"You saw him for ten minutes!" Gabriel’s voice jumps an octave. "You don’t know what he does, who he is, or how many people he’s helped, how many requests he’s granted to people who had no other options. He’s saved the lives and health of thousands. Don’t judge him so easily, because it’s incredibly easy to write someone off based on a first impression."
Wow. That is… quite a speech.
I become strangely aware of the warmth rising in my face. Gabriel doesn’t let himself be swayed, he defends me with passion!
Hearing it stirs something complicated in me. For a moment I feel the impulse to leave the room, ignore Gomez’s endless stream of words, walk out to Gabriel and… do what, exactly?
Put my arms around him in front of everyone? That would be a spectacle.
But I must admit… not many people have ever defended me like that.
It’s wonderful to have him so unequivocally on my side…
A pleasant warmth spreads through my body like a pink, sweet wave, and every cell longs for one thing: to press myself against him and just sink into our closeness… Maybe even snuggle?
As I sit here, I make another effort to listen to Gomez, but I’m not really here.
A small fragment of my soul reaches toward Gabriel in a tangible way, like soft sparks flying between us, or a thin thread of glowing energy physically connecting us.
What is it? That shiver.
And suddenly I recognize what has arisen in me.
Trust.
I trust Gabriel.
Such a new feeling…
Me, of all people. Habitually distrustful, skeptical. And yet he found a way in. My wall has lowered just a tad. My indifference and caution have turned into something that can only be described as… tenderness?
His loyalty carries a priceless weight for me in a world where so many havebetrayedme.
So for the rest of my meeting with Gomez, I just let myself stay unfocused, carelessly wallowing in that sweet, blissful surge running through my body, so bright and softly pink.
GABRIEL
As Blue decided, we take off at 5 pm.
Simon canceled the commercial flight that had already departed at dawn seemingly without any issues.
For some reason, I feel unusually tired, so as soon as we board his jet, which turns out to have… a bed in the back, I head there for a nap.
As I lie there, already slowly drifting off, I notice I have an unread message from Marlow.
"Hi, what’s up?"
Just that. I kind of get the feeling it’s an opening to chat, that he wants to talk, but I’m on a plane and extremely drowsy, so I leave it unanswered.
And then sleep finally takes me.
Blue and Simon stay in the main cabin discussing business, but about half an hour later I’m woken by a firm shake on my shoulder.
I open my eyes and see Blue’s pale face.
"Something… happened, Gabriel."
I sit up immediately. He looks bad, slight tremors running through him.
