A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry I haven't updated in almost a year! Things have been so crazy, but I won't bore you with the details. Anyway, I'm so excited to be getting back into this story again, and lord knows I'm going to need writing as a destresser once school starts. So, pretty please review and let me know what you think and if I should keep updating? xoxo
Hours later, the two girls rolled to a stop at a red light on the main street of Miami.
"There's the beach!" Gabriella squealed excitedly, grabbing Martha's arm as she hit the gas pedal again. "We are officially in Miami! This is going to be the best summer ever!" Gabriella clapped her hands together and looked out the side window before recoiling. She had seen them again. She would recognize those eyes absolutely anywhere, but she still had no person to connect them to, and she still didn't know if she should be afraid of them or not. All she knew was that she had just seen them in the window of Juicy Couture. She sighed as she looked back at Martha, who was oblivious to her troubles.
Gabriella looked down and started scrolling through her Instagram timeline, thinking while she did so. Earlier this morning was the first time she had ever seen the eyes outside of her dreams and now she had seen them twice in a matter of twelve hours.
"Gab, what was the address again?" Martha asked.
"As if you don't remember," Gabriella teased before reciting the house's numbers and street.
"I haven't driven down here on my own! Cut me some slack," Martha laughed as she turned right.
"I can't believe it's been three years since we've been here. Hell, I don't think we've left Benton in three years," Gabriella laughed as she looked around her at the city that had become her second home.
"I wonder how much has changed. I know everything looks good right now, but looks can be deceiving. And I wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt will still be next door with their delicious blueberry pies," Martha mused as she started looking for street names. "Okay, let's stop reminiscing for a moment and help me look for Sunset Avenue." Gabriella let out another laugh before waving her hand over her face and becoming extremely serious, considering the situation, as she started diligently looking out the window for the street sign. This, of course, only made Martha start to laugh and soon the car full of laughter as tears rolled down the girls' cheeks.
"There!" Gabriella yelled suddenly, pointing as Martha slammed on the brakes so she wouldn't miss the turn. As the car rolled down the block to house number 143, the two teens had finally managed to calm down enough to catch their breath. "And…we. Are. Here." Gabriella put emphasis on each word as she stepped out of the car and stretched in the glorious Miami sunshine. She looked over at the house, which was a pretty light blue color, and smiled. She couldn't believe she was finally in Miami Beach. Her favorite memories had occurred in this city ever since she could remember, and it didn't seem like much had changed so far. Sure, she had seen a new Saks store and a few other high-end retail places in the plaza, but nothing too drastic as far as she could tell. And what could be better than sun, sand, surf, and mini golf for three months? God knows I need this vacation. Anything to stop having those dreams…and now the visions… Gabriella said to herself, shaking her head quickly when Martha called to her to start unloading the trunk that had been such a project to pack.
EOJEOJEOJEOJEOJ
After another hour full of unpacking and an incident where Gabriella had tripped with a load of clothes in her arms, causing them to go flying and Martha to fall when she was hit with them, the two girls were lounging around in the living room, watching the local news to see what they had missed over the past few years.
"Gab, look! They added more to the shops than just those few stores that we saw on the drive in," Martha exclaimed happily.
"And they have a Forever 21 now! This is going to be the best summer ever!" Gabriella fist-pumped from the yellow bean bag chair she was sitting in. Gabriella paused when she noticed Martha staring at her with a twinkle in her eye. "What?" she asked curiously, tossing a pillow at her friend to get her to quit looking.
"I know I said we should take off the first day and relax in the beach house, but I know how much you love Forever 21 and-" Martha started to explain before she as cut off.
"And you really want to go to Forever 21 because we don't have one back home," Gabriella finished matter-of-factly with a smirk on her face. Martha just looked at her again before nodding sheepishly. "Then what are waiting for? Let's go!" Gabriella laughed as she pulled Martha off the couch and grabbed her bag. The two girls raced out the door and were just approaching the Miami Key plaza five minutes later.
The beach house belonging to Gabriella's grandparents was literally in the prime location. If they ever chose to sell it, they would rake in a fortune. You could walk to basically everything, which Gabriella loved, especially when she went for her morning runs and ended up at the Miami Bean. The plaza was five minutes away, as the girls had just rediscovered, the beach was about eight minutes in the opposite direction, the "Food Chain," which was what the locals called the town's section of culinary art restaurants was ten minutes, and there were miniature golf courses scattered all around. The two girls had never really known what went on in Miami past those locations since they had never had a need to go there, but they always assumed it was more amazing things outside their own little paradise.
"Gab, oh my gosh, they have a Banana Republic store here now!" Martha squealed as she grabbed onto Gabriella's arm. Sure enough, when Gabriella looked in the direction Martha was, Banana Republic was nestled right between Saks and Forever 21. "I know you hate everything about Banana Republic, but…" Martha trailed off and looked at Gabriella hopefully.
"Go on, I kind of want to go for a run, anyway," Gabriella laughed and held out her bag so she could run without anything weighing her down when Martha jumped for joy and called back a quick thanks as she ran off. Gabriella just shook her head with a smile as her friend disappeared. She started to turn around to look for the best route to run when she was cut off by loud yells and an alarm coming from Saks.
Before Gabriella could move or even process what was happening, four guys dressed in black ran out the front door of the department store, burlap sacks in each of their hands. Gabriella couldn't tear her gaze away from the scene as they stopped for a moment and then three of them started running again. It was like a car accident, and curiosity is what killed the cat. The fourth guy, the one who hadn't run away yet, turned toward her and it seemed as though everything froze as Gabriella locked eyes with him. She didn't hear the police sirens echoing in the distance. She didn't see the other three guys stop and stare at her before they continued on their path without their leader. She didn't notice anything at all except the man in front of her. She didn't know how long she and the strange man just stood there staring at each other, but she was knocked out of her mesmerized state when she heard a gunshot inside the store. She turned for a moment at the sound to make sure no one had been hurt and when she turned back, he was gone.
What the… Gabriella thought, startled by what had just happened. She looked around for a moment before her eyes landed on the curb of the sidewalk and she gingerly walked over and sat down, placing her head in her hands. What in the world did I just see? If I didn't know any better, I'd say Saks was just held up. Gabriella shook her head at the thought and looked up, running a hand through her dark locks before grabbing the hair tie on her wrist and pulling it back into a high ponytail. She was about to stand up again when she saw a young man walking towards her at a brisk pace.
"Miss?" the man questioned as he drew nearer.
"Can I help you?" Gabriella asked hesitantly, her mind still in overdrive after what she had seen.
"I couldn't help but notice you across the way as those guys were running out of the store," he explained, taking it upon himself to sit on the curb next to her.
"Like I said, can I help you with something?" Gabriella asked again, not sure what this man's intentions were.
"Well, first of all, I wanted to make sure a pretty girl like you was okay after witnessing an armed robbery," the man half-asked, looking at her curiously.
So Saks did just get robbed Gabriella thought to herself before nodding. "I'm just fine. I was just about to go for a jog actually, so I'll just get going." She started to stand up, but the man quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. She locked her eyes on his fingers sharply and he quickly let go.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I just had one more thing to ask you. Did you happen to see enough of that guy who stopped to give a description of him? I only saw the back of him and I know the police are going to be asking." Gabriella stared straight ahead for a moment and visibly started when she saw those eyes staring back at her, the brilliant blue unmistakable. But just as quickly as they were there, she blinked and they were gone.
"Well, uh," Gabriella started to stutter, feeling her cheeks turn a bright red. "He, well he…" she trailed off, trying to think. Curse my weakness for eyes. The only thing I noticed for miles were his eyes and I don't even remember what color they were! Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "A tattoo. He had a tattoo of what looked like some sort of Greek symbol on his forearm. And he had really mesmerizing eyes," she added the last bit hesitantly for fear the stranger would think she was nuts, but she figured anything might help.
"A tattoo..." she watched the young man muse to himself before standing up and offering a hand to her. "Thank you very much for your help, miss, I'll be sure to mention to the police who else helped out when I talk to them." He nodded at her once more and walked off, leaving Gabriella alone to think about her vision of the eyes again.
Why do I keep seeing them? Something weird is going on, I better just start running to clear my head. With that thought, she stood up and took off.
EOJEOJEOJEOJEOJ
Gabriella figured she had been running for a good twenty minutes when she circled around the Dolphin Trail one last time and jogged back through the park. She looked to her right when she heard a rustle and smiled when she saw a mother and baby deer munching on some grass. But her smile didn't last for long as she ran straight into something hard and fell to the ground with a cry and a thud.
Gabriella looked up to see what she had hit and did a double-take. Standing there, right above her, was the owner of the eyes that had been plaguing her dreams and now her mind for three weeks straight. And now she knew why her mind wanted to figure out who the eyes belonged to so badly. He was absolutely gorgeous. Aside from the beautiful blue eyes she had been seeing, he had chestnut brown hair and a defined face with a chiseled jaw. He was tall, probably around six foot three from Gabriella's estimate and he was wearing a black fitted tank top that showed off his muscles and toned chest perfectly. Her eyes traveled down his arms to see a black leather cuff around one wrist, making her curious while at the same time loving the mysterious look about him. But when she looked back up at the eyes, it hit her.
In her dreams, she was never sure whether to be afraid of the eyes chasing her or not. And as she sat there on the ground, she realized she still didn't know if she was in danger with him. And that may have been the thought that scared her most as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Mine," was all the husky voice that came out of him said before he turned and stalked off into the trees where the deer had just been, leaving Gabriella on the ground in wonderment.