Slipperless Series (Book #4)(7)

I paused for a moment, and as I did, Gabe inhaled as if he was about to speak.

“Wait, just let me finish,” I begged, before he could say a word. “Please understand—for years I thought that one of the worst things that could happen to me would be to lose the bracelet. But, after yesterday… I realized that’s not true. Gabe, when I sat there in that boat, thinking you’d died, I’d never experienced emotions like that. And I never want to again.”

Gabe pursed his lips for a moment or two. “Well… I’m right here Fiona. I’m perfectly fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s where you’re wrong, Gabe. While you may be fine, I’m far from it.”

With that, I grabbed hold of the counter top and pushed on it. As I did, the stool slid along the surface of the floor. I stood and turned to head back towards the bedroom.

“Fiona, where you going?” Gabe said, as I started to walk way. “We’ve got work to do.”

I turned back towards him for a moment, “Right now, all I want to do is get back in the bed and sleep. I’m sorry.”

Afterward, I spun in the other direction and walked yet again.

“Fiona!” Gabe exclaimed.

Without stopping or responding I continued, my steps unbroken.

“Fiona! Fiona! Get back here!”



GABE

“Fuck,” I muttered.

Great idea, Gabe. Really great idea.

As I stood there thinking about what had just happened, I realized how badly my plan had backfired on me. I guess this is what the old saying means when it comes to good intentions.

Of all the possible outcomes in the situation, this was not one I saw coming. The whole idea had been to help Fiona get over her problems, and instead I’d created brand new ones for myself.

Picking up the plates from breakfast, I walked over to the sink and dropped them inside. As they clattered within the stainless steel tub, I glanced out the nearby window. From my vantage point, the bay was partially visible. I looked out over the still water and shook my head.

For the first time in a long time, my business was in real trouble, and it was because I’d relied on someone other than myself. Just then I turned my head in the direction of Fiona’s bedroom. I didn’t have many options at this point. Going in there and berating her would get me absolutely nowhere right now.

Yet, something had to be done.

I exhaled in frustration as I ruminated about my next move.

The simple fact was I’d allowed Fiona to get under my skin. I’d broken my own long-standing rule of not trying to fix people, and look what it got me. Reaching up, I pinched my nose between my eyebrows, squeezing it as I closed my eyes tight.

What the fuck am I going to do now?

I could probably get through seventy or eighty percent of the presentation on my own, but the critical parts, especially as it related to the potential cancer treatment and some key details from the lab work… Well that was just not something I could pull together by tomorrow morning. All of the investors would be arriving later in the day, and what little time we did have got shorter with every second she stayed secluded in that bedroom.

I began to pace back and forth in the kitchen, covering a ten foot length over and over again. Yet, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t come up with a scenario that didn’t involve Fiona. Somehow or some way, I’d have to talk her into doing it. With that, I straightened my spine and headed towards her bedroom. Within a matter of moments, I reached the door and knocked on it.

“Fiona,” I said, as I pressed my ear against it. “Let me in.”

I listened for a moment or two until she at last broke the silence and replied. “Gabe, please, I don’t want to talk. Don’t make me.”

In the wake of her reply, I reached up and wiped my palm down the length of my face, pausing for few seconds before I responded.

“And I don’t want to get angry, Fiona because that’s not what’s needed right now. What’s needed is for you to trust me and talk to me. Now please, open the door or I’ll do it for you.”

Following a few additional seconds of silence, the lock on the door clicked open and Fiona pulled it ajar, swinging it in towards her. Afterward, she turned her back to me and walked towards the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. With her feet barely touching the floor, she looked up at me.

“Is there anything that I can say or do to change your mind right now, Fiona?”

Fiona shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” I said, as I nodded my head in return. “Well, I have something to say. I think you owe it to me to listen.”