Find me

Chapter 21

Gabriel POV

I was shaking from top to bottom.

We only saw her belly. What would the rest of her body look like? Was it as bad as her belly? Was it worse?

My dad let go of me and went to knock on the door.

He stopped and looked at me.

“Maybe you should stay here, bud.” he said softly. “I don’t know what to expect. I don’t want you to see that.”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not important here. She is. She needs me. I’m going in there.”

My dad pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tightly.

“I am so proud of you.” he mumbled as he kissed my temple.

I hugged him back. I needed it. I needed my dad.

He let me go after kissing my temple again.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Are you ready, love?” dad asked. “Can we come in?”

We heard a quiet ‘yes’ coming from the other side of the door. My dad took a deep breath and walked into the living room.

My lungs felt like someone was squeezing them as I followed my dad inside. I was so scared, so sad, and so fucking angry.

But I needed to pull myself together. I needed to stay calm for her. She needed me to support her, not to destroy the whole fucking house.

My eyes watered as soon as I saw her.

Her whole body was covered in bruises, cuts, and old scars.

When my eyes fell on a bruise in the shape of a hand print on her thigh, my whole fucking world stopped moving.

What the fuck?!

Did he…?

Oh, my God!

NO. FUCK NO!

My heart hammered in my chest. My palms were sweating. My breathing became painful.

Did he touch her?

Did he…?

My dad moved and kneeled in front of her. He slowly and gently placed his hand over the handprint on her thigh.

I looked at her face for the first time since we came into the room.

Her eyes were shut tight. Her breaths were short and fast.

“Baby, did that man ever touch you inappropriately?” dad asked, his voice laced with anger.

She opened her eyes slowly and shook her head.

“No.” she said quietly. “But he threatened to.”

A huge relief washed over me. I could finally take a deep breath.

“He will never touch you again.” my dad said, tightening his jaw. “Nobody will touch you, love.”

I forced my body to move, walked over to the couch, and kneeled next to her head.

She turned around and looked at me.

I caressed her cheek and gave her a small smile.

“Keep your eyes on your brother, love.” dad said. “I will start cleaning your cuts. It may sting a little. Tell me if you need me to stop.”

“Okay.” she said quietly, keeping her eyes on me.

I glanced at my dad and saw him taking out the supplies from his bag.

“What do you want to do after high school?” I asked, turning back to look at her.

She was also looking at my dad, but she looked back at me when I asked her the question.

“I always wanted to become a doctor.” she said quietly. “My grades are good. I think I could get a scholarship and get into medical school.”

I glanced at my dad and saw him smiling.

“Of course you can, love.” he said. “I will help with everything. Don’t worry about that.”

I looked back at her and smiled. “You will be an amazing doctor.”

She smiled back and flinched.

“Sorry, love.” dad said. “I need to clean your cuts.”

“It’s okay.” she mumbled. “What kind of doctor are you?”

“I am a general surgeon.” dad said, looking up at her and smiling. “Your mom was a neurosurgeon.”

She looked at dad and her eyes widened. “Really? That is so cool.”

“You think that digging around people’s brains is cool?” I teased her.

She looked up at me and nodded. I rolled my eyes playfully, making her chuckle.

It was the most beautiful sound in the world, and I was so happy that I made this a little bit easier for her.

“At least one of my children thinks that’s cool.” dad said teasingly.

“What do you want to do after high school, Gabriel?” Aria asked.

“I want to be an engineer.” I said, smiling. “I love to make stuff.”

“You also love to unmake stuff, bud.” dad said. “You don’t know how many appliances he took apart, Aria. I have to buy a new toaster every couple of months.  The people at the store already know when I’m coming. The toaster is always waiting for me at the register.”

I rolled my eyes at my dad, and Aria laughed.

She actually laughed.

Both dad and I looked at her with so much love.

“That is the most beautiful sound in the world, baby.” dad said. “I want to hear more of it.”

She blushed, and I caressed her cheek, making her look at me.

“You are a tech surgeon then.” she said, making me laugh.

“Kind of.” I nodded.

“Except surgeons put people back together, not take them apart.” dad chuckled, making me roll my eyes again.

“The last toaster I put back together worked.” I said, running my fingers through Aria’s hair.

“For a month.” dad snickered.

“That wasn’t my fault.” I said. “You bought a cheap one. It would break down anyway.”

“Sure, bud.” dad chuckled. “Whatever you say.”

I sighed and looked at my sister. She was looking at what dad was doing.

“What do you like to do in your free time?” I asked her.

“I love to read.” she said, looking up at me. “I worked at a library once. I got to read all day there.”

“Do you have a favorite book?” I asked, smiling.

“Not really.” she shook her head, flinching again. “There are too many good ones. I can’t choose.”

I smiled and took her hand in mine. My eyes fell on the bruises and cuts on her arm, and my heart clenched painfully.

I gulped down the lump in my throat and tried to stop the tears from falling on my cheek.

“It’s okay, Gabriel.” Aria said quietly. “It looks worse than it feels.”

I looked back up at her. Was she really trying to comfort me? She was the one lying on the couch, having her whole body treated.

“I love you so much.” I mumbled.

She smiled at me before flinching hard.

“Sorry, baby.” dad said. “I am almost done, okay?”

She nodded, looking down at dad.

I kissed her hand and ran my fingers through her hair.

“Thank you, Gabriel.” she said softly, looking back up at me.

“What for?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“You made this easier.” she said, giving me a small smile. “I was so scared and so nervous. I’ve never been to a doctor before. I’ve never done this before. Thank you for making it easier.”

My heart broke, and I leaned my forehead against hers.

“Of course.” I said. “I will always be here to make things easier.”

“You’ve never been to a doctor before?” dad asked, making both of us look at him.

His jaw was clenched tight. He was focusing on the big cut on her knee, but he glanced up at her a few times.

“No.” she shook her head. “I took care of the wounds myself. I learned it from the books.”

The anger in me rose high. My dad was pissed as fuck.

“Okay, love.” dad said, trying to control his anger. “I’m done here. We will leave so that you can turn around, okay?”

Aria nodded and looked at me. I gave her a small smile and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

I stood up and followed my dad out of the living room.

As soon as I closed the door behind us, my dad flipped. He took his gloves off, threw them on the floor, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pulled it hard.

“I am going to kill them.” he said angrily, trying to keep his voice low. “I am going to fucking kill them.”

I was right there with him.

We would become their worst fucking nightmare.