Find me

Chapter 24

Gabriel POV

“Where is she?” Gray asked as soon as he walked into my house.

“Sleeping.” I said. “Be quiet, okay?”

Gray nodded, glancing toward the stairs.

“Is she really your sister?” he asked, walking toward me and sitting down on the couch.

I sighed, picked up the mug from the coffee table, and took a sip of my coffee.

“We are still waiting for the DNA results, but I am sure that she is.” I said, a small smile spreading across my face.

“That’s awesome.” Gray mumbled. “How did she take it?”

I ran my fingers through my hair and placed the mug back on the coffee table.

“She doesn’t believe it.” I said quietly. “We barely managed to convince her to come home with us.”

“Where are the fuckers who took her?” Gray asked, tightening his jaw.

“Jail.” I mumbled, looking down at my hands.

My heart clenched painfully, and I felt tears gathering in my eyes.

“They’ve abused her, man.” I said quietly, clenching my fists.

“What?” Gray asked, shocked.

“They hurt her.” I said, looking up at him. “She has been abused her whole life.”

Gray was speechless. He just stared at me. He didn’t even blink.

“How bad?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

“Bad.” I said, tightening my jaw.

I was trying to keep the tears from falling down my cheeks.

Gray took a deep breath and looked toward the stairs again.

“That poor girl.” he mumbled.

“She is so scared.” I said, looking back down at my hands.

“She has nothing to be scared of anymore.” Gray said as he stood up and came to sit down next to me.

He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“She just got two brothers who will beat anyone’s ass if they just look at her wrong.” Gray said softly.

Jealousy hit me like a train.

He wasn’t her brother. I was. She was mine. I wouldn’t share her with anyone. Not now when I just found her.

But despite my jealousy, I smiled at him and nodded. Gray was my friend, and I knew he only meant well.

I would have to deal with my emotions. I felt this possessiveness and protectiveness wash over me. I needed her to be safe, and I knew that I was the only one she would be safe with.

The front door opened, and my dad walked inside, carrying a bunch of bags in his arms.

“What’s all that?” I asked him.

“Clothes for Aria.” he said, placing them down on the floor.

“Morning, Mr. Sanders.” Gray smiled at him.

“Good morning, Gray.” my dad smiled back.

“Shouldn’t you have taken Aria with you?” I asked, standing up. “What if they don’t fit?”

I rummaged through the bags. He bought her some shoes, sweats, jeans, and hoodies. I also found some underwear, pajamas, and bathroom essentials in one of the bags.

“This is just temporary stuff.” my dad said. “I didn’t want to drag her to a mall. She wouldn’t be comfortable. This should be enough for a little while. I will take her with me the next time.”

I nodded and walked back to the couch.

Just as I was about to sit down, I heard the door open upstairs.

Aria was awake.

“She is awake.” my dad said, looking toward the stairs.

“I’ll go get her.” I said, rushing to see her.

I bolted up the stairs and almost knocked her over when I started walking toward her room.

My arms instinctively wrapped around her waist, and I pressed her against me.

She gasped quietly and grabbed the front of my shirt.

“I am so sorry.” I said. “I got excited and I wanted to see you, but I wasn’t looking.”

“It’s okay.” she said softly.

I wrapped her up in a hug and kissed the top of her head.

“Come on.” I said, letting her go and taking her hand in mine. “Dad and Gray are downstairs.”

“Gray?” she asked, and I could hear fear in her voice.

I turned around immediately.

“He won’t hurt you.” I said, cupping her face. “You already met him, remember?”

She nodded and bit her lip.

“Nothing will happen while I’m here, okay?” I said softly.

“Okay.” she nodded.

I smiled and took her hand back in mine.

We walked back to the living room together.

“My baby!” dad exclaimed happily as soon as we walked in.

He stood up and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.

“How did you sleep, love?” dad asked her.

“Amazing.” she said quietly. “Thank you so much.”

“There’s no need to thank me.” dad said, bending down and caressing her cheek.

She gave him a small smile and looked at Gray.

“Hello, Aria.” Gray said softly. “I am so happy to see you. Can I give you a hug?”

She took a step back, pressing herself closer to me.

I wrapped my arms around her immediately.

“It’s too soon, Gray.” I said.

“That’s okay.” Gray grinned. “There will be plenty of time for hugs later.”

“Oh, God!” dad exclaimed. “Your feet are bare!”

I looked down. My dad was right. She walked around barefoot. I could only see her toes. My old pajama pants were so long on her that they covered the rest.

Dad rushed toward the bags, and I heard him rummage through them.

“Here!” he exclaimed after a second, rushing back toward us. “I got you a pair of slippers.”

The slippers were big and fluffy. They looked really warm.

Dad bent down and placed them in front of her.

She didn’t move. I could feel her tense up.

“Come on, love.” dad said, looking up at her. “Put them on. You are going to catch a cold.”

She remained frozen.

“Aria?” I called her softly, trying to take a look at her face.

She looked up at me, wide-eyed.

“I can’t.” she mumbled quietly. “I can’t take this.”

Realization hit me.

“Well, you are going to have to take them.” I said as I kissed her forehead. “Consider it practice because all of these bags behind us are yours.”

She turned around, looked behind us, and gasped loudly.

“Why?” she mumbled, unable to look away from the bags.

“You need your own clothes, love.” dad said softly, running his fingers through her hair. “You deserve your own clothes. You deserve to have warm slippers and shoes that fit you. You deserve the world, love.”

A tear fell down her cheek, and my heart clenched painfully.

She looked back at dad.

“I can’t…” she said. “How will I ever pay you back?”

Pay him back? Yeah, right.

Dad’s eyes widened.

I glanced at Gray, who was looking at her with a saddened expression on his face.

“Pay me back?” dad mumbled. “No, love. You will never have to pay me back for anything. I am your dad, and I will take care of you.”

He pulled her from my arms and tightened his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.

“Will you please put the slippers on before you give your old man a heart attack?” he teased her.

She chuckled quietly and gave him a small nod.

“Thank God.” dad smiled. “I was about to go full-blown dad on you and tell you that you will get sick.”

“You already told her that, Mr. Sanders.” Gray laughed.

I snorted, and Aria chuckled.

“Did I?” dad asked, furrowing his eyebrows and looking at Aria.

“Yes.” she said quietly, nodding her head.

“Oh, well.” dad sighed. “I can’t turn the dad off, I guess.”

Gray and I laughed, making dad roll his eyes at us playfully.

Aria bent down to put the slippers on her feet when dad’s phone rang.

He pulled it out of his back pocket and gasped.

“It’s the hospital.” he mumbled. “The test results came in.”

My heart stopped beating, and the room went silent.