A Love Lost

Gabriel

I knew that the party was a lie. If there was a party within a thirty or forty-mile radius, I would know about it. Why would she lie?

A little while after Ana left, I called Nicole. I knew that if she knew that Ana had said she was going to a party, she would have the urge to throw one. Immediately, she invited me. As she ended the call, I heard the sound of an engine growing closer. Ana was there.

As I expected, not long after Nicole ended the call, my phone rang: HERMANITA

"Hello." I opened.

"What the hell Gabriel!" she shouted.

"I assume Nicole told you I called." I had to keep my cool.

"Yeah. We need to set some boundaries if we are going to make this step-sibling thing work. Okay?"

"What do you have in mind?" I wanted to hear her proposition for 'boundaries'.

"First, if you need to fact check me, don't. All relationships are built on trust. That is something I have in you and I thought was reciprocated. Second, if I don't tell you something it is for a reason, but if you think it is something you should know, talk to ME! All in all, I need you to trust me. I need you to respect that I had a life before coming here and I apologize for screwing yours up so greatly. So, if I am really annoying you or am in your way, just ignore me." She rushed through her list of boundaries.

"That was a lot to take in in thirty seconds. It's not that I don't trust you, Anastasia. It's just that I feel responsible for you. You are my sister now, therefore it is my job to look out for you. You are not an intrusion nor a bother nor do you screw up my life."

I heard her take a deep breath. "Okay, now that I have gotten my frustration out, I wanted to see..."

"Yes," I answered her before she could finish.

"Yes as in continue or yes as in you already know my question and that is your answer?" she clarified.

"The second one," I answered her.

"Really?" she sounded excited.

"Of course. It is rude to turn down an invite."

"Oh." her voice changed, more somber. She sounded disappointed. "If you don't want to come. You don't have to. Don't feel obligated, just because I invited you."

"Were my brothers invited?"

"No. Just you." she clarified her invite.

"Then I will be there." I was glad that she only wanted me there. I wasn't happy that she was upset. What had I said?

"See you in a few then," Then the line went dead.

It was a party for her. She invited me when she didn't have to. Therefore, I wanted to dress for her. I rummaged through my closet and found a pair of blue swim shorts to bring, a pair of black pants, and a thin white shirt.

Before I knew it I arrived and there she was, standing by my red Porsche away from the crowd of people, in a black swim top and denim shorts. The contrast between the dark tones she wore and her fair skin made her appear as a porcelain doll. She was precious. She looked fragile. There were still traces of her bruises, covered in makeup to match her skin tone, but I could tell that the moment she went underwater, they would appear in their full effect.

I asked the Uber driver to drop me at the end of the driveway. I made my way to her.

"Hello, little sister." I greeted her.

She looked at me, rolling her eyes, and the frown that had been painted on her face vanished. She smiled widely at me.

"You made it!" she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Her excitement radiated through the places where our skins touched.