*6 months after Bread*

Michael
February 8th
11:16pm

     The moon was climbing higher in the dark sky, and a cool breeze creeper through a crack in the window. It shined through the front window of Nelson's truck, bathing everyone in a soft light. He and Melanie were asleep up front and covered with a heavy blanket, while Bishop and Amiyah slept on separate sides of the far backseat, leaving me to lay out in the middle. Everyone and everything silent and sleeping.

     Except me.

     I couldn't get to sleep to save my life if Gabi wasn't in this truck with me. She went out to work a double at the café and should be coming back any minute, but I won't lie, I'm worried. It's late, and this isn't exactly the type of town that's friendly towards people of color.

     I know she's been overworking herself, too. She says it's to help pay for for a shotgun wedding for Nelson and Melanie when we pass through Vegas, and while she does make good money, I know the real reason why Gabi wants to stay out working late.

     I frown when I think about how little she's been sleeping. Damn near 6 months later, and everything that happened last summer still haunts her. She just lays awake most nights and waits for her shift to start, or on the off chance she does fall asleep, half the time one of us has to wake her up out of a nightmare.

     It's been hard on all of us, but especially for Gabi. I have to do something before she works herself sick.

     A tapping sound snaps me out of my thoughts, and I sit up and see Gabi in the window, glancing behind her every few seconds. Hurriedly I unlock the door and let her in, helping her climb into the backseat with me.

     "Gabi, you okay? You'd think somebody was chasing you with how you keep looking behind you." I whisper so I won't wake up the others.

     She shakes her head, a small smile put on her face. "I thought someone was, but I'm probably just paranoid."

     I frown at her, pulling her close as she drops her bag and closes the door behind her, laying her head on my chest. "Yeah, well, I don't like the vibe I'm getting in this town. I'm going with you tomorrow, and I want you to just do day shifts until we move on."

     "Why?" Gabi pulls away to look me in the eyes, then sighs. "I get that it isn't a very friendly atmosphere, but we need the money, and the café is the only place that let's any of us take an extra shift."

     I kiss my teeth. "We both know why you keep taking all the night shifts, Gabi."

     She frowns back at me, and I know she doesn't like what she's hearing. "What does that have to do with anything?! I get just enough sleep!"

     "Shh! Do you want to wake everybody up?" I say. Reaching towards her face, I hold her cheeks in each hand. "And you should know by now, you can't hide from me."

     She closes her eyes, a few tears slipping out. I wipe them away, but they keep on coming until she's full on sobbing. I haven't seen her cry this hard since the first night she had a nightmare. My heart clenches when I feel her tears on my fingers. Moving to lie on my back, I let go of her face and grab her hands and gently bring her forward to lay back on my chest. I run my fingers through her hair with one hand while tracing circles in her back with the other.

     "That's it, just let it all out." I whisper.

     "But I can't." Gabi says through hiccups. "Look at me, I'm a freaking mess. I can barely stand being alone half the time."

     I mentally shake my head, my hand resting on her lower back. "Well you won't have to worry about being alone, 'cause you're stuck with me."

     She doesn't answer, and the only sound I can hear is her light sniffling, my shirt already starting to feel wet. I don't mind. I'm going to help Gabi through it all, cause I know she'd do the same for me.

     Eventually, Gabi goes quiet. She looks up at me, chin resting on my chest, and she takes my breath away. Her eyes shined from her tears, but what made me pause was seeing that sparkle there.

     "You know, I've been thinking too," she whispers, hesitating. "I mean, when we get started singing and everything, there's probably going to be more people coming after us. I don't want to lose what we have now."

     She pauses, and I patiently wait for her to keep going. "I guess what I mean is, people in this industry can get dirty, and I don't want them splitting us up. But we'll always stay close, right?"

     I give her a small smile before gently pressing my lips to hers. I can feel her relax in my arms, and I hug her close to me when we pull away.

     There's nothing for her to worry about, because I'm with her 'till the end.

     "Gabi, I love you, on God I mean that. Ain't nobody splitting us up, and anyone who tries is gonna be sorry."

     She smiles back, holding her pinky out. "Promise?"

     I chuckle at how childlike she is sometimes, making sure not to wake up the others. Lifting my own pinky, I wrap it tightly around hers and kiss the top of our entwined fingers.

     "I promise."

     ...

     Looking back on that memory, I had no idea how badly our lives would spin out of control...If only I'd known...

(A/N: Well? How'd you like it? :D

Sorry this took so long to get out, but once I finally started writing, it started flowing! And it's summer now, so I'll be able to write more often.

What do y'all think is gonna happen? I couldn't help myself, I had to add a cliffhanger there, lol.

Welp, comment, vote, and all that jazz!)