I woke up laying in the familiarity of my bed, the light pouring in through my window even though my curtains were closed. I groaned, putting my hand to my forehead as I sat up. Then the memories came back to me, the ones from the day before.
Going shopping, Gabriel kissing me, the bar on fire, Liam in the woods, my mom being dead…wait, my mom being dead! I shot up in bed, uncovering myself and standing up. I noticed I was still wearing the clothes from the day before and they felt gross on me because I had slept in them. I opened my down door, bolting down the hall and down the stairs, halfway down I was met with the smell of food. Who would be cooking in my kitchen? I got even more confused when I saw a blanket and pillow strewn across my couch. I smiled, maybe my mom had come home and she wasn't dead. But as I ran into the kitchen and saw someone standing there I froze. Gabriel was standing in front of my stove, and by the looks of it he was cooking something.
"Morning," he said and turned, flashing me a smile before turning back around. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously, "I'm making some eggs and bacon, I hope you're hungry," he said as I walked around him to sit down.
"What are you doing here?" I asked and I saw his back muscles tense.
"I'm cooking you breakfast," he said simply and I narrowed my eyes at his back more.
"Well I'm not hungry so if you'll excuse me," I said as I got up and started heading to the stairs again.
"Wait, Nina…" he started and I turned to see a look of sadness on his face. He hesitated, "I'm sorry," he said and I straightened my back up, not showing anything.
"For what?" I snapped and his eyes met mine, I wanted to fold right there and cry, he looked so sad, like he wanted and wished he could comfort me.
"It's alright to cry Nina, I cried when my mom and dad died," he said, watching me for my reactions. I never knew that, and it made me sad that he had shared that with me, but that wasn't going to help me at all.
"I'm sorry about that…" I started and then paused, "but I don't cry," I said and quickly ran up the stairs and into my room. I sucked in a breath, the truth was that I wanted to cry, so badly, just not when anyone else could hear me.
I let out a calming breath, going to my dresser and grabbing some underwear, a bra, a pair of jeans, and a plain black long sleeved shirt, going to the bathroom after doing so. I turned on the shower, but felt it was too quiet so I turned on the shower radio, blasting it as high as it would go. A song by Maroon 5 came on and I couldn't help but sing along. I didn't like most of their songs, but some I did like and when they played I would sing along with them. I sang quietly as I peeled my dirty clothes off and hopped into the shower, immediately it felt like the hot water was washing away everything.
It took me awhile to realize that I was singing with a hoarse throat, like I was trying to cry, but I just couldn't, now was the perfect chance but I couldn't. So instead of trying to force myself to cry I swallowed and stopped singing, making everything go away.
When I was done with my shower I turned everything off just in time to here a car backing out of my driveway and driving off really fast. I put on my clothes, put my wet hair up into a pony tail, and slowly made my way down stairs. When I got to the kitchen there was a note taped to the fridge so I walked over and read it.
'Had to go take care of some business that had to do with…last night. I'll see you later,
Love,
Gabriel
P.S. don't try to go anywhere; I'm having some of the pack watch your house.
'Great, he's not here and I'm still being babysat' I thought and then snatched the note off the fridge, crumpling it into a ball and then throwing it away. I grumpily walked into the living room, plopping down and turning on the TV. The channel it was on was of course my mom's favorite channel, oxygen. Mom, Favorite channel, Oxygen, Dead. Nothing happened, I didn't even want to cry, how horrible is that?
I flipped through the channels, about to give up on watching TV for good when the channel stopped on the news. And I couldn't help but watch as there was footage of a news anchor standing in front of the now burnt familiar bar. I sat forward in my seat, watching as the guy walked around and talked, pointing at the destruction that happened. I couldn't hear his voice though; all I could see was what was left of the bar.
"What the hell Nina, don't watch that," Liam's voice broke through as the remote was suddenly tooken from my hand and the TV was turned off.
"I want to watch that," I said and his face fell before he composed it.
"No you don't, it'll just upset you," he said to me and I rolled my eyes.
"Do I look upset?" I asked him and he hesitated.
"No, but..." he started but I cut him off.
"Exactly," I said and got up, walking back into the kitchen to get something to eat, "Why are you here anyway?" I asked as he sat down at the table.
"I can't hang out with one of my friends?" he asked sarcastically and I gave him an 'are you serious' look, "Fine if you must know Gabriel asked me to come by and keep an eye on you. I didn't feel right spying from outside so I let myself in," he said and I snorted.
"Whatever," I said and then something came back to me from the night before, "Hey, I saw you last night, near the ruins," I said and he tensed.
"What do you remember about it?" he asked and I gave him a confused look. He was right, I didn't really remember a lot.
"That we talked, don't remember what you told me, I called you a liar, and then I blacked out," I said and he relaxed instantly.
"Why? Is there something that I should remember that happened?" I asked and he stood.
"Well…" he started but another voice interrupted him.
"You both ready?" Gabriel's voice asked from the doorway. He was leaning casually against the door frame, but his gaze was securely on Liam, or should I say glare. When Liam looked over Gabriel was saying something with his eyes to him and Liam immediately shut up.
"Ready for what?" I asked, eyeing Gabriel suspiciously. His head snapped to me right as I spoke and his gaze softened, no longer the glare it had been only moments before when he was looking at Liam.
"I'm having a pack meeting about the…incident that occurred," he said and I nodded, grabbing my black hoodie that was hanging by the front door and opening it, turning around to see a confused looking Gabriel and Liam watching me.
"Well let's go then," I said and left when they made no sign of following. Behind me inside I could hear the slight murmur of their voices, they were arguing. I stopped, waiting for them to come out because I needed to hitch a ride with one of them.
Finally the front door opened and out stepped Gabriel, he started coming toward me with a look of frustration on his face.
"I'll give you a ride," he said and I nodded. Even though I had never been in Gabriel's car it still felt somehow familiar as I slid into the passenger seat. He was already pulling out of the driveway before I had even gotten my door closed and seatbelt on. And I was thankful that I had just clicked my seatbelt in place when he started flying down the road, heading to the forest.
"Can you slow down a bit?" I asked him cautiously and all he did was slow down the slightest bit, then speed up again like he had forgotten that I had asked him to slow down. I flew forward suddenly as he hit the brakes, thankfully I was wearing my seatbelt or I would've flown out the window. That didn't keep me from grabbing my seat tightly to insure I still didn't fly forward though.
"Get used to it," he said as he got out of the car as I unbuckled my seat belt, still a little shaky about what just happened. I was about to get out of the car myself when Gabriel simply reached in and grabbed my out himself, hauling by my arm so we were headed into the forest. After a little bit of walking we made it to the ruins and I saw that the pack was standing under the ledge of ruins, waiting for Gabriel most likely.
"No, this way," he said as he pulled me to way he was walking when I tried to go to where everyone else is standing. We walked around a ruin rock jutting out from the side of the ledge, and went up a short stair case that I haven't even known was there. Around the ledge there were two guys standing with their arms crossed, almost looking like bodyguards because of how they were standing and what they looked like. Gabriel pulled me to the ledge with him so I was looking over everybody too. I tried to move to the side so no one would pay attention to me but Gabriel pulled me into his side and locked his arm around my waist securely, making sure I couldn't move away from him.
"Hello," he started his speech and I watched as everyone nodded at him, "As we all know something has hit the pack recently, some deaths I would like to acknowledge," I internally flinched at those words, "We lost a lot with the fire that came to us, and I would just like you all to know I have managed to get everyone that died funerals that will all be held in the local church this Thursday. It won't be a traditional funeral as we don't really have the bodies but I encourage that you come if you can and pay respects," he said and he bowed his head, a few seconds of silence falling over. Some people in the crowd had tears running down their faces, and some had their eyes closed, thinking hardly about something.
"However I do have some news about how the fire started," Gabriel voice boomed and everyone looked up simultaneously, almost like they had practiced doing it. I couldn't help but wonder how Gabriel saw this whenever he did his speeches, "I believe that this had been a warning from someone, a group of people who want us out of here. I'm not sure quite yet who they are but I am sure that by killing our people they warned us to leave," he said and I looked up at him surprised, that was news to me, "I will be needing a group to join me in the hunt for these people, so if you would like to join feel free to, because we will take these people down," he boomed and I could hear the authority in his voice, his determination with the situation.
"The reason I think they have targeted us is because they might have formed in a cult, a cult that is against supernatural beings and there are signs early on in history that this town has had some experiences in that. Their motives, I'm not sure but I will find out," Gabriel said and everyone started mumbling.
"From now on, I want everyone in pairs whenever they go places!" he yelled out and everyone stopped talking, watching him for more news, "that is all, now everyone get home, I don't want you out no later than six," he said and everyone nodded, starting to talk and shuffling to leave. Some stayed to talk and some immediately left, I wanted to be one of the ones that left.
Before I could react Gabriel was pulling me away from the ledge and to the two guys that were standing toward the stairs, he handed me over to one of them and when I tried to get away I couldn't.
"Take her to her house and get some of her stuff then bring her over to my place," Gabriel said and I almost choked on my laughter.
"I am not staying with you," I sputtered out, looking at him unbelievably. If he actually thought I was going to be staying with him he was out of his…
"You'll stay where I want you to stay, I do not want you alone in that house," he said, interrupting my thoughts. I was about to disagree with him, tell him I could stay somewhere else when he spoke, "And you cannot stay at Leslie's because she is staying at Connors," he said and I grunted.
"Now go," he said to the guy who was holding me and we started heading toward the back. After walking we reached a Jeep that was parked in a little clearing. The guys loaded me into the back as the two of them got into the front. It was a bumpy drive through the rough leafs and forest and I thought we were going to hit a few tree but the guy that was driving dodged them in the last second.
"Jeez can't you try to drive any better," I complained as I latched myself onto the seat, trying hard not to hop up and down when the car hit bumps.
"Don't criticize my driving," the guy who was driving said, his voice held an authoritive tone.
"Well I'm going to because you're driving sucks," I spat at him. The guy in the passenger seat and the guy driving turned to each other and started laughing.
"I can see why now," The guy in the passenger seat said to the driver and the driver laughed again, nodding his head.
"See what?" I asked and they shook their heads, trying to stop laughing, they kind of succeeded.
"Nothing nothing," the driver said as we finally started driving on smooth land when we got out of the forest terrain.
"Ooh some big secret that the big guys can't tell me," I said sarcastically as I sat a little calmer in my seat. They laughed at what I said, and I rolled my eyes.
Since they were driving a little faster, not as fast as Gabriel did, we got to my house in a short amount of time. They ordered me to go inside and pack everything I might need so I did, slowly walking up the stairs, making them wait on purpose. I pulled my big suitcase out of my closet when I got up stairs and started throwing clothes from my dresser in it. I took my sweatshirt off and threw it on my bed, feeling hot and stuffy in my bed room. Once I thought I had gotten enough clothes in my suitcase I went to the bathroom and grabbed my shower stuff, I had to make two trips because I had so much. I also went back and grabbed my hair brush and straightener, I wasn't sure when I would actually straighten my hair but since I didn't know how long I was going to be gone I brought it anyway. I also decided to grab…my toiletries, not knowing just when the next time my monthly cycle would be, and I did not feel comfortable asking Gabriel to go get me the supplies I needed for it. I stuffed everything in my suitcase, looking around my room before leaving it, stopping for a second and running over to my nightstand, grabbing the picture of me and my mom that sat on it, and grabbing my phone charger I had almost forgotten.
As I was going down the stairs one of the guys saw me struggling and came up to grab my suit case for me. As I got into the jeep I realized I forgot my sweatshirt up in my room so I got out.
"I'll be right back I forgot my sweatshirt!" I yelled to them so they wouldn't ask where I was going, running up the stairs and to my room, grabbing my sweatshirt and putting it on. I was about to leave when I realized something, I could leave right now, and they wouldn't even notice. I really didn't want to go to Gabriel's, and I didn't want to be forced to go, so maybe I could leave right now. The honk of the car horn made me jump, snapping me out of my thoughts. That's when I decided, I was not going to let them control. I quickly went over to my window, opening it and carefully climbing onto the tree, slowly going down it and running quietly to the edge of the house to see where the two guys were. One of them was in the car and one of them was walking toward the door, going inside, probably to see where I was. I turned back around, taking a deep breath and running as fast as I could around the house and across the back yard so I could run from behind the jeep.
I wasn't even out of breath when I made it to the other side of the house so I checked right away around the house and made another run for it across the street. Across the street from my house there was a big cow field that my neighbors owned so I ran as fast as I could across it, and it was pretty big.
I slid down on the ground behind a hay bale and looked over it cautiously, hoping that they hadn't seen me. The guy must not have because right as I looked the other guy came running out of the house and to the guy in the car, yelling something I couldn't quite hear. He hopped into the passenger seat and they were suddenly speeding off. I sighed with relief, going down and leaning against the hay bale for a second before getting up and finishing my walk across the hay field. Some cows ran away from me mooing, obviously animals had a sixth sense for what I was so they weren't too fond of me, especially dogs.
I pulled my hood up before walking on the main road, hoping no one would notice me. Out of all the cars that drove by, which was very few, none of them stopped, so I assumed either no one recognized me or nobody was looking for me at all. I'd go for the second one just for fun.
I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going; I just let my legs take me wherever and soon I ended up at the last place I would expect myself to go, the burnt down bar. I just stood there, looking at the remains of what had once been of the bar I would always hang out at.
I just stood there, looking at where it had once been, thinking about how much everything could change in so little time. Even when it started raining I still didn't move, I just thought about all of the pack members that had died, I only knew who one of them was, but I'm sure I'd find out the rest of them at the funeral. I would more than likely be forced to go by Gabriel, I was sure he was just waiting for me to bust down, but that wasn't going to happen.
I tensed when I heard a car that was driving behind me stop and back up, I turned when I heard the window being rolled down.
"You need a ride?" a guy that looked my age asked from inside the car. I hesitated in answering, I knew that it was wrong to get in the car with strangers, but the heated radiating out of the window was so inviting, "I don't bite," he said and smiled at me, his dimples showing. I bit my lip and nodded, walking to the door and getting in. I almost sighed with comfort when I felt the heat inside the car. I hadn't realized how cold I was before, how cold it was outside.
"Ryan," he said to me as he started up the car again, driving slower than he had been before he had picked me up.
"Nina," I said smiling and rubbing my hands together, blowing air into them to try and get them warm.
"So you hear about what happened to that bar, such a tragedy," he said and my head snapped at him, it was odd for someone to just bring that up.
"Yeah…my friends and I hung out there all the time," I said hesitantly, just staring at him. He kept his head forward, a mask over his face.
"So sad about who died, it was twelve people," he said, turning slightly and giving me a smile.
"Yeah I knew a few of them," I said to him, thinking about how five of the pack members had been in there. I knew that pack member's were in there, and that other people had died, but I'm pretty sure not even Gabriel knew how many people all together died, how did this guy know?
"Oh really?" he asked surprised, but not surprised at the same time, "I was there just an hour before, talking to the bar tender. It just makes me wonder if I would still be here now if I had been in that building. Would I have gotten out? Or would I have died like the rest of them?" he said. I really did not know what brought this on. There was something in his voice that I couldn't quite catch.
"Let me out right here, its fine," I said as we slowly drove by a mini mart. He stopped the car, still looking forward into nothing. I opened the car door, about to get out when his hand grabbed my wrist; I turned around, narrowing my eyes at him.
"What do you think? Would I be dead like they are?" he asked and I finally noticed what was in his voice, no sympathy. He was talking about the dead, but it was like he didn't care, like he almost had something to do it.
"I barely know you," I snapped and he threw my arm back at me, starting his car while looking at me intently.
"You need to make sure you know who you're getting in a car with," he said in a dangerous tone and stomped on the gas, causing the car to fly forward and the door to close hardly as he drove away. I shook my head; maybe that guy was just a creep or something. I turned around, walking a ways before I was in the mini mart. When I saw some tables next to the window I walked over and sat down, pulling out my cell phone to see that I had twenty missed calls and fifty text messages. Two of the calls were from Leslie, as were most of the texts. I didn't know the number that called me the rest of the times and the same person texted me. When I looked at the very first text from Leslie I knew who it was.
'Nina, where are you? Gabriel is worried sick about you, I gave him your number so he could try to get a hold of you,'
I leaned back against the chair, damnit Leslie; you just had to give him my number. I put my phone away and looked up, sensing that eyes were on me and when I saw the store clerks eyes on me I now knew why I felt it. He was looking at me intently but when he saw me looking back he looked away quickly, a look of thought on his face, then he started into the back room that was labeled 'staff only'.
He didn't come back for a couple of minutes and when he did he was looking a little fidgety. I looked at him cautiously for a second before turning to look out the window. Any other time I would have caught it right away, but I didn't see it until a couple seconds passed. I had been looking out the window and a car raced by, pulling into the mini mart so fast I was wondering where the fire was, ha-ha right, bad joke. Well it took me a little longer than necessary to realize whose car that was. I hopped off of my seat, but I was a little too late because right when I ran out the door someone had already grabbed me around the waist, pulling me toward a familiar Silver Camaro.
I started struggling, yelling at Gabriel who still held me firmly to him. He suddenly threw me against his car, pinning me so I didn't move. When I looked at his eyes I could clearly see the anger that was evident in there. I quickly looked away, actually scared for once of that look.
"I'm really getting tired of being thrown against cars," I said with humor.
"What the hell were you thinking?" He growled at me, ignoring what I had just said. I flinched a little when I saw exactly how angry he was. He shoved me harder into the car, "Answer me!" he growled louder at me.
"I was just getting away for a bit, there's nothing wrong with getting away. Stop over reacting," I said to him icily and he growled, I mean actually growled, an intense growl that I'd never heard him use before, not even at his angriest, and this was much worse than his angriest.
"You could have been killed!" He hissed at me.
"How all I was doing was sitting!" I yelled back at him.
"Do not yell at me! And do not lie to me! The store clerk said he saw you getting out of someone's car," He growled at me and I cursed mentally, now I knew how he had found me, that clerk guy called him up and told me.
"Someone was nice enough to offer me a ride seeing as how it was raining," I said to him. It was still raining a little bit, but not as much as it had been before.
"Did you know him?" He asked and I opened my mouth, closing it when I realized I didn't really have a reply to that one.
"Exactly," he said to me, bringing my chin up so I was staring directly into his eyes, "Do not, under any circumstances get in a car with anyone you do not know," he said to me, I pulled my chin out of his hand.
"Screw you, I make my own choices," I snapped and he sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You have no idea how upset you make me," he growled lowly, "Just get in the car," he said, opening the door and pushing me, not really giving me the choice of getting in or not. He got on in the driver's seat, starting the car immediately and pulling out; he was still a little tense so I didn't say anything. Right after he pulled out of the store parking lot he grabbed his phone from the dashboard and looked down at it, pressing numbers and pausing after each one so he could look at the road.
He pressed a button and then put the phone up to his ear, his eyes intently straight ahead as we drove.
"Hey," he said and I heard a voice on the other end speaking, "No, I actually have her right here with me," they were talking about me, great, "Yeah go ahead and call it off, tell everyone she's fine," he said and then hung up, putting his phone back on the dashboard.
"Who was…?" I started, but Gabriel spoke.
"Be quiet," he said in an annoyed voice, making me shut my mouth and look forward.
After driving for a bit we ended up at what looked like a studio apartment. The two guys from before were parked to the side a bit and when they saw Gabriel car they got out of the car and headed toward us.
"Toby, did you take her stuff upstairs?" Gabriel asked the guy who had been driving earlier, so that was his name.
"Yes Gabriel, anything else I can get you before we take off," Toby said and Gabriel shook his head. Toby and the other guy nodded and then they were gone, getting into the jeep and driving off.
"Come on," Gabriel said and I hesitated before getting out of the car. He led me up two flights of stairs until we were at the top floor of the building. The door was already unlocked because all he had to do was open the door, not even having to take out a key.
I didn't go inside right away; Gabriel literally had to push me inside because I was afraid if I went in I would never be able to leave. The door closed and it was almost as if this silence creeped over the room. Since it had gotten dark out the only light that had illuminated the room was the one coming from the window. That was until Gabriel turned on the light and then walked over, shutting the blinds on the window.
My luggage was sitting on the floor by the door against the tan walls. To my left there was a kitchen with a wall next to it, a couch leaning against that wall and a TV at one end of the couch. In the middle of the room there was a rectangular coffee table with a few beer cans sitting on it. I was about to wonder why there were beer cans when I remembered that Gabriel was twenty-five, perfectly legal age to drink.
All in all it was just a plain living space, nothing so spectacular; I kind of liked it like that. Gabriel walked over and grabbed my luggage, starting to walk toward the hallway that was to my right, I followed.
"That's the bathroom and laundry room," he said to me, motioning to a door that was on the left, "Closet's across from it," he added and I nodded my head, as if he could see me, "And this," he said stopped in front of a door the farthest down on the hall and setting my luggage down so he could open it, "Is the bedroom," he said as he walked in. As I followed I noticed how he said the bedroom, not your bedroom.
"No way, I am not sharing a bed with you," I said to him as I walked in and saw only one bed situated against the wall. He smiled at me, obviously enjoying how uncomfortable I probably looked.
"Again, you're going to have to get used to it," he said as he dropped my suitcases in front of what looked like a newer looking dresser, "This is your dresser for your things, I won't go through your things of you don't go through mine," he said to me as he plopped down on the bed, resting his head on the fluffy looking pillows, "I don't know about you but I'm tired," he said in a calm voice and I just looked at him bewildered.
"Don't you mind any of this at all?" I asked exasperated. I could've guessed the answer but I basically already knew the answer.
"Why would I mind when I'm the one who offered," he said, "Plus I've been waiting to share a bed with you for a long time, actually share it in more ways than one," I grunted at him and he chuckled.
"Those fantasies won't come true because I am not sharing a bed with you," I said as I walked over to one of my suitcases, taking out a blanket that I had packed. It wasn't thick, but it would have to work, "I didn't even want to share a living space with you," I added as I walked over to the bed to stand by it.
"Well I got you to do that, so there's nothing I really can't make you do," he said, shrugging his shoulders and closing his eyes.
"Well that was by force and if you'll excuse me," I said, reaching for one of the pillows on the bed. A hand grabbed around my wrist before I could even touch the pillow and Gabriel pulled me so my face was close to his as he spoke.
"What is it about me that you dislike so much?" he asked in a calm voice, his eyes were now open and they watched me intently. I opened my mouth but then closed it, realizing I really had no answer. Why did I dislike him? "And the answer is…silence," he said, "I say you just give in already, I can see that you want to, it's so plainly obvious," he whispers the last part, slowly moving in closer. I growled, pulling my wrist from his hand and pulling back quickly, grabbing a pillow while I was pulling back.
"Such an ass," I mumbled as I left the room. I plopped down on the couch, finding it wasn't very comfortable and wondering why he just didn't get a new one. I laid down, the silence still so clear in this room. I wonder if I'd be able to turn on the TV, nah, that'll give him another reason to come out here and bother me.
"Hello Nina," a deep voice spoke and my eyes flew open. Standing in front of me was Ryan, the creepy guy who had given me a ride earlier. Before I could scream he threw a pillow over my face, smothering me so I couldn't breathe. I flailed around, trying to get the pillow off my face. I could feel my lungs losing air, my tries to get the pillow off my face were unsuccessful. And if losing air wasn't any worse picture flashed into my head. I thought you were supposed to see flashes of your life, but instead I was seeing Ryan and no faced stranger's pouring gasoline all around the bar and inside. They looked serious as they did it but then once Ryan lit the match and threw it, they started laughing. I could hear the screams of people inside, and I didn't even want to think about which one was my mom's. When the fire started spreading around me the smoke still made it so I couldn't breathe. Ryan had tooken the pillow away but I still couldn't breathe because the smoke was too thick.
"Nina!" a voice shouted at me, I shot up on the couch, gasping for air and clutching my throat, cherishing the air that was coming into my mouth. Gabriel was sitting on the other end of the couch near my feet, a mask of worry on his face, "Are you okay?" He asked me and I held up a finger, telling him to hold on while I was still catching my breath.
"Yeah, just was having a bad dream," I said to him, not wanting to tell him what I had in my mind yet. Then I noticed he was wearing something that was somewhat formal. He was wearing a white button up shirt and a tie with dark blue jeans. His hair was pulled back in a pony tail, some strands were hanging loose around his face and I couldn't help but think about how attractive he looked, and I wasn't going to stop that thought because every girl in their right mind would find that attractive.
"Okay, well you need to get ready so we can leave soon," he said and I was about to ask where we were going but then I remembered the 'funeral' was today.
I got up slowly and went my room….whoa whoa, no; I went into Gabriel's room, not OUR room. I went through my suit case until I found a black dress, appropriate enough for a funeral. I cut across my chest and the sleeves hung on my shoulders. It was nice and loose but still made me look good, and it went to about my knees. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail, leaving it curly because I wasn't sure how long I had to get ready. I bobby pinned my bangs back, keeping them out of my face so I could look people in the eye at the funeral, show them that I wasn't scared that people had died, when in fact I was.
When I finally found my black high heels I put them on then headed out to the living room, Gabriel was in the kitchen because I could hear him clanging around. I was about to go there but realized I had to pee, so instead I quickly walked the other way and went into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. When I turned around I was surprised, I didn't expect the bathroom to be so…nice. I mean he is a guy I didn't really expect it. The shower curtains were a dark blue, the walls were painted a dark green and the combination made the bathroom seem sort of like a forest/river. I liked it. The sink was a black and green marble, with not really anything on it but soap and a hand towel.
"I like your bathroom," I said, walking into the kitchen after going pee. Gabriel was sitting at the table with a bunch of papers around him, taking moments to pause and then scribbling something down on one of the papers. When I spoke my words he paused in writing something, looking up, and gave me a smile.
"Thanks, I really didn't like the plane look it had so I decided to decorate it" he said and I looked at him for a second before completely laughing, "What's so funny?" He asked confused and I waited until my breathing was calmed to answer.
"I never knew guys could be anal about that stuff, let alone you," I said, still chuckling as I sat down across from him. He rolled his eyes and continued to write, "What are you doing?" I asked and he stopped writing.
"Ready to go?" he asked and pulled all the papers together, avoiding my question. I narrowed my eyes at him and nodded my head. I got up and watched as he put the papers in a drawer and locked it with a key he had in his pocket. I had to figure out how to get that key later, I needed to know what was so important that he couldn't let me know about it.
"Let's go," he said after putting on his jacket. We headed outside and he told me to go on while he locked his apartment up. I waited in the passenger seat of his car; it took him five minutes to lock his door. Had he may be called someone instead?
The drive was silent; there was no need to talk. As we pulled into the parking lot of the local church I had an internal panic, I wasn't sure I wanted to be here.
"Are you coming?" Gabriel asked and I jumped in surprise. My door was open and he was leaning in, watching me intently. I swallowed, nodded, and then got out of the car slowly. There were already a lot of car's here; did that mean we were late?
I wanted to walk slowly but Gabriel picked up the pace, and I didn't want to be left behind so I quickened mine to catch up to him. We entered silently, and I liked that, but the door closed behind us with a big bang and all eyes came toward us. I grabbed Gabriel's elbow and hid behind him, not wanting to be seen by all these people. That think I said earlier about looking people in the eyes, showing them I wasn't scared, yeah complete bullshit. When Gabriel grabbed my hand from his elbow I looked around and saw that no one was watching anymore, they had gone back to their original conversations.
I pulled my hand out of his and walked over to the chairs to sit when someone approached Gabriel and started talking to him. I sat in the very front row, looking at all the pictures that were set up for the people who had died. There were five and I recognized most of them, only a couple I didn't know.
The first picture read 'Marci Greene' and I was surprised, was she related to Carson? She sure looked like it. She had the same sandy colored hair and green eyes. In the picture she was smiling, not like she was posing but like it was a surprise picture someone got of her while she was laughing. When I breathed out a little sob escaped and I covered my mouth, looking around to make sure no one noticed.
No one had and I was going to turn my head back around but then I saw Connor. He was sitting more than a few chairs down from me. He was leaning forward, his elbows leaning on his knees and his hands clasped and his eyes looking forward at the picture. They must have been really close; they were apparently from what Leslie told me. I moved on to the next picture. 'Tate Leon' the name read on the next picture of an older looking guy. He had no expression on his face but I could see the laughter in his eyes, he was trying to hold back the smile on his face. I remembered him coming over all the time when I was little to be with my mother and me after my dad left, he was really nice to me, treated me like his own. I wanted to cry just looking at the picture, but I held it in. I skipped the next picture because I didn't recognize the person, but I silently sent my regards to whatever family she had belonged too. The next picture I almost fell back in my chair looking at, it was Liam's father. The picture was of him holding a hand up in front of his face to block the camera from getting a picture of him. He was still smiling though and you could see the smile lines' coming out from his eyes, making him look just a little younger then he actually was, like a guy in his late twenties. I wonder how much Liam missed him, probably a lot, after his mom left they became really close too. The next two pictures I didn't know but the very last one struck a chord. 'Lillian Wildrose' it read under the picture of my mother. The picture was of her and me, our faces touching next to each other. We were smiling as the picture was being tooken and we actually looked happy.
I looked away from the picture, closing my eyes tightly and looking down. 'I will not cry, I will not cry,' I chanted to myself in my head. I couldn't not here, and not ever.
"So your mother's dead Nina, what you going to do now?" A voice asked meanly, one I haven't heard in a very long time. When I looked up I was shocked at the person who was standing there. He hadn't really aged a bit since I last saw him, but one thing was for sure, he was drunk.
"Dad," I said quietly, "What are you doing here? Are you here for my mom?" I asked quietly and he smirked.
"I'm not here for that whore," he said and I flinched, that really hit the heart for some reason, "I'm here to take you back with me to the city," he said and I abruptly stood.
"No," I said firmly and my dad laughed.
"You don't really have a choice," he said and I clenched my fists.
"I am not going with you. I will not live with a selfish pig like you," I said and he put his hands up, still smiling.
"Please don't call me names Nina, it really hurts," my father said in a teasing voice and I flinched, even after everything he is still being a douche.
"You should leave," Liam's voice interrupted mine before I could speak. When I looked behind me I saw that he was standing there, some of his friends behind him. I wasn't surprised when I saw Gabriel pushing through them to stand in the front.
"Liam my boy, how's your mother doing these days?" My dad asked him as he put a hand on my shoulder, I tried to get out of it but he tightened his fingers, making it so if I moved it would hurt even more.
"She's doing just fine," Liam said, his eyes traveling down to my shoulder where my dad's fingers were, eyeing them before his gaze came back up.
"Well it was nice seeing you again my dear boy, but I am afraid me and Nina must be going," my dad said and he grabbed my arm so quickly I couldn't do anything, starting to pull me out of the building.
"I suggest you let go of her," Gabriel's voice said from the door way, blocking us from leaving. My dad only tightened his hold on my arm, so hard I thought that the circulation would surely be cut off.
"You have a problem with it?" My dad's voice threatened and Gabriel stepped forward, his hands clenched and his eyes blazing with anger.
"Yes, in fact I do," he said through clenched teeth and my dad just laughed.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe, my daughter, my only daughter, has gotten claimed," my dad said, amusement clear in his voice. Gabriel growled while I just glared at my dad.
"No such thing has happened to me!" I said to him madly, if it did I think I'd know.
"Do you not see the way he is with you, it is clearly the actions of someone who has claimed someone else," my dad said and I kept glaring, "unless of course you didn't know about it, which is clearly the case here," my dad said and my eyes snapped to Gabriel, who wore an expression of pure rage.
"I really suggest you let go," Gabriel growled, more threateningly then before.
"I suggest you tell me what the fuck he is talking about," I said to Gabriel, my glare now on him. He didn't even look at me, just kept looking at my dad.
"That is not the issue right now," Gabriel said and before I could argue with him he spoke, fiercer then before, "I will not talk about this with you until we are alone," he snapped, his eyes going to me. That's when I knew, what my dad had said was right, I had been claimed without my knowledge. It explains why none of the other pack guys will go near me, why Gabriel is suddenly so possessive and protective of me, why he acts as if I have to follow his orders.
"You son of a bitch," I said to Gabriel but he ignored me, still glaring at my father. I knew he wouldn't listen to me so I had to take my anger out somewhere else and the closest person was the one standing right next to me.
I turned toward him a little bit, pulling my arm back and clenching my fist, bringing it forward to his face and punching him so hard that it caused his head to snap sideways and his hand to let go of my arm.
"I am not going anywhere with you, you selfish idiotic pig!" I yelled at him and he looked up at me with a shocked expression on his face, one of his hands on his face. He got up from the spot he had fallen on the ground, backing up toward the back door. Gabriel was no longer in the way because when I had punched my dad he had moved so he was standing near me.
"I could have saved you, took you away so they couldn't harm you. I thought just maybe if I took you away you'd let me explain to you why I wanted you to come with me, but no. You had to be a crazy bitch," he said then added, "Just like your mother," and at those words I snapped again. Just as he left through the door, I jumped forward, ready to go through that same door and pounce right on him, show him what a crazy bitch I was. Unfortunately I was grabbed around the waist by strong hands, pulled me back so I couldn't get through the door to get him.
"Let go!" I screamed and the arms immediately let go, I flew forward and turned around to see who had restrained me. Gabriel stood there, his hands held up in a surrendering motion. I narrowed my eyes at him and started backing up toward the door.
"I'm going to find the people who burnt down that bar myself," I don't know why I said that, but I knew it would have some effect on him, he was probably betting on me staying at the house the whole time, not doing anything that could possibly endanger me, "and don't expect me to stick around for much longer," I said and then turned, strutting out the door quickly before anyone could say anything.