❝ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴡᴏᴜɴᴅs ʜᴜʀᴛ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ
ʜᴇᴀʟᴇᴅ. sᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴘᴀɪɴғᴜʟ
ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ. sᴏᴍᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜs ᴀʀᴇ ᴇᴀsɪᴇʀ ᴛᴏ
ғᴏʀɢᴇᴛ. sᴏᴍᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛs ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ғᴏʀɢɪᴠᴇ ❞
~~~
🇬 🇦 🇧 🇷 🇮 🇪 🇱 🇱 🇦 :
I tug my cardigan tighter around myself, looking for warmth in something as thin as a piece of paper. I really should've gotten a thicker jacket. I hear Hunter's footsteps when he steps out of his bedroom window and starts toward me. He takes a seat beside me and places something warm onto my lap.
"I know you didn't grab food earlier," he says, "so I decided to make you something. Even if you don't go to sleep now, you can't go to sleep on an empty stomach." A heavy sigh parts my lips as I place the cling film wrapped parcel beside me.
I'm suddenly not hungry. As usual, the only thing I'm able to think about is Kaz, and it's starting to annoy me. Silence falls between us, and somewhere between him telling me to eat, and now, I'd found myself placing my head on his shoulder.
"Did you know about Theo being my sister?" I ask as my eyes move to the night sky.
As always, my eyes linger on the moon, as my mind subconsciously remembers all the times Kaz and I would sit on his rooftop and talk about absolutely nothing just to enjoy each other's company
We'd stare up at the moon and make wishes only to break them years later.
"We all found out last week," he says, bringing me back to the present. "I knew it wasn't my place to tell you, so we waited until Theo was ready."
Realisation hits me, and I utter my thoughts aloud, "That's what dad was talking about all those years ago. The reason he lost his shit. He found out my mom and your dad had an affair."
"Their falling out," he says, speaking my thoughts as well.
"And I thought I was adopted. I thought he hated me and abused me because I was adopted. All along, he was just talking about Theo. But why would he do that to us? Why would he hurt us the way he did if he could take Kaz under his wing like he was his own son?" I sit up and turn my attention to him. Looking for answers in his eyes as if I'll find it there.
"Because he's a sick man, Gaby. He thrives on the downfall of others." He pauses for a moment, then stares me dead in the eyes and says, "Just like Kazimir. He only took him in because he knew how malleable a child that young could be. He made him into the psychotic monster he is, and Kaz being Kaz, he chose to stay that way instead of changing his life. Instead of changing to be a better man for you."
We stare at each other for a while, and soon memories of what my life used to be like floods my mind. My childhood. Or at least the first nine years of it. I can only imagine what it would've been like to have a sister. My eyes well up with tears, and I turn away from him. Even when I want to be vulnerable around people, I'm conditioned to keep my emotions to myself.
"You know," I whisper, just loud enough for him to hear. "I always wished for siblings, especially a sister. Someone I could confide in when life got unbearable. More so, when Kaz left. I had no friends. Everyone at my old school thought I was a weirdo.
Going to school in ragged clothes because my father decided to tear them apart. trying and failing to hide the bruises he caused. The bruises my kidnapper caused. Having to redo junior year twice because of getting taken for three months, and then having to recover from the trauma for another five, only for my father to punish me more for attempting to 'run away'." I take a deep breath and dab below my eyelids to rid them of tears.
"No matter how much I wished I could have a better life. A normal life. Shit kept being thrown my way until I had no choice but to leave. To leave that house. To leave my mom. To leave my entire life behind because I felt I deserved at least a breath of freedom.
And then I thought I'd gotten that. Coming here, meeting you and Theo and the rest of the guys. I'd finally made some form of a family in the last few weeks." My eyes meet his, and my vision slowly becomes blurry with tears. "Until my old life decided to follow me. Of course, I make a home in the one place that ties to my old life."
He lifts his hand to my face and grazes his finger against my cheek to catch a tear that escapes my eye.
"You don't have to allow it to take over again. You can always make a new life."
He's right. I can do what I should've nearly two months ago; put everything behind me. Forget, or at least attempt to forget what my father did to me. Forget what I'd done. Forget the image of Aurora's lifeless body. Forget Kaz and all we've ever shared. Forget it all. And start over.
It might be easier said than done, but the least I can do is try.
I've spent half my life wishing to live, and now that I finally have the opportunity to do so, I'm not letting it slip through my fingers.
"You're right," I say softly, a sudden rush of adrenaline courses through my veins.
"All I have to do is start over. Throw it all behind me, and never look back." Images of young Kaz and I flash through my mind in a blurry haze.
"Kaz be damned," I say, anger bubbling in my veins. "If he thinks he can come back into my life and act as if nothing happened between us, he has another thing fucking coming." I'm standing up now, unable to sit with all this rage consuming my insides.
"He has no right to waltz into my life now after six years of leaving me
to my own devices, and expecting me to act as if he never even left." I'm pacing, unable to control myself. I need an outlet. Anything. Or this might turn for the worse.
"Now is when I move on and
live the life I've always wanted.
The life I've always deserved. And nothing he says or does is going to stop me from doing that. From moving on. From my dad. From my stupid kidnapper. From him. It's about time I get what I've always wanted, and not feel guilty about living my fucking life."
A soft smile stretches his lips as he stands, and his eyes soften as they meet mine.
"You deserve it," he says softly, "You deserve the entire fucking world. And I promise to be by your side every step of the way, making sure you get that."
I may have heard those words before, being uttered by Kaz years ago, but this time it feels different. This time it feels true. And knowing that I'll finally have someone that will stick by my side no matter what, has my heart soaring.
After a moment we say goodnight, even though I know I won't be able to sleep, I head to my room anyway. On the way there, I spot something in my periphery. No, someone. I turn my head in their direction, and my eyes find familiar honey ones. My heart stutters for a moment.
Had he been listening?
The edges of my vision turn red with hatred. Sometimes I think I am my father's daughter, because of how petty I can get. The only thing running through my mind is how he deserves everything he's feeling now, and more. He deserves to feel what I felt when he left. And I might hate myself for this tomorrow, or in the future, but I don't feel the slightest bit sorry.
I cut eye contact, and climb through my window. I shut it behind me and turn the lock.
No matter how gut-wrenching it may be, it has to be done.
YOU ARE READING
The Heart Wants What It Wants
Teen Fiction❝ She wanted a fresh start, He wanted normalcy, But their past had other plans. ❞ ~~~ For the majority of her life, Gabriella had to endure all the things a child should never have to experience. After nearly two years of planning to start afresh...
