Find me

Chapter 19

Gabriel POV

My heart was shattered into a million pieces.

She was scared of me.

She was scared of her own twin brother.

She said that she wasn’t, but both dad and I saw the fear in her eyes. Both of us saw how she made herself as small as possible. Both of us saw how afraid she was that we were going to hurt her.

I was sure that she was abused, both verbally and physically. I didn’t know for how long. I didn’t know exactly what they did to her, but they’ve done something.

I was sure of it.

She was staring at us, wide-eyed. She was barely breathing.

“You are not in trouble.” I said as softly as I could. “Nothing bad will happen to you, Aria.”

I moved my arms slowly, wrapping them around her. She was so tense.

I kissed her forehead and picked her up, wrapping her legs around my waist. I pushed her head on my shoulder gently and held her to my chest as tightly as I could.

“Let’s go to the living room.” dad said quietly.

His voice was breaking, and I could see pain on his face. I’ve never seen him like this. He was worried, scared, sad, and angry. He had a mixture of emotions on his face, and all of them were intense.

I walked to the living room and sat down on the couch, not letting go of her. I couldn’t let go of her. Not now. I needed to know that she was safe, and she was safest right here in my arms.

“Aria, baby, the social worker said something that I would like to talk to you about.” dad said softly, making Aria lift her head off my shoulder.

“Okay.” she said, her voice trembling.

She kept her eyes on my chest.

Dad glanced at me, and I gave him a small nod. I would let him do this. He was a doctor. He knew how to talk to people. If I spoke now, I would start screaming and cursing, and that wouldn’t help.

“The social worker noticed signs of abuse, Aria.” dad said quietly. “She believes that those people didn’t treat you right.”

I watched her face carefully. She started shaking, and she gulped.

“I don’t know why she would say that.” she said, clenching her fists. “They’ve been nice to me.”

I tightened my jaw and looked at my dad.

The pain on his face almost made me cry.

“Aria, baby, you can tell us the truth.” dad said, reaching out and placing a hand on her back. “If they hurt you, we need to know. They need to answer for their crimes, love.”

Aria glanced up at dad and I saw tears in her eyes.

“They didn’t hurt me.” she said quietly.

Dad studied her face for a second.

“I know it’s hard, love.” dad said softly. “I know that you just met us. I know that you are scared. But I also want you to know that Gabriel and I love you so much. I want you to know that we want what’s best for you. I want you to know that we would never hurt you. I want you to know that we will always protect you from anyone and everyone.”

A small sob that escaped her, broke my heart.

She placed her hands over her face and started crying.

Dad and I wrapped our arms around her immediately.

“Oh, my baby.” dad cried out. “We love you so much. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

I kissed her temple and leaned my head on hers. The lump in my throat made it impossible for me to speak.

“It’s okay, love, it’s okay.” dad mumbled, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her back softly.

Aria moved her hands from her face and wiped her cheeks.

She looked up at us and took a deep breath.

“Did they hurt you, baby?” dad asked her again.

She gave us a small nod, and I wanted to scream.

I knew they hurt her, but a part of me hoped that they didn’t. A part of me hoped that she would say that they were amazing parents.

Dad tightened his jaw and took a deep breath.

“What did they do to you, love?” he asked, and I could tell that he was trying to control his anger.

“Can you promise me something?” Aria asked quietly, looking back at my chest.

“Of course.” I said before dad could. “Anything, Aria.”

She took a deep breath, and another tear fell on her cheek. I lifted my hand and wiped it away.

“Can you promise me that I won’t have to go back there?” she asked quietly. “It is hard for me to believe that I am your daughter and sister. It is hard for me to believe that I am so lucky to be a part of your family. I have a feeling that the test will come back negative. If it does, can you promise me that you will ask the social worker to give me to another family? She can’t give me back to them. They will kill me if they find out I told you anything.”

My heart was breaking through my rib cage. It was going to jump out of my body.

I’ve never felt pain like this before.

Of course she was mine. Of course she was ours. Of course she was a part of this family.

I looked at dad. He had tears streaming down his face.

He moved his hand, placed a finger under her chin, and lifted her head gently.

“You are my daughter.” dad said softly. “I understand why you are having trouble believing, love. But you are mine. You will never go back to them. They will never lay eyes on you again, love. And even if you aren’t my daughter, which is impossible, I would never allow the social worker to take you back to them. They will never hurt you again. No one will ever hurt you again.”

She studied dad’s face for a second before throwing herself into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed loudly.

“I am here, baby.” dad said, his voice breaking. “Your dad is here, love.”

He pulled her off my lap and placed her on his own. I placed my hand on her thigh, needing to touch her.

The lump in my throat was so fucking big that I couldn’t even cry. I couldn’t even breathe.

“I need you to tell me something, baby.” dad said softly.

Aria nodded, lifting her head off his chest.

“Was the abuse verbal or physical?” dad asked her.

We both knew the answer to that question, but we needed her to confirm it.

“Both.” she mumbled, staring at dad’s chest.

The shattered pieces of my heart pierced my insides. I knew it was the truth, but I still wasn’t ready for it.

I saw fucking red. I will kill them.

One look at my dad told me that he was thinking the same thing. He was having a hard time controlling his anger. I understood him completely. I was having the same issue. But we had to do it for her. We didn’t want to scare her.

“Okay, love.” dad said, his voice trembling. “When was the last time they hurt you? Do you have any injuries right now?”

“I do.” she answered quietly.

My vision blackened.

I was fucking ready to kill.