Another update because I figured why not...this is a rough chapter, but it'll make Gabby a stronger person as the story goes on...
Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter...I always get nervous writing risky material because I want to do it justice without going full on pornographic, so thanks for the reviews to let me know that it was good...it helps in the long run...enjoy!
It had been two weeks since Punk had left and Gabby was slowly getting back into the routine of being by herself. It was crazy how him being home for only four days changed everything so drastically, but it did. She'd gotten used to him, especially at night.
Sitting at her desk, she was frantically trying to get a memo typed and sent out on Max's behalf. Things had been tense at work with Max working Gabby harder then she expected; he would make her stay late and come in early. At first she didn't mind, it helped her get readjusted to a normal routine, but today he just seemed exceptionally pissy. Gabby was already irritated with the schedule he'd laid out for her over the next month, but dealing with his less then pleasant attitude was more then she could handle.
Finishing the memo, she quickly proofread it and printed it so that Max could sign off on it. It was almost 7PM; she was hungry, tired and annoyed seeing she hadn't had the chance to talk to Punk all week.
"Max I have the memo finished and ready for you to sign off on and then I'll email it. Is there anything else you need because if not I'm going to grab some take out and head home." Max took the document and read over it quickly before signing off not answering Gabby's question and further annoying her. Rather then asking again, she returned to her desk to send out the memo and organize a bit. As she hit send, she felt a hand on her shoulder causing her to jump. Looking up she shook her head feeling stupid, of course it was only Max, they were practically the only two left in the office.
"Gabrielle would you like to grab dinner and perhaps relax for the evening? I know I've been working you exceptionally hard and I do appreciate the hard work and extra hours you've been putting in. You deserve a reward; what do you say to some Italian cuisine and a movie rental?" She was hesitant at first thinking back on what Punk had said, Gabby I'm worried he's going to try something because clearly he still has a thing for you. However he hadn't tried anything since that dinner, so surely he realized Gabby and Punk were serious. Shrugging her shoulders she nodded, "Yeah I'd like that Max. Give me a minute to clean things up around here and we'll head out." Max smiled earning a small, shy smile from Gabby. She turned back to her desk shuffling through papers and putting things in their spot. She had a weird feeling about everything, something was off, but rather then trusting her instincts, she pushed it aside. It was dinner and a movie between friends, no reason to get all paranoid.
Punk landed at O'Hare just before 7, excited to get home and surprise Gabby. With flowers in hand, he was anxious to see her seeing even two weeks had proved too long for him. The idea of flying home for a day was stupid to some, but he needed to see Gabby. She was all he thought and talked about getting constant eye rolls from Kofi. In all of his years, he'd never acted like this over a woman, so clearly there was something about her that always left him wanting and needing more. It hadn't helped that her long hours at work had kept them from talking on the phone for the past week with the exception of a brief conversation over the weekend. To say it was another reason for Punk to hate Max was obvious; the guy was a prick and Punk knew he was keeping Gabby busy to try to steal her away. The only reassuring thing was that Punk knew Gabby no longer had any kind of interest in the British schmuck, but he still worried Max would try something.
Pulling up in front of the house, he ran to the front door fumbling with his keys to open the door, but surprisingly finding it unlocked. This was odd to him, Gabby was a freak when it came to locking the door and she locked it as soon as she came home. Not wanting to ruin the surprise he carried on walking in the house and dropping his bag by the door only to be welcomed by an eerie silence, one that set off alarms.
"Gabby, hey are you home?" He listened for a reply hearing nothing, but looking in the living room he felt a surge of panic at the flipped over coffee table and broken glass on the floor causing him to become frantic and yell louder. "Gabby!" He ran through the kitchen and opened up the back door yelling for her. "Gabby!" He heard nothing in return and started to pace running his hand through his hair. Pulling out his phone he debated calling the police until he realized he hadn't checked upstairs. Running for the stairs he took them two at a time; at the landing he noticed his bedroom door was open, but Gabby's was closed. Putting his ear to the door he heard muffled cries, but when he tried to open the door he noticed there was a chair jammed under the knob. "Gabby it's me, baby are you okay?" She didn't answer and Punk wasn't going to wait any longer as he kicked the door and found Gabby crouched in the corner. Trying not to think about what happened, he instinctively went to her.
The minute he touched her she freaked and started swinging closed fists to fight him off while screaming, "No…no…just leave me alone…I said no!" Punk blocked her hits finally getting a grip on her hands.
"Gabby, it's me, it's Punk!" It took her a minute to register the words, but she looked up and saw those familiar hazel eyes full of concern; she threw her arms around him sobbing into his chest. He sat on the floor cradling her in his lap, rubbing her back to try to console her and wondering what the hell happened. This wasn't how he expected things to go when he planned this trip, but that wasn't his concern; his biggest concern was calming Gabby down so he could find out what happened. After a few minutes, she calmed down her sobs becoming sniffles. She took a deep breath and inhaled Punk's scent thankful that it was him who came into her room. Wiping her tear stained face, she sat up and looked at Punk.
"How are you here right now? Is this really happening, or am I dead?" Punk stiffened at her comment and her bloody busted open lip. Taking a hold of her hand, he noticed the bruises on her wrist from someone grabbing her and felt his blood boil.
"Gabby what the hell happened and why would you think you were dead?" Gabby noticed the anger in his voice, not directed at her, but the state she was in.
"Punk it's nothing; I'm okay, you're here, just please don't leave me."
"Gabby you are not okay! I saw the living room and you barricaded yourself in your bedroom. Your lip is busted open and there are bruises on your wrist, what the hell happened? Did someone break in?" Feeling ashamed that she brought this on herself she shook her head looking down at the floor. Punk swallowed the lump in his throat as he gently took her face in his hands.
"Gabby please tell me what happened, I'm worried about you. I need to know who hurt you."
"Promise me you won't get mad and go off the deep end. It's over and done with; I'm not going back there."
"You're not going back where? Please just tell me."
"Max approached me after work and said about getting dinner and renting a movie. I've had a rough week and the fact that he was being nice for once was a welcome change so I agreed. We ended up grabbing food and coming back here, I should've known something was going to happen. I had a sick feeling before we even left the office, but I pushed it aside convincing myself that he had gotten the hint that we were together. I should've been more prepared…" Punk swallowed hard reminding himself to keep his temper in check. Gabby was teetering right now and the last thing she needed to worry about was him flipping out.
"What did Max do? Did he…" Punk fought to get the words out, "Did he force himself on you?" Gabby didn't need to say anything as fresh tears spilled from her eyes making Punk feel sick to his stomach. He wasn't sure if he could take hearing anymore, but he knew Gabby needed to get it all out. "What happened when you got back here?"
"Everything was normal at first; we ate dinner and just talked about work. He asked about you, which I found odd, but once again I avoided my gut instincts. Once dinner was done I cleaned up while he was supposed to be putting in the movie, but he followed me into the kitchen. He startled me because he was standing really close and then he trapped me by putting a hand on either side of me. Before I could say or do anything, he kissed me and I pushed him away slapping him across the face. I reiterated that I wasn't looking for a relationship with him, that I was with you and he apologized. I should've thrown him out then, but I was stupid and decided to act like everything was fine, like the kiss never happened. We both sat down on the couch and I pushed play; gradually he started to move closer to me and it made me feel uncomfortable so I stopped the movie and told him that I thought it was time for him to go, which he didn't take lightly. He started yelling at me and calling me a whore, saying I was stupid to think that someone like you would want to be with me. I slapped his again and this time he retaliated grabbing my wrists and pinning me to the couch. I kicked and screamed as he ripped my skirt and started touching me. He started kissing my neck and I bit his shoulder, which really pissed him off thus the busted lip. I tried desperately not to panic knowing that if I did that he would win, but I had to do something because letting him do that to me wasn't an option. Finally I freed one of my hands grabbed your one Slammy award and hit him in the head with it which sent him into the coffee table and I took off running. Probably the worst thing I could've done was run upstairs, nonetheless pick the room without a lock, but panic set in at that point and I knew I just needed to get away." Punk was floored by everything she'd said and wanted nothing more then to find Max and kill him, but he knew he couldn't be rash and right now Gabby was his number one priority. He pulled her close again stroking her hair and kissed the top of her head feeling helpless on what to do next.
"Gabby I know you're upset right now, but I think we need to call the police and press charges; maybe even get you to a hospital and get everything checked out." He felt Gabby tense up and knew she wasn't going to cooperate.
"Please don't make me go anywhere; I just want to stay here with you. Don't leave me!" She tightened her grip around his neck causing Punk to pull her closer.
"Gabby you're okay, you're safe now; I'm not going anywhere."
Next chapter Punk pays Max a visit...I know you're already thinking exactly what's going to go down, but there will be a few things about Max that we find out...Tomorrow is the 1000 episode of Raw and I'm super psyched, so I'll update again after the episode to share my thoughts...if Punk loses the title to Cena I will not be very happy! I watched Smackdown yesterday and noticed a sign in the crowd that hit the nail on the head "We've 'CENA' nough" :)