Another Girlfriend Gone For Good

Who: Gabe and Kavin
When: Morning, shortly after nine
Where: Phone land

Kavin tried to sleep, really he did. But it wasn't easy. He got maybe a half hour in before having to extract himself from Jeri's grasp and slide out of the bed, careful not to jostle the girl. He slowly tiptoed out of the room, grabbing his phone and closing the door behind him. The boy plopped himself on his couch and found Gabe in his contacts. Better get it over with now or he'd never find the guts to tell him.

When he finally got home, Gabe crawled into bed, attempting to catch at least a few hours rest. The painkillers definitely helped and he was slowly drifting towards sleep when the phone rang. Most mornings he would have ignored it, but after the night he'd had, Gabe thought it might be important. When he saw Kavin's name on the caller ID, he picked up, hoping Nate hadn't already spread the word around about the attack. Until he knew for sure, he didn't want anyone knowing anything. "Hey man, what's up?" Gabe said, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey..." Kavin said, his own voice slightly groggy still. He cleared his throat and tried again to regain his normal voice. "Look... I don't know how to tell you this and I really hate to be the one that has to do it, but I don't want you finding out from someone else or the news or something. Gabe..." He sighed and brushed a hand through his hair, really trying to figure out the best way to put it instead of just being like 'hey man, your ex is dead'.

"Gabe... Chrissy got attacked last night. She didn't make it."

There were somethings that didn't register, no matter how clearly they were heard. Silence sat on the other end of the phone as Gabe ran the words over in his mind. Chrissy got attacked. She didn't make it. Meaning... she died. Gabe shook his head. No. Chrissy can't die. She can't. She's indestructible. She can't. "No," Gabe said aloud, reality still not having sunk in completely. "She'll be okay. She's always okay."

Kavin let out a little breath. He knew she wasn't okay. Half her face was practically ripped off. She was bleeding everywhere. He saw it. He touched it. He held it. Her. Held her. Moved her. Put her in his car and took her to the hospital. Carried her. Left her. "Fuck." he sighed. "Gabe, she's not. She's not going to be okay. I saw her. I found her. In the park. She's gone."

"One of those-- those things got her?" Gabe asked, his voice starting to shake. One of the werewolves, like the one that had attacked him. He imagined Chrissy, wandering alone through the park at night, taken by surprise. She'd have been defenseless, none of her methods of attacking worthy of scaring off such a monster. Bitching at it would do no good, and so... she was dead. "Oh God," Gabe muttered, the unexpected pain of her death hitting him like a ton of bricks.

He squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of his friends voice. He hadn't wanted to hear that. Hadn't wanted to hear the hurt ripping through his normally cheerful voice. Hadn't wanted to be the one to break the news to him. He knew they didn't get along, but the fact remained that Chrissy had been in Gabe's life for a long time. She obviously meant something to him and now she was gone. Kavin wasn't even sure he could deal with it. Not having seen her like that. All bloody and mangled. The only thing that seemed to be helping right now was that Gabe hadn't had to see her like that. "Gabe, I'm sorry." Kavin said softly. What else could he say? He knew sorry didn't fix it, didn't take it back. "It was one of those things." he said with a little unseen nod. "I got to the park too late and it was already gone. There was nothing anyone could have done. She was... I couldn't help her..."

Gabe's hand covered his mouth as Kavin spoke, refusing to cry into the phone. Tears filled his eyes for the second time that night-- or was it day now?-- but this time it wasn't physical pain. Chrissy... They didn't get along, but he'd cared for her, wanted to see her happy. She'd been a part of his life since he'd moved to Marquette, a constant companion of sorts, for better or for worse. They hadn't been 'Chrissy and Gabe' for a long time now, but now it wasn't even an option. The feeling of loss was familiar, always sudden, always harsh. Gabe squeezed his eyes shut as he attempted to answer. "Thanks for letting me know," Gabe said, his voice soft. He sniffled, held his breath, and realized that he had to get off the phone now or he would be crying into the phone. "I need to go."

Kavin nodded, the unspoken 'boys just don't cry' crap rushing through the lines. "Yeah. Okay." he said softly. "Look..." he began, biting his lip just a bit. He took a breath. "I know it really sucks and I know it hurts, and I know it's fucking hard to handle, but I'm here okay? You know that right?" God he didn't want to be the one to drop the bomb on the boy. "If you need anything, you know I'm around."

At first, Gabe just nodded, then remembered that Kavin couldn't see him, and he had to actually answer. "Okay," he muttered. "Thanks. I'll... call you if I need anything." Right now, though, all he wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and disappear. How did this happen? How could he go through this again? He might not have loved Chrissy, but what did it mean when every girl who'd played a significant role in his life went and died? How many times would he have to feel like the world was collapsing upon him? Gabe didn't want to know, couldn't handle that line of thinking, and with a quiet word of goodbye he hung up the phone. The world might not have loved Chrissy Chapman, but she would be missed, if only by him.

He listened as the phone went dead. Flipped it closed and looked at the damn thing for a good few minutes. He'd done some pretty fucked up shit in his life. Killed things. Hunted things. Seen dead bodies. Gotten covered in blood and fought for the last two years of his life. Moved the body of a girl he'd known for years. And the thing that ended up being the hardest for him to do? Telling one of his best friends that that girl was dead. Kavin swallowed thickly and tossed his phone on the coffee table, getting up from the couch and heading back towards his bedroom, slowly moving into the room once more and climbing into bed, curling up behind Jeri and letting his arms move around her body. He needed that solidity. The feeling of someone there. He just hoped that Gabe would pull though this okay. Hoped he could find himself some solidity. Something to hold on to. And if not. He hoped that he could figure out a way to be there for him. Losing someone was never easy. Even if that someone was Chrissy Chapman.