Gabriel’s POV
Aria smiled brightly when Nick said we will be going to her old village soon.
“What is going on in the city?” Annie asked and placed the empty beer bottle on the table.
“The streets are completely empty,” I said. “The city is covered in smoke and there is constant screaming coming from the main square. It is much worse than it was just a few days ago. It is only a matter of time before they start rummaging through the suburban area.”
“I should tell my parents to go to our cabin for a while,” Nick said. “They haven’t been at work in a few days, anyway. Most of the companies are closed permanently. Some of them moved their headquarters to a less dangerous area.”
If Victor continues with this inquisition at this pace, there will be no such thing as a “less dangerous area” soon. We have to stop him.
“You have a cabin?” Aria asked him.
“Yes,” he nodded. “It’s deep in the woods. They should be safe there.”
“Tell them,” I said. “They should leave as soon as possible. As should we. I think it would be best if we left early in the morning.”
“I agree,” Nick nodded. “We should go pack.”
“How much time do we have to pack?” Annie asked worriedly.
Aria chuckled. “No amount of time is enough when it comes to you and packing.”
Nick and I laughed, and Annie frowned.
“I need to be prepared for everything,” Annie said.
“Pack only essentials, Annie,” I smiled.
“You are not helping, Gabriel,” Aria chuckled.
Annie rolled her eyes and took Aria’s hand in hers.
“You are going to help me, A,” Annie said and pulled her up.
Aria shook her head and smiled. “I have no other choice.”
“No, you don’t,” Annie said.
Nick and I laughed and stood up, walking behind them. Nick stopped at the front door.
“I will go home and talk to my parents,” he said. “I will pack a bag and be here as soon as I can.”
“You are sleeping here?” I asked him.
“Of course,” he said and opened the front door. “I will be back in an hour, tops.”
I nodded and closed the door behind him.
I turned toward the stairs and started walking upstairs. I heard Annie ask Aria which sneakers she should pack, and a huge grin spread across my face. I wouldn’t want to be Aria right now.
I walked past Annie’s room and peeked inside.
“How is it going?” I asked with a smile on my face.
Aria looked up at me and mouthed the words save me.
I smiled wickedly and shook my head. No way I was getting in between Annie and packing.
“Oh, it is going great,” Annie said, rummaging through her closet. “Aria could be a little bit more helpful, but I am not complaining.”
“It sure sounds like you are,” Aria said. “Maybe Gabriel would be more helpful than me.”
“Oh, no,” I said and raised my hands. “I am not getting involved.”
“Shouldn’t a brother be a savior to his sister?” Aria raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“This brother is choosing his battles wisely,” I said.
Annie looked at us and frowned. Aria chuckled and shook her head. Goddess, do I love when she is happy. I want to joke around like this with her forever.
“I will pack,” I said. “Good luck.”
,
I smiled at Aria wickedly and she stuck her tongue out at me.
I laughed and walked to my room.
I grabbed a bag and started filling it with clothes. I mostly packed sweats, hoodies, and sneakers because I felt most comfortable in them. I added a few pairs of jeans and nice shirts in case I needed them. I didn’t really think I would need them, though. Driving through different villages didn’t sound like an opportunity to dress up. But I guess you never know. Better to be safe than sorry.
I threw my jacket on top of my bag and walked out of my room. I thought Aria would still be in Annie’s room, so I was a little bit surprised when I saw her sitting on her bed in her room, folding clothes.
“You escaped?” I asked and walked inside.
She looked up at me and smiled. “I convinced her I need time to pack as well.”
“I can hear you!” Annie shouted from her room.
Aria and I laughed. I walked to her and sat on the chair beside her bed.
“Make sure you pack warm clothes,” I said. “It’s October.”
“I know,” she said. “Don’t worry.”
“Do you need help?” I asked her.
“No,” she shook her head. “I am almost done. But I do have a question for you.”
I nodded and smiled.
She reached under her shirt and pulled out her medallion that was around her neck.
“Do you have yours?” she asked me quietly, fidgeting with the medallion, not looking up at me.
I stood up and quickly walked back to my room. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about the medallion. I had been waiting to open it since I found it, but with everything going on it slipped my mind.
I walked to my nightstand and opened the drawer. I took the medallion out and went back to Aria’s room.
She looked up at me when I entered the room, and I gave her a big smile.
I sat on the bed next to her and opened my palm to show her my medallion.
She took hers off her neck and placed it next to mine.
Both medallions started to shake, and I felt my medallion warm up. A few moments later we heard a quiet click sound.
I looked up at Aria and we both smiled. My smile was from excitement, but hers was one of shock. As if she still doubted that we were brother and sister.
I looked back down at my medallion and opened it slowly. There were two pictures inside. On the left there was mine. My name was engraved underneath it. On the right, there was a picture of Aria with her name engraved underneath.
I smiled and looked at Aria’s medallion. It was exactly the same as mine.
I looked up at her and saw that she was glancing between her medallion and mine with tears in her eyes. I placed my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me.
I hoped that whatever doubt she still had was gone now.
Aria’s POV
I was still doubting this whole thing. Well, denying it would be a better choice of words. A small part of me still thought there was another Aria out there and this whole thing wasn’t even about me.
But looking at our medallions I couldn’t deny it anymore. He really was my brother. My grandma really did do all these horrible things. I was shocked all over again. Will I ever be able to accept it?
Gabriel pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head.
I looked up at him and gave him a small smile.
“A small part of me was still in denial,” I said quietly.
“I know,” Gabriel responded, looking down at our medallions. “I hope your doubt is gone now.”
“Well, it would be pretty hard to find another explanation for all of this,” I chuckled.
Gabriel looked up at me and smiled.
“I know it will be hard to accept this,” he said. “When I found out I destroyed the living room. And you have a lot more on your plate than I did.”
“You destroyed the living room?” I asked with slight amusement in my voice.
“I did,” he chuckled. “If Nick didn’t stop me, I would have probably destroyed the entire house.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“My point is, don’t try to go through this alone,” Gabriel said seriously. “You have me. You have Nick and Annie. You are not alone. Don’t push us out. Talk to us. Talk to me.”
“I will. I promise,” I said quietly, looking into his eyes.
“Good,” he smiled and kissed my cheek.
He let go of me and stood up.
“We should go to bed,” he said. “I would like to leave early.”
I nodded and placed my medallion back around my neck.
“Where is Nick?” I asked Gabriel.
“He went home to pack,” he responded. “He should be here soon.”
I nodded and smiled.
“Good night, Aria,” Gabriel said and smiled.
“Good night,” I said as he closed the door to my room.
I sighed and went back to packing my bag. I sat down on the floor next to my bag and started placing my folded clothes inside. I didn’t really have that many clothes so I just packed everything warm I could find. I was sure Annie had more than enough if I would need to borrow something from her.
“Hi, love,” a voice startled me, and I flinched.
I looked up and saw Nick standing at my bedroom door, his eyes widening.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” he apologized and walked over to me in a rush.
“It’s okay,” I looked up at him and smiled.
“Do you need any help?” he asked me and sat down on my bed.
“Nope,” I shook my head. “I am almost done.”
“I expected to find you in Annie’s room,” he said with a smirk.
“I managed to escape,” I chuckled. “Don’t know how I did it, though.”
I zipped up my bag and stood up.
Nick motioned to sit beside him on the bed.
I smiled and walked over to him. I sat down beside him, and he leaned in, moving my hair out of the way. He breathed in my scent and nuzzled his nose into my neck. The feeling gave me tingles all over my body and my belly did a weird flip.
“I missed you,” he whispered into my neck, making me shiver.
“It’s only been an hour,” I chuckled.
“It has been more than three hours,” he said, not lifting his head. “Don’t ever ask me to leave you again.”
He placed a light kiss on my neck and my whole body trembled. Goddess, I wanted more of those.
He looked up at me and smiled. “I love it when you blush.”
I chuckled and looked down at my hands.
“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Nick asked me.
“Yes,” I looked up at him and smiled brightly. “I can’t wait to see Cassie and Jake.”
Nick gave me a weak smile and I suddenly remembered what Annie had said earlier today. He was afraid I would want to stay with them.
I grabbed his hand in mine and looked him in the eyes. “I will not leave you.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “What?”
“Annie told me that you and Gabriel are worried I would want to stay there,” I explained. “I won’t lie to you. It did cross my mind when we first started talking about it. But I won’t stay with them. I can’t stay with them.”
He looked at me, surprised. “You were thinking about it?”
Is that the only thing he heard? I frowned.
“I did,” I said honestly. “But I don’t anymore.”
He growled quietly. “What’s changed?”
“Well, I found out Gabriel is my brother,” I said, looking down at my hands. “And, well, I can’t leave you.”
“You can’t?” he asked me quietly.
I shook my head, not looking up at him. “No. I can’t be without you.”
He placed his finger under my chin and lifted my head up to look at him.
Goddess, he was perfect. His brown eyes were so warm. His face was so gentle, but then again so sharp. He let his beard grow out a bit and it only added to his beauty. I could look at him all day long.
He started to lean in, and my heart started beating faster. He was going to kiss me!
His lips gently touched mine and sparks flew down my body. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. The kiss was gentle, loving and so sweet.
And it was over too soon.
He stopped kissing me and pressed his forehead against mine.
“Goddess, I wanted to do that for so long,” he whispered. “You taste even better than you smell.”
I opened my eyes and moved my head to look at him.
“Are you sleeping here with me?” I asked him before I lost my courage.
He smiled brightly and nodded.
He leaned in to give me a small kiss before he stood up and walked to the bathroom.
“First one to shower,” he chuckled.
“You are not playing fair,” I told him.
“You have to be faster, love,” he shouted from the bathroom.
I laughed and shook my head. I stood up and walked over to my closet to make sure I packed everything I needed.
Tomorrow I will finally see Cassie and Jake again.
