Chapter 8

Everything's going to be okay Annabel. Everything's going to be fine... I took deep breaths as I was curled up at Gabe's side.

Oh what the heck? Nothing was okay! My best friend had a huge purple bruise that was blooming across his shin, Melanie got her head cracked open with glass crammed it, and now all my friends know about my secret and with a mouth as big as Christine's, she'd be sure to tell almost everyone in the school.

I sobbed into Gabe's neck while hugging him tightly. His head was rested thoughtfully against the top of my head as we were hidden behind the dingy shower curtain. A couple of drops of water dripped from the shower head as so were my tears dripping down my cheek and onto Gabe's shirt.

“Nothing is going okay.” 

“It will all be fine, Annabel. Let's just wait until Phil falls asleep,” he hushed me and wiped a tear that was streaming down my face.

“But,” Gabe paused me and put his finger over my lips.

I could hear Phil grunting and standing up to go out the door. The mini clock on the wall said it was about twelve in the morning and this was when he went to the bar.

“I should better go,” Gabe whispered into my ear.

Phil slammed the door.

“Okay, but lets first get you cleaned up.”

“No, it's fine. My mom has every sort of medicine on the planet.”

I chuckled quietly at his motherly mom and noticed that I was still curled up at his side.

We stood up and opened the bathroom door.

“I wish I could help clean up...” he he said willingly while scanning his eyes across the room. There was green glass in dangerous places, blood on the couch and carpet, pop cans tipped over and drizzling onto the floor, and anonymous snacks everywhere. “But I don't want you to get in worse trouble if I'm still here when Phil gets back.” he frowned.

“No it's okay. I can handle it.” I sighed

Just as he was about to walk out the door, I said goodnight to him and gave him one last hug.

I knew that when Phil would come home he'd expect a clean house, so I got right to work, and about a long hour later I finished cleaning, I ran upstairs to my room to get started on homework. I had forgotten to do it before the guests came, so I decided to do it now before getting into detention for not handing in my work. I already had enough on my brain.

Just as I arrived my bedroom, I realized that my backpack was left downstairs. At the foot of the steps, I saw a random chick in my dads arms sprawled across the floor.

She was obviously a chick Phil found at the bar, got drunk, and started swapping spit. The skank was wearing high heeled black boots with skulls as the buckle, booty shorts, and a sleeveless jean trucker jacket with a revealing lacy bra underneath. 

Just as I was about to go snatch my backpack from the front hallway (Phil and she were too busy making out, they wouldn't see), the woman started to moan loudly and cracking open another beer.

I thought I'd gag that very second, but I sprinted upstairs before it would come out. I slammed my door in relief and got started on homework.

I was done with homework, and it was now two thirty in the morning. Usually at this time (if not earlier), I'd check on Gabe through my window. Before flicking the lights off, I grabbed my pair of binoculars from the tote that my mother threw some things in the night she died.

Even though Gabe was my best friend, something about him made me swoon and make me weak in the knees. He had abs like steel, and his arms were powerful. 

I looked through the nerdy binoculars on my stomach at the foot of my twin bed and stalked. As much as I hated it (and loved it), I mostly enjoyed it when he did his night time workouts. Yes, it made me sound perverted, it made me sound stalkerish, BUT HE HAD NO BLINDS! Why couldn't I just check on him? You know, see if he was okay?

Gabe was not active at the moment, but his lights were on and he was sprawled across his bed with a blanket of homework. He must have fallen asleep while doing it.

Spying on Gabe was one of my sparkles of the day. It was the only time when I could just get away from everything and forget about Phil and schoolwork.

Sooner or later (I didn't know when), I fell asleep with the binoculars around my wrist and a smile on my face.