Find me

Chapter 41

Aria POV

“I will come home as soon as I can, okay?” Gabriel said, kissing the top of my head repeatedly. “If you need me, just call, and I will come home immediately.”

“I will be okay, Gabe.” I said, holding on to him.

I really didn’t want him to go. But he had to.

“Will you ever love me like that, Gabe?” Gabriel’s friend Gray pouted.

It made me chuckle a little.

Gabriel let go of me and rolled his eyes at his friend.

“I will when you become my twin sister.” Gabriel said, picking up his backpack.

“Did you hear that, A?” Gray asked me. “Do you want to switch with me?”

“No.” Gabriel said before I could.

“You didn’t even give me a chance, twinnie.” Gray pouted.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and pulled me back into his arms again.

“Will you be okay?” he asked me, leaning his head on mine.

“Yes.” I said. “Don’t worry.”

“I will always worry.” he mumbled. “That’s my job.”

I tightened my arms around him and wished for the hundredth time today that he didn’t have to go.

“Really, guys?” I heard my real dad’s voice. “It’s just for a couple of hours.”

Gabriel let me go and turned to look at my real dad, who was leaning on the door frame, looking at us with a small smile on his face.

“I would like to see you leave her for “just a couple of hours”.” Gabriel said, air-quoting 'just a couple of hours' and rolling his eyes again.

“She will be okay, buddy.” my real dad said, walking closer to us.

“If something happens while I’m gone...” Gabriel said, stopping in the middle of the sentence to take a deep breath.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my head on his chest.

“Nothing will happen, bud.” my real dad said softly, placing an arm over Gabriel’s shoulders and kissing the top of his head.

Gabriel bent down and kissed my temple.

“We need to go, Gabe.” Gray said, breaking up our little group hug.

I looked up at Gabriel and gave him a small smile. I wanted to relax him and assure him that I would be okay.

“Call me if you need me, okay?” he said, caressing my cheek. “I will come home immediately.”

“Okay.” I nodded, smiling.

Gabriel looked up at dad and gulped.

“She will be okay, bud.” dad said, giving him a small smile. “Don’t worry.”

Gabriel reluctantly let me go, and my real dad pulled me into his arms. He stood behind me, wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and kissed the top of my head.

Gray approached Gabriel, took his hand in his, and led him out of the house.

My real dad and I followed them outside. We stopped at the front door and watched Gabriel and Gray as they entered Grey’s car.

Gabriel’s eyes didn’t move away from me until he couldn’t see me anymore. I kept a smile on my face, not wanting to show him how scared I was.

I wasn’t scared of my real dad. I knew that I was safe with him. I felt safe with him. But Gabriel’s absence scared me. I wasn’t sure exactly why. It just did.

“Come on, baby.” my real dad said softly as soon as we couldn’t see Gray’s car anymore. “Let’s make breakfast.”

I looked up at him and nodded.

We walked back into the house, and I followed my real dad to the kitchen.

“What would you like to eat, love?” my real dad asked me.

“I don’t know.” I said as I sat down on the bar stool.

“How about pancakes?” he asked, opening the fridge and looking inside.

“Okay.” I said. “Do you need help?”

“No, baby.” my real dad said, taking the eggs out of the fridge. “Sit, relax, and enjoy watching your old man make you breakfast.”

“You are not old.” I said, chuckling.

“Thank you, love.” my real dad said, looking up at me and smiling. “Tell that to your brother. He keeps telling me that I’m old.”

I chuckled again. I wanted to ask him how old he was. I didn’t really know. He was younger than my parents, for sure.

I bit my lip and fidgeted with my fingers.

“How old are you?” I asked quietly, hoping that I wouldn’t offend him with my question.

“I am 42, baby.” my real dad said, keeping his eyes on the pancake batter he was making.

“That’s not old at all.” I said, shaking my head.

“Do me a favor and repeat that in front of your brother when he gets home.” my real dad said, looking up at me and grinning.

“Sure.” I nodded and gave him a small smile.

My real dad turned around and opened the cabinet. He took out a pan and placed it on the stove.

“Do you want to watch something while we eat breakfast?” my real dad asked me, turning back around to look at me. “Harry Potter maybe?”

“I would, but Gabriel said that I can’t continue watching without him.” I said, chuckling.

He was adamant that it was our thing and that I couldn’t watch Harry Potter with anyone else.

My real dad rolled his eyes, shook his head, and chuckled.

“Okay.” he said. “How about a show then? We could watch Friends. It’s funny.”

“That sounds amazing.” I said, giving him a small smile.

My real dad smiled, walked around the kitchen island, and pulled me into a hug.

“I can’t even begin to explain to you how happy I am that you are back home, love.” he said softly. “I know that it shouldn’t be possible, but I am sure that my heart grew double when I first saw you. I love you so much, baby.”

I tightened my arms around him.

“Thank you so much.” I said softly, trying to gulp down the lump in my throat.

“For what, baby?” my real dad asked, kissing the top of my head.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t want to cry, but my body didn’t really listen.

“For finding me and saving me.” I said as a first tear rolled down my cheek.

My real dad’s arms tightened around me. He picked me up, pulling me as close to him as possible. I wrapped my legs around his waist and leaned my head on his shoulder. He sat down on the bar stool I was sitting on until a moment ago.

“You don’t have to thank me for that.” my real dad said, his voice raspy. “Even if you weren’t my real daughter, I would never let them take you back. I would never let anyone hurt you again.”

He tightened his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

“You are my little girl.” he continued softly. “I love you so much. I will never let anything or anyone hurt you again. I wish that I could have been in your life from the moment you were born. I wish that they never took you away from me. I am so sorry for that, baby. I am so sorry.”

I lifted my head and looked at him.

“It wasn’t your fault.” I said softly.

He wiped my cheeks and gave me a sad smile.

“I know.” he said. “It doesn’t make it any easier, love. I keep thinking that I could have done more. I keep wishing that I could go back and be in that room so that no one could take you away from me.”

I lifted my hand and wiped away the tear that fell on his cheek.

“You found me.” I said. “That’s the most important thing.”

“It is, baby.” he smiled, leaning in and kissing my cheek. “I will never have to search for you again, because no one will take you away from me.”

I smiled, and I saw a mischievous look flash in my real dad’s eyes.

“Well, maybe your brother will.” he said, smirking. “He will probably put you in his backpack tomorrow.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“Okay, love.” my real dad smiled, kissing my cheek again. “I’m going to go finish breakfast. Do you want to help me set the table?”

I nodded and smiled.

He gave me another tight hug before standing up with me in his arms. He placed me down on the floor gently.

I looked up at him and smiled.

He really was the best dad. I wished that he had been in my life from the day I was born, just as he was supposed to be.