Updated Feb 25, 2026 • ~4 min read
POV: Gabi
Two months into the relationship.
Things are perfect.
Too perfect.
That’s the problem.
I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
For Nix to turn into someone else.
For the lies to start.
“You’re doing it again,” Paloma says.
We’re having coffee.
“Doing what?”
“Waiting for him to betray you.”
“I’m not—”
“You are. I can see it. Every time he’s late, you panic. Every time he’s on his phone, you wonder who he’s texting.”
She’s right.
“I can’t help it.”
“You need therapy.”
“I’m in therapy.”
“Then you need MORE therapy.”
I laugh despite myself.
“Brandon really messed me up.”
“He did. But Nix isn’t Brandon.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Good question.
NIX
Gabi is pulling away.
Subtly.
But I notice.
She doesn’t stay over as much.
Checks my phone when she thinks I’m not looking.
Questions where I’ve been.
I get it.
Her ex destroyed her trust.
But it stings.
“She doesn’t trust you?” Tate asks.
“She’s trying. But Brandon did a number on her.”
“Maybe you should talk to her.”
“And say what? ‘Hey, I noticed you’re acting weird’?”
“Yes. Communication. Novel concept.”
He’s right.
I call Gabi.
“Hey, can we talk?”
Pause.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just… I think we should talk. In person.”
Another pause.
“Okay. When?”
“Tonight? I’ll come to you.”
GABI
I panic.
He wants to talk.
That’s never good.
“He’s breaking up with me,” I tell Paloma.
“You don’t know that.”
“Why else would he say ‘we need to talk’?”
“Maybe because you’ve been acting paranoid and he wants to address it?”
Damn it.
She’s right.
Nix shows up at 7.
I’ve been anxious all day.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
We sit on my couch.
“So…” I start.
“So.”
“Are you breaking up with me?”
He blinks.
“What? No. Why would you think that?”
“Because you said we needed to talk and that’s usually code for—”
“Gabi. I’m not breaking up with you. I love you.”
Relief floods through me.
“Oh. Okay. Good.”
“But we do need to talk.”
My stomach clenches again.
“About what?”
“About the trust thing.”
Oh.
“I don’t—”
“You check my phone. You question where I’ve been. You pull away when things get too good.”
I look down.
Ashamed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I get it. Brandon destroyed your trust. But Gabi, I’m not him.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
Same question Paloma asked.
“I’m trying to. But it’s hard. Every time you’re late, I think you’re with someone else. Every time your phone buzzes, I think you’re lying.”
“And what can I do to prove you can trust me?”
I think about it.
“I don’t know. Time, maybe?”
“Okay. Then I’ll give you time. But Gabi, you have to meet me halfway. You have to try to trust me.”
“What if I can’t?”
He takes my hands.
“Then we work on it. Together. But I need you to talk to me when you’re scared instead of pulling away.”
Tears spill over.
“I’m so messed up.”
“You’re not messed up. You’re healing. And healing isn’t linear.”
“You’re too patient with me.”
“Because I love you. And you’re worth the patience.”
I kiss him.
Hard.
“I’m going to try. To trust. To not let Brandon’s ghosts ruin this.”
“That’s all I ask.”
NIX
Things get better after our talk.
Not perfect.
But better.
Gabi opens up more.
Tells me when she’s feeling insecure.
Asks for reassurance instead of assuming the worst.
And I give it freely.
“I love you.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just to the store. Want anything?”
Small things.
But they matter.
One night, she hands me her phone.
“Unlock code is 0717.”
“What?”
“My birthday. The code to my phone. You can look anytime you want. I have nothing to hide.”
“Gabi, I don’t need—”
“I know. But I want you to have it. As proof. That I’m choosing to trust you.”
I hand the phone back.
“I don’t need to look. I trust YOU.”
She smiles.
“Good. Because my search history is embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing how?”
“Let’s just say I’ve googled ‘how to know if he really loves you’ more times than I care to admit.”
I pull her into my lap.
“I really love you.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“I’m starting to.”
END OF CHAPTER 22
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