Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“Sounds like we could be soul mates. I’ve had one shitty thing happen to me after another too.” He said to me forlornly.
“I think since I shared my shit life story with you, that you should share yours.” I said seriously.
This was my chance. If I had known that was all it took, I would have spilled these crappy memories from the get go. I’d been wondering what made Gabe tick since I met him. He was always the sit in the back of the room and watch type of guy. He would join in reluctantly, but never of his own volition.
He was also the type of man whose presence you couldn’t ignore. My eyes were always drawn to him, and I itched to be near him. However, he always came off unapproachable at first. It was as if one damaged soul was drawn to another. His story had to be hard to bring down a man whose presence seemed bigger than life.
“Not really much to tell. I just have shit luck. My dad died when I was young, my mom remarried a piece of shit who made me feel like I wasn’t good enough to do anything. Then my mom died of the same disease that took my dad. A year later, my girlfriend aborted my kid without my knowledge. Since then two of my closest friends have died. I’m just not that lucky. That is until I met you. When I met you, I started to feel different. I was happy when I was around you.” He said.
I sat up straight in his lap, and then turned to look into his eyes. They gave nothing away. When he gave that speech, it was all monotone. Like he didn’t feel any emotion anymore, or he made himself not feel.
“Okay. I don’t even know where to begin. Do you mind if I ask you questions?” I said while looking deeply into his eyes.
“You can ask, but I don’t know that I’ll answer. Some of it’s still too raw.” He said.
I didn’t know where to even start. Therefore, I started with the one that irritated me the most.
“So who’s the bitch I need to kill, and where does she live?” I asked seriously.
Gabe burst out laughing, and it made my heart go a pitter-patter. I didn’t say anything else though. I was completely serious, and if I knew where she lived, I would give her a piece of my mind. I had a strong pro-life stance, and felt that every human being deserved a fighting chance.
I knew there were some circumstances where abortion was the only option, but in Gabe’s case, I felt like there was something more to the story, and she didn’t have that excuse.
Once his laughter died down, he started speaking.
“I met Sidney when I was home on leave. We hit it off, and dated for about a year when we found out she was pregnant. I was over the moon. I was confused on how it happened, since I never once forgot the condom, and supposedly, she was on the pill. That’s neither here nor there. I was a guarded happy. I wanted the baby, but wasn’t too sure about her. The circumstances seemed a little fishy, but there was nothing I could do about it then. She found out the day before I was to deploy for six months, and I didn’t have enough time to process that she was pregnant. She made a doctor’s appointment, and sent me a picture about four weeks in to my deployment. Three months in, she sent me a “Dear John” letter. It said that she was no longer in love with me, that she found someone else. She was kind enough to tell me in a P.S. that she wasn’t pregnant anymore, that she took care of it the day after I was deployed.”
I was stunned into silence. I honestly didn’t know what the fuck to say to that. Who in the hell wrote that in a letter? This man was fighting for our freedom. He was in a danger zone that could have killed him if his whole mind wasn’t on the task at hand. Anyone who was anyone would have known that you didn’t tell someone that. Hell, if that woman had any morals what so ever, she wouldn’t have aborted his baby in the first place. What kind of God-awful person did this?
“I don’t even know what to say to that.” I said quietly.
Leaning down, I gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
“Nothing to say. I just hope I never see her again. I had the landlord kick her out of the house. Apparently, the new love interest had moved in. I closed the account that had our name on it. I also called movers to move all my shit into storage. I didn’t leave her with a thing. I was so disgusted with her that I cut all ties with her. I never even went back to the town I used to live. I moved here when I retired from the army.” He said.
The more he told me about this woman, the more upset I got. If I’d been a cartoon character, I would be blowing steam out of my nostrils and ears right about now. My eyes would also be shooting laser beams. What. A. Bitch.
“What a bitch!” I fumed.
One of Gabe’s rare smiles flashed across his face. It was a good thing to see right about now. No wonder he always seemed moody. He’s had a tough lot given to him in life.
“How long ago was this?” I asked cautiously.
“I got out of the army a year and three months ago.” He said quietly. “If the baby had lived, he would be a year and a half.”
Oh Jesus. Tears were running down my face.
“Your mom?” I sniffled out.
“She died while I was on deployment. She didn’t even tell me. I never knew until they told me she had gone. My stepfather had the funeral before I could even get home on emergency leave. Didn’t even bury her where she wanted to be buried, which was next to my dad. He had her buried in some tomb in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She hated it there. Dad was buried in Detroit.” He said easily.