Find me

Chapter 32

Gabriel POV

I was running my fingers through Aria’s hair. Her head was on my chest, and her arms were wrapped around my waist.

Dad was looking through her closet, deciding if I did a good job putting her stuff away.

“Are you happy with everything, baby?” dad asked, turning around.

He looked at Aria, and his eyes widened slightly.

“Shit.” he said quietly. “She is sleeping.”

I looked down at her, but I couldn’t see her face.

Dad smiled and walked over to us. He sat down and caressed her cheek gently.

“God, I missed her so much.” dad mumbled quietly.

I buried my nose in her hair and closed my eyes.

“I missed her too.” I said. “I missed her, and I didn’t even know that she existed.”

“You knew.” dad said, making me look up at him. “You always talked about having a sibling. You always talked about how one day your sibling would find you. You always knew that she was out there. My heart was breaking, but I couldn’t tell you. I just couldn’t. If I was wrong and she really was dead, I could never watch you go through that pain.”

Dad’s voice broke, and a tear fell on his cheek.

“I know, dad.” I mumbled, tightening my arms around her. “It’s okay.”

Dad gave me a small smile and looked back down at Aria. He caressed her cheek again and leaned in to place a kiss on her temple. She never woke up.

Dad’s phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of his pocket. His eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s Owen.” dad said. “He is on his way over. He needs to talk to me.”

My heart raced. Did he find something out? Did the fuckers confess?

“Put her to bed.” dad said quietly as he looked up at me. “Let’s go downstairs.”

I moved Aria gently, trying not to wake her up. I picked her up in my arms and placed her down on the bed. I pulled the covers over her and kissed the top of her head.

Dad watched us with a small smile on his face.

“It is so beautiful to see you two back together.” dad said quietly as we left her room together. "She belongs here with us. She belongs here with her twin."

He was right. She did belong here. She belonged with me.

I smiled at my dad and looked back at my sister. She was sleeping peacefully. My heart tugged, and I wanted to go back to her.

I took a deep breath and closed the door.

I needed to hear what Owen had to say. I would get back to her as soon as possible.

Dad and I walked into the living room, just as we heard a knock on the front door.

“That was fast.” my dad mumbled as he went to open the front door.

“We need to talk.” sheriff Rivers said as soon as my dad opened the door.

The sheriff walked past my dad and rushed into the living room.

“Oh, hi, Gabriel.” the sheriff said when he noticed me. “How are you?”

“Fine.” I mumbled. “What’s wrong?”

The sheriff looked distraught. Did something happen? Did the fuckers do something?

“Did you interrogate them?” my dad asked angrily. “Did they confess?”

The sheriff sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“No.” he said as he sat down on the couch. “They are denying everything. They keep saying that Aria is their daughter.”

Anger rose inside of me. My dad clenched his fists and tightened his jaw.

“When I asked them about the abuse, they said that it was probably a bully from school.” the sheriff said, rolling his eyes.

I saw red. Fucking bastards!

“I’m going to fucking kill them.” my dad said through his teeth.

“I’ll help.” I added coldly.

The sheriff sighed. My dad looked pissed as fuck.

“Where is Aria?” the sheriff asked.

“Sleeping.” dad said, taking a deep breath and sitting down on the couch.

“Did they say anything else?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Sheriff Rivers gulped and looked at my dad.

“Mark said that they didn’t take her, but that he knew who did.” the sheriff said.

“Who did it?” I asked, my heart racing.

“He said that he would tell us if we let him see Aria.” the sheriff said quietly.

“No!” my dad and I shouted at the same time.

“No fucking way.” my dad added immediately. “Tell him to fuck off. He is not laying eyes on her ever again.”

“We’ve told him that already.” the sheriff said, glancing from my dad to me. “But what if that person is still a threat to Aria?”

“Let them come.” I said, gritting my teeth. “They can try to take her away from me. I will fucking destroy them.”

I would become their worst fucking nightmare. Nobody would touch my sister again. Nobody would hurt my sister again. Nobody would take her away from me again. I would be damned if I let anyone near her ever again.

“Gabriel is right.” my dad said. “They won’t be able to take her away from us. No one will take her away from us again.”

The sheriff sighed and nodded.

“I knew that you would say that.” the sheriff said. “I don’t want Aria near them. They are sick. They are fucking insane.”

The sheriff stopped talking and ran his fingers through his hair.

I had a feeling that he wanted to say more.

“But?” I asked.

“But what if they know something important?” the sheriff said, looking from my dad to me.

I clenched my fists. I didn’t fucking care if they had anything to say. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. I wouldn’t let anyone touch her. It didn’t matter if they told us who it was. Whoever it was, they weren’t a threat anymore. I wouldn’t let them be a threat.

“Let me talk to them.” my dad added angrily. “They can talk to me, but not her.”

“I’m not letting you in there, Henry.” the sheriff sighed. “You will kill them.”

My dad clenched his fists and tightened his jaw.

“I won’t.” dad said, gritting his teeth. “Let me talk to them.”

The sheriff sighed, but before he could respond, a blood chilling scream interrupted him.

Aria…

My heart stopped beating. My breath got caught in my throat. My palms started sweating. A thousand different scenarios went through my mind, each one worse than the other.

Fear washed over me, and I couldn’t fucking move.

I froze. I fucking froze!