Twisted Hearts

10| Rebellious heart

Chapter 10: “I’m Sorry,”

Gabriel woke up with a jolt, quickly regretting the sharp movement as his head protested against it, causing a groan and curse to slip through his clenched lips as he grabbed at his head. Falling back onto the bed. His head pound hard as his vision began to clear over, the drunken stupor he had fallen into clearing as the memories of last night came back hard; Playing in his head in fast forward.

He could clearly remember every drunken word and mistake he had made. His stomach twisted as he shook his head, disappointed in his actions. He blinked his eyes, laying back on the bed as he prayed for his reality to vanish before him.

He hoped he would wake up and find himself in his home, passed out on his bed, but the sheets around him smelled familiarly like Sebastian and his mind worked at reminding him it was the man himself who had laid him to bed. Dread twisted hard in Gabriel’s chest, a slow panic deciding to rise in him as he heard a nearby door open, he tensed on the bed, forcing his breath to come out in slow even pants as he heard footsteps getting closer to him.

He could smell the steam from the shower, mixed the scent of a man’s body wash and his mouth dried at what that could mean. A damp hand rested on his forehead and he tensed, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest at the mere contact. Sebastian slowly tested his temperature before walking away to the closet.

When he heard the footsteps move further away, Gabriel rebelled against every logical thought in his mind and slowly opened his eyes, peaking at Sebastian’s retreating back.

He got a small glimpse as the man walked into the closet. But that peek was enough to clench his body into a new type of panic as he saw Sebastian’s back; littered with whip scars. His eyes trailed every scar before resting on something else, a small tattoo peeked at the top of the towel around Gabriel's waist, along his lower back.

The towel obscured the rest of it but Gabriel could see the curved letter of a name, his heart jolted all the more.

For the next few minutes, Gabriel lied on the bed, his mind working restlessly with the image of those scars, the tattoo being momentarily forgotten. They were all old, probably a few years old and symmetrical, he had done enough work with the justice system and worked through with different detectives to know a few things about scars and bruised.

He was the best, and he was always correct. Whoever had done that to Sebastian, they knew what they were doing, the scars screamed control, and it wasn’t done to him out of anger or hate.

The closet door opened and Gabriel tensed, he heard footsteps, “When you’re done pretending to be asleep I’m making breakfast downstairs, there’s a spare toothbrush on the counter and you can wear my clothes,” Sebastian said as he opened the door, his voice bemused.

Gabriel heard the door close and stayed rested in bed, a small tinge of pink on his cheeks as he flipped around on the bed, lying on his back. He breathed out a sigh before he forced himself off the bed slowly and walked to the bathroom. He ignored his red, bloodshot eyes and messy hair as he grabbed a new brush off the counter and brushed his teeth, working hard to clear the small of alcohol off his breath.

Gabriel Hastings was never one for alcohol, yesterday had just knocked him off his game so far he needed something to forget it all, too bad today the problems were still there and now he had to face them off with a hangover to boot. He had a court hearing today, one he already knew he was going to hand over to someone else. He was less active at work with each passing day.

He stood under the warm spray of the water, trying to ease all the tension from his muscles. For a moment his mind slipped to wander how it would feel if Sebastian joined him, but he quickly shook the thought out of his mind. Grabbing a body wash and continuing with his task.

When he finished he slipped into some of Sebastian’s grey sweatpants and a white shirt, the clothes were too loose around his body as he walked barefoot to the kitchen, running his hands through his hair to try and tame it.

Like he had promised, Sebastian was making breakfast, Gabriel halted by the entrance as he watched Sebastian move in the kitchen. His stomach clenched as he wondered if this is how it would have been... him waking up to find Sebastian making breakfast for them.

The though was tempting, filling his heart with a warmth he quickly shook off. Nothing like that would ever happen between them. He found himself shocked by the disappointment the thought brought him, he swallowed thickly and walked into the kitchen, sitting down on a stool and leaning onto the counter.

His head still pounded as he heard slow shuffling, the smell of food did nothing to ease his stomach as he felt the alcohol start to rebel against him; he felt sick. The feeling was enough to make him swear off alcohol for a while.

Hands grabbed at his arm, causing his eyes to snap up instantly, his heart dropped at the look in Sebastian’s eyes, he looked worried, and being worried meant that he cared. He handed him two pills and a glass of water. Gabriel didn’t hesitate as he took them from him and swallowed them quickly, drinking down his water.

Sebastian glanced at him a second longer before he turned around, grabbing two plates off the counter. The feeling had yet to reside in Gabriel as he watched Sebastian get two glasses as well. He had been more than curious as to why Sebastian had been so calm since he’d came back.

Sebastian was…rebellious. Whatever he wanted he made sure he got, for a moment it felt like he wasn’t even trying to mend things between them, but that look…Gabriel knew that look. Whatever was causing Sebastian to keep his distance, wasnt a factor anymore, it was a look that said the man was tired of playing cat and mouse, he was ready to catch his prey.

“You should eat, I’m expecting you to clean that plate,” Sebastian teased as he sat down next to Gabriel on the counter. Two plates now laid for both of them, along with Gabriel’s favorite juice. He made no comment on the fact that Sebastian remembered it.

It could have been his imagination, but Gabriel could feel the heat from the other man, causing him to shift uneasily in his chair.

He looked down at the food, it actually looked…and smelled quite good, but he knew he couldn’t stomach anything with the way he was feeling. He pushed the plate slightly away, looking down at the counter as he answered Sebastian, “You expect too much of me,”

There was a slight pause as he said the words; he himself wondered what he’d meant by that. “Simply because I know you can rise to my expectations,” Sebastian said, before he carefully and hesitantly added, “You expect too little from me.”

“I’ve learn expecting too much hurts when you’re let down,” Gabriel muttered lowly, grabbing the fork and biting into the pancakes. The taste was better than he’d expected, so good he forced himself to eat even just a little. The conversation died, as Sebastian let him eat in silence. But he could feel the other man’s gaze, burning into him.

Telling him that it wasn't over.