Margo's Lullaby

by Groves, B.

  Gabby swore she wouldn’t cry the rest of the night, but felt the tears sting her eyes again. “She paralyzed him from the waist down.”

  “He’s okay, Gabby. The man is still working at the same school. That takes a lot of balls,” Dean said.

  Gabby felt a sob tighten her throat. She reached for another napkin to wipe her eyes and flinched.

  “You know, I think maybe you’ve had enough for the night,” Dean suggested.

  “No,” Gabby said. “Please finish your thought.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Dean took a deep breath. Gabby knew he didn’t believe her, but she was too curious about what he had to say.

  “Revenge? I’ve had those same thoughts time and again,” Gabby said.

  “There is a girl in my homeroom, and my last class of the day,” Dean chuckled making Gabby narrow her eyes in question. “She knows everything about everyone and all that goes on in that school.”

  Dean rolled his eyes but grinned. Gabby couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Really? That bad?”

  Dean rubbed his face. “If you knew this kid, you would pull your hair out. Every morning she reminds me about attendance, and every class, it’s ten or more questions. She’s exhausting.”

  “Oh no,” Gabby said with a laugh.

  Gabby then thought for a moment. “Well, what about her?”

  “I think if I poke her enough she might be willing to talk,” Dean said. “I know rumors that go around. I’ve had students come to me for help, but Molly—she knows everything.”

  “What are you going to ask her?”

  “I’ll think about it. Like I said, I think you’ve had enough for the night.”

  Dean smiled at her and Gabby nodded.

  “I think you’re right.”

  They sat there in silence for a few minutes, and Gabby couldn’t take it anymore, she had to know.

  She cocked her head in question and asked, “How come you never talked to me? I mean before—”

  The blush started from Dean’s forehead and went straight down his neck into his shirt.

  Gabby thought she’d burst out laughing as a few veins popped out on his forehead.

  “I didn’t want to embarrass you. I had to ask,” Gabby said.

  “Oh God,” Dean said letting go of her hand and sitting back in his chair.

  He rubbed his hand through his hair and laughed uncomfortably.

  “When we first met in seventh grade, we were assigned next to each other at the science table. You barely spoke to me the whole year,” Gabby said. “I gave up because I took you at face value and thought you didn’t like me.”

  Dean cleared his throat and then shook his head. He tried to meet her gaze, but every time he did, he’d turn an even brighter red.

  “It wasn’t that… not at all,” Dean answered. “I figured not talking to you was my best bet to not make a complete fool out of myself.”

  Gabby blushed at his statement.

  “Why not later?”

  Dean laughed uncomfortably. “Same deal.”

  The clock ticking on the wall, and the low hum of the heater kicking on were the only noises left as the conversation settled down.

  Gabby closed her eyes for a second and knew what she had to do. It could never be. It could never be anything no matter how hopeful she may become.

  “Gabby?”

  Gabby looked up to questioning hazel eyes. She knew her mouth was turned down in disappointment. She was trying very hard to hide her emotions from him.

  It wasn’t working out well.

  “Well, thank you for staying with me for a while,” Gabby said, feeling her throat going dry.

  She put her hands under the table so Dean wouldn’t notice them shaking. She thought her heart was shattering into a million pieces as she spoke those words, even though it was actually pounding in her chest.

  “I think we’re both tired, and need some sleep,” Gabby said.

  Dean’s face turned from dismayed to confused.

  “Are you asking me to leave?”

  Gabby stood from the table, and cleared the paper plates, and closed the pizza box. Without answering him, she walked over to the refrigerator and shoved it in there without a second thought. She stood with the door open trying to control the emotions that were clogging her throat.

  “I’m sure you’re really tired, and—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, she was turned around to face rugged handsome looks, and bewildered hazel eyes.

  “Why do you want me to leave?” Dean asked.

  Despite herself, Gabby put her hand to his chest and pushed him back a little.

  “I’m sure you have a lot to do, and you don’t need to babysit me anymore,” she explained.

  Who was she trying to convince? Herself or Dean? Both, she thought as she slumped her shoulders in defeat.

  Dean shook his head in confusion. “I guess I’m missing something here. We connect again, and now you want me to go?”

  Gabby’s eyes turned to his right shoulder. She could make out just enough below the T-shirt to know that his shoulder was no longer normal. It would require more surgery one day as the tissue deteriorated.

  All because of Margo.

  Gabby hated feeling selfish right now, but she couldn’t control her feelings. She silently cursed Margo. Cursed her again and again for shattering so many lives including hers and the rest of the family.

  Gabby stared at his shoulder, and Dean followed her eyes.

  Realization quickly came to him, and he turned back to her with regret.

  Gabby tried to step away from him, but he was blocking her.

  She shook her head and the emotions she was holding at the bottom of her throat burst like a balloon.

  “I can’t do this to you,” Gabby cried. “I can’t.”

  Please get angry with me again. Please walk out of my life forever, Gabby thought as remorse filled her core. It’s so much easier to deal with.

  “Don’t make me…”

  Gabby stubbornly wiped her tears away. She slid by him and walked into the living room.

  She stared at Margo’s portrait again and turned towards him.

  “I have another question for you,” Dean asked.

  Gabby could see he was fighting back his anger at her rejection. His hands were balled into fists, and his body stiff where he was standing.

  “What?”

  Dean stomped over in front of Gabby and asked, “I’ve thanked you several times for saving my life? Why can’t you acknowledge it? Because if it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

  Gabby couldn’t help herself. She broke down and sobbed. She was so sick of crying today. So tired of the past, and how it haunted her every move, every step as she tried to live her life and move on.

  It was always there, like a dark shadow that held her captive for all eternity.

  She was now standing in front of someone who could be a light at the end of that dark tunnel and she was trying to chase him away.

  She didn’t want him trapped in that tunnel with her.

  Gabby turned her eyes towards Dean and said, “Because if I do, then…”

  “Then what?”

  “Then… you might want to stay,” Gabby said.

  She had to laugh inwardly. Her excuses for cutting Dean made no sense and she could tell Dean was just as confused as she was.

  Gabby grabbed one good thought and said, “It will always be there. Always. I can’t do that to you.”

  Dean looked like a truck had hit him. He took a step back, and his face reflecting a somber realization.

  Gabby’s heart was crushed. Fresh tears fell down her face. She no longer felt the pain of her eye, but only the pain that tore at her already shredded soul.

  The past played through her mind. How in one moment they’d come so close, and in another, they were torn apart.

  Gabby resigned to their latest fate. She gathered what was left of
her dignity and went to open the front door.

  A hand reached out and stopped her dead in her path.

  That hand gripped her arm lightly, and she turned around startled by it.

  “Tell me that you really want me to leave,” Dean said. “Tell me, Gabby, and I will walk out of here and out of your life.”

  Gabby inhaled a deep calming breath. She lowered her head and gave one last glance at her sister’s portrait on the mantle.

  Making her decision, Gabby stepped in front of Dean.

  “Please stay,” she whispered in a shaky voice.

  Gabby didn’t need to wait long. Lips touched hers slowly at first, and then with more fervor as Dean gripped her shoulders to pull her closer to him.

  She felt a blast of heat slice through the shivering coldness of her dark tunnel when strong arms wrapped around her body, and a tongue plunged into her mouth.

  She leaned into that warmth and basked in it, and without further doubts, she was all his.

  Chapter 20

  Gabrielle Ryan tasted as sweet as Dean always imagined she would.

  Did he ever have any doubts?

  He pulled her tighter against him. He may have let her go quite a few times in the past, but this time, he held onto her for dear life.

  Their tongues met in a seductive dance that put a stranglehold on Dean’s chest.

  His jeans were getting tight around his crotch, and soon he would need to loosen them for some relief.

  Her arms wrapped around his neck and both separated for a moment to take a breath.

  Gabby’s eyes were still wet and puffy from crying, but she smiled shyly at him. Her dark blue eyes hazy from her own response.

  Dean was careful not to hurt her wound on her eye, but he needed to keep touching her silky skin everywhere it was exposed.

  Dean lowered his head and kissed the delicate skin on her neck. “This is where I want to be.”

  Her hair smelled like lilacs and Dean drank in her intoxicating scent as he kissed her sweet, smooth skin and found her puffy lips once again.

  Gabby took the lead this time and grabbed his hand. He grinned at her, and she smiled back.

  She led him down the hall, and into her room.

  There she shut the curtains to the front yard and softened the light on the lamp sitting on the bedside table.

  She stood in front of him, and with a slight smile, she lifted her T-shirt and threw it to the floor only a bra in its place.

  Her golden hair fell over her bare shoulders, and Dean grunted when he somehow managed to get off his T-shirt and threw it on the floor.

  He walked over and their lips met again, this time with a need that dominated their every movement.

  Dean unhooked Gabby’s bra before she unzipped his jeans.

  Her naked breasts fell out against his chest, and he lowered his body as he ran kisses down her chest and took a pink nipple into his mouth.

  He sucked on it and smiled when Gabby groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

  Letting go of her hard nipple and kneeling down, he pushed down her sweatpants and caressed her naked thigh.

  She wrapped her arms around his head as her breathing quickened from his touch.

  She gasped in excitement when Dean reached his fingers inside of her thighs and felt the wet warmth already soaking her panties.

  He pulled down her panties, and before his eyes was a line of trimmed hair.

  He looked up to Gabby who smiled down at him as she caressed his hair. She threw her head back and moaned again when he inserted his fingers into her deep, hot wetness. His other hand on her hip, he could feel the muscles around her belly, and her buttocks tensing from the sensations.

  Gabby mentioned for him to stand. Dean did as Gabby wanted and when he stood, she unbuttoned his jeans, and unzipped them, pulling them down along with his underwear.

  Gabby kneeled down and took his cock into her mouth. Dean stood there trying to remind himself to breathe while Gabby sucked softly and then gained a rhythm that made him want to explode.

  Gabby gave a throaty moan and stood up to meet Dean’s gaze once again.

  They embraced and lips met with tongues fluttering against one another Dean’s hands deep within her hair.

  He guided her over to the bed and had a thought stopping in the middle of the floor. He reluctantly lifted his head from her seductive, soft lips.

  “I didn’t bring protection,” Dean said, a bit embarrassed.

  Gabby laughed lightly at his admission. “I’m on birth control. If you’re all right with that.”

  Dean couldn’t help himself. He always used condoms, but this time was different. Gabby’s admission was different. This was something he’d dreamed about for so long with her, and somehow it fit their situation, their connection to each other.

  “I’m perfectly fine with that,” Dean smiled.

  “Good,” Gabby said and laid back in the bed.

  Her body was bathed in the soft, golden light of the bedside lamp, her nipples were hard as pearls, and her legs spread enough for his invitation.

  Dean couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to feel her. Needed to be inside her. Every wish, every daydream he had of Gabrielle Ryan was coming true in this one moment in time.

  Gabby moved over, and Dean climbed into the bed and set himself on top of her.

  “What did you tell me before?” Dean whispered in Gabby’s ear.

  “That I wanted you to stay,” Gabby said back as she stroked his back.

  Her hand hit his scar and froze for a second.

  Dean looked up to see her frozen in place. Dean reached out and pressed her arm against the bed and away from the scar on his shoulder.

  “Stay with me, I can’t lose you again,” Dean urged.

  Gabby had stiffened but visibly relaxed when his words sank in.

  “You won’t lose me,” Gabby promised.

  He kissed her again. He needed to feel her lips, and before she knew it Dean slipped inside of her.

  Gabby gasped and then closed her eyes with a sensual smile on her face.

  Dean had to hold still knowing if he moved too fast he wouldn’t enjoy that sensuous heat, the delicious tightness, and the feeling of velvet rubbing against him.

  “Oh God,” Gabby said, “I need to feel more.”

  She lifted her hips telling him to move, almost sending Dean over the edge of a cliff.

  His thrusts moved harder and faster. He positioned himself so Gabby could take him in fully, and she arched her back underneath him as he pushed her soft thighs further apart, and plunged deeper. Her fingers found his arms and dug her nails into his skin.

  She cried out a little calling his name, and he knew she was ready.

  She sucked in a deep breath, and Dean could felt the muscles in her vagina convulsing. Dean continued to thrust in and out of her. His breath was coming out quick and short.

  He felt the familiar pressure, and explosion as he came inside of her. All of his senses were on overload, his vision blurred, his mouth went dry, crying out while his ejaculation released.

  He could not help, but grunt and groan when he was relieved.

  He knew he was done and collapsed on top of her. He felt her damp arms wrap around him in a light embrace.

  He moved around a little and found her face. He planted kisses everywhere and took her mouth into his.

  All the awkwardness from earlier that night, and after so many years washed away as Dean turned over on the bed, and wrapped an arm around Gabby pulling her closer.

  She snuggled her naked body against his and shivered when he ran his fingers up and down her side.

  Gabby placed her hand over Dean’s chest, and ran her fingers up and down his chest, playing with the hair, her head resting on his left shoulder.

  He fingers found the scar of his bullet wound. She stiffened for a moment.

  Dean waited for her to accept it in her own way.

  She then found the smaller scar to his side, and grazed her
fingers across it, making Dean shiver.

  “I had the jacket on your shoulder, but tried to move it your side when I saw the blood spot,” Gabby murmured.

  “The one on my side and my thigh were just grazes, it was my shoulder that hit the artery. You got that right away,” Dean said. “If you hadn’t…”

  “I remember telling you to hang in there,” Gabby said.

  Dean turned over and faced her. Gabby stared at him and propped her head on her hand.

  Gabby swallowed hard and took Dean by surprise by saying, “It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, I’m not sure anymore. I was sitting in that back corner so I could talk to Margo alone without disturbance. I often wonder if I had been sitting anywhere else, like where Jake was if she would have shot me in her fit of rage.”

  “Where Jake and I were sitting was in front of the entrance, and you were behind that bookcase,” Dean said. “She already knew where you were, and I think if she wanted to target you, she would have.”

  Gabby shifted on the bed looking like she was debating telling him something else.

  “I remember when you walked towards me. I’ll never forget the look on your face. You looked at me like you were confused, and then you fell to the floor,” she said.

  “I was,” Dean confessed. “I swear to you, it felt like something bit me. A big bug or something. A snake bite.”

  Dean could see Gabby trying to find the right words to say.

  “You were in and out of consciousness. You called my name a couple of times, and I said, ‘Hold on. You’ll be all right. I’m sorry we couldn’t be together,’” Gabby confessed.

  Dean blinked at Gabby. He didn’t remember that part, even though bits and pieces were surfacing from his memories.

  Gabby looked down. “But, that was before I knew it was Margo.”

  The light of the lamp reflected the tears gathering in Gabby’s eyes.

  “Ugh. I swore I wouldn’t cry anymore tonight,” she said.

  Dean leaned over and wiped her cheeks. “You don’t have to cry anymore.”

  Gabby visibly relaxed and Dean wrapped his arm around her again.

  They laid on the bed in silence for a while basking in each other’s company.

  Dean fought back what he really wanted to say. The words he needed to tell her. Those feelings never left him all these years.