft, sensitive skin of my thigh.
"Morning, Princess Kitten," I heard, and felt, Gabe's voice against my neck.
"Hey, baby," I said slowly. "Where are we?"
"My room," he mumbled.
"Oh-kay," I said slowly. My mind was trying, working to bring something up but my heart was preventing it. "Am I okay?" I asked on a whisper, knowing that asking Gabe, my Gabe, would bring me the truth.
"Oh, Kitten," he whispered back into my hair.
Then it hit me.
The stuff Benny said.
The shit Benny had spewed.
I felt myself stiffen as it slammed into me again.
"Gabe," I yelled as my heart let go, the sobs coming from so deep, so freaking deep inside me, I thought I'd split into two.
"Oh, God," he moaned as he turned me, bringing me against his chest holding me so hard it hurt to breathe. But how could I breathe with my heart hurting so badly?
"Kitten," he whispered holding me tightly, so freaking tight, as my heart leaked out my eyes, careened out of my throat.
I didn't know how long I cried. I heard my wails, felt it coming up and out of me, but it seemed to take a long time to work the barb of Benny's words up.
All I knew is that Gabe was there the whole time.
Holding me.
Protecting me.
Whispering to me, though the words didn't penetrate.
He was there.
For me.
For as long as I needed him to be there.
Just as he'd always been. Even when he'd been gone. That if I'd just called, just talked to him that he would've been … would've been, there for me.
Oh, dear God.
I got it.
Gabe loves me. Loves me and has always loved me.
I sobbed some more, but it didn't matter anymore.
I wasn't alone.
Shit, I'd never been alone.
Gabe was there.
He'd always been there, right there beside me, even if he was twenty-something hours away.
As the hurt passed, seeped out of me, it was replaced with another feeling.
Possession.
'Mine', my heart growled as my tears slowed and my mouth reached for his.
*.*.*.*.*
His heart hurt along with hers even though he didn't know what was said, what was slung at her. But if Dex said it was awful, then it was worse than anything Gabe could imagine.
He couldn't help but to turn her towards him as her sobs were ripping her up, shaking her, being torn from somewhere inside her soul.
He'd give anything, any fucking thing, to make her stop. Stop her hurting, her sobs.
His Crys.
Crystal that had been his, nobody but his, for the whole of his life.
"Oh God," he breathed, trying to take her ache into himself, to absorb it so she didn't have to have it touch her.
She had so much pain in her life and to see her sob with even more was killing him.
"Kitten," he moaned as he clutched her to him even tighter.
Why her?
Her wails were like knives in his heart.
And he couldn't help.
Couldn't help at fucking all.
So the anger that he felt wasn't just against his dad.
It was because he was helpless.
He couldn't help Crys, only be there for her.
And that made him livid.
Just like when his mom was so sick, so very sick, and he couldn't help. And if you can't help, his eight-year-old brain said, then you've just got to get mad.
But he wasn't eight years old.
And sometimes you just have to let go of what you can't control.
So he held her.
Kept her close, as close as he could without hurting her.
Until he felt her sobs subside, the feel of her changing within the circle of his arms.
"Mine," he heard her growl.
And that was all that it took for his body to move and mark what he already knew was his.
His mouth slammed against hers without thought, without gauging how she might react to him.
Taking.
Claiming what was fucking his.
Wanting her with a desire that beat within his veins.
And she met him more than halfway in his hunger, his need.
Her hand in his hair pulled, yanking then holding his head as their mouths fused, tongues undulating. The hand against his back gripped and he felt her nails dig into his skin.
His own hands, which had been soft, yielding as they slid over her, now mirrored her own movements as he clenched, grabbed, pulling her body into his.
Her topmost leg lifted, then wrenched at him as tight as her arms were holding him.
Gabe rolled, his instincts governing his drive, guiding him to his body's goal.
He pulled her arms away and heard her hiss as he felt her hips thrust up against him.
"I'm gonna fuck you, Crys," he whispered, his mouth against her ear as his own hips raised, his cock seeking, angling, as he slid against her. "Gonna fuck you hard, Kitten."
She moaned and Gabe captured her hands in one fist and brought them over her head as he felt himself slide over her wet slit.
"Open, Crys," he moaned, his lips grazing hers, his tongue licking the seam of her mouth as his hips pressed his cock-head against her.
She brought her legs up to his lower back as her tongue met his to an age-old duel.
He inched his way inside her.
Wet.
Tight.
Hot.
He delved inside her, pounded his way, barreling, trying to reach her heart.
"I love you," s
he moaned and Gabe stopped.
"Don't say it if you don't mean it," he said, rising up on an elbow.
"You are fucking mine, Gabe," she said fiercely.
His cock heard it before his ears or heart did. His hips dragged back before plunging again and again into her sweet channel.
"I'm yours," he agreed as he propped himself on one arm up above her, watching as her pussy swallowed his cock, devouring him as he pounded into her.
She didn't struggle against the hand that held her arms above her head.
God.
The sight of her, the feel of her was driving him crazy.
He could see every muscle in her abdomen move as she thrust up against him. Lower down and he watched as he drove into her, his cock covered in her wetness.
Gabe glanced up at her face and saw the flush on her cheeks before he felt her nether walls begin to clench at him.
"Fuck me, Gabe," she moaned, her breathing harsh, her hips slewing, pounding against his.
"God, Crys," he groaned in reply.
She was close but not yet hitting it.
Gabe moved a hand between them and found her clit. They were so wet that the air reeked of their joining, driving him crazy.
His fingers, rubbing, pinching in time with his thrusts.
"Give it to me, Crys," he rumbled, demanded, staring deeply into her eyes.
"For you, Gabe," she breathed as her pussy clenched, squeezing against him tightly. Her head thrown back and her body bowed as her orgasm slammed into her.
That was all it took for him, as he released his arms and dropped his face into her neck, finding his own throbbing pleasure.
*.*.*.*.*
"Dunno, don't care, Ben," Pete rumbled into the phone. "Get your ass over here now."
Gabe had done exactly what he said he was going to do and drove to his grandparent's house first thing in the morning.
He'd explained about his dad's behavior and watched as his grandma wrung her hands and Grandpa Pete went way back in his head as he listened.
As soon as Gabe had finished explaining, Pete had grabbed the phone and called his son asking him to come to their house. No, strike that. Demanded that Benny get his ass to the house.
"Pete, do you think Ben's got what your dad had?" he heard his grandma ask.
"Could be Nancy," Pete admitted, reaching for her hand. "But with all the new medical stuff, I'm sure we can get him some help."
"What's this?" Gabe asked.
"My dad had hardening of the arteries and kept having strokes. His attitude got bad, and Christ, his mouth got filthy, always yelling and shit. Over everything," Grandpa replied. "That kind of stuff can run in families. The worst of it was, my dad didn't think anything was wrong with him, even after the stroke that left him half-paralyzed."
"There's something else, Gramps," Gabe hedged. He didn't want to tell his grandparents about Trish, but since Benny was now all caught up in her and Gabe's situation, Gabe needed them to get the full picture.
So he told them.
And he told them of Benny's reaction and subsequent behavior.
"Oh, dear," his grandma moaned, her fingers plucking at her lips. "Pete?"
"Yeah, Nance, I know," his gramps rumbled shaking his head. He cleared his throat and shot Gabe a look. "You know about your folks, Gabe?"
"That they had to get married?"
"That's part of it, son," Pete admitted. "The rest of it is that your mom was only sixteen and Ben was eighteen when she found out she was pregnant with you. Her parents were going to bring Benny up on statutory rape charges since he was legally an adult. But Nancy and I talked it over with them and we decided the kids would get married. Save everybody in the process."
"It was a good plan at the time, Pete," Grandma Nancy said, patting his hand. "We just didn't know…" she swallowed thickly. "We didn't know she was going to die so young."
Sixteen?
His mom had been sixteen?
He could've done the math, but had never given it a thought.
"You know that you can't force Ben to do shit and we had a hard time convincing him to man up. But he did. They lived with me and your grandma for the first couple of years," Grandpa Pete eye's were unfocused, remembering. "You mom was a pretty little thing and always helped out around the house. She was joy to be around. Your dad, though. What an asshole."
Gabe snorted.
Asshole was being kind.
Gramps got up for more coffee and put his hand on Gabe's shoulder as he moved by him.
"We'll get to the bottom of this Gabe. One way or another, we'll get it sorted," Pete assured him.
"Ah, just to let you know, I'm going to be marrying Crys," Gabe said on a soft voice.
Pete looked at Nancy and smiled.
"That's good, Gabe," his grandmother said. "She's a wonderful girl."
"About damn time, son," Pete said.
Gabe smiled. It was exactly what his head and his heart needed to hear.
As anticipated, Benny out and out denied that there was anything wrong and that everyone else was acting crazy. He admitted to there being a big 'brouhaha' at the shop last night, but pushed the blame off onto Dex saying that Dex was jealous of Benny having a kid and now a grandkid.
Ben wouldn't even talk about Crys except to call her a fucking slut.
Gabe had tensed, his temper flared, hearing his dad call his girl a name, but Gramps leaned over and placed a hand on Gabe's arm with a short head shake, 'no'.
"We're calling the doc, Ben, and I'm going with you to the appointment," Grandpa Pete rumbled firmly.
"Fuck you, old man," Benny said, not even looking at his father.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Gramps asked in shock.
"Nothing," Benny replied, backing his ass down. "Sorry, Dad."
"Nancy hand me the phone and get me doc's number, will you, babe?" Pete instructed. "Let's get to the bottom of this, Ben, before someone gets tired of this shit and sticks a knife in you."
Gabe smiled softly and glanced at his dad who seemed resigned to do whatever Pete wanted.
Gabe called Crys at the shop and let her know the outcome of his visit with his grandparents. She said that she'd let Dex know.
God he hoped that would be the end of it, the fucking completely done kind of end to all the shit going on.
Chapter Thirty Three
They had just placed their order when Gabe saw Niko at another of Luigi's tables, sitting with a tall girl with the most beautiful blonde hair Gabe had ever seen.
This was a dinner that Benny had arranged, a family dinner which included Grandma and Grandpa, Gabe and Trish. Gabe was already bored out of his mind and had tried to get out of it, but Gramps had reminded him that he needed to be there if, for no other reason, than to keep an eye on Benny.
So far, so good, though.
Benny seemed to be in good spirits, maybe too good of spirits, keeping both Trish and Nancy, his grandmother, laughing.
Gabe watched as Niko excused himself from the table and made his way over to Gabe's.
"Niko," Gabe said standing.
"Gabe," Niko replied looking around the table. "Trish."
"You two know each other?" Benny asked in surprise.
"Yes, we do," Niko said.
"How?" Gabe asked, glancing around the table, his eyes landing on Trish who was blushing deeply.
Niko spared a glance at Trish before replying, "She is supposed to be marrying my cousin, Demir."
The table went completely silent.
"You're an asshole, Nik," Trish ground out, dropping her eyes to the table.
"Her father and my uncle Branko have, what you might call, an arrangement. Trish and Demir's marriage will be to cement that arrangement," Niko continued.
"Well, that's not going to happen now that she's pregnant with Gabe's baby!" Benny boomed. "Right?" Benny looked around the table.
"She can't marry someone else with my grandson in her belly," Benny continued.
"I'm
surprised my uncle allowed you to come out to Grantham with the wedding in, what? Three months?" Niko asked
"Your uncle doesn't fucking control me," Trish growled, tossing her head, red strands flying, not looking at anyone but Niko.
"Hmm, maybe not," Niko admitted. "But I believe your father does. Is your father aware of this little trip? Or of the impending arrival of an illegitimate child?"
"Fuck you!" Trish screeched and the whole of the busy restaurant stilled.
Benny's face was a study, disbelief at both her words and the volume of her voice.
"Ah, the real Trish arrives," Gabe mumbled, planting his feet and crossing his arms.
Gabe saw their waiter make his way to the table.
"I'm sorry but we must insist that you keep your voice down. It's disturbing the other diners," the waiter instructed.
"We'll goddamn talk as loud as we want…", Benny yelled.
"This is all your fucking fault, Niko…" Trish screeched again, jumping up from her chair, her hands reaching for his neck, fingernails curved into claws.
"Pete, do something," Gabe heard his Grandma murmur.
"Ain't doing nothing, Babe," his Grandpa replied. "Maybe they'll call the cops and haul their crazy asses out of here so we can damn well eat in peace."
This shit was too good to pass up and Gabe whipped out his phone to capture it on film.
"What are you doing, you fucking piece of shit!" Trish screamed, reaching for Gabe's phone.
Gabe shoved his phone back in his pocket and stepped back.
"Get a grip, Trish. You're making a scene. Hillbillies don't like scenes in their restaurants," Gabe said. "Do we Gramps?"
"Benny! Either sit down and shut up, or leave!" Pete growled on a low voice.
Benny flopped back down in his chair, covering his face with his hands.
Trish stepped back breathing hard, glaring at Niko. "You're dead, Niko. You hear me? Dead." She grabbed her purse and walked quickly to the exit, head held high.
The restaurant erupted in applause when she was out the door.
"Is that stuff, true, the wedding and your cousin?" Gabe asked softly leaning towards Nik.
"Unfortunately, yes," Nik said, his eyes still on the doors, though Trish was long gone. "This pregnancy is true?"
"I don't think so. We're supposed to hear from the doctor tomorrow," Gabe replied.
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