Gabriel’s POV
I woke up in my bed and sighed constantly. It was December 12th, and it was our birthday. I smiled and opened my eyes.
It was the first of many birthdays my sister and I will share.
I wished this wasn’t the first one. I wished we had shared our birthdays since the first one, like we were supposed to do.
But I can’t change the past. I can only be thankful that I have her here with me now. And I didn’t intend to let her go ever again.
I was thankful I waited that long for a haircut.
I was thankful I slept in that day and had to go to the salon later.
I was thankful I opened the door just in time for her to run into me.
I was thankful that she bumped into me that day.
I was thankful that Nick managed to convince me to go to one more hotel.
I was thankful that Mrs. Black was out that day working in the garden. I was thankful she approached Aria, talked to her, and told me about it.
I was thankful for each and every decision that led me to my sister.
I got out of bed and looked through the window. It snowed last night. It was beautiful. The tree branches were hanging low because there was a thick coat of fresh snow on them. The streets were completely iced over, making driving impossible until the snowplow passes through. The sun was shining, and it made the snow look like a field of diamonds.
It was beautiful. I love the snow.
I opened the door to my room and quietly walked over to my sister’s bedroom. I opened the door and peeked inside. She was still sleeping. I smiled to myself mischievously. It was time to wake her up like the proper twin brother I was.
“GOOD MORNING, SLEEPYHEAD!” I yelled as I jumped onto the bed next to Aria.
She gasped and jumped up. “What the hell?!”
“Happy Birthday!” I said, grinning like an idiot.
“I will beat your ass,” Aria mumbled as she laid back down.
“Is that a way to wish your favorite brother a happy birthday?” I joked, pulling the covers off of her head.
“You are my only brother,” she said, glaring at me.
“Yes, I am,” I said, proudly. “And it is my birthday today.”
She rubbed her eyes and yawned. I chuckled. We both love to sleep. But today is our first birthday together, and we were not spending it sleeping.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Happy Birthday!”
She sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck. I hugged her back immediately. I pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.
“Happy birthday, love,” I said softly.
She pulled back and looked at me, smiling. “I can’t wait to spend the day with you.”
We had decided we won’t be buying each other presents this year. Instead, we will be spending the day together, just the two of us. We will be making breakfast and lunch together. We will be watching movies together. We will be talking and sharing things about each other we hadn’t gotten a chance to learn about yet.
It will be just the two of us, and then, later tonight, our friends will join us, and we will have a little party.
Nick wasn’t happy at all when we told him our plan. But he had to agree. I won’t be surprised if I see him staring through his window, trying to look inside the house.
“So, how many girls have you slept with?” Aria asked me as I was making the pancake batter.
She raised her eyebrows at me and smirked. I guess the official “getting to know one another better” part of our day has started. And she dived right into it with the most difficult question.
It wouldn’t have been difficult for me to answer this a few months back. Until I met Aria, I saw girls as something to fuck. I never had a relationship and I never wanted one. It sounds horrible, I know. But that was me.
But now, I realized how big of an asshole I had been. If somebody did that to my sister, I would rip them apart. They would regret touching her and treating her like a piece of meat.
“I don’t really know, to be honest,” I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. “There were a lot of girls.”
Aria chuckled. “Really?”
I nodded and turned around to get the pan.
“Why are you embarrassed?” she asked me.
I sighed and turned around. “Because I didn’t treat women very nicely until I met you. I just used them for sex, and I swore I would never love another woman. Now that I have you, I realize how big of a jerk I was. If some guy treated you like I treated those women, I would kill him.”
She stood up and walked over to me. She wrapped her arms around my torso and leaned her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my nose in her hair.
“It is okay, Gabe,” she said quietly. “We all make mistakes. The important thing to do is to learn from them. I don’t see you differently. You are still the best brother a girl could ask for.”
My heart clenched and I felt tears forming in my eyes. Goddess, I didn’t deserve her. I kissed the top of her head and held her tighter. I didn’t want to let go of her.
“I would like some pancakes, please,” she chuckled after a few minutes.
I let go of her and smiled. “Coming right up, love.”
She smiled and sat back down at the table.
I finished making the pancakes and sat at the table. We continued asking each other random questions as we ate.
I was smiling like an idiot the entire time. This was definitely the best birthday I have ever had.
Aria’s POV
I was laying on the couch with my head in Gabriel’s lap. He was playing with my hair while watching another movie.
It was already 5 pm. Our friends will come by at 7 pm.
I had to get up and start getting ready, but I was so comfortable I didn’t want to get up. I loved it when Gabriel or Nick played with my hair. It calmed me down and put me right to sleep.
“Can I ask you something?” Gabriel said quietly, pulling me back from my daze.
“Sure,” I smiled up at him.
“What was Grace like?” he asked, looking down at me with an unreadable expression on his face.
I sighed and sat up. He took my hand in his and waited for me to answer.
“Well, she wasn’t the best at the beginning, but she got better later,” I said, looking down at our interlaced fingers.
“What did she do to you?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
I looked up at him and placed my hand on his cheek. He leaned into my touch, not taking his eyes off of me.
“She would hit me,” I said quietly. “I wasn’t allowed to eat. She would feed me just enough so I wouldn’t die. She would say a lot of hurtful things. She would only let me use cold water when I showered.”
Tears fell out of his eyes, and I used my thumbs to wipe them off. His fists were clenched tightly.
“It’s okay, Gabe,” I smiled. “That is behind me. She got better when I was around 10 years old. She even loved me toward the end.”
He pulled me into a tight hug. “I am so sorry. She should have taken me.”
My heart clenched painfully. I was so glad that she didn’t take him. I would go through all of that again if it meant that he would be safe.
I pushed back so I could look at him. “I am glad she didn’t take you. I could never let you go through something like that. I would do it all again just to keep you safe. You have nothing to be sorry about, Gabriel. It wasn’t your fault. I am glad you gotta grow up with our grandma. I am glad she raised you to be the man that you are. If she hadn’t, you wouldn’t have come into my life and saved me like you did.”
By the time I finished, Gabriel was sobbing. I wiped his tears with my thumbs and pulled him into a hug. I kissed the top of his head and started playing with his hair.
He buried his nose in my neck and held me tight. His sobs quieted down after a few moments. I continued playing with his hair as I held him.
“I love you, Aria,” he said after a while. “I can’t even begin to explain to you how much I love you. I will never leave you again. I will never let anything, or anyone hurt you.”
“I know,” I smiled. “I love you too, and I will never leave you again.”
He looked up at me and smiled. He kissed the tip of my nose and wiped the tears from his cheeks.
“So, I have another question,” he said with a small smirk.
I narrowed my eyes on him. “Why are you smirking?”
“Can I ask you or not?” he chuckled.
“We both know you are going to ask me anyway,” I sighed and rolled my eyes.
“True,” he nodded. “Okay, how many guys have you been with?”
I narrowed my eyes on him again. “Did Nick tell you to ask me that?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No. I am just paying back my dues. You asked me the same question.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “Well, you know about Jake. I also went out on a few dates with this guy from Redwallow Village. But it was nothing serious. We kissed a couple of times and that was it.”
Gabriel nodded with a small smile on his face. “Thank you for telling me.”
I smiled back at him and looked at my watch. It was 6 pm.
“We should go and get ready,” I said as I grabbed the remote to turn the TV off.
“Yeah,” Gabriel said and stood up. “I am sure that Nick is counting down the seconds until 7 pm.”
I laughed and nodded my head. “Definitely.”
He was furious when I told him I wanted to spend the day with Gabriel. I had a hard time getting him to agree. I bet he will be the first one to arrive.
I ran upstairs to get ready. I decided to wear my knee-high black boots and a long-sleeved emerald dress that clung to my body and reached just above my knees. I curled my hair and did my makeup. I kept it natural, like always.
It was 6:45 pm when I came downstairs.
Gabriel was already in the living room, placing the liquor bottles down on the coffee table. He was wearing black dress pants and a black shirt. His hair was ruffled as always. I didn’t even know if he owns a comb. I chuckled and walked over to him.
“Need any help?” I asked him.
He turned around, and his eyes widened. “Wow, sis. You look amazing.”
“Thank you,” I smiled brightly and walked over to him to help him set up.
“Nick is either going to be speechless or pissed,” Gabriel chuckled.
“Or both,” I smirked.
Gabriel laughed and nodded. We continued preparing drinks for the party.
15 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it and saw a very impatient Nick waiting there. He was wearing black dress pants and a white shirt that clung to his body and let me see all of his muscles. My mouth watered.
His eyes went up and down my body and I saw him gulp.
“Fuck, baby,” he mumbled, and I saw his eyes glaze with lust. “Are you trying to make me cum in my pants?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I could ask you the same thing.”
He gave me a big smile and pulled me to him. “Happy Birthday, baby. I missed you. I can’t believe you made me wait all day.”
“Was it worth it?” I smiled.
“Definitely,” He gave me a cheeky smile and kissed me.
We broke the kiss and smiled at each other lovingly. He took my hand into his and came to stand next to me.
I heard my friends coming up the driveway. They were chatting and laughing. Their eyes fell on us, and they smiled brightly. Gabriel came to stand behind me and put his arm around my shoulders.
This was heaven. I didn’t need or want anything else in my life. Just a couple of months ago, I was alone. Now I was surrounded by so many people and my heart is filled with love. Sure, I had to go through so much to get here, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I would do it all over again. I would go through all of that again just to keep them safe and happy.
Because that was what you did for the people you love. And if you were lucky, like I was, you get all of that love back. They made you feel safe and happy as well. And I knew I will always be safe and happy with my brother, my mate, and my friends. No matter what awaits us in the future.
