The Tattooed Devil Wears Chucks

Chapter 58: The Mind of a Teenage Girl

Jax.

Another glance at my watch, 7:32 AM. It's been three minutes since I last looked. My hand runs over my face and I take a deep breath, pacing the kitchen of my parent's home. A light tap comes from the back door and I hesitate to open it. I've been avoiding the windows and doors.

"It's us."

Finally. It's been three days since I've seen or talked to Gabby. Her wedding shit is taking all of her time and this was the only time we had to go through Courtney's room without drawing the attention of half the town.

I unlock the door and slide it open, allowing Gabby and Sydney to walk in.

"You're late. Where's Dan?" I look at the pink plastic caddy in Sydney's hand that's filled with nail polish. "And what's that for?"

"First off, we are late by three minutes. Calm down. Dad is taking everyone to town to see some carnival thing, giving us time. And this," she holds up the pink caddy, "is our alibi. We are supposed to be getting our manicures today. So before we go, I need to press on some fake nails to Gabby's fingers."

"You can go get a real manicure if you want..." I look to Gabby. She rolls her eyes at me as she puts her hair up into one of those knotty ponytails on top of her head. It looks like a mess but it's always looked good on her. She walks away in a pissy mood, slowly opening the door to Courtney's room and closing it behind her. I'm assuming she needs a few minutes alone in there. It's been a long time and there's a lot of memories.

"She's pissed at me."

Sydney chuckles and rolls her eyes, a Brooks girl trait. I wonder if my daughter does it too? "Do you blame her? She tried talking to you about Zo and you threw Kane in her face. She's trying to figure this out."

I don't answer her. What the hell was I supposed to do? Kiss her? Tell her I love her? Tell her to not marry that douche? I can't do that and I won't. I guess part of me always thought they would catch this son of a bitch. Then I could come back, find Gabby and we would be together. I thought it hurt when my mom informed me that Vicky had told her Gabby was engaged. But no, hurt was when Gabby told me she was engaged to Kane Porter. The one person that she assured me she didn't love, that she loved me. That's who gets my Books, that's who gets to raise my daughter. So Gabby can be mad at me. But I get to be mad at her too.

"Do you love her?" Sydney's voice cuts through my thoughts. I nod my head yes. There will never be a day where I don't love Gabby Brooks. That doesn't change the fact that she's getting married on Saturday. "Tell her before it's too late."

"I can't. I left, this is my own fault. If she is happy enough with him to marry him even though I'm here, then let her."

Another eye roll. "You're both idiots."

Before I can even ask Sydney what she means, Courtney's door swings open and Gabby reappears with her face covered in tears. I want nothing more than to hug her, hold her and not let go, to keep her safe.

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable digging through her stuff. I feel like I'm invading her privacy. I know how I was at that age and I had things I wouldn't want people to see."

"It's fine, Books. I think she'd understand why we have to do this."

She nods and looks back to the room. "Where do we start?" Snap. Snap.

God, she hasn't changed one bit. I can't help but to smile at her as she begins snapping the rubber band on her wrist. It snaps and falls to the floor. Her head falls back in frustration and her eyes press closed tight.