Nobody Like You

Chapter 3 Aiden: Thinking About You

Gabriella wasn't kidding about tonight. It mainly consisted of me standing in a corner and watching a bunch of rich people socialize. As Mr. and Mrs. Carter waltzed from conversation to conversation, Alexis was having the time of her life with the chocolate fountain without a care in the world. Watching her reminded me of how Chris was when he was her age which told me that she would be ending the night either sick or hopped up on sugar. Either way we were screwed.

Gabriella's comment from earlier about her parents already conducting a background search on me came creeping back into my brain. If they've done a background search on me that meant that they knew all about my family and how my dad wasn't in the picture. They probably even knew about the criminal charges that I almost got because of my dad. My family life wasn't something I was proud of and it made me uncomfortable to think of these people already knowing everything about it when I didn't even know them.

When I noticed that Gabriella was nowhere to be found, I went on high alert and immediately started to walk around and search for her. This was the first event I was covering, I couldn't lose her already. That would be a quick way to get fired.

I sighed in relief when I found her in a separate room sitting on the floor, looking at something on her phone. "Miss Carter—"

"Ew did my dad tell you to call me that?" she asked, still staring at her phone. "You're not that much older than me so please call me Gabriella. Miss Carter sounds like you should be talking to my mom."

"I'm not sure if—"

"I'll cover for you with my dad, don't worry. But you can just call me and Alexis by our names."

Clearly there was no arguing with this girl. "Fine, Gabriella."

Hearing her name come out of my mouth made her look up at me. Like she was surprised that I was brave enough to follow her instructions. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "Did you need me for something?"

"Yeah I needed to see where you were. I didn't have eyes on you and that's not good."

She rolled her eyes. "We're at a charity gala, I'm pretty sure you have nothing to worry about. I doubt anyone is going to randomly snatch me up here."

Remembering that she and Alexis were unaware of the threats, I swallowed to keep myself from bringing it up. "Regardless, I still need to make sure you're safe. Besides, shouldn't you be out there with everyone else mingling with people?"

"I'd rather be at home with my piano," she explained. "These kinds of events aren't really my thing. I hate all the attention and people asking 'oh what's it like to be in your family?' like we're some rare creatures."

"So being in here alone is better?"

"Yes because I can listen to some classical pieces on my phone to figure out what I want to work on playing next." She paused and stared at me. "So was I right?"

"About?"

"This being the most boring night of your life?" she smirked.

I chuckled. "Yeah it's definitely up there. I must admit I've never seen so many rich, stuffy people in one place."

She nodded in agreement. "You get used to it after a while."

Talking to Gabriella was refreshing after a night of being a fly on the wall. She seemed like she was pretty easygoing, but I had to remind myself that I probably shouldn't have even been here talking to her like this. I was just supposed to find her and bring her back to the party so that I could keep an eye on her, not spark conversation with her.

My thoughts were interrupted when a voice spoke up. "Well I didn't know the party moved in here."

I turned around and saw a tall man in a suit similar to mine. I was about to speak but Gabriella stepped in. "Mike I was just—"