Gabriel’s POV
When Nick and I got into my car he sighed loudly.
“I am going to lose her before I even get her,” he said.
“You will not. But you have to tell her the truth,” I said while starting the car.
“I will do it tomorrow when they move in,” he tells me. “Honestly I was afraid to tell her today. I have a feeling she would run away.”
“What makes you say that?” I frowned.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I am picking up something from her. But I am going to tell her when she is close so I can keep an eye on her.”
“Should we stay and watch the house?” I asked.
I was concerned. She wouldn’t run, would she?
“So she can bite our heads off if she catches us?” he said, smirking. “I will text Annie and tell her to be careful.”
He pulled out his phone from his front pocket and texted Annie. A few moments later she responded. He read her text and I could see his fists clenching.
“What?” I asked angrily.
“Annie says she got the same feeling from her. She will watch her carefully,” he growled.
If she ran away, I would freak out. I tightened the grip on my steering wheel. I need to calm down before I rip it off.
“Is she really that afraid of us?” I said, gritting my teeth.
“Well, she doesn’t know us. If she knew who we were, she wouldn’t feel this way,” he said.
He was trying to understand her feelings, but I could still hear the anger in his voice.
I pulled up to my driveway and sighed, turning off my car.
“You know I can’t tell her, man,” I said.
“I know. I would hate to see her hurt.”
“But you can tell her,” I told him. “She would want to stay if she knew you were her mate.”
“I will, man,” he said and ran his fingers through his hair. “I told you, tomorrow I will shift, and she will feel the bond.”
“Good,” I said, getting out of my car. “I wouldn’t want to kill somebody if she runs away.”
“Oh, I would join you,” he smiled slightly, but I could see he was nervous.
“Get some sleep, man,” I told him. “Tomorrow they will be here, and it will be easier.”
“Yes,” he smiled. “I can’t wait for her to be close.”
I smiled back at him and turned to my house. “Goodnight, Nick. See you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight Gabriel.”
I unlocked my front door and went inside the house. It was so quiet. I couldn’t wait for the next day when they moved in. It will be less lonely.
It was weird for me to be lonely. It didn’t bother me that I was alone before. But ever since I found out about my sister all I wanted to do was to have her by my side. And when she wasn’t, I felt lonely. So, I was really excited about the following day, because being lonely really sucked.
I went to the kitchen and made myself dinner. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, and I was starving.
I sat in front of the TV and ate my scrambled eggs. I tried to focus my attention on some movie that was on the TV, but my thoughts kept going back to what Nick had said in the car. Would Aria really run away?
I wanted to go back to Annie’s house and stay there to keep an eye on her. But Nick was right. If she saw me, she would be pissed. And our relationship was on thin ice as was. I didn’t want to make it worse.
So I did the next best thing. I called Annie.
She picked up the phone after the third ring.
“Wow, you and Nick sure miss me,” she said sarcastically.
“What?” I responded.
“Nick called two minutes ago,” she explained. “He is freaking out because he is afraid Aria is going to run away. I can only assume you are calling for the same reason?”
I smirked. “Yeah. I wanted to come by and stay in front of your house, but I think she would kill me if she saw me.”
“Yes, she would,” Annie said and chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her leave. Go to bed and come pick us up tomorrow at 6 pm.”
“Would it be okay if I came earlier?” I asked carefully. “To help you pack.”
I heard Annie laughing. She knew I was not really interested in helping them pack. I wanted to be with her.
“Sure, big guy. Come by whenever you want.”
“Thank you, Annie,” I smile. “You are the best.”
“I know. Goodnight, Gabriel,” she said and hung up the phone.
I turned off the TV and went upstairs to my room.
I brushed my teeth and hopped in the shower. I put on my boxers and went to bed.
I couldn’t wait for them to move in tomorrow.
Aria’s POV
After the guys left, I went to the kitchen to get myself a beer. I was not much of a drinker, but I really needed one right now.
A few moments later Annie came in and smiled slightly at me.
“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “What the hell was that?”
“You said it yourself when we were going to Mike’s house party,” Annie said and sat at the table. “The guys just want us safe.”
I walked to the table and sat opposite her.
“That was different,” I argued. “This was pure rage.”
“They are just concerned, Aria. And I can’t blame them. Our kind is being tortured and killed. They don’t want you falling into the wrong hands.”
“Come on, Annie,” I said. “Jack is your friend. He wouldn’t hurt me, you know that.”
“I do,” she nodded. “But they don’t. And it is hard for them to understand that. Because they are afraid. I get that.”
I sighed. “What do I do, Annie?”
“You accept that they want to help you and protect you,” she smiled.
“It is still weird, though,” I sighed. “Two complete strangers want to protect me. Why?”
“Well, somebody said you can end this inquisition. That makes you important. And they want to keep you safe so you can do that,” she pointed out. “And there is that whole thing about some connection that you and Gabriel have. And you said you felt it so you can’t deny that.
I didn’t think I was important. There had to be a mistake. I was nothing. But I didn’t want to talk about that with Annie.
“I wish I knew more about this connection with Gabriel,” I sighed.
“I am sure you will find out,” She smiled at me.
“If there is time for that,” I said quietly.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, frowning.
Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t want her to suspect anything. I needed her to think I was okay with everything so I could have a chance at running away.
I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I didn’t want to run away from her. She was my family. But everything else was shit and I was scared.
“Oh, just that I hope inquisitors don’t catch us before I figure out this connection,” I said quickly.
She was eyeing me suspiciously and I didn’t think she bought that. But she smiled slightly.
“Don’t worry, Aria. We won’t get caught.”
I smiled back at her and got up. “I will take a bath before bed. I need one.”
I left the kitchen and went upstairs to my room. I drew myself a bath and got in. Hot water relaxed me, and I almost fell asleep.
Half an hour later I got out of the bath and dried my body. I put on my pajamas and brushed my teeth.
I heard Annie’s phone ringing and she talked with someone for a bit. A few minutes later a second phone call came in and she talked some more.
I got under the covers and took my phone. I saw a message from Jack and wanted to type back, but a knock on the door interrupted me.
“Come in,” I said and placed my phone on the nightstand.
“Hey, girl,” Annie said and smiled. “How about a sleepover?”
I looked at her, confused. “Aren’t we technically having one as I have been sleeping in your house for the past few days?”
She laughed. “Yeah, but I thought we could spend our last night here on the couch in the living room. Watch a movie, eat some ice cream and sleep there. What do you say?”
Okay, she knew I wanted to run away. And she wanted to keep an eye on me. I felt so embarrassed. She must have thought I was the worst friend. She welcomed me with open arms, and I was planning to run away without saying a word. I felt terrible.
“Sure, Annie,” I said and smiled slightly. “That sounds amazing.”
I saw a hint of surprise on her face. She thought I would refuse. She composed herself quickly.
“Great!” she clapped her hands. “I will go and get us ice cream; you bring pillows and blankets.”
She left my room and I sighed. I felt terrible.
I gathered as many pillows and blankets as I could carry and went downstairs to the living room.
Annie was already there, and she was pulling out the couch to make a bed for us. I put pillows and blankets down to help her.
Five minutes later we were laying on the couch with a Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream between us.
“I am glad we did this,” Annie said and smiled.
“Me too,” I smiled back at her.
The movie started and we focused on it.
Somewhere in the middle of the movie I fell asleep.
