The Other Side of Goodness by Vanessa Davis Griggs

Author:Vanessa Davis Griggs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2012-07-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired.

—Zephaniah 2:1

“Thank you,” Gabrielle said after she and Zachary stepped into the foyer of her house.

“No problem,” Zachary said.

Gabrielle turned to him. “I know you want to know.”

Zachary smiled slightly. “Know what?”

“Look, Zachary, I saw how you reacted when you heard that I knew Andrew.”

Zachary took Gabrielle by her hand and led her into the den. He sat down, pulling her down alongside him. “All right. Let’s get this out of the way once and for all.”

Gabrielle looked toward the ceiling.

Zachary touched her chin. “It’s not like that.”

She lowered her head and looked at him. “You’re telling me that you’re not upset? Seriously? After all that tall talking you did making Lawrence believe we harbored no secrets between us, and then you get blindsided with that information.”

“Listen, Gabrielle, you and I are just getting to know each other. We don’t know everything about each other yet. In fact, even if we were married, I’m sure there would be things we still wouldn’t know,” Zachary said.

“But the thing is, Zachary, this was something that just took place. I should have told you that I knew Andrew right after it happened.”

Zachary took her hand and placed his fingers in between hers. “And when might you have done that? Come on, think about it. Your friend Paris—”

“Paris is not my friend.”

Zachary nodded. “Okay. Paris and her husband came over to us, and her husband never let on that he knew you.”

“If you knew Paris the way I do, you’d understand why.”

“Then help me understand. What kind of a person is she?”

“She’s selfish and quite possessive.” Gabrielle turned her body squarely toward Zachary. “It’s like this: Paris had a boyfriend. When I stayed at her place for that short time, he came over a few times. She thought her boyfriend and I were trying to hook up behind her back.”

“Is that why she put you out?”

“I don’t know why she put me out. That could have been why. I wasn’t quite sure what set her off. I’d gone to pick up a few things from the grocery store and when I returned, she was blowing a gasket, yelling and screaming that I had to get out. I asked her what had happened to get her so upset. She never really told me. Just kept saying that I knew what I’d done. To be honest, I thought she’d found out about me and her father. He’d just learned that I was pregnant a few days earlier, and he definitely hadn’t been happy about the revelation. He was telling me I had to get rid of it and I had to do it right then. He gave me money to have the abortion. Said he would help me in whatever way I would need to get on my feet after I got rid of the baby. Then a few days later, here comes his daughter giving me a few hours to get all of my stuff and leave.

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