Where Do We Go From Here? (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 28

They pulled up the the apartment building and Bruno helped Mia out of the car. The three of them made their way into the building. When they reached their floor they saw Bernie and Eli standing in the hall talking. When they heard footsteps coming their way they turned to face them.

"Bruno! Is that you baby?" Bernie said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, it's me mom." Bruno said and went to hug her.

"Oh my goodness what are you doing here?" Bernie asked looking at Bruno, then to Mia, then the tall gentleman that was with them.

Mia went to hug Eli who's eyes were already on Gabriel. "Hey uncle Eli. I missed you."

Eli hugged her back. "I missed you too. What's going on Mia? What's Bruno doing here with you and who is this!" he asked gesturing towards Gabriel.

Bruno stood next to her and took her hand in his. "Bruno came to accompany me." She looked up at Gabriel who was now standing next to her and then back to Eli. "Uncle Eli, this is Gabriel Velazquez. Gabriel this is my uncle Eli and this is Bruno's mom Bernadette but we all call her Bernie."

At the mention of his name anger and shock registered on Elijah's face but he made a quick recovery. Not fast enough though because Mia picked up on it. Both Eli and Bernie shook Gabriel's hand.

"Can we all go inside and talk." Mia said.

"Of course." Elijah said.

They all went inside and sat down at the table. Everyone sat quietly looking around at each other. Mia was thinking about what she wanted to say. "So before we get started, before we tell you what's going on..... Uncle Eli, is there maybe something you want to tell me?"

Eli looked at her then at Gabriel and back to her. "I... I don't understand."

Mia looked at Gabriel, then at Bruno, then back at Eli. "When I introduce him, I saw that look on your face. Why? I thought you said you didn't know my fathers name."

Shock registered on Bernie's face when she heard what Mia said and she looked at Bruno to confirm what she had just heard. Bruno just nodded his head.

Eli nodded his head. "So it is him." He sighed. "I knew his first name, never his last name. I overheard your mom talking to Isabelle about him one night. It's a first name. You can't really find out much with a first name. Especially with the name Gabriel. It wouldn't have done you any good to know his first name." He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what more to say.

"So... I am her father?" Gabriel spoke directly to Eli.

"If you're he guy that Elena fell in love with in Los Angeles that broke her heart then I guess so. A DNA test could tell you better than I can. But if you're here, I'm sure you don't doubt that Mia is yours." Elijah said.

"She had no need to lie to me but we do plan on taking the DNA test. That's why I'm here. For the record, the situation between Elena and I that cause her to leave was a miss understanding. I never cheated on her." Gabriel said. Then he went on and explained to Eli what happened that night. 

Eli listened attentively to everything he said. "I guess you too were really in love. I wish she had told me about you. Maybe things would have been different."

Gabriel nodded his head in agreement. "Maybe." He looked over and Mia and gave her a warm smile. "She sure did leave us a precious gem though." He was talking to Eli but he was still looking at Mia. "She looks just like her mother. So beautiful and from what I gather, the same big heart that Elena had.

Mia smiled so hard. To hear that was a huge compliment. "She does. She has your smile though." Eli pointed out.

"I do!" Mia asked. She and Gabriel both looked at each other and smiled.

"You do!" Eli, Bernie and Bruno said in unison, causing all of them to start laughing. Mia looked around the room and smiled. This had gone so much better than she had expected.

"So, you will take the DNA test tomorrow and then you and Bruno will go back to LA. Where do we go from here? What happens when the results come back that you are her father?" Eli asked.

The room fell silent again and everyone's expression was serious. "I don't know. Whatever Mia wants to happen. I already missed so much of her life. I just want to be apart of it and make up for lost time. If she will have me." Gabriel said.

Mia's smile came back. "I would like that very much"

Elijah wasn't sure how he felt. He was torn. He was happy but sad. Mia having a father in her life now would mean he wasn't all she had anymore. She was all he had and he was at risk of losing her now, just as he lost everyone else he cared about. But what could he do? If he decided to be against this, he would lose her just the same.

Authors Note: I'm spoiling you guys with updates today. I hope you're enjoying them. Please remember to vote and comment to let me know what you think. It's greatly appreciated. 😘