“Huh?” I look dumbfound, my forehead wrinkled
“Oh, you thought...?” He laughs. “That was payback, baby. You’ll have to wait for more later. I have somewhere I want to take you.”
“I don’t want to wait.” I poke out my bottom lip and give him my best sad expression that I can.
He pulls me into him and looks straight into my eyes. “There is the Gabby that I love. I thought I had lost you.”
I roll my eyes at him. “You never lost me. I just lost some of myself, but you helped me find it again.”
Neeko
I wake her up the only way I know how...kissing. I have so much planned. I watch as she gets dressed, making sure there is no sign of her running. She tells me she is sorry, but there is not much emotion in it. She is trying to convince me she is ok, but I can clearly see there isn’t much light in her eyes. I am hoping this picnic will help with that.
I flash us to the field I had Derrick fix up. It is even better than I imagined it. The flowers are perfect and so is our quilt. I love having someone to share things with.
“Ireland?” she asks.
“Yep. I hope you like it.”
“I love it. It’s perfect.” She kisses me and sits on the blanket. I join her and grab the basket, pulling out our food. She laughs when she sees the strawberries.
We finish off all our food and then have a little fun. After she takes off running, I catch her easily. After teasing her a bit, my payback, I tell her she has to wait for more because I have somewhere I want to take her. I want to finish her list.
“I don’t want to wait.” She pokes her bottom lip out and flutters her eyelashes. I am so happy to have the old Gabby back.
“Close your eyes. I have something I want to show you.” She closes her eyes, but her body is tense. Here we go. There’s no turning back now. I take a deep breath and wipe my palms off before I grasp her hands and flash us to her apartment. I had Derrick fix this up for me. I didn’t want her to have a clue. I hit PLAY on her iPod. All Of Me by John Legend starts up. She opens her eyes, smiling at me.
“What...?”
I hold up my hand to quiet her, and I start singing. I get down on one knee and hold out a ring. “Gabby, I will give you all of me. I hope you will give me all of you. Will you marry me?” Tears drop from her eyes as the rest of the song plays behind us. “I thought that since this was your home, it would be the perfect place to ask you to be my wife. We are two missing pieces from the same puzzle. Let’s make this puzzle whole.”
I chose her house because I want her to know she is my home. She is my everything. She completes me. I chose the song because it says it all. I love all of her pieces, even the ones that are broken. I will give her all of me and I hope she will do the same. I am sweating, waiting for her response. I have messed up so much in the past few months. I hope she can see through that and still love me.
Gabby
We kiss and he asks me to close my eyes. I wonder what he is up to. I feel the sensation of flashing, then hear music. It is the most beautiful song. I open my eyes and look around. We are at my apartment. There are purple rose petals sprinkled all over the floor, and lavender candles make everything smell wonderful. I begin to speak, but he shushes me. He starts to sing, making tears come to my eyes. He gets down on one knee, holding out a ring. The song is still playing in the background.
“Gabby, I will give you all of me. I hope you will give me all of you. Will you marry me?” he asks, his hand over his heart.
I stare at his blue eyes, trying to let my love for this man shine through. “Yes, Neeko. Anywhere you are is my home.” I begin to cry. He looks relieved, then joyful. He slides the ring on my finger. It has a penny-sized purple stone. Ok, so I may be exaggerating, but it’s pretty big. I hug and kiss him. I look down at the ring and twirl it on my finger. How can this be happening to me? I am so happy.
“Now, take me home and make love to your fiancé.” I hold out my hand for him and he flashes us home.
Wow, yesterday really happened. I look at my ring and smile. After Lee, I never thought I would love again and here I am, more in love than ever. I have to start planning a wedding. I’m so giddy. I get dressed and head downstairs to the kitchen to get a snack, and hear a commotion outside. I look out the window and see a bunch of people gathered around. I head outside to see what is going on, and see Derrick in jogging pants. I walk over to him. “What’s going on?”
“We are getting ready to play some ball.”
“Like baseball?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Can girls play?”
Rebecca speaks up, “Of course.”
“Ok, I want to play.”
“You can be on my team.” Derrick grins.
“Why?” I ask, curious.
He laughs. “Neeko is on the other team.”
“Do you think he will go easier on you if I am on your team?”
“No, but you should distract him.”
We head for the middle of the field in the backyard. They have it marked and have bases set out. I wonder when they did that. Derrick said we take the field first so I run to the outfield and Derrick joins me. The first batter up is Neeko, and Derrick chuckles. “He is going to hit it toward you. Watch.”
He hits it and it comes barrelling at me. It is going to go over my head. I jump up and catch it, doing a backflip and landing on my feet. I look and Neeko has already made it home. Derrick is the first to start laughing. I just look down at the ball. Was I not supposed to catch it? I look at Derrick, who is looking at Neeko so I peek. He is staring at me, wide-eyed, like he didn’t expect me to catch it. Does everyone underestimate me?
I blink and Neeko has flashed in front of me. I look at his face to judge his mood, but it tells me nothing. “Was I not supposed to get you out?”
Instead of answering me, he grabs the ball and throws it to the pitcher. Then he breaks out in a laugh. “Nice backflip, babe.” Then he flashes back to their side. I stand there, stunned. What was that?
They get three runs before we get them out. Derrick is the first up for our side. He hits it into right field and gets to second. I look for Neeko and see him in left field. He notices me staring at him and waves. Rebecca is their pitcher, which is a little funny because I didn’t see her as a big ball player. When it’s my turn, I swallow. I’ve never been good at baseball. I don’t know how I even caught the ball. I walk up to the plate. The ball comes at me in slow motion. I swing. BOOM! I run, not looking at where I hit it. I get back to home plate and look back to see if I am safe. I see Neeko and everyone else staring at me. What did I do wrong now?
I look at Derrick. “I am done. I don’t like the way everyone is staring at me all the time.”
He smiles. “You can’t go. You are the first Immortal to ever hit a home run against other Immortals. We can’t even find the ball! The reason they are staring is every time you do something, your tattoo lights up. It’s quite spectacular.”
“So I am not doing everything wrong then?”
“No, you are doing it better than anyone before you.”
“Fine, tell them not to stare and I will play. I want to be treated like everyone else.”
“You got it,” he says. “Hey, everybody! QUIT STARING!!” Everybody laughs. He smiles and bows at me, walking away.
Final score: my team 10, Neeko’s team 8.
The loosing team has to prepare supper, and I am surprised to see Neeko in the kitchen. I figured he would have used his “king” card to get out of it. I walk in and sneak up behind him, putting my arms around his waist. He is preparing the meat.
“Well, hello, my star player.”
“Oh, shut up. I am not that good. It was just beginners luck. Can I help?”
“No, you cannot. Your team won. It’s a tradition for the winning team to do nothing. I have never had to cook before, you know.”
“I’m sorry I distracted you, but it was fun.”
“Yes, and now you’re distra
cting me from cooking.” He kisses my nose. “Now, run up and take a nice long bubble bath. I need to finish this so we can eat.”
“Yes, master. Anything else master?” I say in my southern accent.
“Oh, baby. There is plenty more, but that will have to wait. Now go.” He kisses me and I turn around, walking up to our room. I set up my bubble bath and then jump in.
After my nice long bath, I head downstairs. I feel so warm and tingly now. I see Neeko outside, grilling. I walk out and hear him and Derrick joking around. I stop and enjoy the scene of these two men acting their age for once. I see their smiles and can’t help but smile myself. Neeko glances back at me. “What are you doing there, my queen?” I blush.
“Just enjoying the view.” He pulls me into him. He smells of the meat he is cooking.
“You look good enough to eat.” He kisses me deeply. Derrick walks back up with two beers. He hands one to Neeko. I didn’t even see him walk away I was so wrapped up in my man. Neeko wraps a hand around my waist and sips his beer. He whispers in my ear and kisses my neck.
When the meat is all done, we gather on the lawn to eat picnic-style. It is so beautiful to see all of us together, talking and having fun. It’s like we are normal and it’s perfect. A couple of the boys get up and goof off, there are mothers running after their kids, and babies are crying. This is my world now and I can’t imagine a better one.
Chapter 21: Drunk or Drugged?
Gabby
I’m so excited because Neeko is actually letting me go out with Rebecca and Amy. I don’t know if it’s because my flashing ability is so much better or because they can protect me, but I am going. He has been so much happier now that I agreed to be his wife. I can’t believe I am going to be Mrs Neeko Dressel. I still feel like jumping with joy. The girls and I are going out to celebrate so, before he can change his mind about letting me go, I get dressed and meet them downstairs. I am wearing jeans and a t-shirt so he doesn’t get too mad. They are taking me to some bar in New York City. I have never been there so this should be fun. We flash to an alley and head into the packed club. Some people get out of their booth so we rush over and take it. A waiter comes and takes our drink order.
“Man, it’s really crowded in here!” I scream over the music.
“Just the way we like it,” Rebecca says.
“More to choose from.” Amy laughs.
I laugh at them, staring at all the men. They are going to get into trouble tonight. Our drinks arrive. I drink slowly because I want to stay sober tonight, while they sling theirs back and order more. We head for the dance floor. I dance with Rebecca while Amy finds a guy to dance with. As Rebecca and I are being pushed around the dance floor, we see Amy making out with the guy she was dancing with. A couple guys try to dance with us, but we turn them down. We even had a girl try to cut in.
“Is Amy going to be alright by herself?” I ask, concerned.
“She is a big girl.” Rebecca giggles.
I think she might be drunk. Amy, too. They only had a couple drinks, though. I don’t even remember what they ordered. I tell Rebecca I need to use the restroom and she stumbles, trying to follow me. Yep, definitely drunk. I use the restroom and we go try to find Amy. She is nowhere in sight. I look around for the guy she was making out with and spot him by the door. Rebecca almost falls over so I put my arm around her to steady her. We slowly walk over to him and I ask where Amy went. I had to explain what she looked like to get him to remember.
“She went out back with a tall guy.”
Went out back? Why? If she is as drunk as Rebecca, I need to find her. I help Rebecca to the back door and open it. Looking around, I see Amy in a corner with some guy. They look like they are just talking so I lean Rebecca up against the wall and tell her to stay. I call over to Amy. She looks at me and almost topples over from the movement. I run to her. “Amy, it’s time to go home.”
We get half-way back to Rebecca when the tall guy turns around and yells my name. His eyes are solid black. “The only place you are going is with me.”
“I don’t think so.” I reach in my pocket and dial Neeko. He is on speed dial 1, the only number in my phone. I leave it on so he can hear what’s going on.
“Why are you in the back alley trying to get me to go with you, demon?” I say, trying to let Neeko know exactly what is going on. As soon as the word demon comes out of my mouth, Neeko and Derrick are standing in front of me. “Wow, that was fast,” I whisper.
“Get the girls and go home now!” Neeko yells. I don’t even try to argue. I grab Amy and take her back first, then flash back for Rebecca. I don’t even look toward Neeko, afraid of what I might see.
I get the girls settled in their room and, as I am walking to my room, Neeko comes running at me. “What the hell where you doing in the back alley?!”
I explain about going to the restroom and Amy missing; how they only had a few drinks, but seemed to be drunk. He listens very quietly, so quiet that it’s almost scary.
“Neeko, say something.”
“The girls will be fine. Probably just some potion, but you’re not allowed out until I can figure out why Lash wants you so badly.”
“I don’t want to argue. Just come take a shower with me.” I reach my hand out and he grabs it. I start walking down the hall, pulling him with me.
Chapter 22: Wings
Gabby
I am so mad at Neeko. How can he yell at me and treat me like such a child? I have the right to go where I want. I am so tired of having a babysitter. I walk around the house toward the gym. I need to pound the bag to clear my head. I imagine the bag being Lash’s face. This mess is his fault, and he is playing me like a fiddle. God, how can I be so gullible? He is making Neeko and me fight, just like this morning.
I walk into the room and put my jogging clothes on. “Where are you going?” Neeko says, his eyes roaming my body. I get goose bumps just from the sight of him.
“Running the trail. I need the fresh air.”
“No, you’re not. I told you yesterday, no more going out of the house until I figure out what’s going on.”
“Excuse me? You can’t tell me no.”
“I said no!” he yells at me, pointing his finger in my direction.
I have a flashback of Lee. I shake it off, getting pissed that he causes that thought to pop into my head, especially after everything we have been through.
“I will go wherever I want, Neeko. You are not my father.”
“You will do as I say. I am king and your soon-to-be husband, and I can make you.”
“Neeko, what has gotten into you? I just want to run.” My face has to be beet red by now. “I will run. I am not having this conversation.”
“No, you won’t,” he says, cool and calculated. He picks up his cell and calls Derrick. “Block off all paths that lead out of here. The running path, the driveway, everything. And do not let anyone pass, not even Gabby.”
That’s it. “Neeko, you asshole!” I stomp out of the room, run downstairs and out the door.
I don’t understand this world at all. How do I ever expect to be able to fit into this place? I walk to the gym to let off some steam. I hit the bag over and over again. I wish it really was Lash’s face. I finish my war on the bag, wiping sweat from my brow, when something on the ground catches my eye. It’s the most beautiful feather I have ever seen. It’s white with a thick black outline. I pick it up, and find that it’s softer than anything I have ever felt before. I twirl it in my fingers and brush it against my face. Where did it come from? I turn toward the door and hear a flutter, like a bird’s wing hitting something. I turn. Nothing. Weird. I turn towards the door again and hear it another time. I quickly turn and see nothing. Maybe I am going crazy.
My back starts to itch right near my shoulder. I start to scratch when I feel something soft. I rub up and down and start to freak. It feels like feathers. I run to the gym mirror and I am struck dumb. I...I have wings?! They are white with a bold black outline. The
feather came from me! I feel faint. I look at my pale reflection, trying not to pass out. Instead, I laugh hysterically. I take off running toward the house. The feathers bounce and brush up against my back as I take the stairs two at a time. Hoping Neeko is still there, I fling open the door to the bedroom. He is still sitting on the bed, looking like he is waiting on me. He opens his mouth, then notices my wings. His eyes get wide and his mouth drops open. Did I imagine that his eyes turned black? I look closer. Yep, I imagined it. All this excitement is getting to me.
Neeko gets up and comes toward me. He walks around me, feeling my wings. “We really need to do a blood test on you?” he whispers.
“You said that it didn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t, but things keep surprising us. If we know what you are, we wouldn’t keep getting surprised. I am just curious.”
“Ok. I guess it would be nice to know. It won’t change anything, will it?” I am nervous that he would love me less if I am something he didn’t like.
“No, sweetheart. I love you. That is never going to change.” He bends and kisses me.
“Do you think you can help me make them go away?”
“You should be able to think them gone.”
“Oh, like when I made them flap. Ok.” I concentrate hard, closing my eyes. I open them and reach to my back. “It worked.”
“Let me go get somebody to get your blood. Plus, I need to speak to Derrick.”
I shake my head and sit down on the bed. Why is he wanting to know so badly all of a sudden? He must know something that I haven’t figured out yet. I rub my face, trying to get rid of this sinking feeling.
The “nurse” has come and gone, taking my blood with her. She said it would take a few days to get the results and that Neeko wants to be the first to know. It’s going to be a long two days. I need to take a hot bubble bath. I gather some of the salts Neeko purchased for me in Paris, fill the tub up with the hottest water I can stand, and watch the bubbles foam and the lavender aroma fill the bathroom. I take off my dress and underwear, then slide into the water. It instantly turns my skin pink and I begin to relax. I lay my head back and soak, letting all my worries be forgotten for a little bit.
Missing Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 1) Page 12
