Nobody Like You

Chapter 5 Aiden: Disagreements and Misunderstandings

When Alexis came and told me that something was wrong with Gabriella, my mind went to many different possibilities for what was happening to her but a panic attack was not something I was expecting. I didn't think something like that could affect this type of family, but it was clear that panic attacks don't discriminate against rich people.

As I stood in the corner and watched Gabriella play the piano for everyone, I couldn't help but be amazed. She was playing perfectly without the slightest trace of despair. No one would've guessed that she had just endured a panic attack twenty minutes ago. I hated that she felt like she couldn't tell her father that she couldn't play and wondered if they were really the happy family they pretended to be.

When the performance was finally over, everyone sang Gabriella's praises as they went back into the dining room to sit down for dinner. Gabriella avoided my eyes as she followed behind her parents, clearly wanting to forget about our last interaction.

"She's something isn't she?" Mike whispered to me, startling me. "Her talent always amazes me."

"Yeah she's really good." I paused before speaking again. "Have Mr. and Mrs. Carter ever had her in therapy or anything?"

His face twisted as he thought about this. "No not that I'm aware of. She's never needed it from what I've seen."

I stared at him in confusion. He couldn't have been serious. "Really? So avoiding people at all costs, hardly going out with any friends, and having..."

"Having what?" Mike raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

As much as I wanted someone else to know about her panic attack, I knew that something like that was personal and as much as I wanted Gabriella to get help for it, I couldn't reveal something like that without at least talking to her about it first. "Just having a hard time with her dad being so important. All of that doesn't show that she needs therapy?"

He thought about what I said before shaking his head. "Growing pains is all. Don't worry she'll be fine."

He gave me a pat on the back before walking out. It shouldn't have been a surprise that he didn't take Gabriella's hardships seriously. Before today, I wouldn't have either. She was a rich girl who had every opportunity handed to her so no one would think that she had any real problems. Now that I had seen differently, I was only worried about her which wasn't good for my job. Gabriella wasn't my concern, so I didn't need to think about her this much.

Needing to get my mind off everything, I walked the premises to make sure that everything was in order. As I walked around, I looked through the windows and saw Gabriella putting on a fake smile as she spoke with the guests. Anyone but her parents could tell that she didn't want to be there but it didn't matter. She was doing what she was supposed to do.

As I was laying in bed, I couldn't stop thinking about the events of the night. As much as I knew that it wasn't my business, I wanted to know if Gabriella was alright. When my mom had panic attacks, I always stayed close to her for a while to make sure she was fine and I hated that it didn't seem like Gabriella had that same support.

My thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on the door. Confused, I grabbed my gun from my nightstand and walked to the door. When I peeked out of the side curtain, I let out a breath of relief before opening the door.

"Hi," Gabriella said with her eyes widening at the sight of me in front of her. I followed her gaze looking down at my shirtless chest that I forgot to cover with a shirt as she cleared her throat. "Sorry I should've known you would've been getting ready for bed."

"Is everything alright?" I asked, urgently.

When she realized that I had my gun in my hand, she quickly nodded. "Yeah everything's fine. I'm so sorry, of course you'd think it was an emergency. I mean, why else would I show up at this time of night? This was stupid of me, I'm going to go back up."