Gabriella's P.O.V
It was too much for me to handle. The house was an eerie silence all the time. Even my mom noticed the tension between me and Vincent. It hurt, seeing him so angry at me. That one little mistake could ruin everything. I lost my brother because of the bet. And the one guy I truly loved.
I grabbed my cellphone and scrolled through the contacts. Stopping at Hunter's number but than moving on. I finally made it to his number. Not thinking I would call and ask for his help even if , he was starting to become a father figure.
"Hello ?"
"Paul? It's Gabi"
"What happened sweetie ?"
" Can I stay with you for a while , please, I just can't take it here , its really bad" I whispered on the verge of tears. There was a silence for a second or two before he answered.
"Of course, I'll get the guest room ready, come whenever" with that he hung up the phone. I sat there relieved that I would be getting away from here for a while. I got off my bed , grabbing the dark blue studded suitcase from the closet. Quickly packing all the necessary stuff. If anything I would come back when Vince had practice to get more clothes.
After a few minutes of packing I dragged the suitcase down the stairs, leaving it by the door. One finally move, I went to the kitchen taking a knife and cutting the bracelet off. The bracelet I have been wearing for the past 17 years. Vince and I had the exact same one. a sibling bracelet, our names inscribed inside of it. We vowed not to take it off. But by now that was over. He wouldn't care less if I took it off.
I grabbed a blank piece of paper and pen , scribbling a small note to him.
Dear Vince,
Your angry at me I know. Taking Hunters side which I get. I'm leaving the house , so its all yours. Sorry for being such a bad sister. Now you won't have to deal with me anymore.
Love you , Gabi
I left the note and bracelet on the counter knowing he usually ate there. The first spot he looks at when coming home. For a few more seconds, all I did was stand there, starring at the letter. Crying. Finally I set it down, and left the kitchen. Grabbing my bag, I shut the large door, going to my car.
It was a silent 10 minute ride over to where Paul lived. He lived there with his son who was a freshman in college. I didn't mind, I just needed to stay for a week or two. Maybe longer depends if Paul will even let me stay there.
I pulled up to large iron gates, the letter P in the middle. It was a gorgeous estate. Overlooking a lot of the town, since it sat on a hill.The gates opened a few seconds later, letting my car go up to the front. A Rolls Royce sat in the middle , behind it my mom's BMW and a Mercedes. I parked it and got out , grabbing my duffle bag. Before I made it to the doors, my mom walked out.
" oh sweetie" She whispered wrapping me in a hug. I sighed stopping myself from having another meltdown right in front of people.
" come on, I made hot chocolate" She grinned, leading me inside the house. The foyer was decorated beautifully a large chadelier hung from the top. All made of diamonds and crystals which was amazing.
" you must be Gabriella" A kid smiled , looking me up and down. I nodded my head, feeling a bit ashamed. Only wearing sweatpants and a regular shirt.
" yeah, sorry for not looking better"
" don't fret it, my name is Landon" He hugged me for a few seconds before Paul walked in clearing his throat.
" sorry Gabi, my son is a bit touchy today" Paul laughed, hugging me also. I giggled, placing the duffle bag on the ground.
" we were going out for dinner tonight, join us? "
" ermm," I looked at my hesitantly , mouthing out Vincent's name. She shook her head no, which made me a bit happier knowing he wouldn't be there.
" yeah sure, I'll just go get dressed"
" Landon, show her to her room not yours"
" I'm not a slut dad" Landon pouted taking my duffle bag and marching up the marble staircase. I followed him upstairs and through a hallway until we stopped at wooden door. He opened it , sunshine filling the whole room. The ceiling was made out of glass, overlooking the whole sky which was amazing. A large king sized bed sat in the middle, everything so colorful and pretty.
" you get your own bathroom, and balcony, and you could sneak into my room through the balcony its connected"
" thanks for the info" I jumped down on the bed, loving the softness of it.
" don't worry I won't be the annoying step brother, or whatever, I have a girlfriend"
" aww whats her name?" I asked sitting up.
" Adrianna" He brigthened up, sitting on a office chair. He began telling me about her, and how nice she is. All I could do is smile and laugh along to the stories. He's making me feel like family which is nice. Considering I interrogated his dad.
" I gotta get ready, see you in an hour or so?" He got off the chair and left my room, closing the door. I sat there, starring at the sky and trying not to cry. This house was nice, spacey and Paul was nice with Landon. But it wasn't my home.
~
An hour later, I was pulling on my black ankle booties. The white button up shirt tucked nicely in the leather skirt. I sighed, fixing my curled hair and applying some lip gloss. My mom wanted to go to some italian diner place. I didn't mind, Italian was my favorite food.
" you ready?" Landon stopped by my room, dressed in some dark slacks and a button up shirt. The first two buttons unbuttoned. I nodded my head, following him down the hallway and to the staircase. You could get lost in this house.
" were gonna get Adrianna and then meet them there" He opened the Mercedes for me, as I sat in the passenger side. We drove away and down the street. Just a few blocks down we wound up at an average house. It was cute and what I always wanted. I never was a fan of huge houses like we have.
A girl opened the white fence, her dress flying in the light wind. She skipped over in some cute wedges, opening the car door.
" hey handsome!" She grinned pecking Landon's cheek. Her eyes quickly looked over at me, starring at me from head to toe.
" you must be Adrianna, Landon hasn't shut up about you all afternoon" I told her laughing. She pinched his reddening cheeks, before putting on the seatbelt.
" I may have said a few words" He mumbled, running a hand through his hair. I raised an eyebrow as he sighed.
" plenty of words" He finally said , as Adrianna started giggling.
" so your the new step sister, well almost , Gabi?"
' yeah, nice to meet you" I smiled, shaking her hand since we couldn't properly hug eachother in the car.
For the rest of the ride over to the restaruant she talked about clothes, food, and shoes of course. Which pissed Landon off but he stayed quiet, every few seconds whining about how boring shoes were.
~~~
Vincent's P.O.V
Hunter and I walked down the field, laughing about the coach messing up on drills. Nobody said anything knowing he would blow up for laughing at him.
" yo Em" Hunter grinned, standing in front of Emma. She turned her cheek, not even looking at us. Which hurt. She was still angry, and the whole Gabi thing made it worse.
" well someone is mad" Hunter whispered , beginning to walk to the car. Emma snapped her head around, glaring at him.
" mad? I'm fucking pissed off because of jerks like you" She spat, before walking away from us. I ran up to her, dropping my duffle onto the field.
" what the hell is wrong with you Em?"
" what's wrong with me? or you? because last time I checked you don't ditch your sisters for friends, maybe that's why she left, all because of you and him, driving her out of her own house , Vince, that's what you did"
" I -" She cut me off with a finger pointed straight at me.
" yes you did, the person you swore to always protect, be there for her, have fun living in your big house,alone " She stomped away leaving me there confused.
Did she really think that I didn't care about Gabriella? She was my sister after all. But what she did wasn't cool. Playing with Hunter like that. I don't care how many girls he did it too, but he loved her.
" she's right Vince, Gabi is your sister and you pushed her away, I've been telling you this the whole time, I deserved what happened, payback for all the girls I dumped, even if I felt something for her, there is a possibility she meant all the i love you's , everything that happened between us was real, I know that, what hurt me was the fact she didn't stop the bet , until later on, " Hunter told me, opening his car door. I leaned against the passenger side, thinking it over.
" I know Gabi, she'll get over it, with an apology and some chocolate" I sat down, as he revved the engine up and went towards the house.
We arrived 20 mintues later. Both us wanting to shower and just eat. Food first as always. We dropped off our stuff by the door and went straight for the kitchen. I opened the large fridge door, scrummaging through.
" Vince, she left a note" Hunter tapped my shoulder, placing the note in my hands. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Looking at the note , rereading it a few times.
My eyes darted to the counter where the bracelet lay, cut in half. Tears pricked my eyes, seeing that it was true. She did leave. She left because of me. Where could she have gone?
" she's gone Hunter, gone, I drove her out of this, she couldn't take it anymore, all cold stares, and treating her like dust" I mumbled, throwing the paper on the ground.
Anger was bubbling inside of me , kicking the cabinet door beside my reach. Emma was right the whole time. I am a horrible brother. She was an amazing sister, not even whining to our mom about what was happening. She never said anything mean about me or Hunter.
It was always the two of us who came up with names.
Now she was somewhere, with someone. Not with Emma, and Shaylee.