Find me

Chapter 4

Gabriel POV

I couldn’t stop thinking about the new girl.

I watched her the entire day, trying to take a good look at her face. She kept her head down, making it impossible for me to get a good look at her.

It frustrated me, and I was pissed as fuck.

Who the hell was she? Why did she look like me? Did she even look like me, or did I just make that up? But everybody else saw it as well. They were glancing between her and me the entire day.

Janet and her bitches were furious. I overheard some students talking about how pretty the new girl was. Janet heard it too and made a snide comment about how the new girl was poor and ugly. Her friends laughed and continued glaring at the new girl.

It pissed me off, but I didn’t know why. I didn’t even know the girl. I didn’t care about her. Why the fuck did Janet’s comment piss me off?

“What did you get for number four?” Gray’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Number four.” Gray said. “What answer did you get?”

I looked down at the answer.

“3x squared.” I said.

Gray’s eyebrows furrowed. He looked up and down in his notebook, and I could tell that he was confused.

“What the fuck?” he mumbled. “How did you get that answer?”

I sighed and gave him my notebook. He grabbed it and started comparing our answers.

I went back to thinking about the new girl.

Who was she? I’ve never heard her name before. I’ve never heard her last name before.

“What the hell are you thinking about?” Gray interrupted my thoughts again.

I looked at him as he furiously started erasing the answer in his notebook.

“Nothing.” I mumbled quietly, keeping my eyes on the eraser in his hand.

“You are thinking about Aria, aren’t you?” Gray asked, making me look up at him.

“No.” I said, shaking my head.

Gray snickered, shaking his head. “Dude, we grew up together. I know when you are lying.”

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Gray was right. He could always tell when I was lying. Just as I could tell when he was lying.

“It’s weird.” I mumbled. “I don’t give a shit about her, but at the same time I would like to know why she looks like me.”

“Maybe you should ask your dad.” Gray shrugged as he started copying my answer.

“Why would I do that?” I sighed, rolling my eyes at my friend.

“Maybe she is related to you.” Gray shrugged again. “Maybe she is your cousin. Maybe she is your sister. Maybe she was put up for adoption."

My heart skipped a beat when he said the word ‘sister’. I always wanted a sibling. I had Gray, of course, but as much as I loved him, he wasn’t really my brother. He had to go home at night. He had to spend holidays with his family. I always wondered what it would be like to have someone who would be with me all the time. When I was a kid, I wondered what it would be like to have someone I could play with all the time, have sleepovers in my room, and wake up next to them all ready to play again. I wished to have a sibling so badly that I actually started to miss someone who never even existed.

“She is not my sister.” I mumbled, gulping down the lump that formed in my throat. “Or my cousin. There are no girls in my family. I told you that already.”

“Didn’t you listen to me earlier?” Gray sighed. “Your mom and dad could have put her up for adoption. Or your aunt and uncle if she is your cousin.”

“Why would they do that?” I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“I don’t know, dude.” Gray said. “Talk to your dad.”

I ignored him and looked back down at my notebook.

I would not talk to my dad about the new girl. There was nothing to talk about. She was not my sister. She wasn’t mine in any shape or form. She was just some random girl who happened to look a little bit like me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gray pick up his books.

“Where are you going?” I asked, turning my head to look at him.

“My grandma is coming.” he said. “She will beat my ass if I’m not home when she arrives.”

I laughed and shook my head. “She most certainly will.”

His grandma was a total badass. I loved her a lot.

“I will see you tomorrow, man.” Gray said, grabbing his backpack off the floor. “Talk to your dad about Aria.”

I nodded, knowing damn well that I wouldn’t do that. I didn’t have a sister. I didn’t have a cousin. It would be pointless to talk to my dad about it.

“Bye, man.” I said as I watched Gray walk out of my room.

I laid down on my bed as soon as Gray closed the door behind him.

My mind wandered back to Aria.

She was so afraid. She never looked up. Why was that? Was she shy? Was she scared of something or someone?

A weird feeling stirred up in my chest. Thinking that she was afraid didn’t sit well with me.

It was probably because she was a girl. I would never hurt a girl.

That had to be it. She was a girl, and she shouldn’t have been hurt. That’s why I didn’t like thinking that she was afraid.

The sound of the front door opening, interrupted my thoughts.

“Gabe?” I heard my dad shout.

I jumped up and walked to my door.

“Coming.” I shouted back as I stepped out of my room.

I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. My dad was pulling out two plates. I saw a pizza on the kitchen island.

Awesome. I loved pizza.

“Hey, bud.” my dad said, turning around. “I didn’t feel like cooking, so I brought a pizza.”

“You know I love pizza, dad.” I said as I sat down on the bar stool. “You never have to cook. I can eat pizza every day.”

“What kind of doctor would I be if I let my kid eat pizza every day?” my dad chuckled, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge.

“Pizza can be healthy.” I said. “There are pizzas with vegetables on them.”

“That’s not going to happen, buddy.” my dad sighed as he sat down opposite me.

I grinned and opened up the pizza box. I grabbed a slice and started eating.

“So, how was school?” my dad asked, opening up his water bottle.

Weird. A new girl looks like me.

I wasn’t going to tell him that, though.

“School was good.” I said, chewing my food.

“Swallow first, Gabe, come on.” my dad sighed, shaking his head at me.

I laughed, swallowing my food.

“There is a game tonight.” my dad said, taking a slice of pizza. “Are we watching it together, or do you have plans with Gray?”

“His grandma came.” I said. “He had to go home. We are watching the game together.”

“That’s what I love to hear.” my dad said, smiling at me.

I smiled back and continued eating my dinner.