Husband With Benefits-Chapter 580: Thoughts

It was the middle of the night when Gabe woke up next. He’d been thinking about the murder when he fell asleep. As he padded outside and poured himself a drink, his thoughts however, were different. Usually, at the hour when thoughts of Her plagued him, tonight he was thinking about Autumn and her words.

Outside, he sat on the swing and looked up at the sky. It had been so long... "Ari... are you okay up there? You are aren’t you? Away from all the monsters that haunted you? Away from the voices and the hurt? hmm?"

Of course the only answer her got was the blowing of the wind. He inhaled deeply, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall. " You must be okay, alright? Do you remember the time when we used to play together, you were such a snooty little brat...I... I’m sorry, Ari...for not being able to protect you... for not giving you a choice in your protection."

His thoughts moved to the peaceful time that they’d spent together in the haven he prepared for her," That was a good place, wasn’t it? We were so farther away from everything..."

After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to think back to those days. Unexpectedly, what appeared before him was not Arabelle, but a pair of big doe-loke eyes, asking if he would lean on her.

His eyes snapped open in confusion and horror. He looked around, as if he’d cheated on Arabelle.

Gabe breathed deeply, trying to curb the confusion within him. His eyes traced the little scars that Autumn had left on him and he sighed. This wasn’t cheating on Arabelle. It was something that he had just not expected. And that is why it had syumped him.

He gulped and tried to explain himself," Ari, I... Autumn is not you. I know I’ve been protective of her since I meet her. But its not you. So you don’t have to worry. Of course you never did worry..."

"Autumn... she is different from you. You were frail and yet not strong enough to accept it. To accept help. But Autumn... she looks frail too, brings out my protective instincts like you did, but she is strong. She is able to accept help when she needs it and she wants to return that as well."

He snorted a bit and sipped his drink," Can you believe she wants me to lean on her? She looked cute when she said that..."

The smile on his face disappeared the next moment as he sighed," I was tempted, Ari. I was tempted to lean on her. To hold her and get rid of this loneliness that you’ve left behind. But she’s too innocent. I can’t burden her with my darkness, can I?"

Carefully, he traced the marks," I think I like her... as a life partner. I know its not going to be a forever marriage but if it was... I think I might not mind it too much. I like playing house with her."

"I’m quite a fool, aren’t I? Always wanting to play house. Ari... I’ll never love or have a family. You know that. But playing family is good too... "

***

Autumn had woken up scared. The sound of the door opening and closing in the middle of the night had her almost calling the police when she realized that an intruder might not make too much sound. So it was probably, Gabe.

Looking out of the window, she saw him come to sit on the swing, a glass in his hand... and look up at the sky...

He looked so lonely and dejected. The thought shook her. Gabe Frost was a powerful man with a powerful presence. There was no lack of people willing to fawn over him. She’d seen it herself... And yet, seeing him sitting there, looking at the sky, he seemed the loneliest and saddest man on the planet...

She turned away from the window, feeling like an intruder. She didn’t know why she felt like that but she also understood that he wouldn’t want her to see him like this.

However, even as she backed away, a part of her questioned," You didn’t want anyone seeing you at yuor lowest, did you Autumn? And yet, did he step away? He came to you, without a care for yuor boundaries, just so he could be there for you. So... why can’t you be there for him? Why think about how he might not want it... Think about how much he needs it..."

Autumn turned back and looked at his lonely back again. He did look like he needed to not be alone at the moment.

She sighed and finally nodded to herself. Making a decision. She’d offered for him to lean on her. Maybe she could give that offer again... Show it to him that she was there for him.

As he stared into the darkness, trying to reconcile his emotions, the silence was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. With a frown, he looked back to see Autumn, wrapped in a cozy blanket, appeared at the door, looking hesitant as she explained," I saw you sitting here. So I came to ask... are you okay?"

For a moment, he wanted to ask her to leave but despite that, he made another error in judgement. Instead, he extended his hand and invited her to sit with him.

She came and sat next to him and he felt his emotions settle a bit and smiled," I just couldn’t sleep. I’m sorry for disturbing your rest..."

She shook her head," No, you didn’t disturb me. So, did you have that nightmare again?"

He frowned at that and sent her a sharp look... how did she know about his nightmares?

Seeing his confusion, she explained hurriedly, "That night when we stayed over in C town.. you had a nightmare...you were sweating and muttering..."

Gabe felt himself go still..He’d had a nightmare and not woken up from it... that was odd...