THE TWINS
“Something happened to Gia’s mother.”
“What do you mean? Hasn’t she been gone since Gia was like five?” Rosa asked her sister, confused as they went through their morning routine.
“Look at it, Gia went to meet the old housekeeper and came back a mess, then Gabe went to see her as well and came back with murder in his eyes, then he and Pop disappeared, something’s up.”
“What do you think it could be?”
“I don’t know, but those two had something to do with it. Victoria and Becky.” Anna applied her contour like an expert marksman.
“If that’s the case, it can’t be Victoria’s fault; she would’ve been a child herself.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“Anna!”
“Seriously, at this point, she gets no passes. Whatever it was, she benefited from it. If we told Gabe half the shit she did, she’d be dead.”
“And that’s why we’re not telling him, remember what Lance said.”
“I know, I know, but we… Oh, hi Gabe, what’s up? Where’s Gia?”
“I just took her down to breakfast. I need a favor from you two.”
“What is it?”
“I’m going to be busy at lunch, so I’ma need you two to keep Gianna company, keep her distracted for me.”
“Where’re you going?”
“Becky was arrested last night for selling Gianna’s car, long story, so don’t ask right now. I’m gonna pay her a visit.”
“Okay, you gonna tell us what the housekeeper said?”
“Not yet, and don’t bring it up around Gianna. She wants to hold everything off until after your party; she doesn’t want to take the attention away from you two.”
“The heck with that. If it was mom, do you think we’d let a party stop us from doing whatever needed to be done?”
“She’s never had that, never had anyone put her needs first, so she doesn’t understand. Just take it easy, do some other stuff with her for the rest of the week, party stuff.”
“Sure, we can multitask. By the way, Victoria had some kind of meltdown online last night.”
“Show me!”
The phone screen was filled with disjointed rants that were apparently posted on Twitter, and someone reposted them on the school forum. She was going on about people being liars and slandering her and her mom now that they had powerful friends. The Russos were nothing but bullies who used their wealth and power to get her kicked out of school for nothing, and she was going to sue.
She called Gia every name in the book, made a few seemingly pointless threats against her, and ended with her promise to get even. All the comments were pretty much an attack on her, people bringing up the things she’d done over the years, the lies she’d told, and the fact that they were now seeing the truth and Gia wasn’t the person she’d made her out to be.
“Do me a favor, have someone remind her that Felix Fontane is not her father, that her father is a convict, and that she and her mother plotted to steal Gianna’s life and birthright. I’ll have her blocked by the end of day so do it soon.”
“Is that true? About her father, I mean.”
“Yes, Rosa, it’s true.”
“I don’t understand then. If it’s true, shouldn’t we let her stick around to witness the aftermath?”
“No, her mind will take care of that. I’ll let her hang around long enough to see that everyone knows, then block her. She’ll have a harder time not being able to defend herself and worrying about what other people think. By the way, do it anonymously; that’ll make her even crazier.”
“Hmm, yeah, she seems a bit on edge.” Anna’s mind was following along with her brother. She knew that for him, this wasn’t some teenage quarrel that would blow over in a few days. If it were that simple, he wouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place. The fact that he did is the reason she and her twin, who practically shared a brain, were going so hard against the enemy.
Gabe had never shown an interest in anyone romantically before, and she doubted he even realized how hard he’d fallen in such a short matter of time. Seeing their usually stoic and standoffish brother light up the way, he does around Gia filled the two girls with unbridled joy.
It’s been years since they’d seen him come alive like that. For the last few years, their usually playful, happy-go-lucky brother had become someone else, and no matter how they searched, they couldn’t find the answers as to why. But now, with Gia in the picture, it was like having a glimpse of the old Gabriel again.
There was still a harshness about him, but he’d softened plenty in the last couple of weeks, and if he wasn’t exactly back to his old self, this was a huge improvement. Anna and Rosa had decided together to do all they could to facilitate the relationship between their brother and the girl who seemed to have broken him at least partially out of that shell of ice he’d built around himself.
But Gia sure did come with her own issues. As the treasured daughters of two parents who doted on them, the girls had no experience with the kind of life Gia had lived until now, and the more they learned, the more they came to empathize with Gia. Not only because of what she meant to their adored brother but because Gia herself is the kind of person they would’ve chosen as a friend if given a chance.
It’s a testament to the kind of person she is that she was willing to put aside her own issues so as not to interfere with their birthday party. The truth is the girls had been having fun tearing down Victoria’s walls of protection. The things she’d done and still continued to do were the very things they were against. Things they’d been taught to hate in others.
“We’ll do as you’ve said.” Gabe kissed both their heads before heading back downstairs, and the two girls got to work carrying out his orders. “We should let Gia do the dance with the girls and us.”
“Pfft, how can she? We’ve been practicing for weeks; there’re only a few days left before the party.”
“Did you see her dancing with Gabe Rosa? I bet you she can do it. It didn’t take us that long to learn, and she’s damn near a professional.”
“Then there’s Gabe’s reaction….”
“Stop stressing; it’s just a dance; he’ll be fine.” Rosa wasn’t sure she could trust her sister’s secret smile. She knows better than anyone else what that means. She’s about to poke the bear. At least she was sure their brother wouldn’t kill them.
GABRIEL
“You, what’re you doing here?” Those were the first words Becky said when she saw me sitting at the table waiting for her.
“Sorry, your lawyer got held up. He had a family emergency in another state.” Not really, but he made the wise decision to be elsewhere when given a choice. “Have a seat.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Fine, I’ll just tell the cops what I know about the things you’ve done since moving here.”
“What’re you talking about?” The fear in her eyes as she turned back to the table was exactly what I wanted to see.