The Loneliest Stars || EDITING

Chapter 14

Ella had taken the sight of Gabe and Natalia together much better than he could have ever hoped. She didn't say much when she saw them, nor did she ring him or send him messages demanding a call back. He still had to face her at work so he didn't get too ahead of himself, thinking that he had escaped her reach.

Normally, Gabe would have been content to avoid speaking to Ella altogether. For once she was minding her own business and he was a firm believer in not messing with things that weren't broken. Until he had found out that Ella's meddling had taken a different direction. She was bothering Natalia; hounding her for insight instead. Natalia, who was already incredibly skittish about the relationship that was forming between them. Gabe couldn't have that at all.

Gabe had been busy inducting his new hire into the football programme, he didn't have a chance to check in with Natalia that day. He liked that in whatever form it took, they had at least one form of contact in the day.

The new hire, James "Jimmy" Lawson, was going to be the assistant football coach and it would mean that Gabe would get more help training for specific plays, analysing game tape and focusing on certain players and hopefully the effects would show on the field. Otherwise it would be one hell of an expensive experiment that he would have to justify.

Ella was hovering outside the science faculty office, after school. She was peering inside through the circular window opening on the door.

She was as subtle as a brick. Gabe guessed that she couldn't go inside to hound Natalia some more because she shared her office with three other science teachers, all of them old men, nearing retirement. For being the only woman in the department she handled it remarkably well.

"Ella," Gabe said loudly making her jump about ten feet into the air.

"Oh, Gabe you scared me!" Ella exclaimed pearl-clutching dramatically.

"Can we talk?" Gabe asked foregoing his initial plan to briefly catch up with Natalia.

"Sure," Ella said breezily, in fact she looked a little guilty.

They stood there for a beat before Gabe added, "In your office," pointedly.

"Oh of course, excuse me," Ella said walking towards her office at the end of the corridor. Gabe followed naturally.

"What can I do for you, Gabe?"

"It's more like, what can you not do for me," Gabe hedged, trying to ease into what would no doubt be a difficult conversation. "I need you to back off, Natalia."

"Oh? How so?" Ella asked.

"Look I know, you saw us together and that you have questions. You should ask me those questions, not her."

"Aw, Gabe! You really do like her!"

Gabe blushed deeply, nobody had the ability to embarrass him like his sister-in-law. She sometimes acted like a real sibling, had they had grown up together they would have no doubt bickered endlessly.

"I, um..." Gabe, like the majority of men, hated talking about his feelings.

"Gabe, Gabriel?" Ella interrupted.

He sighed and stopped pacing. "Yes?"

"I'm okay with it. I'm happy for you. God, come here." She beckoned with outstretched arms. Bestowing a hug on his reluctant shoulders. "Don't hurt her, I mean it. She's been through a lot." Ella warned and Gabe wondered how she knew that. Did she know about Natalia's twin too or was it something else?

"I won't." Gabe said solemnly and he meant it. He would sooner hurt himself than have to hurt Natalia.

"I'm glad we had this talk," Ella smiled like a Cheshire Cat and it was then that Gabe knew that he had been played.