Fall From Grace(19)

He ignored my question.  He reached for my guitar case, opened it gently and took my guitar out.  Closing his eyes, he strummed the strings creating a melancholy composition that hurt to listen to.  The notes silently sung of longing and need.  Tears filled my eyes.

“Why are you here, Gabriel?”

His eyes opened and the color in them made me want to curl into a ball and die a thousand deaths.  They reminded me of the one I searched and longed for.

“I just wanted to see how you were.  You looked fine outside.  Moving along in your life, I see.”

“Get out.” I whispered.  I walked over to where he lay and took my guitar from his hands.  “Get out and don’t come back.  Ever.”  I placed my guitar back inside its case, and a million thoughts ran through my head of how I could possibly get away from all of this.

He was next to me in an instant, grabbing me by the shoulders.  My skin burned uncomfortably under his touch.  He forced me to look into his eyes.

“Gabriel, please.  Leave.  You can try to spin whatever you want to what I do, but I’m done.  I want this to be over.  I can’t do this anymore.  I’m looking for someone that doesn’t exist; he doesn’t exist.  If I have to keep doing this, just let me quietly exist without coming here and making me question things further.”

“Grace, you have never and will never quietly exist. You shine on earth as if the sun was born here. You have been a beacon for all of humanities sufferings and exhilarations.”  His voice became a whisper, “And you, my dear, have been steadfast in your belief of finding something that I know for a fact, does still exist.”

His words brought me to my knees and I crashed to the floor.  “Please, Gabriel.  Please tell me where he is.” I pleaded.

Embracing me tightly, he whispered against my cheek, his lips just brushing against my skin.  “I’ve told you too much already, Grace.  Just live this life of yours.”

My head spun franticly.  “Please, Gabriel.  Please!”  I begged.  But in an instant, he was gone.  Out the window, through the door, or into thin air, I had no clue.  My heart pounded against my chest, remembering the words Gabriel said to me.  I wondered what his punishment would be for helping me keep my faith.

Sleep came swiftly and heavy.  Tucker’s kisses and Shane’s hands on Barbie haunted my dreams until my body could take no more of it and I woke at six.  Three hours of sleep was not nearly enough, but my body wouldn’t let me stay in bed any longer.

I slipped on my running gear and headed towards the front door.  I ran down the steps and almost tripped over Shane who was sitting on the last step.

“Ouch!” He scrambled to his feet as I ran into him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.

“I was going for a run and I thought you or Conner would be up for one.”

I laughed.  “Conner won’t be up for a while.  Shane, did you even sleep?  I only got like three hours.”

His face flushed.  “Nah, I’ll sleep later.  I have too much energy.”

I smiled, “Wow, that must have been a really great lap dance, huh?”

“Shut up!” he muttered elbowing me.  He started running towards Central Park and I followed, laughing.  Gabriel gave me hope last night and nothing Shane would do could make me feel bad.

We repeated the same trail as the day before, our feet hitting the ground in unison creating a calming rhythmic cadence.