Rachel entered Gabriel and Valerie’s apartment, feeling emotionally drained because of the whole scene in Emma’s Haven. Emma assured her that no damage was done, no one even noticed they were having an argument. To the people around them they were just talking in hushed voices, but to Rachel, it felt like a very loud conversation.
Sighing, she walked into the living room, surprised to see Gabriel hanging out on the couch with a laptop on his lap while sipping either tea or coffee. She assumed it was coffee to help him power through whatever he had to finish for work.
“Valerie not around?” She asked, taking a seat beside him and dropping her bag and jacket beside her.
“Taking a bath.” Gabriel told her, “We’ve ordered take-out tonight, dinner should arrive in ten minutes or so.”
“Thank you.” She leaned back and tried to settle in, “Ethan showed up at Emma’s Haven.”
“I know.”
She glanced at him, “But you didn’t want to bring it up?”
He met her gaze, “I figured that if you wanted to talk about it you’d bring it up first.”
She smiled at him, “I really misjudged your character, you know.” She tore her gaze away from him and reached for the remote control wanting to shut her brain off and focus on something which would bring a smile upon her face and make her forget about Ethan and their break-up, “I guess we both misunderstood the situation when I left his place.”
“So you officially broke up with him now?” Gabriel asked.
She nodded, “Yeah, it’s official now.”
Gabriel was silent for a while, it didn’t feel like a good silence though. It felt like he was keeping his words to himself because he didn’t want to ruin the mood. She rather has him be honest with her than him sparing her feelings. In the long run, it was better to face the truth. She was already emotionally drained so she could handle another heavy topic.
“What’s on your mind?” She asked him, “Is there something I need to know.”
Gabriel took her in, she could tell he was deciding if he should mention whatever he knew to her. She wouldn’t back down, she wanted to deal with everything at once and then have a nice long bath as well. She could emotionally heal when everything was dealt with.
“I don’t think Ethan accepted things being over between you two.”
She frowned, “I was clear about it being over though.”
“That might be, but people like us if we have our mind set on something we don’t take no for an answer. You might be over it, but he isn’t.”
“So he wants to continue this toxic relationship which only makes us both unhappy?”
Gabriel put his laptop aside, giving her his full attention, “It wasn’t always bad if it was he wouldn’t feel the need to fight for what you have. You mentioned that having space from him helped clear your mind. When you decided you wanted a change you completely focused on helping Emma, which is a good thing. But instead always focusing on others to help you evolve as a person why don’t you help yourself?”
It sounded good to her, but she had no idea how to achieve that. She assumed changing her plans for the future would help her become a better person, but maybe it wasn’t the right way to go about things. She felt like a new Rachel, but maybe she hadn’t changed as much as she wanted to believe she did.
“What should I do?”
“Doing things which makes you happy.”
She pondered over that, she might have taken a whole lot of time to think his words through because when she looked at him again he was getting up and heading toward the door. She didn’t even hear the doorbell ring, that engrossed in her own thoughts she was. When he got back he placed the bags in the kitchen and took a seat beside her again.
“Is it weird that I actually don’t know what would make me happy?”
“Not at all, you were always focused on making others happy instead of yourself.” He reached for his laptop and closed it, placing it in front of him on the table, “The first time you made a selfish decision was when you broke off your engagement with that guy and went after Ethan.”
“I only did that because I thought being with him would make me happy while I’d also live the life I was used to.”
“But you were happy with Ethan.” Gabriel reminded her, “The fact that you both have emotional scars is what messed up that relationship.”
He was right, they both had emotional baggage which they carried with them. But she figured that it applied to the majority. Everyone had issues, there was not a single person out there who lived the perfect life. There was no such thing as perfection. The fact that she always aimed for that is what made her unhappy.
“Why don’t you start with something small like a spa day to reconnect with yourself?”
Both Rachel and Gabriel looked at the woman who joined them in the living room, the fresh scent of lavender filling the room. It was a nice scent and helped lift a bit of the tension she felt. Valerie was wearing a comfy outfit while her hair was pulled up in a bun. She looked completely relaxed, refreshed and ready to head to bed.
“You chose to leave Ethan because you wanted out of the negative atmosphere. Once you reconnect with your own emotions and surround yourself with positivity you’ll feel a lot better. And who knows maybe when you’re all soft and relaxed you’ll figure out what you want to do which makes you actually happy.”
It didn’t sound like a bad idea to her at all. She wanted a spa day, getting pampered and focusing entirely on feeling more relaxed while being away from the busy city life. When she locked eyes with her sister she could tell that Valerie wanted that too. She might have even suggested a spa day because it would benefit her as well, but Rachel couldn’t care less. In the long run, they both got what they wanted, a relaxing day away from it all.
“That sounds good to me, so how about we plan a spa day soon?”
“I’ll arrange that.” Valerie grinned at her, “Now how about we move this to the dining room?”
Rachel put her things away in the guest room and joined her sister in the kitchen to serve up dinner. Being with Gabriel and Valerie did help her a lot. They helped her get back perspective and never pushed her to make a decision when it came to her relationship despite Gabriel being like a brother to Ethan. He never tried to change her mind about the guy. She’d be able to rediscover herself and focus on being her own person and being happy with the support of Gabriel and Valerie. Men like Ethan and Ryan were going to be put on the back burner.