Find me

Chapter 59

Gabriel POV

When I woke up and realized that I was alone, I thought that my heart was going to stop.

Why was I alone? Where was Aria? Did someone take her? Did someone…?

I forced myself to calm down and take a deep breath.

Aria was home. She was probably in the bathroom or downstairs.

I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom door. My legs were shaking, and I was afraid that I would fall.

“Aria?” I called her as I knocked on the door.

There was no response.

I took another deep breath and hurried toward the bedroom door.

She was probably downstairs. She had to be downstairs.

My heart was beating erratically. I could hear it in my ears.

She had to be here. She had to be.

I rushed downstairs, and I almost cried when I heard her voice coming from the kitchen.

“Why did you leave?” I asked as soon as I entered the kitchen.

I hurried toward her, pulling her to my chest and wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I could.

“I wanted to talk to dad before he left.” she said, looking up at me worriedly. “Are you okay?”

“I thought that you left.” I mumbled. “I thought that something happened.”

She smiled at me and caressed my cheek.

“I’m okay.” she said. “I’m sorry for leaving. I didn’t want to wake you up. It’s early.”

I looked up at my dad. He had a worried look on his face.

“You okay, buddy?” he asked me softly.

I was okay now that I knew she was safe.

“I’m fine.” I mumbled as I kissed the top of Aria’s head.

I sat down on the bar stool next to my sister and pulled her closer to me.

“What did you two talk about?” I asked them.

Aria tensed up and looked at dad. I furrowed my eyebrows, looking from her to my dad. Why did she tense up? Did something happen?

“What’s wrong?” I asked, clenching my fists.

“Nothing is wrong, bud.” my dad smiled at me. “Aria wanted to talk to me about something related to Mark and Rose.”

Anger exploded inside of me. Just hearing their names was enough to make me want to punch something.

“What about them?” I asked, gritting my teeth.

My dad looked at Aria. I followed his gaze and saw that she was biting her lower lip nervously.

What was that about?

“Aria?” I called her, and she looked up at me.

I saw nervousness in her eyes, and it made my stomach twist. Why was she nervous? What did she talk about with dad?

“I want to see them.” she said quietly.

What?

She wants to see them? Did I hear her right?

“What?” I asked, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

“I want to see Mark and Rose.” Aria said quietly. “I want to talk to them.”

My heart raced.

“Why?” I asked, clenching my fists. “Why do you want to see those fuckers?”

Aria gulped and took a deep breath.

“I’m not sure myself.” she mumbled.

I tightened my jaw and looked at my dad. Did he agree?

“You told her no, right?” I asked my dad, gritting my teeth.

Dad gave me an apologetic look and shook his head.

“I told her I'd talk to Owen and see what I could do about it.” dad said.

I saw fucking red.

“Are you crazy?!” I exclaimed. “They will hurt her!”

I pulled Aria to my chest and tightened my arms around her.

I wouldn’t let her go. I wouldn’t let her see them.

Dad tightened his jaw. I could tell that he agreed with me. Why didn’t he just tell her no? Why?

“Gabe.” Aria called me softly.

I looked down at her, trying not to show her how fucking pissed off I was.

She gave me a small smile before trying to get out of my hold. I moved my arms so she could sit up.

She took my hand in hers and rubbed small circles on top of it.

“I know that they will probably say something that will hurt me.” she said softly. “I know that it doesn’t make much sense that I want to see them.”

She looked down at my hand in hers and took a deep breath.

“But for 17 years I thought of them as my parents.” she continued quietly, keeping her eyes on our hands. “I loved them. I wanted them to love me back. I called them mom and dad. I just...”

She stopped again, taking another deep breath.

“I don’t expect anything from them.” she said as she looked back up at me. “I don’t think that they’ve changed. I don’t think that they will ever change. I don’t expect an apology. I don’t have any expectations. But I do want to see them. I want to see them for me, not for them.”

I looked at my dad. He was gripping the mug in his hands so tightly that I was sure it would break.

“I know that it’s hard for you to understand.” Aria said after a few moments of silence.

I looked back at her. She was looking from me to dad.

“I often wonder how I could have loved the people who did those things to me.” she continued. “But I did love them. I can’t explain why. It wasn’t like they gave me much reason to.”

“You don’t have to explain, baby.” my dad said softly. “Children love their parents regardless of how they are treated. I’ve seen it when I worked in the ER. When abused children came in, the only thing they wanted was their parents, even though the parents were usually the abusers. Your child’s love is unconditional. Usually we don’t see that the way we’ve been treated is wrong until we are older. We would never ask you why you loved them. We don’t blame you for loving them, baby. We could never blame you for that.”

I looked at my sister and saw tears streaming down her face.

I pulled her to me immediately.

“I’ve never loved them like I love you.” she said, her voice trembling. “I love you so much, dad. I love you so much, Gabriel.”

“Oh, baby, we love you too.” dad said as he put down his mug and walked to us.

He pulled us both into his arms.

“I love you, Ari.” I said as I kissed her temple. “So fucking much.”

Dad kissed the top of Aria’s head, and leaned his head on mine.

I tried to calm myself down. I still didn’t fully understand why she wanted to see them. I guessed that she needed some kind of closure. I didn’t want her to go, but I knew that I wouldn’t let her go alone.

“I’m coming with you.” I said after a few minutes of silence.

Dad and Aria both looked at me.

“I’m not letting you go alone.” I said. “If you want to see them, you can, but I will be going with you.”

“No, bud.” dad said as he kissed my temple. “I will go with her. I would never let her go alone, don’t worry. But I don’t want you there.”

I clenched my fists.

“She is not doing it alone.” I said sternly. “She is not doing it without me. You can come too, dad, but I will be going in. I don’t give a shit.”

“Fine, bud.” dad sighed as he kissed my temple. “I will talk to Owen and see if it is possible.”

I nodded and looked back down at Aria. She was looking at dad with a small smile on her face.

“It went better than we thought it would, didn’t it, baby?” dad asked her with amusement in his voice.

She nodded, making me furrow my eyebrows.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

“Neither of us wanted to be the one to tell you.” dad said teasingly. “We knew that you would freak out.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes at them.

“Really, dad?” I teased back. “You should be braver than that.”

“I’m not brave enough to face her scary twin brother.” dad said, winking at me.

Aria chuckled, and I shook my head.

Dad let us go and walked back to the stove to finish making breakfast.

I wrapped my arms around my sister and leaned my head on hers.

I didn’t want her to go. I didn’t want her to be hurt.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

I knew that I needed to respect her wishes. I knew that I needed to let her do this. I knew that she needed closure.

I was terrified, though. I was so fucking scared that they would hurt her again.

But this time would be different. I would be there, and I wouldn’t let them hurt her.

No one will ever hurt her again.