A Will To Change (Hope) (40 page)

I gently stroked him with my hand, while taking him deeper into my mouth. I could feel him getting harder and myself getting more turned on. “Gabby, I’m gonna -.”

He quickly pulled me up, wrapping my leg around him and lifting
me up on the counter once again. He finally put me out of my misery. I felt the fullness of him while he relentlessly slammed into me over and over again, grabbing my hair and forcing me to look at him. I had never been so turned on in my life. What we shared last night was beautiful, but this…this was exciting. I liked knowing that I could experience both mild and wild with him and, at the same time, let him know that I wasn’t some fragile little girl that he always had to be gentle with. His breathing grew heavier and his erection grew harder inside of me. “I love it when you fuck me like this, Will,” I whispered. I wrapped my legs tighter around his waist and leaned back into the counter, taking him deeper.

“Oh fuck, Gabby. You feel so fuckin’ good.”

I could feel the momentum building, the look in his eyes, the feel of him moving in and out of me, and I was gone. I pulled him close and dug my fingers into his back at the same time that I felt the warmth of him inside of me. “Oh, my god, Will!” I screamed, never experiencing anything like that before in my life.

He had sweat pouring off him and was trying to catch his breath. “Why the fuck did I wait so long to do that?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled. “Hey, don’t ask me. I was the one practically begging for it, remember? But you were
so
worth the wait.”

I slid off the counter and grabbed the clothes on the floor. “Let’s get your stuff and come back home.” I looked up at him and smiled.
Home
. It was a word that had always seemed so foreign to me, but suddenly I was feeling like I was speaking the language fluently.

Gabby rested her head on my chest. She had officially moved back in two months ago, and I loved being able to wake up together…when our work schedules would allow it. I couldn’t believe how content I finally was. I was so scared of letting her in that way. But, the truth was, I had never been happier. I felt like the other half of me was finally pieced together. Even though we both knew that what we had was forever, I wanted to seal the deal. Since I was clueless where to start, I called Hope. We spent three long hours at the jewelers before I finally decided on the perfect ring. Tonight was the night that I was planning on giving it to her. I had decided that I would take her out to dinner and ask her sometime after that.

She lifted her head and looked at me. “So, what did you feel like doing today?” she whispered. 

“Hmm…we can stay in bed all day.”

“That sounds like a good idea, but it’s an absolutely beautiful day. We have to do something.”

I kissed her on the top of her head. “Well, actually, it’s my friend Danny’s birthday. I visit him every year. You want to come with me?”

“Sure! Did I ever meet him?”

“No,” I replied, feeling that familiar knot in my stomach whenever I would think of Danny, even after all these years.

She kissed me on the cheek before getting up. “Well, I’ve got get up and take a shower and get this day started.”

“Take one with you?” I grinned.

“Sounds like a plan.” She smiled back.

I was waiting around for Gabby to finish up so we could leave when I decided to take the ring out of my dresser drawer to look at it again. “Ready?” she asked as she quietly walked into the room, catching me totally off guard. I fumbled around to close the lid and quickly shoved it in my pocket.

“Yup,” I said, trying not to look too suspicious, wishing she would leave the room so I could shove it back in my drawer. But, instead, she stood there waiting for me, forcing me to keep it in my pocket.

“So where are we going?” she asked.

“Just over the bridge,” I said as we walked out the door.

Gabby talked the entire ride and before I knew it, we were entering the Financial District. After driving around for what seemed like an eternity, I finally found a parking spot. Gabby squeezed my hand tight and was quiet during the entire walk. This area of the city brought back so many painful memories of that horrible day, and I always found that I tried to avoid it as best as I could. Gabby stopped in front of Saint Paul’s Chapel and smiled before I took her hand once again and lead her across the street to the World Trade Center Memorial. I took a deep breath as I stood in front of the entrance, but Gabby stopped dead in her tracks.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just thought you said we were going to visit -.”

“Just come with me.” I took her hand and led her along. We got our tickets and went through security, taking the short walk to the memorial. I stopped at the South Pool and pointed to Danny’s name on the monument. “Gabby, meet Danny. Danny, meet Gabby.”

She looked up at me and her eyes filled with tears. She took my hand and walked a few steps, as she ran her fingers over the name Antonio Spencer. “Will, meet my dad. Daddy, meet Will.”

“Your dad?”  I asked. She nodded. “I thought you said your dad had a heart attack.”

She nodded and looked away. “That’s what I tell everyone because I pray to God that he died before the tower collapsed. Crazy, right?” Her tear-filled eyes finally met mine.

“No, it’s not.”

She looked off into the distance. “The nightmares, you know…the one I had that night and you had asked me about? They are of that day.”

I creased my forehead. “Were you here on September eleventh?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “And I wouldn’t be alive, either, if it weren’t for
him
.”

I looked at her in confusion. “Who? Your dad?”

She shook her head and looked down at the waterfall, tears streaming down her face. “No. My angel. My dad was supposed to be at a meeting on the other side of town that day, but stupid me left my homework at this office the night before so we had to go and get it. We were trying to make our way out and he was -.” She choked back a sob. “He was having a hard time breathing. This fireman came out of nowhere and helped me get out just before the building collapsed. That’s who my angel is that I write to in my journal. He left me just as quickly as he came.”

My eyes widened and I was instantly brought back to that day and
that girl,
the one who saved my life as I saved hers. The
painful look in her eyes once I had finally gotten her completely out of harm's way and left her with a police officer still haunted me all these years later.  

“Where…where are you going?” Her voice quivered with emotion.

“I have to go back.” 

She shook her head and tears gushed from her eyes. “Don't leave me! Please don't leave me!” she screamed.

“She's in shock. She'll be okay. Just go,” the police officer said.

I rubbed my thumb along the side of her soot-covered face and caught one of her tears. “You're gonna be okay now. She's gonna help get you in touch with your mom, and you'll get to go home and see your dog.”

“No! Please don’t go!” Her words were barely audible as she tried to catch her breath between sobs, grabbing onto my arm.

“Come on, honey,” the police officer said, gently prying her off my arm before wrapping the girl’s arm around her neck as she struggled to keep her balance. I stood there for a moment as she continued to cry, knowing that I owed her everything. I may have saved her life, but she saved mine, too. She lifted her head and our eyes locked one last time before she limped away.

Her eyes were deep brown, the same color as Gabby's. She was tiny, just like Gabby, and seventeen-years-old, the same age Gabby would have been back then.
This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be her. That girl’s name was Bree. A name I remembered all these years later. I stared at her, remembering the strange connection that I felt to her when she walked into my hospital room for the first time that day.

She gazed up at me and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “Will, are you okay?” she asked. I just stared at her, unable to speak, trying my hardest to remember that girl’s face. “Will? What’s wrong?” she asked, taking my hand in hers.

There was a long silence before that name finally escaped my lips. “Bree?” Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. The look on her face told me everything I already knew. “You were seventeen. You had a broken leg and all you wanted to do was get home to your Golden Retriever, Zach.”

She was silent and shook her head in disbelief. “No… How did you…?” She covered her mouth as tears rolled down her face once again. “Oh, my god. It was you?!” She was trembling. I couldn’t answer. For the first time in my life, I was speechless. I bit my lip, trying to stop the emotion that was building up inside of me. “Will!” She threw her arms around me and totally broke down. Her entire body was shaking. I finally snapped out of it and pulled her closer. “You don’t know how many times I wanted to find out who you were and thank you for saving me!”

I kissed her on the top of her head. “My Gabby girl, I knew there was something about you from the minute you walked into my hospital room.” I squeezed her tightly. She rested her head on my chest, letting out a sob every now and then. I rubbed her back, trying my hardest to overcome by own shock and calm her down. “Why did your dad call you Bree?” I asked, moving her hair from her face.

“That was his nickname for me. He wanted to name me Brielle and my mom insisted on Gabby so they settled on Gabrielle.”

“You know, Gabby, you are the one and only memory I kept from that horrible day. I always remembered that name, the look in your dad’s eyes, everything about you. Because if it weren’t for you, my name would be etched on this memorial.”

She broke down into tears once again and tried to catch her breath. “And if it weren’t for you, mine would be, too. We saved each other, Will.”  She looked up at me through her swollen eyes. “I love you so much.”

I pushed her hair from her face and stared into her tear-filled eyes. “I love you, too, Gabby.” Time seemed to stop as we stood there hugging each other, ignoring everyone else around us.

“Hey,” I whispered in her ear. She looked up at me and wiped away the last of her tears. “I was going to wait until later for this, but now seems like the perfect time.” She shook her head in confusion. “Gabby?” I cleared my throat, trying to calm my nerves. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life. You are so damn special to me. You always were. Even before I really got to know you, I knew there was something different about you.” She bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile. I was pretty sure she knew what was coming as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box.

“Oh, my god!” she whispered, no longer able to contain her happiness. Her eyes widened when I lifted the lid. She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a gasp.