COUNTERPOINT
An original romantic serialFrom Alina Adams the author of "When a Man Loves a Woman" (DELL 4/00), "Annie's Wild Ride" (AVON 8/98), "Inside Figure Skating" (METROBOOKS 11/00 & 9/99), "Thieves at Heart" (AVON 12/95) and "The Fictitious Marquis" (AVON 6/95)
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CHAPTER 52
Nicole couldn't tell if it took her or Gabriel more effort to get him up off the floor, out the door, and into his car. He could barely stand, much less walk, and was forced to lean most of his weight on Nicole. His legs shook like a newborn colt, and the sweat poured down his neck and chin, turning the blood drenching his shirt collar a sickening pink. His breath rattled as if each gulp might be his last. Yet, when Gabriel stumbled weakly and was forced to grab Nicole's shoulder with all his strength to keep from fainting, he still instinctively slurred, "Sorry. Sorry, did I hurt you?"
"No," Nicole's denial came out wrapped in disbelief that he would even ask such a thing. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Let's just get you home."
He fell asleep in the car on the way to his apartment. At least Nicole hoped he fell asleep. It terrified her to think he may have passed out. Or died.
Sitting at a red light, wondering why it wouldn't, couldn't, didn't hurry up and change, Nicole gingerly reached out her hand to touch him, to see if he was still breathing. His skin was so cold, she almost couldn't be sure. Her fingertips grazed the hollow under his ear, the place where, in the movies, important people always checked for a pulse.
She felt something. Something like a baby's finger scratching on the inside. Was that a pulse? Was that what it was supposed to feel like?
Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why was he doing this to her? Why was he making her responsible for him?
Gabriel's eyes groggily opened, and, with great difficulty, focused on Nicole's hand, still resting on his neck.
He smiled at her weakly.
And Nicole had her answer.
She spent a week at Gabriel's apartment, taking care of him. At his insistence, Nicole went home to get Eve, and brought the little girl to stay at Gabriel's, too.
The first time Eve saw her friend, lying in his bed, pale and barely able to move, she, for the first time in her life, actually clung to Nicole's hand, and crooked her finger for Nicole to bend down, so Eve might whisper a question in her ear.
"Is Gabriel sick?" Her voice was warm, and her skin softer than Nicole had ever noticed before.
"I'm all right, Eve," Gabriel winked, and held out one arm, encouraging Eve to come to him for a hug. "Your mother's been taking very good care of me."
"Oh," Eve said, sounding about as unconvinced as Nicole felt.
"I'm going to be okay," Gabriel repeated, "We all are."
And yet, Nicole couldn't be sure of that. Even as Gabriel grew stronger, as his gashes healed and his fever dropped and his strength returned, Nicole couldn't believe that everything was going to be okay. Because, the fact still remained that no matter how comfortable the three of them grew sharing Gabriel's apartment and spending practically every moment together, Nicole was still the one who'd once sent Gabriel to jail. She was still the one who'd blackmailed his precious sister, the one who lied to him, the one who'd been willing to risk his entire life just to get her own way. How could he ever forgive, much less trust her, after all that?
She asked Gabriel as much one night. Eve had fallen asleep, and they were sitting in the living room, Gabriel proudly taking her on a tour of his 1,000 and counting vintage record collection, telling her about artists and music styles she'd never heard of, and yet Gabriel insisted were classics.
She asked him, "Do you -- do you think things could ever be the same between us, again?"
He didn't look at her. "Of course not."
She felt exactly the same way now as she had that horrible afternoon Victoria Morgan told Gabriel that Nicole was the one responsible for his incarceration. As if she'd been slapped across the face, her legs knocked right out from under her.
"Oh." She nodded her head fervently, hoping the frantic motion would keep him from seeing the tears springing to her eyes. "I see. I -- I really do. I see. I understand."
Now, he turned to look at her. Now. Now that her face had turned scarlet, and her nose stood ready to run, and she could see the tears tottering on her eyelids, just waiting to spill over at the most possibly embarrassing moment. Now he turned to look at her. Great.
Gabriel said, "I don't want things to go back to the way they were between us before. I want them to be better. Do you know what I want more than anything in the world, Nicole?"
"For things to be better?" She wasn't being sarcastic. She truly couldn't guess what he was getting at, and, terrified of saying the wrong thing, she retreated into the safety of just repeating his words.
He smiled, whether from amusement or simply indulgence, Nicole couldn't tell. "I want you to be happy, Nicole."
"I am happy."
"You were happy with the way things were? With the way Robin was treating you?"
"What -- why -- why does this have to do with Robin and me? I thought we were talking about you and me."
"I'd say the two were pretty interlinked, wouldn't you?"
"Interlinked?" Again, she figured she'd just better play the echo, before Nicole said something even stupider.
"It broke my heart to see the way you suffered because of him."
"I'm all right."
"Nicole."
"What?"
"You want us to be friends, again?"
"More than anything." She said it. She meant it. "I want you to forgive me."
"Okay, then." He nodded thoughtfully as he took her hands in his. "Okay. But, I have a condition."
"Just say it. Just say it, and I'll do it right away."
"Sweetheart, I want for you to divorce Robin."