Mind Over Matter by Kaia Bennett Read Free Book Online Page A

Pleaded with him.
    Don't let go. Please. Please, Gabriel...
    They didn't sleep that night. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to miss a single moment of their last night together. And in the morning, when they should have been asleep from exhaustion, she sat up with bloodshot eyes and stared off into space. Her tears were shed. Her voice was hollow. As always, she spoke the truth, even when it was hard to say and harder to hear. She was always the brave one in that respect.
    "I feel like we failed," she’d whispered solemnly. "It was supposed to be so simple. We love each other. That makes sense. This should make sense..."
    And when she'd looked at him and saw the mirror of her own anguished resolve, all he could say was, "We didn't fail. We tried, sweetheart. We said we'd try. Most people aren't even brave enough to do that. Right?"
    We said we'd try...
    They'd promised to be friends, a superficial attempt to salvage what was left of the dream now that they were both awake.
    "Dude, what the fuck are you doing out here?! You got sixty candles to blowout," Q roared, a little beyond tipsy, reminding him this was a party and not an introspective retreat.
    Nuke was by his side, his ever observant gaze fixated on him. He gave him a broad smile, a pat on the back and said, "C'mon. Everybody's waiting on you."
    Gabe smiled in spite of the leftover heartache.
    It was what got him by, what kept him from feeling like he'd made the biggest mistake of his life that night. His boys, a good party here and there. A good-looking girl… though these days, that worked less and less. Life was a whirlwind, people surrounded him, and work was always on the brain and flourishing.
    He had everything he wanted except one thing, one person. But when you already had everything you could want, perhaps that was the price you had to pay.
    They sang a warbling and boisterous rendition of 'Happy Birthday' and then yelled, "Make a wish!"
    Jackie and Ian, Trish and the guys, their manager and friends from the label. Nicole, even if her boyfriend was by her side. They were all here. He'd block Travis' steady gaze out, because here in this room was everyone he loved, next to his family, celebrating his life. Here was proof he hadn't lost everything just because he lost the girl.
    Yet, even with all that, he couldn't resist. He couldn't help but make a small request on this one occasion.
    He knelt down, looking up with a grin at all his friends and thought for just a second about his wish. Across from him stood Nic, her eyes beaming, her full lips spread into a soft smile. He held her eyes as he bent down to blow out the candles.
    And he wished for her. For Nicole Langley.
    For a second chance.
    He wished for the love he couldn't release, even though he'd tried to bow out in the most graceful way he could. Even though he'd tried to let them both move on with life, he held her eyes and let her see.
    Then he lowered them and blew the candles out in one breath. Everyone cheered, camera phones flashed, a handful of cake, courtesy of Jonny, was slapped on his face. He couldn't help but smile and laugh, and try to enjoy what he had. He was thirty now, a grown man. Wishes were for children.
    And even if they weren't, they didn't come true. There was proof of that when he turned to seek out Nicole's smiling face. Yes, she was laughing and clapping for him. Yes, she stared into his eyes for a blessedly painful moment, but it didn’t last. All too soon she turned away and reality intruded once more.
    She was still with Travis, still in his arms.
    He was still left with only a wish.
     
    ***
     
    "It's cause you're scared. Isn't it?"
    Those words had been resounding in Nicole's head for over a week now, and it was driving her crazy. Or, crazier than usual. They made her antsy. They made her wake up in the middle of the night because of explicit dreams so sweet they should be called nightmares instead. They made her stare at her phone, tap her nails against her