Michael's Awakening

by Jaclyn Osborn

Nodding my head, I looked around, trying to distract myself. Noticing a television, I focused on it and my blood boiled as I saw what the evening news was broadcasting. They had obviously heard about Gabriel’s attack and were doing a news segment about the ‘gay hate crime’ and the man responsible. I should have known that it wouldn’t take long for the news to get a hold of the story, but I refused to let them see Gabriel in his current condition for any interviews.

  They could just go fuck themselves.

  Apparently, there was an eyewitness that saw the end of the attack, claiming that the victim was rushed away from the scene by an unidentified man and that a police officer took the attacker into custody. Since Kaylee demanded a security camera to be placed in the parking lot, there would also be footage of the attack for the police to have for evidence later on.

  Looking away from the TV, I turned to Zach. “So, did you and Jackson have a good time? Well, until all of this happened?” I was just trying to focus my attention elsewhere and to distract myself from the gnawing rage and worry building up inside of me.

  “Yeah, it was great.” Zach gave a small smile and clutched Jackson’s hand a little firmer, entwining their fingers together.

  Leaning over so that he could see me, Jackson nodded. “Hey, sorry I didn’t greet you when I came in. I just didn’t want to interrupt you guys. This whole situation sucks.”

  “Yes, it does,” I answered. “Thank you for coming along. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Gabriel.” If I ever get to see him.

  The door finally opened and a nurse came walking out, heading straight toward us. All three of us stood up and greeted her, anxious to hear the news.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Gabriel

  I was in a perpetual state of misery… with that misery being constant bed rest. I spent the night in the hospital after my attack, and was sent home the next day. That was about a week ago. Since then, Michael had been standing guard over me like a hawk, not allowing me to make even the smallest of movements. Which was fine, it wasn’t like I could do much moving anyway without feeling excruciating pain in my ribs.

  Luckily, I hadn’t broken any ribs, but a few were fractured and bruised; therefore sending massive bolts of sharp pain through me when I tried to take a deep breath or make even the slightest twist of my body. Every time I coughed or sneezed, I wanted to scream and throw a little kid temper tantrum because of the amount of agony it caused. Since the ribs weren’t broken, the doctors told me that they would just have to heal on their own over time and that I needed to ice the injured area to help reduce the swelling.

  Pain medication was definitely my best friend at that moment.

  The gash on my head had required me to get quite a few stitches, but head wounds always looked worse than they actually were. Occasionally, I would have dizzy spells and nausea, but it was mostly just a splitting headache that bothered me. Other than that, I had deep bruises and scrapes; nothing too bad. Which was a miracle. That entire situation could have been much worse than it was.

  I didn’t remember much from the attack, other than recalling the vast amount of fear I felt. Sometimes, I’d get glimpses of what happened, but for the most part, everything was a blur. From what Michael told me, the man who attacked me confessed to everything. He was even bragging to the police about the attack and how he was doing the world a favor by doing it. In his confession, he also admitted that he had planned to kill me that night and was pissed that he didn’t get to finish what he started. Michael said that the man would be sent away for a while because of it and it would be an easy conviction, especially because there was security footage to back up the confession.

  I was apparently also on the news, and received countless messages on my social media from people I didn’t even know showing their support for me. It was all so overwhelming. I never thought in a million years that people around here would be so supportive and accepting of me. And not to be a total girl, but I had shed a few grateful tears over the kind words complete strangers had told me. My outlook on the people in this town had changed drastically. It seemed that even though there were the intolerant and hateful people, there were also people who had hearts of gold and chose to love instead of hate.

  “How you are feeling?” Michael asked as he entered the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

  Smiling weakly at him, I answered, “I feel okay. Just hard to breathe.”

  He frowned and looked down at the watch I had bought him on his wrist. “It’s time for you to take another dose of pain meds. I’ll go get you a glass of water.” He pressed his soft lips to my forehead and then stood up to leave the room.

  After watching him leave, I turned my head to look out the window.

  The sun was shining bright as it reflected off every surface outside. Trees swayed in the small breeze, their branches still mostly bare from the winter season, and it caused me to long for springtime. I bet Michael’s country home was beautiful in spring; all of the flowers blooming and the trees regrowing their leaves. Spring was a time for growth and change, and I knew I had finally made my decision about living with Michael.

  After my attack, Michael went to my apartment and packed a suitcase of clothes and necessities for me, and brought me to his home. I had been here since. Within that time, I did a lot of thinking– mostly because that’s all I could do. But anyway, I thought and thought about everything. If he asked me again, I would say yes to living here with him. My home was anywhere he was.

  “Here you go, Princess.” Michael walked back into the room and handed me a few pills and a glass of water. After I took them, he fluffed the pillow I was laying on and tucked me back into bed.

  “How awful do I look?” I asked him, causing him to gently smile and sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to put any weight on me.

  “You look beautiful,” he answered and I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t put on an ounce of makeup or shaved in days; I knew I looked hideous. But the twinkle I saw in his green eyes as he looked at me caused my heart to putter and those damn butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

  “What’s that?” I squint my eyes at his arm positioned at his side, holding something that I couldn’t fully see.

  Michael’s eyes flashed to mine and I saw a flash of worry crease his brow.

  “Gabriel…” He stopped and inhaled deeply. Shit, this must be bad, I thought to myself. My insides knotted up. Was he going to leave me? Having an urge to bitch slap the sassy bitch that was spreading negativity in my head, I held my breath as I waited for Michael to say more. His expression was serious as he spoke, “I once lived in darkness. I saw light all around me, but I could never touch it. With my past and the mentality it brought with it, I never thought I’d find anyone who would love me and accept me for who I am and what I’ve been through.”

  He hesitated and slowly reached over to grasp my hand, running his thumb in small circles over my skin. The serious look on his face softened as he watched me. “And then one day, you came along. Out of nowhere, you appeared and filled me with hope for the first time in my life. You were like a burst of light that lit me up from the inside out and once I saw you, I never wanted to let you go.” Gently squeezing my hand, he brought it to his lips.

  I was speechless. I didn’t know where he was going with all of this, but his words touched me. He had a way with words, making them fall from his lips like the beautiful poetry he loved to read to me, and I was entranced as I listened.

  Then, he brought his other arm up and I saw a small black box in his hand.

  “I know that it’s still soon and that we’ve only been together for a handful of months, but I know that I can’t live without you. You have become everything to me and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out the best way to do this, but I just felt like this was right.” He released the grip on my hand and opened the lid to the box, revealing a beautiful princess-cut diamond ring. My eyes flashed to his as my heart st
opped beating in my chest. “Will you marry me, Gabriel?”

  Tears pooled in my eyes as I stared at Michael, who was offering himself to me in the most beautiful way I could ever imagine: completely himself and not trying to be something he wasn’t.

  “Yes,” I answered as a tear slid out of the corner of my eye. His entire face lit up with the most breathtaking smile I had ever seen as he gently grabbed my face and leaned in to kiss me. Pulling back, he took the ring from the case and slid it on my finger. It was girly and one-hundred percent me; he knew exactly what I liked.

  But, the ring didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered to me was the man holding onto my hand. The man that I loved more than anything in this world.

  “We don’t have to get married right away. We can wait as long as you need to wait so you can be sure it’s what you really want, but that’s only a piece of paper,” Michael said and smiled, relief visible in his eyes. “To me, you’re mine and I’m yours. Forever. And this ring is a symbol of that.”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I want to marry you, Michael, I don’t need to think about it.” My heart skipped a beat at the warm smile he gave me. He had never looked happier than he did in that moment. “I’m so freakin’ upset right now,” I said with a small sigh. Michael’s eyes filled with concern and I smiled to reassure him. “Only because I want to attack you with kisses and have you fuck my brains out, but I’m too sore to move.” I chuckled and then winced as pain shot through my ribs.

  He barked out a laugh and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Don’t be upset about that, Princess. When you heal, I’ll fuck you as much as you want. Just focus on getting better for now.” He gave me the smirk that I loved and then stood up. “I’m going to make you some lunch, you need to eat.” Before he left the room, though, he walked over to the TV in the room and switched it on, putting a disk into the DVD player.

  I smiled as I heard the familiar music intro to Sex and the City. Snuggling into the blanket, I watched as the four fabulous women went about their daily lives and dealt with their men troubles, feeling thankful that I had finally found my perfect man. Even with his flaws, he was still perfect in my eyes.

  He was my knight in rusty, tarnished armor and no one was more beautiful than him.

  Within minutes, Michael returned with a bowl of my favorite fruit and a blueberry bagel and sat down next to me on the bed as I ate. I picked at my food and ate as much as I could, but soon, the pain medication slowly began to kick in and my eyelids became heavy. Putting his arm around me, Michael gently ran his fingers through my short hair as I drifted off to sleep, feeling happier than I had ever been.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Michael

  “Babe, I’ll get that. You just go sit down and rest,” I told Gabriel as I saw him bend down to grab another box of his items from the car.

  “I’m not completely helpless, Sir Knight.” He chuckled. “I was on bed rest for almost two weeks and I need to move around. Otherwise, I’ll go crazy.”

  He did look a lot better. The swelling on his face had gone down and, apart from the few scrapes that hadn’t completely disappeared yet, he looked perfectly healthy. He said that his ribs still hurt every now and then, but not as bad as they once did. It would still take another two weeks for them to heal completely, but until then, the pain medication helped with any discomfort he experienced.

  After I proposed to him, Gabriel told me that he finally wanted to accept my offer and move in with me. I gradually brought his clothes and necessities from his apartment within the last few weeks while he was on bed rest, so there wasn’t much else to retrieve except for a few items. The box he was carrying into the house at that moment was filled with his purses.

  I smiled as I watched him; it was a good thing I had a walk-in closet. And an extra bedroom. That man had a lot of shit.

  Once all of the boxes were in the house– and scattered everywhere– I told Gabriel to sit down and rest before he started sorting through them. I didn’t care that he pouted at me. He was up and walking all morning and I didn’t want him to overwork himself, so the couch is where he went. Cutting up some fresh fruit, I placed it in a bowl and carried it to him.

  “Are you gonna feed it to me, too,” he said in a mocking tone and a snooty shake of his head.

  “Princess, don’t give me that attitude. Now, eat.” Smirking, I grabbed a grape and held it to his lips.

  He giggled and grabbed it from my fingers with his teeth. Maybe I did overreact sometimes and maybe I was a bit overprotective of him, but I didn’t give a damn. His happiness and well-being was all that concerned me.

  Gabriel’s friend Melissa came over to help with the moving and sorting of boxes, and it was good to see her again. I knew that my angel had missed her. Supposedly, she was casually dating a guy and wanted to gossip to Gabriel about him, and by the way those two were giggling together, I assumed that it was an eventful chat. The portrait she painted of Gabriel hung above the mantle in the living room, and the framed autographed picture I got him for his birthday hung right next to it.

  Later that evening, after Melissa left, all of the boxes were unpacked and all of Gabriel’s belongings were tucked neatly away. His cello was placed on its stand in the spare bedroom, which I told him could be his music room. He was officially moved in with me.

  Excitement filled every pore in my body at that thought.

  We had talked a lot about our wedding the past week, and I was going to give Gabriel complete reign over everything. Anything he wanted, he got. Simple as that. He was my princess and I was going to spoil the fuck out of him and let him have the wedding of his dreams.

  When I asked him about what he wanted for the wedding, though, his answer shocked me. “I don’t want anything over-the-top or fancy, Michael.” He had said with a smile. “All that matters is you. For the guest-list, we can invite our close friends and family, but other than that, I want to keep it small. As for the location… I want to marry you right here in our own little paradise; in the pasture behind our home.”

  I couldn’t have picked anything more perfect.

  The only difficulty we were going to face was finding someone to conduct the ceremony. With us living right in the middle of the Bible belt of the south, there were more people opposed to our wedding than those accepting of it. However, I knew things would work out in the end. With Gabriel by my side, anything was possible.

  “Have you talked to your brother lately?” I asked him as we lay in bed that night, my arm wrapped around him as he cuddled into my chest.

  He smiled a mischievous grin. “Yeah. He said that he thinks he’s falling for Jackson.” Gabriel peered up at me through his gorgeously long lashes before nuzzling closer into my chest. “Since their date was interrupted by my accident, they went on another. And then another after that. I think they’re kind of inseparable now. From what he told me, they still haven’t done anything sexual, but he’s hoping to gain the confidence to get to that point soon.”

  Smiling, I rested my cheek against the top of his head. “Good. I’m glad Zach let his fear go and embraced who he is. He and Jackson seem like they go well together.”

  “Yeah, they’re both gym rats.” Gabriel giggled. “They do go fabulously together, though. I’ve never seen Zach so happy with someone.”

  Shifting my position, I slowly turned him to his back and leaned over him, his delicate body fitting perfectly underneath my muscular one. He stared up at me with loving, blue eyes and my breath caught in my throat. How did I get so lucky to have him?

  Slowly, I lowered my head and brought his soft lips to mine. His lavender scent drifted all around me and I got lost in him. As my lips moved against his, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tighter against him, letting loose small moans as he moved his body against mine.

  This was my definition of paradise, being wrapped up in the man who had seen the beast inside me, and chose to love me anyway.

  Gabriel saved me.r />
  I was consumed with darkness, but he had shown me a different path, one filled with light and love. I was no longer self-loathing or undeserving of happiness; I found purpose in my life and discovered a reason for my heart to beat.

  The beast had finally found the one beautiful soul that could pull him from the depths of despair and teach him to love.

  Gabriel was my redemption… my great awakening. And I was going to spend forever with him by my side.

  The End

  Acknowledgements

  First of all, I want to shout a massive ‘Thank You!’ to my best friend, Jessica. Without her, this story would have probably never been written. Jess, you were like my little cheerleader, cheering me on and giving me the confidence to put my writing out into the world. You rock, chick!

  I’d also like to thank Tyler May for answering the million questions I had and for being such an amazing lady. You have a heart of gold and without you, I wouldn’t be here right now. Squishy hugs for you!

  Kaylee and Melissa, thank you for letting me use your names for my story. My Glitter Bug, Gabriel, loves you ladies, and so do I!

  Lastly, thank you to everyone who has ever believed in me. To friends I have never met in person to the friends I see every day, you all are important to me. Thank you for helping me through my moments of self-doubt and for the amazing words of confidence. I love you all!

  Trademark Acknowledgements

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and the following trademark owners mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Bach (Cello Suite Number One in G Major)

  Batman: DC Comics, Inc.

  Beethoven (Cello Sonata No 3 in A Major)

  Carrie Bradshaw: fictional character, created by Candace Bushnell

  Criminal Minds: CBS Network

  Disney: The Walt Disney Company