His words sent chills down my spine. Life couldn’t really be this vengeful as to make my world crash and burn around me like this. From one horrible thing to the next, it’s all coming at me too fast. Just then, the door opened, and Victoria walked in. “Where have you been? Poor Felix is convinced your dead father picked you up.”
I stared at her pleadingly the way I do when I want to compute to her without words to follow my lead. It’s how we’ve survived in this house so long and never been hindered.
“My father? Maybe they got me confused with someone else, or someone’s playing a joke. Did you know there’s no train from New York after eight at night until like three in the morning? I had to sit in the train station all night; then, I had to switch to the bus before I took a cab the rest of the way. I’m beat; I’m going to bed.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as she nonchalantly headed for the stairs. Surely Felix bought her story, but I know my kid; there was something in her eyes when she looked at me just then.
GABRIEL
Gianna seemed like her normal self at breakfast, so I guess whatever embarrassment she’d felt upon waking up was gone, and since my body was somewhat back to normal, there was no harm done. Lancelot, who’d spent the night, was holding court at the breakfast table, keeping everyone in stitches with his antics while being spurred on by Pop.
She laughed along with the others in between bites of the oatmeal she’d asked for, maybe because I was having the same. Poor thing, she probably hates this nasty stuff as much as I do, but I down it because it’s good for me. She didn’t seem to mind, though, since she’d drowned it in cinnamon and fruit.
She looked even better today than she did the day before, which was by design. Yesterday was to reel them in; today is to show the way things were going to be from now on, her new normal, I guess you can call it. But maybe I’d overreached with the jeans; they look too good on her ass which for some reason seems to be the most well-proportioned one I’d ever seen.
The long-sleeved white tee covered with the tomato red down vest made her look sporty, the calf-length Hermes riding boots made the look more sophisticated. The hair that I’d brushed now shone, untethered by a hat or anything else; it just flowed around her like a cloak, drawing the eye and making me nervous.
By the time we left the table, I was ready to take her back upstairs to change and maybe put her hair in a braid or something. You’re being an ass, Gabriel. She looks fine, and this is about her, not you. The twins decided to ride with Lance leaving us alone with each other; that’s when she started looking nervously shy herself.
I remembered that she’d mentioned wanting to see her dad the night before and decided to head her off in case she planned to bring it up again. Now was not the time for her to go back there, not even for a visit.
I won’t be giving Fontane any kind of hope, not this early in the game, and besides, every act of this play must be carried out meticulously. I’ll let the three of them deal with their latest fiasco before dropping them in the middle of another one soon. Right about now, Becky should be doing backflips, first explaining the arrest, the money, and the long-dead husband who was back from the grave. Oh, and let's not forget the missing money.
“Did you sleep well?” She blushed at the question but nodded her head.
“I don’t remember falling asleep; how did I get in your bed?”
“I put you there; how else?”
“Oh!”
“Why don’t you call your grandmother later and tell her you’ll come see her this weekend?”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ll take you on the jet, it’ll be faster, and you can spend more time with your family. I’m sure your aunts will be there.” They were spread out all over the country, but I’m sure if she called today giving them enough notice that they’d find a way to be there to see their little sister’s baby girl that they hadn’t seen in almost a decade.
She all but bounced in the seat as she thanked me profusely, making my heart feel strangely warm in my chest. Oh, Felix, you’re going to pay for depriving her of that joy for so long. By the time we pulled into the school parking lot and I let her down from the truck, she was walking on air.
GABRIEL
The morning was chaotic, to say the least, due to her newfound popularity. I’ve never been surrounded by so many of my fellow students before and was quickly reminded why. I can’t wait to go back to the way things were because, well, people are stupid. I’d forgotten how much so.
Another aspect of her rise to fame that I’d overlooked was the attention from males. I didn’t think of it because I never expected that it would affect me one way or another. Lucky for them, she seemed just as wary of their presence as I was, but I still had the urge to tell them to get bent. All it took, though, was my patented glare to get the point across, and the more daring of the bunch got the message and kept their ass out of my sight.
By the time lunchtime rolled around, I’d had enough and only allowed her enough time to eat before dragging her away from the table where Lance and I were the only males allowed. I’d been out of sorts all morning, feeling out of my element a bit. Something was niggling at the back of my mind that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
At first, I put it down to my natural discomfort being surrounded by so many unknowns. My training keeps me suspicious of everything that comes into my space until I disannul the threat. Meaning, I don’t trust anyone or anything unless I’ve had time to decipher their reason for getting close, except her. I’d let her in without even giving it any thought; it seems like something that still boggles my mind.
But this new feeling that had cropped up when we were in the parking lot earlier, where everyone seemed to want to hang out before class started, was different. I was walking her to our secret place, a place between where we’d first met and my hiding place when it hit me. I made a complete U-turn with her hand in mine and tried to play it off like I’d forgotten something.
Of course, she didn’t question me, which made it easier. I saw Lance across the way talking to a group of guys and called out to him. “I’ll be right back, Gianna.” I walked away casually after making sure a tree was at her back and met him halfway.
“What’s up? Why does your face look like that? Who dafuq is acting up now?”
“Get Gianna out of here.”
“Huh? What’re you talking about, out of where?” He turned to look at her.
“No, don’t look at her. I have eyes on me.”
“What do you mean?” He looked around.
“I don’t see anyone.”
“That’s the problem, whoever it is, is very good. He’s in the tree line back there.” I turned to look in the direction, letting whoever it was know that I was onto them.
“Take her back inside.”
“You’re telling me that you might be in danger, and you want me to walk away and leave you here? Not a chance.”
“Lance, get her out of here, now.”
“Hey, Gianna, the twins wanted to ask you something.” He called out to her while putting himself at my back between me and the perceived threat.