Crescent City Summer

Chapter 18: Eye of the Storm

"Okay, looks like it is going to hit later this evening. We can find a store and get some food and snacks." Kacie looked at her phone at the weather forecast.

"We can just eat down in the restaurant," Gabby said.

"Yeah, but it will probably be crowded. Everyone staying in this hotel will only be able to go there. Nobody can leave." Layla explained.

Gabby's phone dinged again.

"He is relentless. This is like the fifteenth time he has texted me today." Gabby rolled her eyes.

"Gab, don't ya think you should at least let him explain? There could be a good explanation for all of this." Kacie urged.

"Y'all didn't see it. I should have listened to you and Josse." Gabby rolled her eyes again.

"Josse?" Kacie asked.

"Yeah, he told me that Madeline was this way, and so did y'all. I was too love-struck to listen or see it for myself. I get this for putting my heart out again and falling hard." Gabby shook her head in failure.

"Gab, you are no different than anyone else. Desmond is a good guy, probably one of the last who truly cares. We think you should at least hear him out." Layla urged once again.

"We need space. We need to be apart for a little while. I don't want to go headstrong into another dumb decision. This could be a good thing. If he does want Madeline instead of me, it will come out, and I will know I made the right decision." Gabby tried justifying her decisions, but deep down, she knew they were right. She tried putting herself in Desmond's shoes. What if she were caught doing such a thing, and he didn't want to hear her side?

She still felt like this storm would give them a chance to breathe. Maybe she would talk to him before she left to go back home. Maybe.

"Are you still going to have coffee with Shane?" Kacie asked.

"Yes, why not?" Gabby shrugged.

"Gab, be careful. You haven't seen him or heard from him in a year. We are only sayin' this because we are your friends. Don't jump on a train; you'll have to jump off." Layla warned.

"It's just coffee. We aren't rekindling anything. He said he was sorry so I will give him the benefit of the doubt." Gabby said.

"Like you are givin' Desmond? This isn't you if I am bein' honest. You went from bein' head over heels for Desmond and even makin' the choice to move down here to havin' coffee with Shane, who just popped up in your life again." Layla treads lightly.

"I can't listen to any of this anymore. You don't know what it is like to be me. Neither one of you has been hurt like this. I love y'all for what you are sayin' to me, but please let me do what I want." Gabby said severely.

Kacie and Layla looked at each other, knowing they needed to tell her about Shane.

"Gab, we knew Shane was here the whole time." Kacie began looking down at her hands as she spoke.

Gabby stood and took a few steps back.

"What do you mean, you knew he was here the whole time?" Gabby stared at the both of them.

"We saw him on the street the day you went looking for a gift for Desmond. We didn't want you to see him; we weren't sure how you would react." Kacie added.

"How could y'all? Was this your way of protecting me?" Gabby raised her voice.

"You know why. He left you, remember? He left you with broken pieces and didn't care." Layla defended.