CHAPTER 13: Gabe Opens Up About Her Misadventures
"Gabe! What happened! Where were you!" Everyone started asking questions the moment Gabe stepped out of the limousine.
Gabe had just arrived home. She got the chauffeur to bring her a change of clothes, and made him swear not to tell anyone about the state she was in when he first saw her.
"I'm sorry for making everyone worry. I lost my phone and couldn't contact anyone."
"Where did you go?"
Again, Gabe made up some story, and after many apologies, promises and reassurances, she finally got to take a breather. It was tiring to keep up with her lies, but she could not tell anyone the truth or they would think she was crazy.
"Where's my father?" Gabe asked. He was always so busy with his businesses, but surely he would worry when Gabe had disappeared, and make time to rush back?
"He's still away on the business trip, and will only return in a week."
Gabe nodded in acknowledgment. That figures. Luckily he was away or he would be arranging for another hundred more bodyguards to look after her upon her return.
Since Gabe had already missed the first half of school, she would not be going to school today. After a soothing warm shower, she decided to visit Keith in the hospital, as she did not have anything to do.
Gabe felt strange without Keith by her side. Keith had been her bodyguard ever since she was a child, and she could not recall a single day where he was not there. It was only recently, after many attempted kidnappings and murders that her father decided that one bodyguard was not enough and hired five more to protect her.
Gabe did not usually travel around much as she did not want to go through the trouble. Whenever she went to a new place, it involved planning routes, pre-searching rooms and buildings, researching the background of people that she would have contact with, searching vehicles... it was extremely taxing. Soon, after her bodyguards had done their checks, Gabe arrived at his hospital ward. She told her other bodyguards to stay outside and entered the ward.
"Hey," Gabe said nervously. She felt extremely guilty that Keith had to suffer, when the bullet was meant for her.
Gabe heard from the doctor that Keith had been very lucky. A centimeter lower and the bullet would have penetrated one of his vital organs, and it would have been fatal. Gabe had her suspicions that Keith would be willing to die for her, and he had just proven it.
"Gabe! I heard you were missing! What happened? Are you okay?" Keith exclaimed and struggled to sit up.
Even when he was injured so badly, Gabe was still his top priority. It just made Gabe feel even guiltier. Gabe did not want to make up another story about what really happened again. She was tired of all the lies.
"No, it's okay, don't sit up," Gabe tried to stop Keith.
A large part of Gabe wanted to drape her arms across his huge frame and cry and complain about everything that happened. But Gabe repressed that instinct. She was no longer a child.
But Keith wasn't just her bodyguard. He was part of her life. Her only true friend.
Gabe could not hold it in anymore. "Let me tell you about a dream I had."
She began to pour all her grievances out, to Keith. She told him everything. Getting knocked down by the car, finding herself in that strange world, getting beheaded...
After going on non-stop for almost half an hour, Gabe finally concluded her foolish, excessive talk.
Keith only laughed and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, it was all a bad dream. I'm sorry I cannot be with you during this tough period of time. It must be stressful transferring to a new school again."
Gabe felt so much better after telling someone about everything. Keith thought that it was all a dream, but at least she got that huge weight off her shoulders.
"Thank you for listening to me." With a sigh, she took a drink of water to soothe her throat, dry from all the talking.