Holiday From Real

Gabe had been pacing all over his living room, trying to figure out where Mary Jane would have gone. He knew he had been wrong when he yelled at her, but he was so angry at the time. Still, he should have never said those things, especially about everything being her fault.

He called Ashlee, hoping that she had heard from her. “Hello?” Ashlee asked, sleepily. Gabe looked over at his clock to see it was near one in the morning.

“Sorry to wake you,” Gabe apologized.

“Gabe?” Ashlee asked.

“Yeah,” Gabe told her.

“What’s up? Do you need to talk to Pete?” she asked.

“No, actually I need to talk to you,” Gabe replied. “Have you seen MJ tonight?”

“No,” Ashlee said. “I thought you were taking her out tonight.”

“Yeah, we went out. But, then I proposed, and…” Gabe began before Ashlee cut him off.

“You proposed?” she cried.

“Yeah, but MJ said no, and we ended up getting into a huge fight. I said some things that I shouldn’t have, and I haven’t seen her since she left. I just want to make sure she’s okay,” Gabe told her.

“What did you say to her?” Ashlee questioned.

“I was angry and I started going off on her about Chris. And, I ended up saying it was her own fault about what happened,” Gabe answered.

“Gabe!” Ashlee cried.

“I told you I said some things I shouldn’t have. I didn’t mean it. I was just angry.”

“I haven’t seen her,” Ashlee told him. “Maybe you should try Vicky, though,” she suggested.

“Thanks,” Gabe said, hanging up the phone and dialing Vicky’s number.

“Gabe?” Vicky asked when she picked up the phone.

“Vicky, hey. Have you seen MJ?” Gabe asked, getting straight to the point.

“Yeah, but she left. What the hell is wrong with you?” Vicky yelled. “Blaming MJ for the rape? You know it’s not her fault!”

“I know, I know,” Gabe agreed. “Listen, I was angry and I said things that I didn’t mean, like that it’s her fault. What did she say to you?”

“She told me that you proposed, and she said no because of Chris. Then, you told her that she always uses Chris as an excuse and that it’s her fault that she was raped. And, then she said that you were right!”

“What?” Gabe asked confused. “I wasn’t right. I was stupid.”

“Well, I know that,” Vicky told him. “But for some reason, she thinks you’re right, so now she’s planning on confronting him.”

“What are you talking about?” Gabe asked.

“She thinks that if she confronts Chris that it’ll make everything better.”

“That’s not going to make everything better! She needs to stay away from him,” Gabe yelled.

“I told her that, but she was determined to go face him,” Vicky began.

“She’s confronting him?” Gabe interrupted. “You mean she’s over there right now?”

“She said she had to do it.”

“And you let her go?” Gabe asked in disbelief.

“What was I supposed to do?” Vicky asked. “Tie her to a chair to make sure she didn’t go? She was determined to go. I couldn’t stop her!”

“You should have done something!” Gabe yelled. “Why didn’t you call me right away?” he asked as he grabbed his keys off the table and ran out the door, slamming it behind him.

“Gabe, don’t get pissed off at me right now,” Vicky told him.

“I’m sorry,” Gabe apologized. “I’m just worried about MJ. You know she shouldn’t be alone with Chris at any time. I just don’t want her to get hurt. Especially since I’m the one who forced her into doing this,” he added as he started his car.

“What are you planning on doing?” Vicky asked, worried since she knew how Gabe was when he was angry, and right now he was furious.

“I’m going to make sure that MJ’s okay,” Gabe said, speeding down the street towards Chris’s apartment.

“Gabe,” Vicky began.

“Vicky, I’m not going to leave MJ by herself with that son of a bitch,” Gabe told her. “Don’t try to talk me out of going because I’m not going to listen.”

“I wasn’t,” Vicky told him. “I was just going to say be careful. You don’t know what Chris is capable of.”

“I’ll be fine,” Gabe told her. “I already kicked his ass once, I can do it again.”

“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about MJ. If anything happens, I don’t know if she’s going to be able to handle it all,” Vicky explained.

“That’s why I’m going right now,” Gabe told her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her again. I wasn’t there the first time, and I sure as hell am not going to let him put his hands on her again.”

“You think he’s going to try to rape her again?” Vicky asked, the thought never even entering her mind previously.

“Like you said, we don’t know what Chris is capable of. But, I wouldn’t put it past him. I just hope that I’m not too late.”

“Me, too,” Vicky said quietly. “And, Gabe, I want you to call me as soon as you get her out of there, okay? I need to know that both of you are okay.”

“I will,” Gabe assured her as he pulled into the apartment complex’s parking lot. He looked over and saw MJ’s car there. “Listen, I’m here, and I see MJ’s car, so I know she’s still in there. I’m going to go get her out, and then I’ll call you and let you know that we’re alright.”

“Okay, Gabe. Be careful,” she said, emphasizing the last two words.

“I will. And, don’t worry too much,” Gabe replied as he hung up the phone. He ran up the stairs to Chris’s apartment, determined to get MJ out of there.