The Price of Gold | Fortune's Fool #1

08 | alcohol and cigarettes

• [ a l c o h o l a n d c i g a r e t t e s ] •

♥ gabriel ♥

I RUBBED MY fingers together, surveying the pigmentation that was on it. Was that makeup? Why would there be makeup on my fingertips? Quickly, I shrugged it off assuming it had been from Lexi when I bumped into her earlier today.

Standing on the porch, I took a deep breath before stepping forward. I twisted the keys as quietly as I could to the front door, trying my best to sneak in without Nanna noticing. A loud creak sounded as the large oak door opened, probably alerting aliens on Mars that Gabriel Reid was home. "Stupid door," I muttered under my breath, stopping to listen for any sound of movement. All clear.

Tiptoeing as quietly as I could, I slipped off my shoes and began making my way towards the staircase. Just as I was about to reach the first step, I heard a cough sound from the living room. "Gabriel, is that you?"

I sighed, pressing my eyes shut tightly and cursing quietly. After a moment or two, I replied, "Yes, Nanna."

"Come here, dearie, I need to talk with you," she said, her voice sounding hoarse and tired. Something told me this had a lot to do with my disappearance last night. I quickly went over what I'd messaged her earlier today; I was at a friends house. Right.

Strolling into the living room, I took a seat on the couch opposite her, kicking my feet over the side of it. "Everything okay?" I asked. For a seventy-two-year-old, Nanna looked deceivingly young, with reading glasses hooked around her neck and her hair pulled into a tight bun. When I was younger, I always seemed to think of her as a scary librarian yet she was far from that in reality.

She meant a lot to me; she was the only one who took me in after my parents threw me out of Brighton. And sure, I knew it was going to be painful to return to London after everything that had happened here, but it was a lot better than being thrown out on the streets.

Besides Nanna was pretty wealthy, with her huge house in West Brompton that we lived in, which had its own advantages.

"Yes, my darling. How was your day today?" Nanna lifted her hand up, signalling for me to come closer to her.

To be honest, I was way too lazy to get up but one look at her hopeful eyes shut down the thought of ignoring her.

Standing up, I went close to her and sat down on the floor beside her chair, stretching my long legs in front of me. "Same old. Pretty boring and pointless," I answered, feeling her place her frail hand on my hair. "Tell me about your day. I'm sure it was more exciting. Has Mr Carpenter asked you for a cuppa yet? Any more love letters?"

She smacked me lightly upside the head, causing me to laugh. Mr Carpenter was her 85-year-old neighbour who had recently discovered his passion for sending letters to Nanna. Every week, at least one letter would come through the letterbox. Nanna would quickly take it to read yet never allowed me to read them myself.

Probably some saucy shit.

Even though I kinda disliked Mr Carpenter, her eyes always seemed to light up at the mention of him. And whatever made her happy, made me happy.

My grandad has passed away many years ago, before I was born yet it was still evident today that he held a special place in her heart. "We're just friends, young man. And don't change the topic. Anyway, I had something important to talk to you about."

My eyes fluttered shut as I groaned quietly at what she was going to bring up. I hated lying to her but I didn't have a choice. She'd panic if she found out how much I was drinking and smoking nowadays. "Go on."