Ariella Garcia is an 18-year-old girl who dreams of leaving her current situation behind and starting a new life. She's fiercely independent, and her love for nature and animals is unparalleled. She's always surrounded by people who care about her...
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"Are you ready to meet him?" Lucas asks.
I nod, running my fingers through my hair for what feels like the hundredth time today. "Ariella, relax. Everything is going to be okay. We are in this together," Lucas says, patting my head.
I release a big breath. "Yeah, sorry. I shouldn't be stressing like this," I say, smiling. "It's normal to stress, but it looks like you're going to pass out any second from now," he chuckles.
Glad he isn't stressing like me. Unlike me, I feel like I'm going to throw up any second from now.
We park the car, and both look outside.
"Look, I just want to say if we turn out to be siblings, I want us to stay the same as before. I don't want to be all awkward between us. Can you promise me that?" he asks, looking at me with vulnerable eyes. "I promise," I whisper, smiling and hugging him.
The rest decided to stay at Alexandro's house so we could do this in our own space. I told Hazel everything this morning, she gave me advice on what to wear and what gift to give.
We step out of the car, and I grab the flowers I got Lucas's dad from the backseat. We walk to the front door, and Lucas opens it with his key.
"Lucas, is that you?" a man's voice calls out. "Yeah, Dad, it's me," Lucas answers back.
He grabs the flowers out of my hand and tells me to follow him. I follow him right to the kitchen where I presume Lucas's dad is plating some dishes.
"Almost done," he says, his back still turned to us. He turns around, and his mouth just falls open. "You look so much like her," he says, his voice cracking, some tears in his eyes.
He was a little taller than Lucas, his light brown hair turning gray, and there were some wrinkles around his blue eyes. He looked in his fifties, but it was clear he looked after himself.
I carefully step closer. "Can I hug you?" he asks, and I nod. He wraps his arms around me. It feels awkward at first, but then I wrap my arms around him.
Lucas is looking at us with some tears in his eyes as he smiles.
He lets go of me, and with the back of his hand, he wipes away his tears before, with his finger, gently wiping away the tears that were spilling from my eyes.
"Come on, sit down, I made some lunch," he said, pulling out a chair for me.
I sat on the chair and waited for them to take their seats.
Lucas shared the grace, and we started to dig into our food.
"I forgot to introduce myself," Lucas's dad started. "I'm Daniel," he said with a warm smile.
"I'm Ariella," I said.
"That's a beautiful name," he said with a fatherly smile.
"Isabela always talked about naming her daughter Ariella," he said distantly. "Can I ask how old you are?"
