Her
by Roaming Tigress
"I should be heading back home by now, Gabrielle must be wondering were the hell I was."
Bree jolted awake from the stunned state, unable to say what needed to be said. "About Gabrielle, Carlos . . . "
"Yeah, I know!' He laughed, saddening her with just how unaware he was of what happened. "She's going to be pissed when she finds out I wasn't there waiting for her at the door. Heck, I remember one time she was practically on fire because I wasn't . . . " Carlos suddenly became serious, and the look on his face was one of dread. He could tell from Bree's demeaner that all was not well, and already, his heart started to race as he expected the worst. "Tell me what's wrong with her."
"Gabrielle is dead."
The words didn't register with him.
" . . . What?" When it finally sank in, he tearfully, but silently, sat down on the corner of her bed.
Bree moved in beside Carlos and slipped a comforting arm around his back that she soothingly rubbed as his crying intensifed. "I . . . I was going by to drop off a basket off muffins, and I found her . . . I'm so, so sorry."
Bree cried with him, holding him close. Gabrielle wasn't just a dear friend, with her being the youngest of her girlfriends, she thought of her as almost another daughter. She remembered being there for her when she had a miscarriage, and the night before it, talking about her becoming a mother, how she didn't want to become a bored housefrau. She could still remember meeting her for the first time, walking in on her while she was just finished making love to Carlos.
She could not forgive herself for those fleeting moments of murderous jealousy. Never.
"I . . . I need to see her, Bree . . . I need to see her. I need to be with her . . . " He was dying within, surely but slowly. She felt his tears trickle down onto her shoulder as he weakly held onto her, his energy draining from him.
She hesitated for a moment. A part of her held back, knowing very well that if he saw what had happend to her, could very well mean the end of him.
"Of course . . . "
Bree took his hand gently, guiding him with her when he became hesitant. She knew had to tell him, to prepare him for what he was going to see, and like him, she held herself back. "I . . . I just want to let you know that I think . . . "
It was hard for Bree to say what she was going to say. Immensely difficult.
"Carlos . . . She was murdered."
There was silence as he stood in the doorway in complete disbelief. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't possibly be true. Who would ever think of hurting such a beautiful woman? No, there had to be some sort of mistake. Carlos always believed that she would outlive him, with that energy that she had. She may have had her enemies, but she would always run circles around them, he thought. None could ever catch up with her. He would hope that after his passing, she would be out and about, at the dating game. He wanted her to be happy, to have someone who could really give her what she needed in her winter years of her life.
Not a word came from Carlos' mouth. He stared at the division between the floor and the wall, not blinking.
"I . . . I didn't want to believe it, either -- "
Bree's sentence was cut off when suddenly and violently, he grabbed her by the arm and wrenched her forward so quickly that she had no time to react. If he so desired, Carlos could have snapped it like a twig. He certainly had the strength and was in the mindset to do so.
After the initial shock of unexpectedly meeting his bad side, she regained her composure. No doubt, his grab would leave a bruise on her fine skin, but better that than what could have happened.
"Gabrielle . . . Gabrielle isn't dead!" He yelled, bringing her up closer to his face and lowering his voice as so not to attract attention. "You're . . . You're playing mind games with me. I have already told you, I am not the man for you."
He roughly let her go, and wandered down the hallway in a daze. "I . . . I need to get back to her now. She'll be wondering where I am."
"Carlos . . . "
There was no reply as he headed down the hallway. He was slipping into denial. Bree knew it when she saw it, she had been down that road before and knew of the pain it brought when reality showed it's ugly face. She wanted noting more than to be with him, but she held back. He needed to have a private moment with his wife, before she gets taken away and shoved into a freezer until the autopsy.
"Love you . . . " She said softly, hearing the door shut.
Carlos paid little attention to the police cars that were parked on the side of the street. Just another break-in, he figured. Lately the neighbourhood watch had been slacking off on it's duties, not that it had prevented Caleb from breaking into his place when it was supposedly in full force. He just shrugged it off and moved on to his until something stopped him in his tracks.
It was a body bag, being brought out to the hearse -- and he could tell from the size of the body inside it that it had to be Gabrielle. The confirmation could not be anymore painful; she really was gone, this wasn't a mind game that Bree was playing with him. This wasn't some nightmare he was dreaming.
Even in her death, Carlos made it his duty to protect her from everyone else. There was no letting her go off to the coroner, even if it could help her find her assailant.
"GODDAMN IT, GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" He was so furious, that he was trembling and lurched forward as he was suddenly grabbed from behind by a officer. "Let me go, damn it! I need to be with her!"
He thrashed more violently as he was handcuffed and pinned up against the patrol car. "You killed her . . . You killed her . . . " His anger died as the tears trickled down his cheek, and he slumped, unable to fight anymore.
"Carlos, I'm here, I'm sorry . . ."
It was Bree. She soothingly patted him on the back, turning to the officers. "Just let him see her. That's all he wants."
"He can when she's cleaned up . . . "
The answer from the policeman wasn't good enough for Bree. "No, I insist it. Do I have to speak to your sergeant?"
"Fine . . . "
Carlos came to her slowly, unsurely.