Hope everyone is having an awesome holiday. I can't wait for Christmas and I've already four chapters into my new story "Porn-stuck" you guys are going to love it. I recently got into a car crash, head on collision. My body is just getting back to normal, still hurts when I turn right a bit but aspirin and I have been in a deep relationship as of this last week. LoL My car is fine, might I say it even drives a little better, while the girl who I hit … her car was totaled and undriveable. It was both our faults and insurance is handing it. God I hope next year is better. My birthday is coming up January 1st ! whooo 24 here I come!
Gabriella stood in the kitchen with her mother as they prepared dinner, they were making Pastelillos Volaos de Queso o de Guayaba. A Puerto Rican Spanish dish she use to make with her mother all the time. Meanwhile Luis and Troy were in the living room with Lady playing dominoes.
"I think he's growing on your father," Maria said with a small smile as she handed Gabriella a packet of defrosted turnover dough. "He just needs time to adjust."
"I know," Gabriella opened the packet and took out one of the disc, "I just worry that Troy's getting the wrong idea." Gabriella let out a breath as she placed the ground meat in the center and toped it with cheese sliding it over to her mother who folded over the disc and used her fork to securely fasten it shut.
"What impression should he have?" her mother asked placing the finished one alongside the others waiting to be fried.
"I don't know," Gabriella let out a breath as she dapped the ground meat followed by the cheese. "Mom, how did you handle it?"
"I put all my strength and effort into loving my family." She said, there was a moment's pause, "You haven't told him have you,"
Gabriella placed both her palms on the counter top and shook her head, "I don't know how, he knows some of it, just not all of it?"
Maria let out a breath as she sealed the pastelillo with her fork. "You know, it's only a matter of time before someone else tells him."
"Like a reporter." Gabriella said letting a breath go as she grabbed another disc and placed another spoon full of meat in the middle.
Her mother was silent, "He loves you very much, I'm sure he'll handle it."
Gabriella sprinkled the cheese over the meat her eyes looking up at the doorway to the living room and then back at the task at hand. "It's supposed to rain tonight,"
"You know I don't need any help maybe you should go see what your father and Troy are talking about." Maria said brushing a strand away from her daughter face. "You don't have to hide out here with me,"
"Not hiding," Gabriella said with a shrug. "Just avoiding," she said with a smirk.
"Then go upstairs and wash up for dinner," Maria said with a small laugh.
"I don't know seems a little too easy," Gabriella smiled and looked towards the living room, besides she had to talk to her dad and she was waiting for the right moment. A moment where Troy wasn't looking, "I'm alright,"
Maria turned to the hot oil and dropped the first one in. She moved over to the rice shifting it around and taking in the smell. At the sound of Lady's nails on the tile floor she looked up to see Troy walking through. "Hey?" He asked looking around the kitchen.
"Hey there yourself we were just talking about you," Maria said with a small smile. "Weren't we Gabriella?,"
"Yeah," Gabriella said watching her mother carefully.
"Right," Troy said knowing better, "I'm going to let lady out in the yard and make a phone call," he said pulling his cell out of his pocket.
"No problem," Gabriella said making her way past him to the living room.
Troy watched her leave the room and then looked back at her mother who was stirring a pot of rice. Troy closed the sliding doors behind him and pressed three on his speed dial. "I got your text what did you find?" Troy looked back into the house Maria was standing at the stove. Moving away from the door he looking over at Lady who was taking this as a time to explore rather than a potty break.
"Her medical records say exactly what she told you, I'm sorry we didn't find this earlier." Chad said on the other line.
"Then it's true, as long as she doesn't drink nothing will happen, it might even go away?" Troy asked tucking a hand in his pocket.
"So far that's what the doctors say, it seems like she'll be just fine." Chad voice went quiet, "Troy there's more."
Gabriella walked into the living room. Her eyes falling on her father as he looked down at the domino game between him and Troy. "Why didn't you tell me Jason Cross was alive?"
Her father looked up from the table. "You assumed." He said looking back down at his dominoes and then at the board.
"So you let me think he was dead when you know damn well he's alive and running the hardware store?" Gabriella brow furrowed as she looked at her father and felt a new anger forming.
"You stopped drinking didn't you?" he said placing a domino down and then slowly looking up at her. "You got married, pulled your life together."
"You let me think I killed someone?" Gabriella said in a harsh low voice. There was a paused as she looked at her father she was beginning to shake, her eye stung with a threat of tears.
"You almost did," he said slamming his fist on the table. "I had to lie for you, I almost went to jail for you," he said in harsh tone. "We should be thankful he admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel." he said standing up.
Gabriella felt a cold numbing sensation creep through her shifting like a shadow escaping the light. How could he let her believe that she killed someone? Did he know how screwed up it made her mind, how she didn't even have any self worth of her own? How tangled in lies and life she was because of it?
Troy entered the room. "What's going on?" He looked at her father then back at Gabriella. His eyes didn't move off of her after he noticed her hands shaking, "What's wrong?"
Her father let out a sigh as he moved from the table. "I'll go help you mother in the kitchen."
Troy watched as Luis left the room, he looked back at Gabriella who propped herself against the wall. She was looking off in the distance as if in shock, or disbelief.
"What happened?"Troy held a hand to her shoulder, she moved away from him.
"Nothing,"
"I don't believe you." he said in a low voice looking at her with caution. "What's going on?"
Gabriella bit her lip and then looked over at table where the dominoes were, "I'm going to go wash up for dinner."
Troy followed as she made her way up the stairs as soon as the door shut behind them he grabbed her and pulled her to him. "No more lies, or avoiding the question. I know about the car crash!"
"Troy please not now, not here," she said pulling away from him.
"Yes here, yes now." Troy moved her to the bed, "What's going on?"
Gabriella was quite for a moment, "You're going to hate me,"
"Try me," Troy said pulling a stool from the side over to sit on.
"Troy I," Gabriella took a deep breath and looked away from him. This was it, this was what she had to do. "I thought I could control it, I thought I could have a drink just that once."
"What happened?" Troy said taking both her hands in his.
A tear rolled down her cheek and she looked at "I was at this party, and people were drinking and having fun and I thought maybe, maybe I could just have one drink and it wouldn't be so bad," she said pausing to hold back a sob, "well before I knew it I've had more than then I had planned, and I didn't want to call my dad, I couldn't call anyone, they would be so mad at me." She said pausing again, "they would have been so disappointed in me."
Troy rubbed her hands with his thumbs, "Gabriella, it's okay,"
"No it's not," Gabriella looked up at him, "I got behind the wheel, I figure I was only 15 minutes away from home what could possibly go wrong."
The puzzle pieces clicked in his mind and he nodded in understanding. "You were driving the car when Jason nodded off at the wheel that night."
Gabriella nodded as she sniffled.
"And because you were drunk you father took the fall for it." Troy added.
"I thought I killed him," she said letting out a sob and then trying to pull herself together, "I didn't know he was alive."
"Your father didn't tell you?" Troy asked with a questioning brow.
Gabriella shook her head, "I guess he decided to teach me a lesson," she shrugged and let out a breath, "I wish that was all I had to tell you,"
Troy stiffened, "There's more than this?" a lot of things going on between began to make sense. Not only was she a recovering alcoholic, she was a involved in a accident that might have killed a man, however despite her being drunk or not the accident was unpreventable.
"I was in Washington for a week when I got a call for a job interview, the job was for research." She said slowly.
"What do mean research?" Troy said looking at her with a curiosity, a few days ago he couldn't get her to tell him anything now it seemed like the story behind the making of this woman was unraveling at the seams.
"Troy the interview was with Anthony Hill." Gabriella said after a breath, she didn't look at him, she couldn't.
"What kind of research," he didn't like where this was going, he didn't like the sound of Anthony's name on her lips.
"Troy for the last two months of our marriage I've been giving information to Anthony about your campaign." Gabriella said biting her lip between words and feeling her voice shake as she spoke.
"You're the leak?" Troy's hands let go of hers. His mind froze, his blood turned to ice. He'd been betrayed again. He thought that she was falling for him, that he was falling for her; he thought that maybe this marriage he began as a business deal could become something more. But he'd been a fool.
Gabriella breathing became faster, her eyes more teary and her voice began to quiver and go rasp. "Troy I can explain."
"Explain it." he said looking at her leaning back in his seat as he stared at this woman he thought was so innocent and sweet. She had all the allure of the world's best chocolate and all of the consequences of multiple cavities.
"He had pictures of the accident, he said he would go to the police and tell them what I did, what my father did, he said we'd both go to jail." Gabriella leaned forward to take Troy's hand but he pulled away. "Troy please you don't understand."
Troy stood up his blue eyes staring at her with clouds of a storm reflecting back at her. "Understand what, that you lied to, betrayed me, or almost ruined my campaign?"
"It was never my intention to hurt you," she said holding her hands together in a pleading way, "I just couldn't let my father go to jail."
"You should have come to me," Troy said in a harsh tone. "You're the reason I've been pulling my hair out on this campaign." He said with more anger. "No wonder he's two steps ahead of me, my own wife is giving him all the information he needs."
"I'm sorry," Gabriella in a pleading cry.
"Sorry?" Troy arms lifted and he took a deep breath he needed to calm down, he needed to get out of here before he did something horrible, he needed to think. "No, you don't get to be sorry." He said pointing at her. "You knew how important this is to me. You lied to me, you tricked me, you sabotaged me, and you made me think that this was my fault."
"I never blamed you," Gabriella said matter of fact.
"Really because I can't remember the last time I didn't feel guilty," Troy countered turning away from her he looked around the room.
"That's your fault, let's not forget that you yourself also black mailed me into this marriage." Gabriella said with some anger of her own.
"I gave you a ticket out, I told you if you were so unhappy then leave." Troy said violently pointing at the door.
"And I didn't" she said stomping her foot.
"Because you were working for Anthony, you didn't stay because of this or because of me you stayed because Anthony would have ratted you out anyway!" his voice was getting louder and Gabriella lifted her hands to calm him down a little and to just take a moment to think.
"I stayed because I liked being with you," she said in a low voice, "I tried to break things off with Anthony; the Newspaper was the blow black from me trying to break it off with him." Gabriella placed a hand on his arm and reached down for his hand.
At her touched he shrugged away. "Did you sleep with him?"
Gabriella looked at him confused, "What?"
"Are you and Anthony involved?" Troy said looking away from her.
Gabriella felt the burn of tears, he could barely look at her. "No,"
"I don't know even know why I asked, it's not like I can believe anything you say," he said rolling his eyes, "I need to go out,"
"Troy please don't leave," Gabriella said trying to pull him to her.
Troy jerked back from her touch holding up his hands to get away from her. "No." He said his blue eyes now piercing Gabriella, she jerked as if she'd been slapped. Troy left the room slamming the door behind.
Gabriella felt her legs give out from under her, her body falling to floor as the front door slammed as well. What had she done?