Dear Readers,
For those who may have experienced the things that Gabby will be going through, please accept my hugs and tears. I cannot know the agony and despair that you have endured, so it is with much trepidation that I even touch on the subject that this chapter will be about. However, I did try to imagine such so that I may write intelligently. If I have understated anything at all along these lines, please let me know. As far as how Gabby responds to her situation, everyone reacts differently. With her, she is between a rock and a hard place. Enough said on that
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Over the next three days, along with more strength exercises and movement techniques, Don showed her various ways she could protect herself that would not involve injury. The most impressive was one that Leo had used on her. Gabby was surprised how easy it was to disable an attacker with just pinching the shoulder muscles. All she was doing was temporarily cutting off the blood flow to the brain. But, the effect basically induced temporary unconsciousness.
Although Don was not actually knocked out, Gabby did manage to bring him to his knees! She was impressed and amused that he was so willing to let her practice on him.
At first, she emphatically shook her head 'no' when he instructed her to do it. Gabby didn't have any interest in hurting him. When he gave her permission to speak, she told him, "I don't want to injure you!!" She was sincerely concerned about that.
"HA! You can't hurt me, Gabby! "he declared, smiling, "I've been at this game for far too long; those muscles have been rock hard for years! There isn't any way you could hurt me!" Don declared. All he wanted her to do was to feel the muscles and to learn the proper pinching techniques.
As it turned out, Gabby did indeed hurt him, bringing him nearly to the floor as a result.
She was horrified! "I'm SO SORRY!!!" she wailed as he shook his head to clear it, grimacing from the pain.
Don waved her off, rubbing his now sore shoulder, "Tha's okay, Gabby. I wanted you to - don't worry about it. A couple of aspirin and good nights rest - plus a ten minute head soak in a bucket of water - should help! Wow, you have some grip there!" He scrunched up his shoulder muscles to loosen them but the pain was still there.
As he stood up, he told her, "Anyway, I'd say use about half the strength you used on me with anyone else; otherwise you'll crush their shoulder completely."
Friday night, Mike called her into the living room. Sitting down on the couch next to her, Mike told her quietly, "Devon will be taking you to the studio tomorrow. I have some business elsewhere to attend to. I'm only going to warn you once! Stay away from Jason! If I hear any report about you harassing him, I'll stick you in that gym for an entire week! "Mike's expression was serious, a contrast to the subtle volume of his voice.
"But..." she began.
However, Mike cut her off... "No 'buts'! This ridiculous story of Jason trying to extract some favor out of you just won't wash with me!" Mike's voice was now starting to rise in volume," Gaele has worked down there with him and never once had reason to complain. He's engaged, for cry'n out loud. It doesn't make sense for him to risk his future - for that matter, his life - by taking advantage of you! "
"But, why would I lie about that?" she complained. Gabby was getting mad, now.
"First, don't talk back to me, Gabby! Second and third, you snuck Seth's Bible into your bedroom behind Leo's back and you lied to me about wanting to learn to surf." he replied.
"I never said I wanted to surf!" Gabby said in protest.
"You implied as much! Either way, you're integrity has become questionable. I mean it - stay away from him!" Mike ordered harshly.
She was fuming inside at the idea that Mike would think she had made it all up. It was obvious that Devon reported to him what she had said Tuesday night. But Mike dismissed it as a lie, a story concocted to explain away Jason's busted up nose.
"Then, make sure he knows to stay away from me, as well!" Gabby said huffily.
Mike only glowered at his niece and shook his head, saying, "Don't think that'll be a problem, Gabs!"
That old knot of apprehension returned like gang-busters Saturday morning. Gabby could hardly pray during her quiet time in the gym and could hardly eat anything, all because of having to return to the music studio. She did not want to even see Jason! Thinking about him and what he had tried to do to her last week made her skin crawl. At the very least, she was hoping she had made enough of an impression with his busted nose that he was having the same anxieties!!
Gracie had taken Saturday off so Gabby had the responsibility of handling the phones. She enjoyed doing that and quickly caught on connecting calls to various areas of the studio. One call came in from Melissa who wanted to speak to Jason. His fiancé' didn't realize that the one answering the phone was Gabby.
Gabby put her on hold and transferred the call to Jason's office. When he answered it, Gabby told him Melissa was on line two, and then she hung up as fast as she could. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as her heart raced in a near panic attack. Just hearing his voice gave her the chills. Hopefully, he would stay away from her as Mike had said.
Devon came in once in a while to check on Gabby's progress. She seemed to be enjoying working the phones, so he told her he'd come back a little later and they'd go out to lunch.
"Please, don't let Jason come!!" she begged.
"Hey, don't worry. He's taking Melissa out anyway. She'll be down here in a little while!" Devon assured her. Then, he added, "You know, I'm sure Jas was just playing around. He's a kidder, Gabs, really - he is!!" and then he went back to Mike's office.
Gabby knew that Jason had not been kidding around last week. He was all business!
Later, when Melissa came into the building and saw Gabby behind the receptionist desk, she went ballistic!
"YOU? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HURT JASON!! "she yelled. Fortunately, the wrap-around counter kept the enraged girl from advancing any closer to Gabby. She, however, was practically plastered up against the wall as far as she could get from this irate human woman. "I CAN'T BELIEVE MIKE WOULD LET YOU COME BACK!!" Melissa continued to scream.
Hearing the commotion, Jason came running in and, glancing back at Gabby with a look that could kill, ushered his fiancé' out the door as she tried to sputter more angry words.
Gabby could hear him say to his girlfriend as they went out the front door, "Hey, she can't touch me anymore, okay? Just calm down. Mike has her under control….." Then the door closed, preventing Gabby from hearing anything more. She grated her teeth in anger.
Devon reached the reception room just after Jason and Melissa had left. "What in the world was that all about?" he asked Gabby.
"Disgruntled girlfriend, I guess! Melissa came and went nuts when she saw me." Gabby explained irritably.
Devon scowled at his sister, "What'd you say to her, anyway, Gabs?"
"What? I didn't do anything. She came in and saw me, then started yelling her flipp'n head off." Gabby protested.
"Okay...okay. Calm down yourself. Sheesh. Well, guess we might as well go and get lunch, too. "he suggested.
"Fine with me! Just don't go where they're going, okay!" Gabby replied.
Devon decided to go into Carmel since it was a good bet that Jason would end up in Monterey. He and Melissa much preferred the bigger city anyway.
So, after parking the Jeep at the Sunset Center, Devon asked Gabby what she'd like for lunch.
"Lasagna!" she exclaimed. "I haven't had that since I made it a few days before I left for California."
"You cook?" Devon asked as he headed her towards his family's favorite Italian restaurant. "Gee, if you can make lasagna, Mike would love you forever! Mom refuses to try since we can go here!" He opened the door for Gabby and the two of them walked inside.
After getting seated and then placing their order, Gabby looked around. It was a nice restaurant with murals of Venice with its famous canals and gondolas. Then, there was the tower of Pisa and some scenes from Rome. Instead of booths to sit in, the restaurant had tables with chairs, which suited Gabby quite well. She was through with booth-seating.
"So....how was your week with Don?" Devon asked.
" Fine..." Gabby replied absentmindedly as she studied the decor.
"Just fine, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah..." and she looked back at him. "What? Was there something else?"
"No, just wondered why his shoulder was hurting him this morning." Devon said.
Gabby became quiet.
Noticing her guilty look, Devon leaned towards her as he asked, "What did you do to him?"
"Ah, nothing that he didn't tell me to do, that's all." his sister replied quietly. She was glad that Devon had finally given up harassing her over the restrictions imposed upon him by the tribunal. Though he was upset by what she did to his friend, Devon's attitude had softened quite a bit towards her – especially after what she shared with him Tuesday night. Gabby smiled inwardly remembering Seth's encouraging words that his brother would eventually come around. Maybe he had spoken with him after the one phone call two weeks prior? Either way, she was relieved not to have to worry about Devon's surly attitude.
"Well, like what? He was favoring it a little this morning and I asked him what was wrong. He didn't seem to want to tell me. What happened down there?" Devon persisted.
"If Don didn't tell you, then I don't think I should!" Gabby leaned back in her seat, sipping the glass of water the waitress had just brought to their table.
"Ah, com'on, Gabby, tell me! I mean, no one can hurt Uncle Don, okay? Did he slip or something?"
"Why do you want to know? Did he ask you to see if I would tell?" Gabby asked suspiciously.
"No, he didn't, but it's not everyday he comes out of that room sore after sparring with someone! He's probably equal with Leo in that room!"
"I don't want to get in trouble if he doesn't want others to know!" Gabby was getting annoyed, and it showed.
"Let me ask you this - did he tell you not to say anything?" Devon asked, his eyes narrowing.
Gabby thought about it, squirmed in her seat a little, then said, "No, not really."
"Then - what's the problem? Tell me what happened!" he insisted.
"Oh...okay....I - ah - pinched him." she said softly.
Devon dropped his head and looked at her in amazement, "You? You pinched him? He was sore because of that?"
Gabby explained, "Well, it's the shoulder pinch. I asked him how I could protect myself from an octopus and that was one of the techniques he showed me."
"Why would you.....oh... ah, yeah, I see. " Devon finally understood. He then told her, whispering so as not to be overheard by the other patrons," But, Gabby...man, don't go doing that, okay? If you could fry Don's shoulder then it's safe assumption that you'll do serious damage to any human! Promise me not to use it unless it's a life or death kind of thing, okay?"
"As long as Jason stays away and keeps his filthy hands off of me, it's a deal!" his sister declared.
"Don't even go there! If you get into it again with him, Mike will toast you! He gave me strict instructions to keep you away from Jason." Devon said.
"I don't have any intentions of going anywhere near him! Just keep him away from me and there won't be any trouble!" his sister declared angrily. The look on her face told Devon she was quite serious. It gave him reasons to wonder if she was actually telling the truth.
Their meal arrived shortly and the subject was changed. They ate in silence as each contemplated the situation.
They were just about done when a familiar voice and face appeared at their table, "Hi Gabriella!"
It was Cassandra Edwards from the Musical Note. "Hi!" Gabby replied brightly. She hadn't seen Cassandra since her first Saturday working at Mike's studio. The woman was a pleasant surprise for Gabby. Maybe it was the way Cassandra talked or possibly the confident and pleasing eye-contact she made, but Gabby felt very comfortable with her.
"Seems we keep bumping into each other on Saturdays, huh?!" Cassandra exclaimed. Turning to Devon, she remarked, " You were in my store with Gabriella a few weeks ago, weren't you?!"
Devon looked at Gabby and then back to the woman, "Yeah, I guess I was."
"Thought so! Well, I just wanted to stop and say hello before I sat down to have my lunch!" she said. Then she turned back to Gabby, "My offer of tea still stands. Come by anytime. I'm open seven days a week, but my Sunday hours are from two to six. I attend church in the morning, so that's why I have a later start than most of the retail shops. "
Gabby brightened, "You attend church?"
Cassandra replied, "Yes, I do. It's a little one here in town. From what they've told me, one of your family members attends there."
"Seth!" Gabby exclaimed.
"Yes, that's the name. Seth! I seem to remember another friend of yours who was with you that day you visited my shop. Was that him?" Cassandra asked.
Devon replied, getting a bit annoyed with the discussion, "Yes, it was Seth and he's my brother. But we need to get back to work, so if you don't mind?"
"What church do you attend?" Gabby asked, totally ignoring Devon's obvious intent to get the woman to leave.
"Shepherd's Church just up the road." she replied. "You're more than welcomed to visit if you want!"
Devon asked the waitress, who was walking by, for the check. He gave Cassandra every physical hint he could think to get her to move along, but she persisted in talking with Gabby, "I've only been going there for a couple of months, just after I moved here. It's a nice place, the people aren't pushy, but they're pretty deep in the word. Christ had a major impact on my life years ago. I was....oh, let's just say....I was pretty much into the world. Did some stuff ...well, a lot of stuff I'm not proud of now, but the way I was raised, it all came too natural for me. Christ showed me a better way and...."
Devon interrupted, as he now had his check, "Nice you have your life back on track, Cassie, but we need to go. Can't be late getting back to work. I'm sure you understand all of that!" and he gently helped Gabby up out of her chair.
"Nice talking with you, Ms. Edwards!" Gabby called out as Devon led her towards the cashier.
"Likewise, Gabriella! See you soon?" Cassandra replied. She continued watching Gabby as Devon paid the bill, smiling whenever Gabby would look back at her. Finally, they left and the woman went to the table she had been assigned.
"That was rude, Devon!" Gabby complained as he led her back to the car.
"Hey, I don't know her from Adam other than she owns this music store! You need to be careful, Gabs!" he warned.
"I was careful. I can read people, too, you know!" she insisted.
"Yeah, like you can read Jason!" and he laughed derisively. Gabby frowned at him and sat deep into her seat as he got in on the other side. Her mood was considerably darker than it was a moment ago and it followed her all the way back to the studio.
As they pulled into the parking lot Gabby noticed that Jason had returned. His jeep was parked close to the front door of the building. However, he was not anywhere around when Gabby went back to the receptionist cubicle. Devon continued on down the hall to where his office was, telling his sister they would leave for the day at around three.
Gabby was surprised to find a note for her lying on the desk. It was evidently from Mike. "Hmm...Guess he came by while we were gone. "she mused. As she read it, she sighed and realized he was really going to make her work off the trouble she caused the week before. "Fine. I know how to clean restrooms! "she fumed.
Rahab had hired help that came in twice a week to do all the cleaning, so Gabby had accustomed herself to not having to worry about stuff like that. Though she never complained when she had the chore back in Connecticut, she rather liked having someone else clean her room and bathroom!
The note instructed her to retrieve the pail and mop, as well as other cleaning supplies, from the utility closet. She remembered that it was a rather large room that doubled as a storage area. It was the only room without security cameras, too. But, Gabby wasn't thinking about that when she went in to get the items.
The door closed behind her, which she expected since it was designed to do that. It didn't have a lock so there wasn't any concern for her to be trapped in there. She looked around for a moment, trying to find the supplies. She went to the back of the room and found them behind a rack that acted like a room separator. She noticed some blankets piled up against the wall, but dismissed them. As she reached down to pick up the pail, she heard the door open and then close. A voice startled her to a near panic.
"Hello, Gabby!" Jason sneered.
"What are you doing here?!" Gabby exclaimed angrily when see saw him.
"To talk, like we were going to do last week!" he declared.
"No, we're NOT!" she shot back defensively as she attempted to go back to the door.
"Yes, we are and I'll tell you why!" he said calmly, coming out from the shadows and blocking her way. "You are going to cooperate with me completely. If you don't, I'm going to go to the authorities and file charges against you and against Mike. You for beating me up and Mike for not keeping you away from me!" he paused as he saw the look of concern spread across Gabby's face. "I will then contact my step-father's lawyer and start litigation against your entire family! He can make it possible for Mike and your uncle to lose everything, or enough of everything, to hurt them for a long, long time!"
"I'll tell them what you're planning on doing! You won't get a way with it!" Gabby seethed.
"How're you going to prove it? I already have Mike convinced about what happened last week! Jack and Sam saw my face, saw how you looked away! They'll be witness to all of that and how Mike reacted!" He walked closer to her as Gabby tried to back up. Though the room was larger than most utility closets, she found the back wall sooner that she wanted to and couldn't go any further. She began to hyperventilate in fear. Then, she remembered the note.
"All I have to do is show Mike the note you wrote and he'll piece it together. You won't have a chance to go to anyone about it!" she warned him.
"Oh, you mean - this note?!" Jason grinned, holding up the piece of paper that had the instructions on it. Gabby had left it on her desk, having already memorized it! Jason took a lighter and lit the corner of the paper. He allowed it to burn and then dropped it, watching it disappear in the flames. Stamping it out so the fire suppressant sprinklers in the ceiling wouldn't activate, he looked at Gabby triumphantly. "See - no more proof!"
"I'll kill you! I will. I can - don't think I can't!!" Gabby yelled.
"Hey, keep it down, will ya?! If you kill me, then you're still going to jail and your family will still get sued! It's a lose lose thing for you!" Jason declared. He approached her. Gabby pressed herself as hard into the wall as she could. She remembered Don's lesson in self protection and suddenly reached for Jason's shoulder. He was ready for her, but was surprised by her strength. What surprised Gabby, though, was his immediate response. Realizing she could do him damage, Jason swept her legs out from under her, causing her to fall hard against the wall and then the floor. No way was she expecting that! All she had been taught to do over the past three weeks was how to move, not react. She was momentarily knocked silly. The next thing she knew, Jason was on top of her! He was right in her face, she could feel his breath, "Remember, you yell, you scream, you bring anyone into this room and I will sue your family into oblivion! Any harm done to me and it's the same scenario!"
Gabby was in shock. She lay curled up in a fetal position on the blankets after Jason had left. She felt numb and detached from herself. He had raped her! He had put his hands where they didn't belong and put him self where he shouldn't have been. Gabby had never been so violated in her entire life. She wept silently, trying not to make any sound for fear of bringing others to the room. She was fearful of Jason making good on his threats. What was she going to do? He told her after he was done that it was going to be their weekly thing and he threatened her once more into cooperating. Any excuse not to be in that closet at the appointed time and he would march into Mike's office, quit, and then the next stop would be the police station. He would make up some story about being so traumatized by her beating and the threats she made to him, he was afraid to file charges. Until his fiancé' talked him into it. Actually, part of that would be true! Melissa wanted him to file charges, but he had convinced her it was no big deal. He'd deal with it in his own way. And, Jason did!
After a while, Gabby stood up. She knew she must look a fright. She redressed herself and smoothed out the wrinkles of her clothes. She felt her entire world swirling down a whirlpool of terror and despair. Momentarily, she felt dizzy and leaned up against the back wall for support. She was trapped! Gabby couldn't fight either way and she knew that Jason meant every word to her about his threats. He had even stated they were promises, not warnings.
After a moment, Gabby walked towards the front of the utility room. She stood at the door, not knowing how to react if Devon should come looking for her. Or, worse, if she should cross paths with Jason! That terrified her more than anything. Gabby had cooperated only because she did not want to bring disaster onto her family. Not Mike, even though he had failed to believe her, and not Don - who had actually tried to help her by showing her defense tactics. None of those techniques would have worked in this instance. Jason was holding all the cards and she was the loser.
Walking back to the reception area, Gabby saw the ladies room and quickly ducked inside. She splashed water on her face to cool her emotions. She looked at herself in the mirror and realized her hair was a mess. Not that it mattered; she really didn't like anything about herself anymore. But, Devon would want to know what happened, so she straightened up her appearance as best she could.
The day seemed to take forever to end. Gabby was half expecting Jason to visit her to reiterate his threat. But, he thankfully stayed away. Finally, Devon came out and asked her, "Hey, where were you a while ago? I came out to get a file and you were gone?"
Gabby mumbled something about being in the bathroom. Then, Devon said, "Well, we're done. Time to go home!"
She managed to ask where Jason was. Devon replied, "He left a while ago; had some errands to do. Why?"
She just shook her head and shrugged.
Gabby hurriedly put things in order and was first out the door. She was in Devon's Jeep and belted in by the time he made it to the car. "Geeze, Gabby, in a hurry to get home?" he said, smiling.
She didn't answer him, but hugged herself and nodded. Devon thought there was something awfully wrong and asked, " Hey, you okay?!"
"Not feeling too well. Must be something I ate." she mumbled, lying.
All the way back to the house, Gabby remained quiet and distracted as she looked at the ocean. Devon tried to find out what was going on, but all she told him was that she felt like she was going to get sick. He hurried up the main road to the house and once the property gate was opened, he drove as fast as was safe to the garage.
Gabby jumped out quickly and ran to the house. She was truly feeling nauseas and wasn't sure if she would make her restroom. Nearly slamming the front door opened, she raced through the foyer and up the stairs, taking it three steps at a time. Hearing the sound of running, Don came out of the family room and saw his niece charge up the steps.
"Okay, what's she done now?" he mused. Devon came in about that time and Don asked him, "So, what's going on with Gabby?"
"Don't know. She just said she wasn't feeling well; like she was gonna be sick!" Devon replied.
"Really?" Don said, concerned, and he headed for the stairs. He took his time, not wanting to charge into Gabby's room and scare the life out of her. When he made it to her bedroom door, he heard her retching in the bathroom. "Oh, man...she is sick." He swiftly went back downstairs to the kitchen to make some herbal tea. Rahab came in and asked what was going on and Don told her,"Gabby's sick. I'm making some tea for her."
While Don was getting the tea ready, Rahab walked up the stairs to her niece's room. She rapped gently on the door, "Gabby, dear, are you alright?" No answer. She carefully opened the door and saw that her niece was lying on the bed on her side, facing away from the door. "Gabby?"
Gabby heard Rahab, but didn't want to answer her. She felt awful. The memory of that afternoon would not shut off as she replayed those horrible minutes in the utility room at the studio. Jason's face was all over hers, as was his body. She hated him so much but felt completely powerless to do anything about it. She felt Rahab sit down on the edge of the bed. "Gabby, what's wrong, dear?"
"Nothing. Don't feel well. Just want to be left alone, s'all." Gabby replied.
Rahab gently touched Gabby's shoulder and in the next instant, Gabby was standing up on the bed, hard against the wall, her eyes wide. She was screaming, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Rahab jumped as well, but in the opposite direction, "Okay, I won't. What happened, Gabs?" her aunt asked, shocked by her reaction. She watched as her niece stood rigid against the wall, hyperventilating as if she were out of breath.
Don heard Gabby yell and raced up the stairs to see what was going on. He saw his niece, now off the bed, standing over by the window, shrinking back from Rahab. "Just leave me along - everyone, just LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed.
Soon, Mike, Raph, and Devon were also at the door, hearing Gabby's second outburst. As soon as Don came in, he had to duck. Gabby had taken a lamp and thrown it at him. He reached out and caught it before it could hit the wall. She yelled out, "I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" and she started to cry. "GET OUT - ALL OF YOU!" Her sobs were nearly hysterical.
Raph stepped up and told everyone to leave and ushered them out of the room. Outside the door, Rahab brought them up to speed.
Raph came back into the room and calmly sat on the bed. He didn't say anything but allowed his daughter to vent whatever was bothering her. She slumped along the wall to the floor in a heap, sobbing, "Please, just go...just go out....leave me ...alone."
Raph came over to where she was and stooped down to a crouch, keeping some distance between himself and his daughter. "Can't do that. I'm going to stay here until you tell me what's going on." Raph said calmly.
"Nothing is wrong. I - just don't feel well. That's it. I've never been a ....happy sick person, okay?!" she grumbled.
Raph smiled a little, but he knew instinctively that something wasn't right. He sat there for over an hour and the only thing he received was more yelling and orders to leave the room. Finally, he told her he was going to go down and bring up some of the tea Don had made for her. She had to drink all of it if he was going to leave her alone. She nodded.
There must have been a good six cups of tea in that pot, but Gabby was determined to get her father out of her room. He was mildly amused by her tenacity and, as promised, when the last drop was gone, he left her alone. He was careful not to touch her. Rahab had said that's what started the ruckus in the first place. "I only touched her shoulder and gently, too!" she had explained.
Raph was quite concerned. Gabby had never behaved this aggressively before. Her whole countenance was as if she was facing someone else and had all she could do to keep from pounding them into the ground.
Once Raph had left, Gabby raced for the bathroom. She was oversaturated and her body could hold just so much liquid. When she was done, she decided to take a shower to rid her self of Jason. The water felt refreshing and healing, but after an hour she still felt horrible. With the water cascading down on top of her, Gabby sat in the tub and cried. She couldn't turn off her memory and the event in the utility room at the studio was now starting to haunt her. Feeling nauseas once again, she barely made it out of the shower and to the commode before she emptied the contents of her stomach. She retched several more times until she had nothing left to give. Gabby sat on the cool tile, pooling water around her. She then grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it. Gabby grabbed another one and did the same thing. If there had been ten towels, she would have used all of them to cover herself up. Gabby felt totally unclean.
She insisted on having her dinner in her room. Raph refused to let her. "Then," she declared loudly, "I'll go hungry." He finally relented, his gut feelings telling him that this was something more than just not feeling well. He insisted, though, in keeping her company. "I'd rather go hungry!" she stated angrily.
"I won't pester you with questions about what's going on, okay?" he promised.
Gabby replied, "I'm just not feeling well. But, thanks anyway."
Finally, after he convinced her he was quite serious about it, she allowed her father into her room, eating silently as he watched. Raph noticed Gabby's hands shake as she would bring food to her mouth, clear evidence that something wasn't right with her.
"So...looks like we might be in for some more wet weather." Raph said, trying to find a neutral topic to talk about.
"Might be...dunno." Gabby replied quietly between bites. She refused to look at Raph, keeping her gaze focused on her plate.
"Might snow, too, I hear." he said, waiting for her response. He watched her facial reaction and was surprised to find her completely devoid of expression.
"Not here along the coast - too warm and wet." his daughter corrected him flatly.
"You're right about that." Raph concurred. "Did Devon treat you alright today?" he asked cautiously.
"Yep." was all Gabby said in response.
"Heard you were at the phones today. Get a lot of calls?" Raph asked, still treading carefully.
"Enough." she replied.
"Jason there?" her father then asked, watching his daughter's reaction more closely this time.
Gabby's face clouded over momentarily, but she caught herself and gave her continuing one word answers, "Dunno."
"Hmm...." Raph said. Then offered, "Well, I'm sure you're going to want to see the professor. He's downstairs right now. "
"Not feeling too well. I think I want to call it a night. Tell him 'hi' from me, okay?" Gabby said.
That was very strange. Gabby never missed visiting with the professor unless she was being denied that visit by one of them. For her to miss it on her own accord was completely out of character for her. Even when she was exhausted from training, she always found enough reserve to include a visit with him. "I'll tell him. You get some rest, okay? Tomorrow's your weekly review." Raph said. He waited for a response and when he didn't get one, he asked her, "Can I hug you, Gabby?"
She looked up at him and it was then that he saw the tears. "Guess…" was all she could say.
Raph hugged her gently and then found that she was hugging back more forcefully. "You just take your time, okay? Whenever you feel like talking, you just come to me and I'll just listen, okay? "He entreated.
Gabby just nodded quietly and then he left her in her room.
Gabby hardly slept. She kept seeing Jason, hearing his words, feeling the panic, feeling violated. Gabby realized that she was going to have to control her responses to things around the house. She had everyone aware Saturday afternoon that something wasn't right with her. Feigning illness might work only if she 'got better' by the next day. As hard as it was going to be for her, Gabby made up her mind to get back to normal - and quickly. She would handle next Saturday when it happens.
Don was surprised and relieved when he found Gabby in the pool the next morning. She decided to go back to her daily laps, despite the frigid water. It seemed to help her get her mind on track with her training. She toweled off and slipped her robe on, then went into the house to grab a cup of coffee. "Feeling better, Gabby?" Don asked, observing his niece over a cup of his own.
"Yep, much!" she replied, smiling. It was as real as she could produce, but Gabby was determined to not give away anymore hints that things were not all right.
"Hmmm...That's good." Don said, watching her. "You feel like talking about it?"
"My stomach hurt! I think it was something I ate at that Italian restaurant Devon took me to. I don't think I'll be eating there again!" she explained, chuckling a little.
Don was glad about her feeling better, but there was just something that didn't seem right. Her reaction last evening didn't fit with her excuse. Still, he would not press Gabby for more information until he felt she was ready.
She struggled through her quiet time in the gym. She was starting to get control of her thoughts, but it was difficult at best. She worked on just thinking about Seth and the current chapter in Romans she was on. Every once in a while, though, the thought that she was now 'used material' would seep into her consciousness. She grieved for her lost innocence but Gabby new that it would have done her little good to cry over it. What was done was done. Her goal was to get through this week and resolve herself to whatever was waiting for her on Saturday. Maybe an idea would come to her that would persuade Jason to move on to more interesting diversions!
Her review with Don went well, but not as well as it could have. Again, her concentration was compromised by the events from the day before. However, she did well enough to please Don and that was enough for her. The rest of the day she chose to spend with the professor in the guest house.
Gabby noticed the professor's coloring was more pale than normal. His energies were a little lackluster, but he still had that verve for discourse. He had noticed a difference in Gabby, an edge that he had never seen before. "Guess your training is going well, then?" when he asked her about it.
Gabby lied and said it couldn't be going any better. She was quite pleased with everything and was looking forward to Monday when Devon would train her. She nearly gagged on the words as she spoke them, but she managed to get them out.
She slept a little better that night, only because she was determined to. Gabby turned her emotions off, not an easy thing for her to do, but she was capable of it if called upon. The next morning was unusually colder than the days before, so Gabby forsook her swim. She did make her quiet time, though, and finally finished the book of Romans. Devon met her in the gym.
Four weeks prior, she would have been dreading this day. Devon's antagonistic attitude, though, had dissipated and he was more in control of his temper. Actually, since Tuesday evening, he had acted more like his old self before the travesty at the karaoke bar happened.
"Okay, so this week we're going to go over how to react to someone who attacks you!" he stated. "You've learned quite a few moves from Leo, Mike, and Don and now we're going to put them into practice."
Gabby thought that the timing couldn't be more off, but better late than never. Yet, with all the threats and promises of litigation that Jason had promised her, knowing how to fight back was going to be as useful as a three dollar bill.
Devon had not expected the intensity of his sister's rebuttal. He had wanted her to respond to his attacks in a certain way and she more than came through! Her first attempt at dissuading his advances sent him sprawling across the gymnasium floor! The look of surprise clearly evident on his face, Gabby's expression was of complete shock, " I'm so sorry, Devon!!" she exclaimed as she went over to help him up.
Waving her away, he righted himself immediately. He assured her that it was part of the training. "If I can't take a few bumps and bruises, I have no business being in here! Now, let's do that again, but I'm not going to go easy on you, okay?!" he said. He advanced again towards Gabby, but more aggressively.
After the fourth time of getting slammed to the floorboards, Devon finally decided that Gabby needed a rest. He worked the aches out of his backside and did some stretching to relieve the tightness he was starting to feel.
"I'm really sorry, Devon!" Gabby said softly.
He looked at her, some of the temper coming back, but he dismissed it, saying. "Again, it's part of the territory of training. I'm ....well...somewhat surprised by your progress. You've developed quite a kick, Sis!" and he smiled at her.
The rest of that week went along the same lines. Gabby did get thrown, herself, and she had all she could do to keep from going ballistic on Devon. But, as close as she came and as obvious as it was to him, she managed to back off. By Friday, Gabby was well versed in meting out a defense that - had it been two weeks prior - would have certainly killed Jason! Unfortunately for Devon, Gabby's main focus was on what his best friend 'in the whole wide world' had done to her. Devon reaped the benefits because of it. What she was going to do with the new found ability once Saturday arrived was a mystery to her. That threat of arrest and lawsuit hung onto her like a dense, suffocating fog.
Friday night she hardly slept. Mike was going to be in the studio the next day and wanted her to work with him. He had a lot of paperwork that had piled up and he told Gabby that she would be assisting him with it. She decided she would just have to make an excuse to 'visit the restroom' and maybe feign having another bout of food poisoning to explain being gone so long. Hopefully, he wouldn't suspect a thing.
For those who may have experienced the things that Gabby will be going through, please accept my hugs and tears. I cannot know the agony and despair that you have endured, so it is with much trepidation that I even touch on the subject that this chapter will be about. However, I did try to imagine such so that I may write intelligently. If I have understated anything at all along these lines, please let me know. As far as how Gabby responds to her situation, everyone reacts differently. With her, she is between a rock and a hard place. Enough said on that
*********
Over the next three days, along with more strength exercises and movement techniques, Don showed her various ways she could protect herself that would not involve injury. The most impressive was one that Leo had used on her. Gabby was surprised how easy it was to disable an attacker with just pinching the shoulder muscles. All she was doing was temporarily cutting off the blood flow to the brain. But, the effect basically induced temporary unconsciousness.
Although Don was not actually knocked out, Gabby did manage to bring him to his knees! She was impressed and amused that he was so willing to let her practice on him.
At first, she emphatically shook her head 'no' when he instructed her to do it. Gabby didn't have any interest in hurting him. When he gave her permission to speak, she told him, "I don't want to injure you!!" She was sincerely concerned about that.
"HA! You can't hurt me, Gabby! "he declared, smiling, "I've been at this game for far too long; those muscles have been rock hard for years! There isn't any way you could hurt me!" Don declared. All he wanted her to do was to feel the muscles and to learn the proper pinching techniques.
As it turned out, Gabby did indeed hurt him, bringing him nearly to the floor as a result.
She was horrified! "I'm SO SORRY!!!" she wailed as he shook his head to clear it, grimacing from the pain.
Don waved her off, rubbing his now sore shoulder, "Tha's okay, Gabby. I wanted you to - don't worry about it. A couple of aspirin and good nights rest - plus a ten minute head soak in a bucket of water - should help! Wow, you have some grip there!" He scrunched up his shoulder muscles to loosen them but the pain was still there.
As he stood up, he told her, "Anyway, I'd say use about half the strength you used on me with anyone else; otherwise you'll crush their shoulder completely."
Friday night, Mike called her into the living room. Sitting down on the couch next to her, Mike told her quietly, "Devon will be taking you to the studio tomorrow. I have some business elsewhere to attend to. I'm only going to warn you once! Stay away from Jason! If I hear any report about you harassing him, I'll stick you in that gym for an entire week! "Mike's expression was serious, a contrast to the subtle volume of his voice.
"But..." she began.
However, Mike cut her off... "No 'buts'! This ridiculous story of Jason trying to extract some favor out of you just won't wash with me!" Mike's voice was now starting to rise in volume," Gaele has worked down there with him and never once had reason to complain. He's engaged, for cry'n out loud. It doesn't make sense for him to risk his future - for that matter, his life - by taking advantage of you! "
"But, why would I lie about that?" she complained. Gabby was getting mad, now.
"First, don't talk back to me, Gabby! Second and third, you snuck Seth's Bible into your bedroom behind Leo's back and you lied to me about wanting to learn to surf." he replied.
"I never said I wanted to surf!" Gabby said in protest.
"You implied as much! Either way, you're integrity has become questionable. I mean it - stay away from him!" Mike ordered harshly.
She was fuming inside at the idea that Mike would think she had made it all up. It was obvious that Devon reported to him what she had said Tuesday night. But Mike dismissed it as a lie, a story concocted to explain away Jason's busted up nose.
"Then, make sure he knows to stay away from me, as well!" Gabby said huffily.
Mike only glowered at his niece and shook his head, saying, "Don't think that'll be a problem, Gabs!"
That old knot of apprehension returned like gang-busters Saturday morning. Gabby could hardly pray during her quiet time in the gym and could hardly eat anything, all because of having to return to the music studio. She did not want to even see Jason! Thinking about him and what he had tried to do to her last week made her skin crawl. At the very least, she was hoping she had made enough of an impression with his busted nose that he was having the same anxieties!!
Gracie had taken Saturday off so Gabby had the responsibility of handling the phones. She enjoyed doing that and quickly caught on connecting calls to various areas of the studio. One call came in from Melissa who wanted to speak to Jason. His fiancé' didn't realize that the one answering the phone was Gabby.
Gabby put her on hold and transferred the call to Jason's office. When he answered it, Gabby told him Melissa was on line two, and then she hung up as fast as she could. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as her heart raced in a near panic attack. Just hearing his voice gave her the chills. Hopefully, he would stay away from her as Mike had said.
Devon came in once in a while to check on Gabby's progress. She seemed to be enjoying working the phones, so he told her he'd come back a little later and they'd go out to lunch.
"Please, don't let Jason come!!" she begged.
"Hey, don't worry. He's taking Melissa out anyway. She'll be down here in a little while!" Devon assured her. Then, he added, "You know, I'm sure Jas was just playing around. He's a kidder, Gabs, really - he is!!" and then he went back to Mike's office.
Gabby knew that Jason had not been kidding around last week. He was all business!
Later, when Melissa came into the building and saw Gabby behind the receptionist desk, she went ballistic!
"YOU? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HURT JASON!! "she yelled. Fortunately, the wrap-around counter kept the enraged girl from advancing any closer to Gabby. She, however, was practically plastered up against the wall as far as she could get from this irate human woman. "I CAN'T BELIEVE MIKE WOULD LET YOU COME BACK!!" Melissa continued to scream.
Hearing the commotion, Jason came running in and, glancing back at Gabby with a look that could kill, ushered his fiancé' out the door as she tried to sputter more angry words.
Gabby could hear him say to his girlfriend as they went out the front door, "Hey, she can't touch me anymore, okay? Just calm down. Mike has her under control….." Then the door closed, preventing Gabby from hearing anything more. She grated her teeth in anger.
Devon reached the reception room just after Jason and Melissa had left. "What in the world was that all about?" he asked Gabby.
"Disgruntled girlfriend, I guess! Melissa came and went nuts when she saw me." Gabby explained irritably.
Devon scowled at his sister, "What'd you say to her, anyway, Gabs?"
"What? I didn't do anything. She came in and saw me, then started yelling her flipp'n head off." Gabby protested.
"Okay...okay. Calm down yourself. Sheesh. Well, guess we might as well go and get lunch, too. "he suggested.
"Fine with me! Just don't go where they're going, okay!" Gabby replied.
Devon decided to go into Carmel since it was a good bet that Jason would end up in Monterey. He and Melissa much preferred the bigger city anyway.
So, after parking the Jeep at the Sunset Center, Devon asked Gabby what she'd like for lunch.
"Lasagna!" she exclaimed. "I haven't had that since I made it a few days before I left for California."
"You cook?" Devon asked as he headed her towards his family's favorite Italian restaurant. "Gee, if you can make lasagna, Mike would love you forever! Mom refuses to try since we can go here!" He opened the door for Gabby and the two of them walked inside.
After getting seated and then placing their order, Gabby looked around. It was a nice restaurant with murals of Venice with its famous canals and gondolas. Then, there was the tower of Pisa and some scenes from Rome. Instead of booths to sit in, the restaurant had tables with chairs, which suited Gabby quite well. She was through with booth-seating.
"So....how was your week with Don?" Devon asked.
" Fine..." Gabby replied absentmindedly as she studied the decor.
"Just fine, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah..." and she looked back at him. "What? Was there something else?"
"No, just wondered why his shoulder was hurting him this morning." Devon said.
Gabby became quiet.
Noticing her guilty look, Devon leaned towards her as he asked, "What did you do to him?"
"Ah, nothing that he didn't tell me to do, that's all." his sister replied quietly. She was glad that Devon had finally given up harassing her over the restrictions imposed upon him by the tribunal. Though he was upset by what she did to his friend, Devon's attitude had softened quite a bit towards her – especially after what she shared with him Tuesday night. Gabby smiled inwardly remembering Seth's encouraging words that his brother would eventually come around. Maybe he had spoken with him after the one phone call two weeks prior? Either way, she was relieved not to have to worry about Devon's surly attitude.
"Well, like what? He was favoring it a little this morning and I asked him what was wrong. He didn't seem to want to tell me. What happened down there?" Devon persisted.
"If Don didn't tell you, then I don't think I should!" Gabby leaned back in her seat, sipping the glass of water the waitress had just brought to their table.
"Ah, com'on, Gabby, tell me! I mean, no one can hurt Uncle Don, okay? Did he slip or something?"
"Why do you want to know? Did he ask you to see if I would tell?" Gabby asked suspiciously.
"No, he didn't, but it's not everyday he comes out of that room sore after sparring with someone! He's probably equal with Leo in that room!"
"I don't want to get in trouble if he doesn't want others to know!" Gabby was getting annoyed, and it showed.
"Let me ask you this - did he tell you not to say anything?" Devon asked, his eyes narrowing.
Gabby thought about it, squirmed in her seat a little, then said, "No, not really."
"Then - what's the problem? Tell me what happened!" he insisted.
"Oh...okay....I - ah - pinched him." she said softly.
Devon dropped his head and looked at her in amazement, "You? You pinched him? He was sore because of that?"
Gabby explained, "Well, it's the shoulder pinch. I asked him how I could protect myself from an octopus and that was one of the techniques he showed me."
"Why would you.....oh... ah, yeah, I see. " Devon finally understood. He then told her, whispering so as not to be overheard by the other patrons," But, Gabby...man, don't go doing that, okay? If you could fry Don's shoulder then it's safe assumption that you'll do serious damage to any human! Promise me not to use it unless it's a life or death kind of thing, okay?"
"As long as Jason stays away and keeps his filthy hands off of me, it's a deal!" his sister declared.
"Don't even go there! If you get into it again with him, Mike will toast you! He gave me strict instructions to keep you away from Jason." Devon said.
"I don't have any intentions of going anywhere near him! Just keep him away from me and there won't be any trouble!" his sister declared angrily. The look on her face told Devon she was quite serious. It gave him reasons to wonder if she was actually telling the truth.
Their meal arrived shortly and the subject was changed. They ate in silence as each contemplated the situation.
They were just about done when a familiar voice and face appeared at their table, "Hi Gabriella!"
It was Cassandra Edwards from the Musical Note. "Hi!" Gabby replied brightly. She hadn't seen Cassandra since her first Saturday working at Mike's studio. The woman was a pleasant surprise for Gabby. Maybe it was the way Cassandra talked or possibly the confident and pleasing eye-contact she made, but Gabby felt very comfortable with her.
"Seems we keep bumping into each other on Saturdays, huh?!" Cassandra exclaimed. Turning to Devon, she remarked, " You were in my store with Gabriella a few weeks ago, weren't you?!"
Devon looked at Gabby and then back to the woman, "Yeah, I guess I was."
"Thought so! Well, I just wanted to stop and say hello before I sat down to have my lunch!" she said. Then she turned back to Gabby, "My offer of tea still stands. Come by anytime. I'm open seven days a week, but my Sunday hours are from two to six. I attend church in the morning, so that's why I have a later start than most of the retail shops. "
Gabby brightened, "You attend church?"
Cassandra replied, "Yes, I do. It's a little one here in town. From what they've told me, one of your family members attends there."
"Seth!" Gabby exclaimed.
"Yes, that's the name. Seth! I seem to remember another friend of yours who was with you that day you visited my shop. Was that him?" Cassandra asked.
Devon replied, getting a bit annoyed with the discussion, "Yes, it was Seth and he's my brother. But we need to get back to work, so if you don't mind?"
"What church do you attend?" Gabby asked, totally ignoring Devon's obvious intent to get the woman to leave.
"Shepherd's Church just up the road." she replied. "You're more than welcomed to visit if you want!"
Devon asked the waitress, who was walking by, for the check. He gave Cassandra every physical hint he could think to get her to move along, but she persisted in talking with Gabby, "I've only been going there for a couple of months, just after I moved here. It's a nice place, the people aren't pushy, but they're pretty deep in the word. Christ had a major impact on my life years ago. I was....oh, let's just say....I was pretty much into the world. Did some stuff ...well, a lot of stuff I'm not proud of now, but the way I was raised, it all came too natural for me. Christ showed me a better way and...."
Devon interrupted, as he now had his check, "Nice you have your life back on track, Cassie, but we need to go. Can't be late getting back to work. I'm sure you understand all of that!" and he gently helped Gabby up out of her chair.
"Nice talking with you, Ms. Edwards!" Gabby called out as Devon led her towards the cashier.
"Likewise, Gabriella! See you soon?" Cassandra replied. She continued watching Gabby as Devon paid the bill, smiling whenever Gabby would look back at her. Finally, they left and the woman went to the table she had been assigned.
"That was rude, Devon!" Gabby complained as he led her back to the car.
"Hey, I don't know her from Adam other than she owns this music store! You need to be careful, Gabs!" he warned.
"I was careful. I can read people, too, you know!" she insisted.
"Yeah, like you can read Jason!" and he laughed derisively. Gabby frowned at him and sat deep into her seat as he got in on the other side. Her mood was considerably darker than it was a moment ago and it followed her all the way back to the studio.
As they pulled into the parking lot Gabby noticed that Jason had returned. His jeep was parked close to the front door of the building. However, he was not anywhere around when Gabby went back to the receptionist cubicle. Devon continued on down the hall to where his office was, telling his sister they would leave for the day at around three.
Gabby was surprised to find a note for her lying on the desk. It was evidently from Mike. "Hmm...Guess he came by while we were gone. "she mused. As she read it, she sighed and realized he was really going to make her work off the trouble she caused the week before. "Fine. I know how to clean restrooms! "she fumed.
Rahab had hired help that came in twice a week to do all the cleaning, so Gabby had accustomed herself to not having to worry about stuff like that. Though she never complained when she had the chore back in Connecticut, she rather liked having someone else clean her room and bathroom!
The note instructed her to retrieve the pail and mop, as well as other cleaning supplies, from the utility closet. She remembered that it was a rather large room that doubled as a storage area. It was the only room without security cameras, too. But, Gabby wasn't thinking about that when she went in to get the items.
The door closed behind her, which she expected since it was designed to do that. It didn't have a lock so there wasn't any concern for her to be trapped in there. She looked around for a moment, trying to find the supplies. She went to the back of the room and found them behind a rack that acted like a room separator. She noticed some blankets piled up against the wall, but dismissed them. As she reached down to pick up the pail, she heard the door open and then close. A voice startled her to a near panic.
"Hello, Gabby!" Jason sneered.
"What are you doing here?!" Gabby exclaimed angrily when see saw him.
"To talk, like we were going to do last week!" he declared.
"No, we're NOT!" she shot back defensively as she attempted to go back to the door.
"Yes, we are and I'll tell you why!" he said calmly, coming out from the shadows and blocking her way. "You are going to cooperate with me completely. If you don't, I'm going to go to the authorities and file charges against you and against Mike. You for beating me up and Mike for not keeping you away from me!" he paused as he saw the look of concern spread across Gabby's face. "I will then contact my step-father's lawyer and start litigation against your entire family! He can make it possible for Mike and your uncle to lose everything, or enough of everything, to hurt them for a long, long time!"
"I'll tell them what you're planning on doing! You won't get a way with it!" Gabby seethed.
"How're you going to prove it? I already have Mike convinced about what happened last week! Jack and Sam saw my face, saw how you looked away! They'll be witness to all of that and how Mike reacted!" He walked closer to her as Gabby tried to back up. Though the room was larger than most utility closets, she found the back wall sooner that she wanted to and couldn't go any further. She began to hyperventilate in fear. Then, she remembered the note.
"All I have to do is show Mike the note you wrote and he'll piece it together. You won't have a chance to go to anyone about it!" she warned him.
"Oh, you mean - this note?!" Jason grinned, holding up the piece of paper that had the instructions on it. Gabby had left it on her desk, having already memorized it! Jason took a lighter and lit the corner of the paper. He allowed it to burn and then dropped it, watching it disappear in the flames. Stamping it out so the fire suppressant sprinklers in the ceiling wouldn't activate, he looked at Gabby triumphantly. "See - no more proof!"
"I'll kill you! I will. I can - don't think I can't!!" Gabby yelled.
"Hey, keep it down, will ya?! If you kill me, then you're still going to jail and your family will still get sued! It's a lose lose thing for you!" Jason declared. He approached her. Gabby pressed herself as hard into the wall as she could. She remembered Don's lesson in self protection and suddenly reached for Jason's shoulder. He was ready for her, but was surprised by her strength. What surprised Gabby, though, was his immediate response. Realizing she could do him damage, Jason swept her legs out from under her, causing her to fall hard against the wall and then the floor. No way was she expecting that! All she had been taught to do over the past three weeks was how to move, not react. She was momentarily knocked silly. The next thing she knew, Jason was on top of her! He was right in her face, she could feel his breath, "Remember, you yell, you scream, you bring anyone into this room and I will sue your family into oblivion! Any harm done to me and it's the same scenario!"
Gabby was in shock. She lay curled up in a fetal position on the blankets after Jason had left. She felt numb and detached from herself. He had raped her! He had put his hands where they didn't belong and put him self where he shouldn't have been. Gabby had never been so violated in her entire life. She wept silently, trying not to make any sound for fear of bringing others to the room. She was fearful of Jason making good on his threats. What was she going to do? He told her after he was done that it was going to be their weekly thing and he threatened her once more into cooperating. Any excuse not to be in that closet at the appointed time and he would march into Mike's office, quit, and then the next stop would be the police station. He would make up some story about being so traumatized by her beating and the threats she made to him, he was afraid to file charges. Until his fiancé' talked him into it. Actually, part of that would be true! Melissa wanted him to file charges, but he had convinced her it was no big deal. He'd deal with it in his own way. And, Jason did!
After a while, Gabby stood up. She knew she must look a fright. She redressed herself and smoothed out the wrinkles of her clothes. She felt her entire world swirling down a whirlpool of terror and despair. Momentarily, she felt dizzy and leaned up against the back wall for support. She was trapped! Gabby couldn't fight either way and she knew that Jason meant every word to her about his threats. He had even stated they were promises, not warnings.
After a moment, Gabby walked towards the front of the utility room. She stood at the door, not knowing how to react if Devon should come looking for her. Or, worse, if she should cross paths with Jason! That terrified her more than anything. Gabby had cooperated only because she did not want to bring disaster onto her family. Not Mike, even though he had failed to believe her, and not Don - who had actually tried to help her by showing her defense tactics. None of those techniques would have worked in this instance. Jason was holding all the cards and she was the loser.
Walking back to the reception area, Gabby saw the ladies room and quickly ducked inside. She splashed water on her face to cool her emotions. She looked at herself in the mirror and realized her hair was a mess. Not that it mattered; she really didn't like anything about herself anymore. But, Devon would want to know what happened, so she straightened up her appearance as best she could.
The day seemed to take forever to end. Gabby was half expecting Jason to visit her to reiterate his threat. But, he thankfully stayed away. Finally, Devon came out and asked her, "Hey, where were you a while ago? I came out to get a file and you were gone?"
Gabby mumbled something about being in the bathroom. Then, Devon said, "Well, we're done. Time to go home!"
She managed to ask where Jason was. Devon replied, "He left a while ago; had some errands to do. Why?"
She just shook her head and shrugged.
Gabby hurriedly put things in order and was first out the door. She was in Devon's Jeep and belted in by the time he made it to the car. "Geeze, Gabby, in a hurry to get home?" he said, smiling.
She didn't answer him, but hugged herself and nodded. Devon thought there was something awfully wrong and asked, " Hey, you okay?!"
"Not feeling too well. Must be something I ate." she mumbled, lying.
All the way back to the house, Gabby remained quiet and distracted as she looked at the ocean. Devon tried to find out what was going on, but all she told him was that she felt like she was going to get sick. He hurried up the main road to the house and once the property gate was opened, he drove as fast as was safe to the garage.
Gabby jumped out quickly and ran to the house. She was truly feeling nauseas and wasn't sure if she would make her restroom. Nearly slamming the front door opened, she raced through the foyer and up the stairs, taking it three steps at a time. Hearing the sound of running, Don came out of the family room and saw his niece charge up the steps.
"Okay, what's she done now?" he mused. Devon came in about that time and Don asked him, "So, what's going on with Gabby?"
"Don't know. She just said she wasn't feeling well; like she was gonna be sick!" Devon replied.
"Really?" Don said, concerned, and he headed for the stairs. He took his time, not wanting to charge into Gabby's room and scare the life out of her. When he made it to her bedroom door, he heard her retching in the bathroom. "Oh, man...she is sick." He swiftly went back downstairs to the kitchen to make some herbal tea. Rahab came in and asked what was going on and Don told her,"Gabby's sick. I'm making some tea for her."
While Don was getting the tea ready, Rahab walked up the stairs to her niece's room. She rapped gently on the door, "Gabby, dear, are you alright?" No answer. She carefully opened the door and saw that her niece was lying on the bed on her side, facing away from the door. "Gabby?"
Gabby heard Rahab, but didn't want to answer her. She felt awful. The memory of that afternoon would not shut off as she replayed those horrible minutes in the utility room at the studio. Jason's face was all over hers, as was his body. She hated him so much but felt completely powerless to do anything about it. She felt Rahab sit down on the edge of the bed. "Gabby, what's wrong, dear?"
"Nothing. Don't feel well. Just want to be left alone, s'all." Gabby replied.
Rahab gently touched Gabby's shoulder and in the next instant, Gabby was standing up on the bed, hard against the wall, her eyes wide. She was screaming, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Rahab jumped as well, but in the opposite direction, "Okay, I won't. What happened, Gabs?" her aunt asked, shocked by her reaction. She watched as her niece stood rigid against the wall, hyperventilating as if she were out of breath.
Don heard Gabby yell and raced up the stairs to see what was going on. He saw his niece, now off the bed, standing over by the window, shrinking back from Rahab. "Just leave me along - everyone, just LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed.
Soon, Mike, Raph, and Devon were also at the door, hearing Gabby's second outburst. As soon as Don came in, he had to duck. Gabby had taken a lamp and thrown it at him. He reached out and caught it before it could hit the wall. She yelled out, "I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" and she started to cry. "GET OUT - ALL OF YOU!" Her sobs were nearly hysterical.
Raph stepped up and told everyone to leave and ushered them out of the room. Outside the door, Rahab brought them up to speed.
Raph came back into the room and calmly sat on the bed. He didn't say anything but allowed his daughter to vent whatever was bothering her. She slumped along the wall to the floor in a heap, sobbing, "Please, just go...just go out....leave me ...alone."
Raph came over to where she was and stooped down to a crouch, keeping some distance between himself and his daughter. "Can't do that. I'm going to stay here until you tell me what's going on." Raph said calmly.
"Nothing is wrong. I - just don't feel well. That's it. I've never been a ....happy sick person, okay?!" she grumbled.
Raph smiled a little, but he knew instinctively that something wasn't right. He sat there for over an hour and the only thing he received was more yelling and orders to leave the room. Finally, he told her he was going to go down and bring up some of the tea Don had made for her. She had to drink all of it if he was going to leave her alone. She nodded.
There must have been a good six cups of tea in that pot, but Gabby was determined to get her father out of her room. He was mildly amused by her tenacity and, as promised, when the last drop was gone, he left her alone. He was careful not to touch her. Rahab had said that's what started the ruckus in the first place. "I only touched her shoulder and gently, too!" she had explained.
Raph was quite concerned. Gabby had never behaved this aggressively before. Her whole countenance was as if she was facing someone else and had all she could do to keep from pounding them into the ground.
Once Raph had left, Gabby raced for the bathroom. She was oversaturated and her body could hold just so much liquid. When she was done, she decided to take a shower to rid her self of Jason. The water felt refreshing and healing, but after an hour she still felt horrible. With the water cascading down on top of her, Gabby sat in the tub and cried. She couldn't turn off her memory and the event in the utility room at the studio was now starting to haunt her. Feeling nauseas once again, she barely made it out of the shower and to the commode before she emptied the contents of her stomach. She retched several more times until she had nothing left to give. Gabby sat on the cool tile, pooling water around her. She then grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it. Gabby grabbed another one and did the same thing. If there had been ten towels, she would have used all of them to cover herself up. Gabby felt totally unclean.
She insisted on having her dinner in her room. Raph refused to let her. "Then," she declared loudly, "I'll go hungry." He finally relented, his gut feelings telling him that this was something more than just not feeling well. He insisted, though, in keeping her company. "I'd rather go hungry!" she stated angrily.
"I won't pester you with questions about what's going on, okay?" he promised.
Gabby replied, "I'm just not feeling well. But, thanks anyway."
Finally, after he convinced her he was quite serious about it, she allowed her father into her room, eating silently as he watched. Raph noticed Gabby's hands shake as she would bring food to her mouth, clear evidence that something wasn't right with her.
"So...looks like we might be in for some more wet weather." Raph said, trying to find a neutral topic to talk about.
"Might be...dunno." Gabby replied quietly between bites. She refused to look at Raph, keeping her gaze focused on her plate.
"Might snow, too, I hear." he said, waiting for her response. He watched her facial reaction and was surprised to find her completely devoid of expression.
"Not here along the coast - too warm and wet." his daughter corrected him flatly.
"You're right about that." Raph concurred. "Did Devon treat you alright today?" he asked cautiously.
"Yep." was all Gabby said in response.
"Heard you were at the phones today. Get a lot of calls?" Raph asked, still treading carefully.
"Enough." she replied.
"Jason there?" her father then asked, watching his daughter's reaction more closely this time.
Gabby's face clouded over momentarily, but she caught herself and gave her continuing one word answers, "Dunno."
"Hmm...." Raph said. Then offered, "Well, I'm sure you're going to want to see the professor. He's downstairs right now. "
"Not feeling too well. I think I want to call it a night. Tell him 'hi' from me, okay?" Gabby said.
That was very strange. Gabby never missed visiting with the professor unless she was being denied that visit by one of them. For her to miss it on her own accord was completely out of character for her. Even when she was exhausted from training, she always found enough reserve to include a visit with him. "I'll tell him. You get some rest, okay? Tomorrow's your weekly review." Raph said. He waited for a response and when he didn't get one, he asked her, "Can I hug you, Gabby?"
She looked up at him and it was then that he saw the tears. "Guess…" was all she could say.
Raph hugged her gently and then found that she was hugging back more forcefully. "You just take your time, okay? Whenever you feel like talking, you just come to me and I'll just listen, okay? "He entreated.
Gabby just nodded quietly and then he left her in her room.
Gabby hardly slept. She kept seeing Jason, hearing his words, feeling the panic, feeling violated. Gabby realized that she was going to have to control her responses to things around the house. She had everyone aware Saturday afternoon that something wasn't right with her. Feigning illness might work only if she 'got better' by the next day. As hard as it was going to be for her, Gabby made up her mind to get back to normal - and quickly. She would handle next Saturday when it happens.
Don was surprised and relieved when he found Gabby in the pool the next morning. She decided to go back to her daily laps, despite the frigid water. It seemed to help her get her mind on track with her training. She toweled off and slipped her robe on, then went into the house to grab a cup of coffee. "Feeling better, Gabby?" Don asked, observing his niece over a cup of his own.
"Yep, much!" she replied, smiling. It was as real as she could produce, but Gabby was determined to not give away anymore hints that things were not all right.
"Hmmm...That's good." Don said, watching her. "You feel like talking about it?"
"My stomach hurt! I think it was something I ate at that Italian restaurant Devon took me to. I don't think I'll be eating there again!" she explained, chuckling a little.
Don was glad about her feeling better, but there was just something that didn't seem right. Her reaction last evening didn't fit with her excuse. Still, he would not press Gabby for more information until he felt she was ready.
She struggled through her quiet time in the gym. She was starting to get control of her thoughts, but it was difficult at best. She worked on just thinking about Seth and the current chapter in Romans she was on. Every once in a while, though, the thought that she was now 'used material' would seep into her consciousness. She grieved for her lost innocence but Gabby new that it would have done her little good to cry over it. What was done was done. Her goal was to get through this week and resolve herself to whatever was waiting for her on Saturday. Maybe an idea would come to her that would persuade Jason to move on to more interesting diversions!
Her review with Don went well, but not as well as it could have. Again, her concentration was compromised by the events from the day before. However, she did well enough to please Don and that was enough for her. The rest of the day she chose to spend with the professor in the guest house.
Gabby noticed the professor's coloring was more pale than normal. His energies were a little lackluster, but he still had that verve for discourse. He had noticed a difference in Gabby, an edge that he had never seen before. "Guess your training is going well, then?" when he asked her about it.
Gabby lied and said it couldn't be going any better. She was quite pleased with everything and was looking forward to Monday when Devon would train her. She nearly gagged on the words as she spoke them, but she managed to get them out.
She slept a little better that night, only because she was determined to. Gabby turned her emotions off, not an easy thing for her to do, but she was capable of it if called upon. The next morning was unusually colder than the days before, so Gabby forsook her swim. She did make her quiet time, though, and finally finished the book of Romans. Devon met her in the gym.
Four weeks prior, she would have been dreading this day. Devon's antagonistic attitude, though, had dissipated and he was more in control of his temper. Actually, since Tuesday evening, he had acted more like his old self before the travesty at the karaoke bar happened.
"Okay, so this week we're going to go over how to react to someone who attacks you!" he stated. "You've learned quite a few moves from Leo, Mike, and Don and now we're going to put them into practice."
Gabby thought that the timing couldn't be more off, but better late than never. Yet, with all the threats and promises of litigation that Jason had promised her, knowing how to fight back was going to be as useful as a three dollar bill.
Devon had not expected the intensity of his sister's rebuttal. He had wanted her to respond to his attacks in a certain way and she more than came through! Her first attempt at dissuading his advances sent him sprawling across the gymnasium floor! The look of surprise clearly evident on his face, Gabby's expression was of complete shock, " I'm so sorry, Devon!!" she exclaimed as she went over to help him up.
Waving her away, he righted himself immediately. He assured her that it was part of the training. "If I can't take a few bumps and bruises, I have no business being in here! Now, let's do that again, but I'm not going to go easy on you, okay?!" he said. He advanced again towards Gabby, but more aggressively.
After the fourth time of getting slammed to the floorboards, Devon finally decided that Gabby needed a rest. He worked the aches out of his backside and did some stretching to relieve the tightness he was starting to feel.
"I'm really sorry, Devon!" Gabby said softly.
He looked at her, some of the temper coming back, but he dismissed it, saying. "Again, it's part of the territory of training. I'm ....well...somewhat surprised by your progress. You've developed quite a kick, Sis!" and he smiled at her.
The rest of that week went along the same lines. Gabby did get thrown, herself, and she had all she could do to keep from going ballistic on Devon. But, as close as she came and as obvious as it was to him, she managed to back off. By Friday, Gabby was well versed in meting out a defense that - had it been two weeks prior - would have certainly killed Jason! Unfortunately for Devon, Gabby's main focus was on what his best friend 'in the whole wide world' had done to her. Devon reaped the benefits because of it. What she was going to do with the new found ability once Saturday arrived was a mystery to her. That threat of arrest and lawsuit hung onto her like a dense, suffocating fog.
Friday night she hardly slept. Mike was going to be in the studio the next day and wanted her to work with him. He had a lot of paperwork that had piled up and he told Gabby that she would be assisting him with it. She decided she would just have to make an excuse to 'visit the restroom' and maybe feign having another bout of food poisoning to explain being gone so long. Hopefully, he wouldn't suspect a thing.
