The interview went great. I was so nervous about it that I felt butterflies in my stomach. There was quite a few of us, but not as many as I expected, so it didn't take long.

I told Alexander I could take a bus back so he didn't have to wait for me, but he was having none of it. He told me he's not letting me walk out in the dark all by myself and risk anything happening to me. I can't argue with that.

I don't like walking alone in the dark, either, so, sometimes, it's very nice to be having this badass-y boyfriend that's also overprotective. At least I feel safe with him at all times.

He's smoking a cigarette by his car when I get back. He doesn't see me at first because he's turned away, just looking at the park ahead and all the people walking by.

I walk to him faster with long strides. He spots me when I'm close to the car and his whole face changes from the serious-looking, frowning one to a happy and delighted. The change is so pristine and so different on him that it makes my heart skip just a few beats. "How'd it go?" he asks lowly.

I grin in excitement. "Good!" I exclaim. I eye the cigarette, getting an idea. "Can you give me a drag?"

"Of what?" he asks, confused.

I nod towards the cigarette in his hand. He looks at it and then at me, scowling. "No way," he says.

I raise my eyebrow. "Why not? I want to try it."

He shakes his head. "No."

"Why not?" I want to know. "If you're doing it, I can do it, too, no?"

His scowl deepens. "You're not going to fucking smoke, Gabrielle. Get real, babe."

"I am real. Why can you smoke but I can't? What's the difference?"

"Are you serious right now?" He gives me a long look, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Babe," he says in a soft tone. "Come on."

I cross my arms over my chest. "I just want to try it," I say.

Alexander shakes his head. He takes the half-smoked cigarette out and throws it away. "No," he simply says. "Get in the car."

I feel like I pissed him off, but he says it all with such an indifferent tone that I can't know for sure.

I sit in the car after he goes in, not saying a word. I eye him when he drives out of the parking lot. "Are you pissed? You look pissed."

His jaw twitches. "I'm not pissed," he says, obviously pissed.

"Okay. You're pissed," I confirm.

"Gabrielle, if you say the word pissed one more time, I swear to fucking God ..."

I roll my lips together, my eyes widening. Why is he so mad? I was just asking. "Any particular reason why you're in such a bad mood all of a sudden?"

"Because you're pissing me off."

"Now you're using that word!"

He turns his head and gives me an annoyed look, glaring at me and making sure I get the message. I don't get it, though. "Why am I pissing you off?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he mutters, clearly in distress. The muscles on his arms are bulging because he's holding the steering wheel so tightly.

My lips are trying to lift up at the corners, but I don't dare to smile. "Okay, then I'm going to be pissed, too. Look! Now we're both pissed."

Alexander looks at me once more. "Gabrielle. Shut up. Seriously. What the fuck."

I start laughing. I jokingly punch his arm, feeling how flexed his muscle is. "Can you relax? You can get into a mood so easily." I shake my head.

I hear him sigh. "I mean ... you could help me make me feel a little better?"

I give him a look of interest and then I scowl when I see a smirk on his lips. "I am not giving you a blowjob while you're driving," I declare with my voice higher than I wanted to.

"Then don't complain about me being pissed," he taunts, chuckling when I let out a loud, long sigh.

˙˙˙

It's Amelia's birthday on Friday and we're going there. I still haven't gotten anything since the interview for the tutors and my excitement started dying down because, obviously, they didn't pick me.

But that's not the only reason why I'm in such a weird mood that I can't even explain.

"So," Alexander starts, looking at me.

I have my head leaned against the window, watching the raindrops. "Hmm?" I murmur, not looking at him.

"You're very excited," he notes in sarcasm.

I shrug.

"Okay, so what's the problem?"

I sigh. "It's ... dumb."

"What is it?" Alexander presses.

I lift my head off the window and look at him. "You know what? It's not really that dumb. But if you flirt with Lena today, I might just become violent."

Alexander chuckles. "That is dumb. I didn't flirt with her, babe," he says in an exasperated tone as if he's tired repeating this.

I give him an incredulous look. "Don't be overly nice to her, either!"

"Okay, Jesus. I won't even look at her," he mutters.

I turn my whole body towards him. "What if I said what you said to her to someone else in front of you? Racer, for example. Or Ripper. Pick your favourite."

He gives me an annoyed look. "I don't even remember what I said to her."

I roll my eyes. I don't know if he's pretending for my sake or if he really didn't see anything wrong with that statement. "That you're going to fall in love with her. Second time's a charm!" I make a poor imitation of his voice.

"Not this again. We went over this already, Gabby."

"I'm just saying. Don't make me dislike her," I mutter. He knows I always try to see good in everyone and give everyone a chance before I judge them. I had to go through hell with no one there by my side and that's why I try to be fair to everyone.

Alexander shakes his head to himself, smiling.

When we arrive at the house, Amelia comes running towards us in her cute little pink tutu and a ton of colourful hair clips in her hair. She's the cutest.

She hugs us both as if she hasn't seen us in ages, but it's only been less than a week. I don't complain. I love this kid.

Alexander and I wish her a happy birthday and give her our gift, but Rosalyn appears at the door before Amelia could open it. "Goodness, Amelia! Let them come in first before attacking them."

I pat Amelia's head and we all go inside.

Sam is there too and she's in front of me when I step a foot inside the house. "Hey, girl. We need to talk." She puts her arm over my shoulders, dragging me away.

"Hello to you too, Samantha!" Alexander calls after us.

Sam only lifts her hand up and waves him off. I'm amused. And also nervous. Because when Sam wants to talk ... it's not always a good sign.

"What's up?" I try to make my voice appear lightweight. She takes me upstairs to Alexander's room. Well, the room that used to be his.

"This girl. Lena. What the fuck is up with her?"

I tilt my head to the side, not understanding. "What do you mean?"

"She's ..." Sam waves her hand around. "There's something about her that irks me. She kept questioning me about Alexander."

My face falls and my shoulders drop. "Oh." I hoped I was mistaken and that I was just being overly jealous and tried to be overly protective, but if Sam noticed it ...

Sam puts her hand on my shoulder. "You know I fuck with all kinds of people, good, mostly bad, but I can also sense their vibe. And the people I don't fuck with are those that have hidden agenda and bad intentions. I'm just saying, look out of her. She better be smart enough to not try something, but watch out."

I don't tell her about what happened the last time because, honestly, I could strangle Alexander for saying that and basically just encouraging her further.

"I mean, I noticed a few things, too, but I still want to give her a try. Maybe she's not that bad, except for the fact that she's lusting after my boyfriend." I roll my eyes. But really, can I even blame her?

Sam draws her eyebrows together, her lip curling up in the corner. "Yeah, I don't fuck with those kinds," Sam says as if she was just confirming it with herself.

"What can I do, Sam? She's going to be here for one year at least, I'm not trying to start any problems in the family. If she's good with Amelia and Clara ..." I shrug. "I'm helpless. I trust Alexander and I don't think he would go behind my back, but there's no guarantee he won't like someone else and I can't stop him from that."

I hate to admit it, but, sometimes, I'm still not sure how deep his feelings really go. He was so different when I came here and I know him as a person who doesn't really give a damn about a lot of things and he was just someone who used girls to get what he wanted and then he left them. I know I'm being unfair to him, but, sometimes, I wonder if he's going to do the same to me.

I'm scared that he'll realise I'm really not what he wants since we're so different. Or that he'll just find someone else, someone better and will leave me like yesterday's news.

I know I could never leave him, as complicated as he is and as hard as it is to deal with him sometimes, I still love him. We've experienced so many things together and he played a great role in my life, helping me to grow a lot and change to the better.

And I know that I would never be the same if he left me. But there's nothing I can do. I can just love him now. And for as long as he will let me.

Sam chuckles, full out laughs. "God! I don't think he even realises that other girls exist besides you. And the family, of course."

I make that hmm noise in my throat. "Believe me that he notices."

Sam raises her eyebrow.

I don't tell her because I don't want her to create an opinion just because of that. "Nothing important. He just notices."

Sam is still looking at me in disbelief. "Yeah, sure."

"Should we head down now?"

Sam just nods. "By the way, why did you two go home from the party so early?"

"I mean ... Alexander kind of wanted to go home early and you know how I am with the partying."

"You're shtitting me," she says, walking behind me. "Sin, the king of parties, never missing one and always going home last wanted to go home early? Shit, who even is he?"

"By the way, are you and Snake cool? Alexander told me you two were having some problems."

"Nah. We took a break. Broke up. Whatever. He was becoming a jealous mess and I'm not having that."

Yeah, I can't imagine Sam taking shit from anyone, especially not a man. She's such a free spirit that I can hardly even imagine her in a serious relationship. She's a party girl and she doesn't hide it. She likes to have her fun and she tells everyone that wants to stand in her way to just piss off and she keeps going. That's Sam.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Although I can't imagine Sam in a relationship, I was kind of rooting for her and Snake because I know she meant a lot to him. He's not a bad guy, he's actually pretty nice, but in that cool way, but he was good to Sam and with her. But, sometimes, things just aren't meant to be.

When we walk downstairs into the living room, Alexander is sitting on the floor, Clara is sitting on his lap, watching Amelia playing with her train and Alexander helping her.

At least I don't find Lena all over him this time.

Alexander lifts his head when he hears us. "You two told each other all the secrets that you had?"

"Yeah. Gabrielle had to urgently tell me how she doesn't know how to tell you that you have a small .." Sam looks at Amelia and then back to Alexander, her head tilting to the side, "And that you're pretty bad in bed so she has to take care of herself."

I look at Sam with flaming cheeks. What?

She just winks at me.

Alexander looks at me and then at Sam again. "Uh-huh," Alexander only says. "Just because you're unhappy, doesn't mean other people are too. It seems like you have to sort your problems out, not ours. We're good, especially in that department. Right, babe?" Alexander looks at me with a charming grin and if they don't stop talking, I'm going to burst up into flames with shame.

Clara lets out a loud cry then, thank God, and Alexander's smile is replaced with a frown. He looks at the baby in his hands, the poor crying baby and he ... doesn't know what to do with her. "Mum!" Alexander yells panicky, standing up.

Rosalyn is already coming into the room, checking what's going on. When she sees her son struggling with his sister, she takes mercy on him and takes Clara from his hands which Alexander happily holds out as far away from him as he can.

I watch the scene unfold in amusement.

Clara stops crying when Rosalyn takes her and it's funny seeing Alexander's face expression. He looks confused. "What did I even do?"

"This is what you get for embarrassing me," I tell him.

He still looks confused when he looks at me. But then Lena comes and my whole mood changes from playful and good to attentive and just ... plain serious. My good mood disappears.

She, however, seems to be in a very good mood. She's smiling big when she walks out with Rosanna behind her, who gives me a wink. I give her a small smile in return. Lena, however, doesn't even look at Alexander this time, but just goes straight to Amelia and takes, now calm, Clara from Rosalyn's arms.

Rosanna tells us to get seated because lunch is ready. Sam gives me a look, but doesn't say anything. I sincerely hope this won't end disastrously. 

*

This picture gives me major Alex & Gabby vibes I- 🥺🥺🥰