Page 26 of Gaming with the Gargoyle in Hallow's Cove

In the other, we go back to being friends. In that one, my mother is right. I never meet anyone else, but it’s not for the reasons she said. I don’t meet anyone else not because no one wants to be with a girl who has a kid with her best friend, but because how could I ever be with anyone else after having a taste of what it’s like to be with Gabe?

My tears splatter on the counter, and I swipe up the test, worried that they will ruin it. I clutch it to my chest, holding it close and savoring what it means—while its meaning breaks my heart. I take deep breaths, pulling them in and out as tears stream down my face. I’m so lost, because how am I supposed to navigate this? How am I supposed to look at Gabe when he’s holding our baby and not kiss him? How am I supposed to go on when my heart is breaking over and over?

I climb back into bed, fitting myself into Gabe, because I have to face one horrible fact. This might be the last time I’ll ever hold him. I clutch the test in my hand, and sob into his chest, my tears making his stone skin slick. I don’t say anything, because I know that sometimes he’s awake enough to remember words. Tonight when he wakes, he’ll ask me what was wrong, but I suppose I can always tell him I had a nightmare.

Maybe I’ll wait. Maybe I can hold off from telling him for a few days, then at least I’d get a little more time with him, before it’s all over.

You guys… I am freaking out.

Sydney: That’s pretty normal.

Hayley: Why? What’s wrong?

I tap my finger on the screen, unsure how I can even begin to express the current situation.

It’s hard to explain…

Sydney: Do you want to talk about it?

Kinda… it’s just… complicated. Can we not talk around the guys though?

Hayley: Of course! Though, Jake’s here and you know how shifter hearing is…

Sydney: Yeah, I wonder if we should come to you bc… the farm is full of Hoffmans, as per usual.

Gabe can still hear when he’s sleeping… we could meet at the house? It will be empty.

Hayley: Good idea, see you there in a few!

I get dressed and scrawl a note for Gabe.

-Went to the house for a bit, see you when you wake up!

I pause with my pen hovering over the paper. I always sign my notes with a heart, but it feels bigger now. The sentiment isn’t wrong though, so I put it there anyway.

It only takes me five minutes to get to the house. Outside, it’s just as gorgeous and it always has been, though now it looks very abandoned. It’s dark, of course, and Roberta, our Avian mailperson drops our mail at the store, so at least it’s not got mail spilling out of the mailbox to match the unmown lawn. It’s this happy purple color that I can’t imagine Preston wanted to paint millennial greige.

I unlock the door, and for the first time, I imagine actually owning this house. Growing up, I loved it. Gabe’s mom was lovely and even his dad wasn’t a total dirtbag when he visited. He often brought Gabe presents and made a big deal over any of Gabe’s accomplishments. The father Preston spoke of sounds so different from the Mr. Fairfield I knew as a kid. Even after Preston and I married, Mr. Fairfield would always sneak me foods that Preston said I shouldn’t have because they would make me fat. Near the end of his life, he spent a lot of time here with Gabe’s mom, and I got the impression that Mrs. Fairfield always hated that.

Preston’s renovations have ruined so much of this house for me. The outdated but cozy kitchen is gone, gutted in favor of sleek chrome appliances and black modern cabinetry. Much of the rest of the house is empty, painted stark white so antithesis to the Victorian styling.

“Whoa,” Hayley says, when she arrives. “I did not expect this,”

“From the outside? Yeah, Preston was working on making a lot of changes…”

“Well… I don’t want to speak ill of the dead… but… I’m glad that stopped….”

“Yeah.”

Sydney arrives then, and for a moment I’m sad Laney isn’t with her. This could be a long conversation, though, and he’d probably get fussy.

“I stopped at Cool Beans and got fuel!” she hands Hayley and I each a cup.

“Bless you,” I inhale the delectable scent and I swear Mitch and Clay do something magical to their coffees.

“Ok, so what’s the deal, Gwen?” she asks, settling down on the couch that’s covered by a sheet. Hailey sits next to her, looking expectantly. I settle in a chair across from them and take a deep breath.

“I don’t know what the guys have told you…”