Defeat – Chapter Four – The Time

Gabriella let her eyelids slip closed again. Her body felt tight and tense from the abundance of sleep she'd allowed herself to wallow in over the past week. She hadn't so much as left the townhouse in seven days. She'd barely left the bed. Yet, even as another tearful sob escaped her, she felt no easing of the pain behind the tears.

The depth of the sorrow within her seemed endless. She'd lost the sole owner of her unconditional love the night her sister had died. She'd replaced the motivation from love with a motivation born of pure hatred for the man in the suit. Then she'd found a companion in Troy. He'd known loss just as she had. He knew how to fight and how to help her refine her skills. Now, she realized that he'd really been testing her.

With little more to sustain her than her despair, she made her way down to the kitchen. Her mother had had the cabinets fully stocked. A family friend had prepared a few meals and left them for her along with some fresh flowers on the dining room table. Gabriella saw all it, but couldn't bring herself to so much as smile at their existence. Instead she made herself heat up some food and got comfortable in the living room. She drew a blanket over her cool skin and rested the plate in front of her face. Eating was difficult because nothing sounded particularly appealing. Still she ate mindless of the taste or satisfaction of her hunger.


Troy eased his way around the big empty house. She'd been in his life for 9 weeks. In that 9 weeks, she'd made the large domicile feel like a home again. She'd reminded him what the difference between a house and a home was. A house was nothing more than walls that contained your stuff; a home was a place that held the people, the things, and the memories that made a life.

Now, Troy looked around at the mess that had accumulated in her absence. She'd have never let him get away with this if she were here. That was when it hit him again for the 59 millionth time, she was gone. He felt the tears rise and his body ache. He rubbed his hand roughly against the back of his neck and let out a heavy sigh. He glanced at the kitchen knowing that all that waited for him there was a protein shake and a straw. He missed her so much he could barely function.


Gabriella sat quietly staring at the beautifully decorated wall before her. She had no use for her mother's love of overt status symbols. She had shunned the dainty things her mother had lavished on her since birth. Instead she had given an intense commitment to the various fighting lessons her father had spent enormous hours procuring and extraordinary sums of money paying for. She'd never believed she'd need them, not until her sweet, beautiful little sister had been taken from this world. Now, she knew, she needed them. In fact, she needed every lesson her father had ever taught her in this life: fight hard, keep people at an arm's length, and don't invest your happiness in anyone but yourself.

A card arrived in his mailbox. It had no writing on it. There was just the picture inside. Troy turned the picture over and knew that his life was about to get increasingly complicated. The picture told him that his beloved was in danger. He had to protect her even though it had been her who had beaten him to the state he was currently in.

Gabriella opened the door and signed the register that the messenger handed to her. She passed the clipboard back and accepted the package he'd been holding for her. She ignored his passive attempts to flirt with her. She closed the door immediately and began to open the box. There were few people who could guess at her whereabouts.

With the brown packaging paper discarded to the floor, Gabriella stood silently in the entryway. She knew what the image meant. She was being called back to New Mexico.


Troy stretched his shoulders and arms as he waited in the terminal. He had managed to get her flight information. Now, it was just a matter of telling her before she killed him. He was hoping that the shock of seeing him in a public forum where she didn't expect him might give him enough time out of sheer shock to make his case to her.

Now, he ran his hand over his face and tried to remember the precise wording he'd been practicing for a month. I love you. I'm not the bad guy. I didn't hurt your sister. All I did was bring her home. I didn't call the bastard who hurt her. I'm still trying to track him down. You'll be the first to know as soon as I do. I love you, Gabriella.

It was as simple as he could make it. More importantly, it was as quick as he could make it. He just hoped the shock didn't wear off before he finished sentence number three.

He stepped to the side of the gate she would enter. He couldn't help the tension in his muscles. Normally, he'd be considerably calmer when coming up on an adversary, but he couldn't help the fear he felt roaming around inside of him. He watched as each passenger stepped out of the gate.