A Love Lost

Gabriel

I wanted to murder her father and sister. Ana was only thirteen years old and she experienced things no girl should ever, especially at such a young age. I now understood why she acted the way she did at dinner. Whatever messages her sister and father sent her were triggers for her. She explained to me that she believed that it was her sister or even her father who ruined the cars.

After explaining to me what happened, I saw that Ana was empty. She bore her entire being to me. She wasn't sick. She was extremely traumatized. She didn't cry anymore. She just sat there in complete silence, waiting for me to prove her right. She waited for me to leave her. I wouldn't. I never wanted to. I wasn't going to leave her, especially now. Especially after she revealed all of her demons to me. Especially after knowing that I was the only thing that could ease her of the pain the memories brought.

"Ana. I can't explain to you how much I appreciate you opening up to me. It means the world to me that you trust me so much. I wish you never experienced those things. I can't change the past, but I can promise you this. From now until the end of time, I will love you, protect you, trust you, and be here for you. All I ask is that you believe me and try." I had no idea whether or not she would want to still be in a relationship with me, which always had the risk of ending and us losing ourselves in the rubble.

She threw herself once more across the bed and wrapped her arms around my neck, knocking me backwards. She didn't kiss me. She just lay with her head on my chest. I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to me. "I love you. With every fiber in my being, I love you. All of you Gabriel. The way you make me laugh. The way you make my darkened world seem bright. The way you were there for me, even though I was with someone else. I love the way you haven't given up on us, despite all of the negative. Most of all. I love that we are in no way related, because that means I can love you in every way possible."

She tilted her head up, her beautiful hazel eyes met mine, and I could feel all of her love pouring through her gaze. Ana never lied. Not once. Not to me. I could feel that every word, every syllable was nothing but the purest truth. I bent down and kissed her. It wasn't intense or rough, nor was it a simple peck, but it was a kiss of pure and sweet love.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but when do you want to tell your family?" I was the buzz-kill of the century.

"Tomorrow. I love you and I don't want to hide it from anyone." she smiled before kissing me.

As her lips met mine, there was a knock at the door. The last time we had an unannounced visitor in the middle of the night, Ana ended up in the hospital. I prayed that this was just Mary, Antonio, or one of the boys.

"I've got it. You got it last time." She smiled, and left the bed.

It was our house. It was our front door. Even though I trusted Ana to deal with whoever it was, in case it was someone here to harm her, I decided to join her.

She was fast to open it. As I entered the foyer, I saw Ana standing frozen at the door, facing a tall blonde girl.

"Close your mouth Ana. We are not a codfish." the girl quoted Mary Poppins and walked past Ana. She paused once inside the house and eyed me up and down. Ana remained frozen at the door. "Annie, are you going to introduce me to your friend here?" Ana closed the door and stood between me and the intruder.

"Gabriel, this is my sister Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Gabriel." Ana introduced us.

This tall, blonde with blue eyes and tan skin was Ana's sister? They looked nothing a like. Ana's dark brown hair, dark eyes, and alabaster skin was a stark contrast to that of her sister. Charlotte smiled at me, it was obvious she was attracted to me. That didn't mean that I was attracted to her.