molly in lockdown part 2?

After this — https://breannastoryworld.com/2020/10/09/molly-in-lockdown/

My emotions were still heavy, even if I'd cried some of them out.  Vulnerable for the first time in weeks, I couldn't detach from Gabe after he finally broke me.  He didn't mind — he crawled into bed next to me, arms wrapped around me rubbing my back, and occasionally my stinging bottom.  

When my sniffles finally died down, Gabe said, "Get cleaned up.  We're going to have a videocall with Toby."

More feelings surfaced (along with regret that I'd gotten rid of the numbness).  "Noooo... I don't wanna talk to him!"  

Toby.  Not even the doc.  Gabe is serious.  

"Why not?" He tucked my hair behind my ear so I'd have to look at him.  His concerned expression made me melt.

"He's gonna be mad and yell at me and make me feel guilty and I don't wanna have feelings anymore."  The little space just came out so naturally.  I snuggled closer to Gabe, wanting him to protect me.

"If he makes you feel guilty, I'll take care of it.  But he won't.  He's worried about you, just like I am.  And he's the expert in this, so we're going to call him."  He squeezed me tight, sensing that I was about to argue again, so decided to follow up with his demand.  "Now are you going to get cleaned up, or am I going to have to bathe you myself?"

Oof... I blushed so hard, burying my face into the sheets.  Too many feels.

"After the call, we'll order dinner and you can show me that videogame you're always talking about."

molly-chloe-toby-vic smoke circle

"What was your first impression of Gabe?  How did you feel about him when you met?"

"I put Gabe on a pedestal from the second we started chatting.  He was just so direct and firm with me, and smart.  It was clear that he was better than me — I was just 18, stuck in community college, barely living on my slightly-over-minimum wage salary and whatever ad money I earned from my blog.  I rented a room in a house with 7 strangers while Gabe had his own bachelor pad and talked about soon buying a condo in Manhattan.  We were from totally different worlds... his parents held dinner parties and schmoozed with politicians.  The coolest thing in my podunk hometown was the skating rink.

"Gabe was almost too perfect.  I didn't even put myself in the same league as him.  Like... 18 year old me would've never imagined this... staying with him in his beach house?  Yeah right.  Even though he said he was family, I defaulted to thinking that everyone's gonna abandon me.  I mean, if my actual fam abandoned me multiple times, wouldn't anyone else do the same?  It's taken a long time and some great friends for me to finally be in a place where I can say out loud that not everyone will abandon me.

"Now tell us your first impression of Izaak... How did you two ever happen??"