All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.
This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do.
The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.
AN: I'm sorry it's taken me so long! So many things have been going on in my life. One, my brother came back to the States from S. Korea and two, I started a new job, Mon-Fri, nine to five, two weeks ago so I haven't had the chance to do much writing.
This chapter is a little shorter than usual, and its still set in June (before Carlo's sixth birthday so that means before June 21st). I hope despite the brevity of the chapter, y'all enjoy it. It's a little deeper than most, not much fluff but a lot of deep thought.
Please, reviews encourage me to write and I would love to get so many, I can't do anything but dedicate a whole day off writing. Enjoy the chapter and, again, please review. I would like to know your thoughts, opinions, ideas, constructive criticism, etc. I love all my readers and I want to know what they think of this chapter.
Chapter Seventy-Five (16 yrs old)
It started off as any other day, the early morning quiet permeating the Clearwater household as the family, young and old –not that Seth and Rose were all that old, somewhere around their early thirties –sleeping comfortably in their beds…all except for one.
"Vivi!"
Marc repeatedly slammed his fist against his sister's bedroom door, the silver star plaque set at eye level vibrating with every pounding knock.
"Vivi!"
Jerking the door open, she pushed a slightly frazzled braid over her shoulder, gold-brown eyes glinting with anger at being so rudely woken up, "What!"
"Why the hell does the bathroom smell like wet dog?"
She could feel heat climbing up her face and hoped he would think it due to anger, which she was feeling plenty of, "It does not!"
"It sure as hell does," Marc snapped back, dark hair falling over his forehead as he glared down at her, "It's disgusting. You were out with him last night, weren't you?"
Jaw tight, she blew a long curl in an attempt to get it out of her face, eyes glittering as she hissed at him, "I don't ask what you're doing with your girlfriend so stay out of my business."
"Difference being my girlfriend isn't genetically programmed to hate me."
She let a delicate snort escape her, an eyebrow arching as she smirked at him, "That's because she doesn't know any better."
The words hit him exactly where she meant them to, the look on his face making a small part of herself feel horrible for what she'd said but a bigger part, the part spurred on by thoughts of payback, felt gleeful knowing she'd caused maximum damage with minimum effort.
Just as he was about to call her some rude name –she could see it in his face he was thinking of a few –their uncle's deep voice cut into the growing tension, "What is the matter with you two? Your yelling is going to wake up the boys."
Marc turned to look at Seth, his features remaining in the same angry lines as he pointed at the closed door to the bedroom he shared with his two cousins, "No, it won't. The room is sound proof."
"Yeah, well, ours isn't so cut it out," Seth gave his nephew a look easily interpreted as the fight was over because he said so, "Go do what you were planning to do."
Vivi turned to go back into her bedroom but Seth stopped her, "Vivi –I want to see you downstairs in five minutes."
Swallowing hard, she nodded before closing the door, leaning against it as she took a deep breath. She knew why her uncle wanted to speak to her, knew he was going to bring up her sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.
What she hoped he didn't ask was what happened during the night –she knew he wouldn't handle the truth, despite Gabriel being his nephew, and she knew she wouldn't be able to lie without being obviously guilty about it.
Letting out another sigh, she pushed away from the door, taking the brush from the top of her white wicker dresser and undoing her braid to brush it out, gold brown eyes intently studying the reflection in her mirror.
She didn't look any different –her eyes were still the same color and size, the tips of her eyelashes a reddish gold to match her hair, her eyebrows, a darker shade of auburn, still naturally winged over eyes she thought to be overly large. Her nose still tipped slightly at the end, her cheekbones high, giving her face a somewhat oval shape. Her lips were what a magazine called Rubina lips –a full bottom lip with a top lip shaped like twin peaked hills. It all ended with a softly rounded chin she wished was just a little more defined.
She definitely didn't look any different but she felt different –the aching soreness she was experiencing was not as pervasive as those she usually dealt with after eight hours of ballet practice but it was different enough for her to notice it…and it wasn't just the physical oddities she was noticing but the emotional ones as well.
The ribbon she had seen delicately weave between them that fateful day in the toy aisle was now a solid and emotionally tangible presence in her life. Even now, she could feel the tug to her soul, could see the deep hue of the gold and silver ribbon stretched between them –it was beautiful and when she was with him, it wrapped around them like a warm blanket.
Setting down her brush, she quickly braided her long hair, tying off the end and letting it rest over her shoulder as she walked out of her room and headed down stairs as she worked on controlling her heart beat.
Stopping outside the door to her uncle's office, she breathed in deeply to calm herself but her Tio Seth's deep voice had her heart jumping again when he called out, "Come in and close the door."
Doing as she was told, she leaned against the door and watched as he methodically placed his graphite pencil into the airplane cup she knew Gabriel had made for him years ago. Biting the inside of her cheek, she moved to sit on the brown suede couch when he motioned for her to do so, tucking her hands between her knees as he moved across the room to join her.
The silence was heavy as he leaned forward to place his elbows on his thighs, head hanging slightly as he took in a deep breath before turning to face her. The look in his brown-green eyes made the guilt she was feeling expand to almost choking proportions.
"Tio Seth –"
"I do not appreciate you sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night," he interrupted her before she could say anything else, " You, of all people, should know how dangerous it is to be out in the woods, be it day or night."
Bottom lip tucked between her straight white teeth, she dropped her gaze to her hands, knuckles white as she fought back the urge to cry, "I'm sorry."
"The only reason I didn't go after you was because your aunt wouldn't let me," Seth could see the gathering of tears in her big eyes but he refused to let them sway him, "Insisted you had to make your own mistakes and we had to let you."
The lump in her throat grew just a little more, making it almost impossible for her to swallow, much less speak so she didn't say anything, concentrating hard on not letting the tears fall as he continued studying her face, his voice low and filled with genuine concern, "You're sixteen years old –physically, that's what you are…but biologically, you're only thirteen. Emotionally…Vivi, emotionally, you're also thirteen. Yes, you're way more mature, and at times, wiser than a thirteen year old but there's still a part of you –a big part…"
He stopped, trying to get his own emotions under control, feeling an aching loss at the reminder his Ladybug was all grown up, "You're still a child, Vivi…in so many ways. Don't rush growing up –you'll have the rest of your life for everything that comes with being an adult. I don't want to see you get hurt so…please be careful with the decisions you make…what you do now –it will resonate within you for the rest of your life. It will color your experiences, your choices…your relationships with others."
She could feel the heat climbing up her cheeks, her laced fingers twisting as she hoped he wouldn't ask what had happened last night –not only did she not want to tell him but she knew if she did (lying to him never entered her mind), thus confirming what she was certain he was already suspicious of, he would probably be at the Laskaris' front door in ten minutes demanding retribution.
Seth let out a heavy sigh, able to see the thoughts going through her head from the expression on her pretty face. He knew, without having to ask, what had happened last night…he wasn't born yesterday, after all. What he didn't know was what to do about it.
Yeah, he could go knock Gabe around a bit, teach him a lesson about sneaking his Ladybug out of her safe bedroom and into the forest to do what hormonal teenagers did but, being he'd once been sixteen and doing some sneaking around of his own, he knew the blame didn't all land on Gabe's head.
No, Vivi had willingly gone with him –she'd knowingly broken the rules, snuck out and consented to…he stopped his train of thought, knowing any further, he would start seeing red, which would require an outlet and, despite not being completely at fault, it would definitely land on his nephew's head.
Letting out another heavy sigh, he looked over at his not so little anymore girl, easily seeing the embarrassment, guilt and fear she was feeling as she shifted uncomfortably where she sat. Deciding to put her out of her misery, so to speak, he decided to just hand out some parental advice before letting her go.
"Vivi…the decisions you make…they're yours to make but you'll have to live with them the rest of your life. I'm sure you thought it through –whatever happened last night, I hope you thought it through more than once…it'll be something you'll carry for the rest of your life. You give yourself away –mind, body and soul –when you share your body with someone…and you'll never be the same person again.
"The experience that comes with physical intimacy is long reaching and it'll continue to ripple into your future…I just hope…" he stopped to swallow back the lump in his throat, blinking back sudden tears as the monumental significance of the conversation hit him.
He wasn't talking to his little girl anymore –his Ladybug was all grown up, making grown up decisions, steering her life where she saw fit…and it wasn't easy for him to realize this but also comprehending she no longer needed him…
Reaching out, he cupped her chin in his hand, lifting her face to look into her eyes before he leaned in to kiss her forehead, "I hope he understands the value of what you've given him…that you understand the same. No matter what happens, whether you end up together or go separate ways, you two will always be tied by this experience...and I pray –god, I pray it doesn't break your heart."
"It won't," she whispered, moving her face out of his hand to lean into him and wrap her arms around his torso, "I love him…and he loves me."
Wrapping his own arms around her, he kissed the crown of her head, "Sometimes, Ladybug, love and sex isn't enough. You two may end up learning that lesson the hard way…though, I hope, for your sake as well as Gabe's, it isn't so. Just know, no matter what, I'm always here for you."
"Thank you," she sniffed as tears slipped free, hands fisting into the back of the shirt as she soaked in the sense of safety that came with being in her uncle's arms, "You're not going to tell Marc, are you?"
Pulling back a bit to look down into her face, he gave her a pointed look, "Did I tell you when Marc started having sex?"
Wrinkling her nose at the thought of her brother and Betty, she shook her head, "No."
"Then I won't tell him."
She smiled as they pulled apart, her cheeks pink as she reached up to tuck the loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Thank you, Tio."
Kissing her forehead once more, he patted her knee before getting up and walking out of the office.
Falling back into the comfortably plush couch, she let out a long sigh, the whole conversation playing over in her head –this time around, the guilt and embarrassment she had been feeling wasn't present, allowing her to focus on the words, the phrases, the meaning of them all.
Allowing her to think.
Leah walked into the kitchen, surprised to find her first born –not just awake, showered and dressed –at the small desk on the far corner of their kitchen slash dining room, the laptop used by all for school, work and extracurricular research on and humming as he typed away, "What are you doing, baby?"
Gabe looked up from the screen, giving her a bright smile, "Good morning, mama. How'd you sleep last night?"
"Good," Leah opened the refrigerator, pulling out eggs, bacon, milk, butter and other sundry items needed to start breakfast for her family, "Although I would have slept better had I not known you weren't in your room asleep in your bed."
The hand he had on the wireless mouse froze as he slowly looked away from the screen, having turned his attention to it after greeting his mother, "Uh…I, uh…"
"Just tell me what you did last night isn't going to have consequences."
Gabe felt his cheeks go hot, his knee bouncing in a more than obvious sign of agitated nervousness, "No. I, uh…I had a, uh…"
"Oh Gabriel," Leah shook her head as she set everything out on the counter, taking out the griddle for the bacon and potatoes, finding her favorite chopping knife and grabbing a bowl, "I wish you had waited a little longer but you are sixteen…I can only hope you make good, responsible choices…especially those involving others."
Gabe watched as she cracked egg after egg, bacon and thinly sliced potatoes already sizzling away on the stove, "You're not mad at me, are you?"
Setting aside the shell in her hand, she took the daisy patterned dishtowel and wiped her fingers, lowering the heat under the bacon and potatoes before turning to look at him, "No, baby, I'm not mad at you. It was a mutual decision made by both you and Vivi, right?"
"It was," Gabe nodded, blue eyes locked on her face as he tried finding the words to assure her, "I promise, mama, I didn't talk her into it. I told her we could stop if she didn't want to, I told her more than once but she said yes every time. I swear I didn't –"
"Baby," Leah moved across the kitchen, long fingered hands –hands that had held him, comforted him…loved him from the moment she'd known of him –cupping his squared jaw as she looked into his eyes, "Baby, its okay. I believe you –I know you wouldn't push her into something she wasn't ready for."
"I don't want you to be disappointed in me, mama," Gabe wrapped his arms around her waist, her own closing over his shoulders as he buried his face into her chest, "I don't want you to think badly of me."
"Oh, baby," Leah kissed his head, running her fingers through his blue-black hair, "I'll never be disappointed in you –you're an amazing young man, Gabriel, and I'm nothing but proud of you."
Kissing his head again, she dropped to her knees to look into his eyes once again, her hands holding his face in place, "You're my first born, Gabriel…I'm not ready to let go of you, baby, but obviously…you're ready to go out into the world on your own. It's hard, you know…realizing you no longer need me."
"I'm always gonna need you, mama," Gabe framed her beautiful face between his hands as he smiled at her, "You'll always be the most important woman in my life…you've given me everything, mama. I'm never not going to need you."
"I'm glad," she leaned in, kissing his forehead before pulling him into another hug, catching a glimpse of the content on the computer screen, "Gabriel, why are you looking at the Juilliard website?"
Gabe flushed as he pulled back, reaching for the mouse and minimizing the window, "I just…thought I'd look into it. After last night, I realized…it wouldn't be fair, to keep her from reaching her dreams, you know?"
Leah rolled her eyes as she stood up, taking the overly crispy bacon from the pan and placing it on a paper towel lined plate before setting aside the potato slices, "I've only been trying to tell you that in, like, a thousand different ways."
"Yeah, well," Gabe lifted a shoulder in a shrug as he got up from the chair, moving into the kitchen space to help her with breakfast preparations, "She only requested an admission packet from the Pacific Northwest Company up in Seattle so…"
"Are you requesting a Juilliard packet for her," Leah placed a second batch of bacon on the griddle as Gabe whipped the eggs. Taking a nine by four baking pan, she lightly coated it with butter, reaching across the stove top to set the temperature and timer for the oven –a breakfast casserole would be the easiest dish to feed all her fussy eaters.
"Yeah," Gabe shrugged, giving her the bowl once he finished scrambling the eggs before turning his attention to the cheese –three different kinds of shredded cheese, along with eggs, crispy bacon, grilled potatoes, and chopped sausage were all needed to make his favorite breakfast casserole, "I want to read a little more about it, you know. See what she would be doing, when school breaks are going to be, visiting rules and all that stuff –I've heard these kinds of schools can take over your life and don't allow you to have fun because they have, like, tons of requisites and shit."
Leah chuckled as she sprinkled the cheese over the thin layer of raw egg, laying the bacon strips over it before covering them with the grilled potato slices, then sprinkling the pre-cooked sausage over that before starting the layering all over again, "Professional dance takes serious dedication, Gabriel. As for breaks and visiting –do you think the Air Force will grant you either whenever you please? Once you sign those papers, your time will belong to them. They'll be the ones to let you know when you can come home and for how long…so, really, you and Vivi will pretty much be in the same boat...just in different lakes."
Gabriel stared at his mother as he set the washed chopping board on the dish drainer, "Yeah...one boat can't be in two different lakes, ma. The very concept defies the laws of physics –Emmie will back me up on that one."
Leah handed him the empty egg bowl, sliding the casserole dish into the oven and resetting the timer, "You know exactly what I meant, smartass."
"Aren't you lucky I did," Gabe laughed as he leaned forward to kiss her cheek, seeing the clock out of the corner of his eye, "Ah, shit. I gotta be at the garage in an hour. I'll get the boys up and dressed 'k?"
"Thank you, baby," she watched him trot out of the kitchen and down the hallway, knowing he would head up the stairs to wake the twins first –Zaky was probably already at the beach, surfing while Abby, who was in the middle of her first week at La Push, watched and cheered him on –before coming back down to wake up the little ones, giving Xavier a hand with dressing, all the while trying to wrestle Erick into clothes the blue eyed blond little boy would not want to wear.
Letting out a soft sigh, she smiled as she looked over at the computer screen, feeling a wave of love and pride wash over her as she thought of her first born, all grown up and making good choices.
It was a realization to savor…she was a blessed woman.
"Mama! Mama! Mama!"
She laughed as her naked three year old ran in from the hallway, Gabe coming after him with a small pair of Superman underpants in one hand and a Spiderman shirt in the other.
Yeah, she was definitely a blessed woman.
Two Days Later
7:45 PM
She was tired of waiting.
There was no doubt he would come through for her, not so much out of loyalty for her as for his pride in following through on something he'd promise to do.
Meanwhile, she'd decided it would be prudent –and satisfactory –for her to move to the next phase of her plan…which meant her next victim.
The shadows shifted and lengthen as the sun sunk further into the ocean, the parking lot lights spilling pools of yellow over the cars parked in the designated emergency lot.
She leaned against the wall, around the corner from the ambulance dock, the darkness of the night keeping her well hidden as she watched the doors, quickly assessing each person exiting, anger simmering a degree more every time she saw it wasn't the one she wanted.
Time dragged on slowly, something she was used to after centuries of it passing her by without leaving a stamp on her.
It was close to three in the morning when the emergency doors slid open, the voice preceding her as she walked out, "I'm finally getting out…no, you don't have to come pick me up, I have my car…I know it's late but don't worry, you know very well the parking lot is well lit. I'll be fine, baby, relax…yes, I'll call you when I pull out of the lot…sweetie, relax. I'll be fine…"
A smile spread across beautiful features carved into cold marble, blood red eyes locked on her target, her footsteps silent as she followed behind her, movements melding with the shadows spilling across the asphalt parking lot.
It was time for her to take another loved one from the dogs.
9:04 AM
"Good morning."
Julie looked up from the scrambled eggs and sausage cooking on the stove, smiling as Lian walked into the kitchen, wearing low riding pajama bottoms with a t-shirt, mussed hair and mouth wide open in a yawn reminding her he came in late last night.
"What time did you get home," she smiled as he kissed her cheek, a hand tugging at the waistband of his bottoms as he reached for the full coffee pot, Julie pulling down a ceramic cup from one of the cupboards and handing it to him.
"Sometime after two in the morning," Lian filled his cup, setting the coffee pot back as he took a sip of the hot black liquid, "But we got the whole thing done. Sammie stayed behind to master the whole thing –she's taking the final cut of the CD back to New York to give to Natalie."
"I'm glad that's done," Julie smiled as he sat at the kitchen table, "You've been working long hours over the last two months."
"I know, I know," taking another gulp of coffee, he reached out to open a notebook he knew she used for all her brainstorming, "What about you? Did you finish your planning for the fall festival fundraiser?"
"Almost," Julie set a plate heaped with eggs, sausage and a few slices of toast before him, "I've got majority of the concert's participants lined up, all agreeing to give a free performance in exchange for a tax deduction. Since all proceeds for the concert tickets are going to charity, it will work out. Now, I just need to figure out which tickets are bought for which performance."
"You'll figure it out," he took a bite out of his toast, followed by a forkful of scrambled eggs, "Get Lyn to help you –she offered, after all."
"She is helping," Julie sat down with her own breakfast plate, setting a glass of orange juice on the table, "We were Skyping last night, working out some other details but she got called into the emergency department for an accident involving children."
Lian nodded, biting into a sausage just as a squeal caught his attention, "The kids are up?"
Julie laughed as she nodded, motioning towards the playroom off the kitchen, "Jillian has Donovan helping with her number for the talent show portion of the festival."
Another squeal caught their attention, both of them picking up on the displeasure being voiced by their youngest. Standing up, they headed to the playroom, staying out of sight as they looked in.
Jillie let out a long suffering sigh, her back to them as she looked down at her little brother. The seven month old was sitting on a bright blue bumpo floor seat, a look of mutiny on his little round face as he looked up at his older sister, a dark swath of hair falling across his forehead, eyes a dark brown identical to his father's eyes.
"Fine," Jillie moved to open one of several toy chests, pulling out a toy guitar, "If you don't want to be the audience, you can be the band. Want to play the guitar?"
Donny shook his head as he let out a low squeal, eyes locked on the diminutive figure of his older sister as she returned the guitar, pulling out drumsticks along with a toy snare drum, "What about drums? Want to play the drums?"
He shook his head again, flapping his arms along with a squeal. As soon as she pulled out a toy trumpet, one where pushing buttons released musical notes, Donny squealed with joy, reaching for the toy as he revealed a tiny white bottom tooth due to a big grin.
"Okay," Jillie handed him the trumpet, laughing as he began pushing buttons, stopping and tilting her head as two high notes followed three low ones, "That's good, Donny. Now, you're gonna play the trumpet and I'm going to sing, okay?"
Lian and Julie made sure to stay out of sight as their five year old little girl spun around, looking downright adorable in a pair of jeans tucked into purple cowgirl boots, the color a perfect match to the small t-shirt she wore, a black microphone stamped at an angle on the front.
Donny pushed five different buttons consecutively, Jillie grimacing at the sound but she just began singing, her sweet little girl voice perfectly pitched as she began to sing her current favorite country song:
Somebody's gotta wear a pretty skirt
Somebody's gotta be the one to flirt
Somebody's gonna wanna hold his hand
So God made girls
Somebody's gotta make him get dressed up
Give him a reason to wash that truck
Somebody's gotta teach him how to dance
So God made girls
Julie wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, his own arm settling over her shoulders as they both watched their little girl put on an Oscar worthy performance with her little brother playing his own song as he pushed the buttons on the trumpet.
So God made girls, God made girls
He stood back and told the boys, "I'm about to rock your world"
And God made girls
God made girls
He stood back and told the boys, "I'm about to rock your world"
And God made girls
They chuckled as Donny let out a high pitched squeal, Jillie wincing as she dropped her arms, turning to give her baby brother a long suffering look, "You should have told me you wanted to be a backup singer too."
Julie turned her face into Lian's chest to muffle her laughter, the phone ringing and taking them away from their children's rehearsal. Lian found his cell phone while Julie placed their half finished breakfast in the microwave to re-warm it, putting fresh bread into the toaster.
She looked up as Lian walked back into the kitchen, phone in hand. The paleness of his face had Julie's worrying tendencies to jump into high alert.
"What's wrong? Julian…what's going on?"
Swallowing, he blinked back the gritty sensation in his eyes, clearing his throat as he reached out to take his wife's hand, "There's been…an accident."
"An accident? Who?"
Swallowing again, he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight as he pressed a kiss against her red-brown hair, "We need to get to the hospital."
