Gabriel took me home to his loft. He texted Nirvana, Tina and Tyler to let them know that I was with him, and Nirvana replied within five seconds, pleading with him to let her call me and speak to me at the very least through the phone.

At my request, Gabriel only texted back that I needed rest and that I would reach out to her as soon as I could.

I fell asleep on the ride home and I only woke when Gabe picked me up from the passenger seat, bridal style. He held me close to his chest all the way up to his apartment and set me down on his bed. I curled up on top of his duvet, exhausted.

He sat down next to me, his hand smoothing my curls away from my face.

"Are you hurt?" Gabe asked me softly, his fingertips tracing the contours of my face delicately.

"I only have a cut on my scalp." I reached up to seek it out and winced a bit when my fingers found it. Gabe pried my hand away, and turned my head to appraise the injury.

"I'll get you all fixed up." His voice was like a soothing balm all on its own and I pressed my cheek into the palm of his hand, longing filling my body to the very brim.

He rose to leave, but my hand shot out of its own accord, grasping the hem of his shirt. "Don't go. Please."

He took my hand in his, his fingers stroking mine. "I'll be less than a minute. I promise."

He kept his promise, he was back almost instantly, a first-aid kit in hand.

He sat down next to me again and I put my face in his lap to give him access to the back of my head. He parted my hair with infinite gentleness and went to work. I barely felt anything and asked him to describe what he was doing –he used skin glue, which I didn't even know was a thing.

I wondered how many times he'd done this, patched himself or someone else up, to get to this level of ease. He worked quickly, his hands steady and efficient and once he was done, he packed up his first aid kit and set it next to the bed. I laid with my head in his lap longer, my cheek pressed into the firm muscle of his thigh, his hands running over my curls gently.

I would have fallen asleep like this if he didn't speak up at that moment.

"Tell me what happened. What did he do to you?" His voice was strained, wary.

I turned my face to look up at him. He traced the contour of my jaw, his fingers barely even touching my skin. I breathed in, long and deep, and the exhale came out shaky. I closed my eyes before I began speaking.

He listened, not interrupting once, his fingers tracing my lips, my cheekbones, my jaw as I spoke.

Once I was done, Gabe's only noticeable reaction was the clenched fist I could see resting next to his thigh, knuckles pale.

"I thought you wouldn't come," I whispered after a few beats of silence.

"I'd go to hell and back for you." I pushed myself up into a sitting position, my eyes searching his face. His eyes were ablaze with an intensity that almost made my head spin.

"You'll never have to save me again."

"I didn't save you this time." He leaned in close and kissed my forehead, his hands framing my face. "You saved yourself."

I tilted my head back so that our mouths were level and pressed my lips to his, kissing him with all the urgency and desperation I'd felt while imprisoned in that small white room.

I kissed him to forget and to wipe myself clean of Dominic's vile touch, to rebrand my skin with the right hands.

He pulled away first.

"You need rest," he said, his hands gripping my shoulders, gentle yet firm.

I didn't protest –I felt exhausted. All I wanted was to curl up next to him, but first, I needed to wash the last two days off of my skin –everything that had happened felt as though it stuck to my skin like dirt.

"I need a shower first," I said, standing up. He followed suit and went to a closet right next to his bathroom, pulling out a clean towel. He gave a me a clean pair of underwear –I'd slowly began to build my own drawer in his dresser, one piece of clothing at a time.

The shower only made me drowsier, if that was even possible. The hot water undid the knots in my muscles, rinsed my skin of Dominic's touch, eased the pain in my joints from being forced into unnatural positions for hours on end.

I could barely stand on my two legs once I got out, and after collapsing into Gabe's bed, I passed out immediately.

I didn't know how much time had passed before I woke up. The light that filtered through the leaves of the plants placed in front of Gabe's windows pulled me from my sleep, dancing on my skin.

For once, Gabe was still in bed, his tattooed back to me. I traced a finger along the outer edges of the snake tattooed in between his shoulder blades and he turned his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"Good morning. How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine. A lot better now." I sat up in bed and he looked up at me, his face unreadable.

"Are you really okay?" He looked up at me with worry in his dark eyes. Then, in a careful, lower voice, he added, "I saw that video on Dominic's phone. What he was about to do... I wish I could've shot him right then and there, but... considering who he is, I couldn't. All I can promise you is that you will never have to see him again. I'll make sure of that."

I gulped and nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"Let me fix you some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry-" I began, but he fixed me with a stare that made me shut my mouth. It was obvious that Gabe would not be taking "no" for an answer today.

"I just wish we could spend the whole day together, right here and not move an inch," I said sheepishly, sinking into his bed again, pressing myself into his warm side, my arm wrapping around his sculpted chest.

He didn't breathe another word for a moment. But then he said, softly, "I could always order something in. We could spend the morning in bed, but I'll drive you back home a bit later. Tina and Tyler were worried about you. And you should get in touch with Nirvana, she was nearly hysterical."

I looked up at him, but I could only see his profile, and his face was unreadable.

"That sounds perfect."

I pressed my face into his chest and he gently ran his fingers down my hair as he opened the Uber Eats app and scrolled through the different brunch options, while I butted in from time to time to give my opinion.

We settled on a place that specialized in waffles and pancakes and he ordered chicken waffles for himself and chocolate chip pancakes for me. After the app informed us that we had approximately forty-five minutes before the order arrived, he put on the first episode of a comedy series on Netflix and we watched it without saying much, with me curled up in his arms, his chin resting atop my head.

~~

After we were both done with breakfast, caffeinated and had gone through about half the season of the series, Gabe drove me home.

Something about his demeanor, about the way he kissed me goodbye, long, deep and lingering, made me nervous.

As he drove off, I stared after his car, feeling strangely sad, and yet happy.

This was the end of a big chapter of my life.

I could sleep well now, not fearing some anonymous stranger lurking in the night, watching my every move.

I'd made my fair share of mistakes in the last months, lived in fear, had been filled with heartache, desperately helpless in the face of all the uncertainty that had overtaken my life.

And just like that, in less than forty-eight hours, it had come to an end. Sure, there were still parts of my life that made my stomach clench with worry, but there was an immense sense of lightness as well, a considerable burden lifted off my back.

But there was a different kind of sadness underneath it all as well.

I watched as Gabe's car grew smaller and smaller.

Something about the way Gabe had looked at me, the way he'd held me today – made it all feel like one final goodbye.

-A/N- 

ONE CHAPTER LEFT TO GO SON. ONE.

See y'all on the other side.