Intimidation - Book One -

Chapter 22

~ 6 Months Later ~

"Mom I'm leaving now!" I called from downstairs.

"Okay sweetie be safe,good luck and I love you!" She called back.

I smiled and grabbed my backpack and headed towards the door.

"I love you tooo and thanks mom!".

I walked out of the door and locked it after.

I stood on the porch and took a deep breath with my eyes closed.

Today is the day.

I'm finally getting to the point I've wanted to be for so long.

This is going to be amazing.

I walked down to my car and got into the passenger seat.

"You ready for this?" Lyla asked.

I nodded and she smiled as we drove off.

Today is my first day going to a party alone.

Well not alone of course but without my parents,brothers,sister or Kason.

I'm trying to be cool and calm about it but really..I'm extremely nervous.

"I don't think I can do this" I said.

Lyla slowed down and looked at me as if I did something wrong.

"What? Why do you say that? You've been preparing for this for so long and now you want to back down? No way" she said.

I looked out of the window and noticed we were almost there.

"No but I can't. You're right and I thought I was ready but I'm really not. I still miss him and you won't be there and it would just be me and my thoughts and people I barely know and-"

"Woah woah woah Camilla slow down. What's wrong? You misssing him is a part of letting go. It's natural and it's something you have to go through to move on with your life. And okay I will go with you this time but you have to promise me you'll try it again one day. We won't live together forever and you really need to learn to loosen up a lot and get used to going places alone. You're my sister and I love you,you know that. But we need to do things on our own" she said.

I signed and nodded.

"Yeah I know. I'm just not ready right now. We've lived our whole lives together and planned almost everything together...it's going to be hard for me" I said.

She put her right hand on mine that was sitting in my lap and I calmed down a bit.

"I know sis. You'll be okay. I promise" she said.

We pulled into the drive way and my emotions came rushing back to me.

"Oh.."

There were people everywhere.

Outside,on the sidewalk,on the roof,in the lawn..everywhere.

I felt sick and looked at Lyla,who was smiling and looking in every direction.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

She laughed and parked the car in a empty space.

"I wasn't looking for anything specific. Just admiring how fun and live this looks. I can't wait to go inside" she said.

She took off her seatbelt and was about to leave the car when she looked at me and saw my face.

"It's not as bad as you think. Once you're in your zone and having fun it won't seem like so many people. I'll be with you the whole time" she said.

I looked around again and decided to just go with it.

You only live once right.

I took a deep breath,nodded and we both got out of the car.

The loud music hit my ears and I instantly looked around for any sign of neighbors who might cause a problem.

"Hey! You made it!" Someone called from behind us.

We looked to see a girl in a bright green dress that was way too revealing.

"Hey Al! And of course we did!. Where's Paul?" Lyla asked.

Paul is a friend I met a while back after Gabriel left.

He really helped me let go and took me out of my house when I thought I didn't want to be.

It was always fun,just never the same without Gabriel.

We all looked around for Paul but didn't see him anywhere.

I was about to go back to the car when Lyla held my hand.

"You're okay. Let's go inside now. He's probably just sitting down somewhere" she said.

I nodded and we made our way up the stairs and onto the long walk way that lead to the entrance of the house.

Alison took us to a spot that was clear from other people and I silently thanked her.

"This is a good place. Thanks Al" Lyla said.

Alison smiled and grabbed two drinks from the ice bucket on the table.

"You're welocme my darlings. Feel free to walk around,have some snacks and or socialize. Do what makes you comfortable. I need to go make sure everyone is behaving correctly so I'll be back soon" she said.

We nodded and she walked outside to the pool.

I looked around and saw Paul coming towards us.

"Hiiiii Paullll!" I yelled,standing up and running to him.

He caught me,spun me around and was about to kiss me but stopped quickly.

I stood there shocked and started at him.

"Sorry. Must be the drinks I had starting to get to me" he said nervously.

I didn't want any friction between our friendship so I let it go,but decided to tell him about how I felt later.

I'm no where near ready for a new relationship,he's really handsome,smart,funny,outgoing and so much more..but he's just not Gabriel.

I don't want him to be and I'm glad Gabriel is taking over his family's company and doing extremely well for himself..but I can't help but miss him so much.

"It's alright. No harm done" I said jokingly.

He smiled and walked away to greet Lyla and I looked around again.

There was a man staring at me from the kitchen,and when our eyes met,I felt a chill run down my spine.

I quickly looked away and walked towards the stairs to go up to Ali's room.

I walked all the way up and brushed past some people making out and the sight made me feel sick again.

I had no idea why I was feeling this way but I didn't want to think about it either.

I walked into Ali's room and closed the door behind me.

I sighed and sat on her couch next to her bed,pulled out my phone and scrolled thought Instagram.

About 3 minutes in,I heard a knock on the door and Paul walked in with Lyla.

They both looked sort of upset and I put my phone away.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

Lyla looked at him and crossed her arms and I looked at him.

"What is it?" I said impatiently.

"Okay sit down please. This is going to be hard for you to hear and also hard for me to just come out and say" he said.

I rolled my eyes and sat back down.

"Okay I'm..I.."

He looked down and I was getting more impatient by the second.

"Im Gabriel's brother".