"Bailey, we need to talk." She knew what those five little words meant by themselves. They were all relatively harmless, yet together created something that stirred her gut. Those words in that phrasing meant one thing, and that was the one thing she hated most in life: confrontation.

"Gabe, please. Not right now" she says, setting her phone tithe side and looking over at him. She had been on the couch all day, eating ice cream and scrolling through her social media accounts and blocking her latest ex, Richy Magnum.

"Yes now, Bailey. You didn't call me in the middle of the night, and I didn't drive over three hours to get here just to have you sitting on the couch the whole day. Come in here and get yourself a plate. I made your favorite. Once you have something that isn't mint chip ice cream covered in an ungodly amount of whipped cream, then we'll talk."

Bailey sighed, getting up. "At least let me shower first. I'd rather not smell like a pig the whole day."

Gave nodded in approval, turning back towards the kitchen to flip the last few pieces of bacon. "Hurry up though. I can't promise I won't give into rocos' puppy eyes eventually."

Having heard his name, the small pup whined, scooting closer and wagging his tail. She hadn't even realized the little rottweiler pup had been sitting there at Gabe's feet until he said something. She really was out of it, huh? She shook her head, going off into the bathroom to get a shower.

She stopped in the mirror in the hallway on her way to the tiny bathroom. Her eyes were puffy and her blond hair was knotted in spots. Her grey eyes were bloodshot and she looked like a walking disaster. How Gabe put up with her everytime she went through the rinse cycle she would never understand.

She took the quickest shower known to man, running her brush through her hair, grimacing everytime it pulled a knot loose, until her hair was silky smooth again. She pulled it into a messy bun, walking back into the kitchen with a bathrobe around her, cinched tightly at the waste.

"Thanks Gabe" she says, pulling the tall man into her arms after walking over to the stove. Gabe chuckled, looking down at her with shocking blue eyes. "Hey, what are friends for? Just quit calling me so late. I need sleep too ya know" he says, letting go of her to turn the stove off. She nodded, walking over to the table and taking a seat.

"Is Anthony still over at Linda's place?" She asks, piling pancakes onto her plate, along with biscuits and gravy with a helping handful of bacon on the side.

"Yeah, it's her weekend. But he'll be back Sunday night. Want to come over? We can eat junk food and watch  some family movies. He misses his auntie." Gabe ran a hand through his curly black hair as he turned back towards her, taking a seat and making his own plate.

"Did he like the superman action figure I got him?"

"You mean the barbie doll you put a red cape on? Yeah, he loved it" Gabe replies, cutting into his pancakes and taking a large bite.

"It's not a barbie. It's an action figure." She fired back, earning an eye roll.

"Yeah yeah. Eat your food Bailey."