ANDRÉ'S POV:
I was seated on a sofa in my room while I concentrated on my assignment in my laptop when I heard some mumbling and I looked at Gabriella on my bed fast asleep. She stayed over last night.
She's just having a dream.
I focused back to the assignment but I couldn't. Gabriella drew my attention. Something caught my eye this time. Her forehead was creased and soaked with sweat. She mumbled something I couldn't get. Her head kept on turning to the left and right as the words that left her mouth increased in number and volume.
"I'm scared." She said. "No, no no don't touch me." She was breathing heavily now. "NO! DAD! YOU'RE LYING!" She screamed in fear. "No! No! Leave me alone! Leave me!"
"Brie?" I rushed to her immediately. From her upper chest to above was soaked with sweat. Even her head was drenched with sweat. "Baby wake up." I shook her gently.
"NO! NO!" She shouted as she pushed my hands away. "Leave me alone!" Her lower lips trembled and it seemed that she was about to release a sob.
"Brie it's me — André. It's Dré." I went fully on top of the bed and brought her body up.
"Dré?" Her body softened as she said it.
"Yes, Dré. It's me. Open your eyes." I cupped her face.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she turned and looked at me. "Dré?" She whispered.
"It's okay." I hugged her.
"I-I-I had a nightmare Dré. Actually I had nightmares. They were all scrambled up. One second I'm in a dream, the other second, I'm in another. They were all scary Dré." Her voice trembled as she spoke.
"It's okay. It's okay Brie." I gently stroked her hair with my fingers.
Brie remained like that for a couple of hours. Scared, paranoid and shaky. She didn't want to leave my side, neither did she allow me to leave her side. Even Diamond couldn't make her go back to the bubbly Gabriella. I was running out of ideas but I finally found one. One that I did not agree to at first.
I sat on the bed and stared at the number on my phone screen with great hesitation. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I still have her number printed in my mind.
I looked back at Gabriella who was sleeping again with Diamond laid next to her also in great slumber then back at the number. I stood up from the bed slowly and also secretly crept out of the room.
As I descended down the stairs after closing the door, I dialed the number I thought I could never have dialed in my life — even though I was at the verge of death. It began to ring.
Immediately, she picked and I rolled my eyes.
"Hello?" Her soft feminine spoke through the speaker of the phone. "Please who is this?"
"Don't you have truecaller on you phone or you didn't check the ID of the caller before picking?" I spoke arrogantly to her.
There was a second of silence before she spoke. "André? Is it you?" I heard her gasp a little.
"Yes Anna, it's me." I said while my hand was in my pocket.
"How-How are you?" She inquired.
"Last time I checked, it isn't your business." I spoke.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Her voice became sad and that irritated me so much. I was losing my patience.
"Look, the reason why I'm calling is if you and Gabriella can....do whatever the two of you we're doing the other day."
"Huh?"
"I don't have to explain to you. Just know that Gabriella is having a hard time lately and she needs a distraction and that's why I called you."
Idiot you explained.
I had an option to call Andrea or Scar but those two are wild, they might take her to some crazy party as an excuse for fun. Thank you girls but I don't want my angel drunk the next time I see her.
"You want her to visit?"
"What else do you think I'm talking about?" I groaned in annoyance.
"Sorry umm, is it only her that's coming? Are you coming?" She asked with hesitation.
"No." I lied. "Look, do you agree or not?"
"I agree."
"Great, you'll see her at one."
I cut the call before she had time to say something to me that I didn't want to hear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GABRIELLA'S POV:
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope she gets over this very soon." Anna gave me a sympathetic look.
"Me too." I sighed.
"And you also had the same case today you say?" Mr. Lombardi inquired.
"Yeah. It was really terrifying. Mine was that I was jumping from one nightmare to another."
I had only ten minutes of sleep before I woke up and Dré told me we were going to his parents' home. The weird thing is that if we were going, why did he look so pissed off about it when he wanted us to go? It was as though someone forced him to go there. His facial expression were of that of the last time we went.
I told Anna and Andrew about my mom. Yeah, we were getting closer and they were actually treating me like their familia. This all started from last time. André's Grandparents — Alakai and Ayesha Lombardi were also present.
"That's strange." Andrew said.
"Yeah and scary." I added.
After lunch we were in the living room have random conversations that kept my mind off the nightmares. And for we I meant André's parents, André's grandparents, Andrea and myself. As for André, well, he just sat there and ignored us. When we tried to bring him in, he would only answer in abrupt words then focus back on his phone. Amelia and Audrey on the other hand were playing with Italy like usual. They really loved Diamond Italy. Especially Amy.
As we were laughing to a joke Andrea shared, my ears caught a song I haven't heard in years that brought feelings of nostalgia and a severe headache to me. It wasn't a song per say, it was a nursery rhyme, a lullaby that causes a great sleep to me immediately, whether I was sleepy or not. Sometimes I wondered if it was a magical lullaby.
"Amelia, bring that down. Adults are talking." Anna scolded Amelia.
I turned back and looked at her. She was holding her iPad and the volume was very high. I looked closely and saw a black skinned baby that was wearing only blue underwear and the background was colored blue.
"I-I.." I said as the song intro still played.
"Brie was wrong?" André finally looked at me.
"I know that song." I said.
"Ohh, Gaby everyone knows it." It's the Cuppycake song." Andrea said with a smile.
"Yeah I know it's just. My d—"
The song began again.
"You're my hunny bunch,
Sugar plum,
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin,
You're my sweetie pie,
You're my cuppycake,
Gumdrop,
Snoogums, boogums, You're.."
"The Apple of my eye." I said in line with the baby voice singing in Amelia's iPad almost in a whisper but audible voice. "He always sang this for me. Dré, he used to sing this for me, all the time. Every night. It was the only song that could make me sleep in a heartbeat."
"And I love you so,
And I want you to know,
That I'll always be—"
"Right here." I placed my hand on André's chest, where his heart is. "That what Dad told me."
"Your dad?" Andrew asked and I nodded in response.
"And I love to sing,
Sweet songs to you,
Because you are so dear."
"Daddy." I called drowsily. "I feel sleepy." I yawned while covering my mouth with my hand. The song affected my whole brain, disturbing and distracting the ability to stay awake. I had no idea when I scooched closer to Dré and rested my head on his chest. "I'm going to sleep now." My eyes shut close as I let the darkness of slumber overtake me, falling into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~
ANDRÉ'S POV:
"André can I talk to you for a second?" I turned and saw it was Mr. Lombardi.
I was on the phone talking to Drake when he interrupted me.
I gestured to my phone and it seemed he didn't care. "It won't take long." He rolled his eyes.
"Umm Drake I'll talk to you later. Just give me some minutes." I told him through the phone.
We went outside and stood near the fountain.
"What is it?" I rose my brow at him and he did the same.
"It's about Gabriella." He said.
"I really don't care if you like her or not. It's not my business."
"I like her. She's perfect for you." He said and I scoffed at him.
"Says the man who set up his son's marriage before he was even born."
"André that was in the past. It was a big mistake I did and I'm sorry for that. It's understandable you hate me but stop hating your mother. She didn't want this and even tried to stop it."
"I'm sure she did." I said in a sarcastic tone. "What do you want?"
"Just out of curiosity, where is Gabriella from? Like what's her nationality?" He asked. "Is she from the US?"
"She was born in the US." I said.
"And her parents are from the US?"
"Her mom is from Mexico while her dad is from Italy."
For some reason his eyes widened. "What?" He almost shouted but then he composed himself. "OK. She lived in America all her life?"
"Actually, she spent her most her childhood here in LA, then she and her family relocated to Mexico six years ago but they came back this year."
"Are you kidding me? Oh God." He raked his hair frustratedly. "Please don't tell me......no, no way."
"What?" I creased my forehead.
"Wait first André, have you met Gabriella's parents?" He asked with so much fear in his eyes.
"Why are you asking?"
"André there's no time for you to ask questions just answer mine."
I have never seen my father so scared before the way I'm seeing him now.
"Well, I have." I answered.
"Her mom and her dad?"
"Yeah. Well I've only been given the opportunity to see her mom, and for her dad, well..." I hesitated to finish.
"What happened to her Dad? Have you seen him?"
"No."
"You haven't? Why?"
"Why are you asking?" I inquired but I don't think I was going to have an answer.
"André, just answer me."
"Look, this doesn't concern you but the only reason I'm telling you so that you would leave me alone." I paused then continued. "Gabriella's father is dead." I said.
"What?" His paranoia reduced.
"Yeah, her dad passed away six years ago. And it was unfortunately on her tenth birthday." I said.
"Are you serious?" He looked so shocked.
"Yeah, so right now it's just her, her mom and her baby sister."
"The similarities are so big." He said to himself. "André, one more thing, what is her surname?"
"It's Montez." I said and he stared at me.
"Montez?"
"Yeah, funny isn't it? Gabriella Montez." I smiled a bit.
"Gabriella Montez. André are you sure?"
"That's a very silly question to ask." I frowned. "What kind of boyfriend doesn't know his own girlfriend's name? That's just stupid." I shook my head. "Anyways, is that all? I want to go check up on Gabriella to see if she's still sleeping."
"Yeah that's all. The lullaby really knocked her off." He said. I could see many emotions playing in his eyes. He was trying to hide it.
"She's just tired I guess." I shrugged my shoulders. "I have to go." I said before entering the house back.
I thought about his last question as I made it in.
Of course I know my girlfriend's surname!
That will be so absurd if don't know.
It's Gabriella Montez. No doubt about it.
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