Lost In You

Chapter One:

 Gabriella's POV

"Honey is everything okay? You're super quiet tonight." my dad asked, bringing my attention back to their conversation.

"Yeah sorry just a little stressed." I said stuffing my mouth with food hoping they would get the hint.

"You move on campus in a week right?" I looked across the dinner table and locked eyes with Pastor Kane,

"Yup" I said without breaking eye contact, everyone at the table could feel the tension in the atmosphere, but nobody wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. "So, Kane, how long have you been preaching for?" I asked to get them to stop asking me questions.

"About 11 years" he said, glancing at my mother who's been quiet for the past 25 minutes since he walked in the door. "So your dad tells me you're getting baptized before heading to college, is that right?" he spat back at me cocking his head to the side.

"Well, it's not finalized yet, I haven't really..."

"Of course and she's extremely excited and ready to hand her life to our savior Jesus Christ" My dad said interrupting me "she's been ready for this her whole life, right honey?"

"Sure dad. So, Kane... tell me, "What else do you do for a living?" I asked and suddenly felt my mother kick me under the table, signalling me to stop talking. I ignored her and kept my eyes on the pastor.

"Well I have a daughter, and I home school her and that's pretty much it."

"Oh, so how are you financially supporting yourself? I didn't think preachers get paid for doing something they believed in."

"Well yeah but"

"Oh come on, we're all friends now you can tell me the truth...right mom?" I asked, staring at her while she's staring at her plate.

"Gabby let him eat please." she said begging me with her stare. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Kane. Our family dinners weren't always so awkward, this started a week ago when I walked in on my mother on her knees screaming out Kane's name like he can really get her into heaven. She told me that certain things I wouldn't understand, but I don't see what's so difficult to understand about adultery. My dad was my best friend and here I was stuck trying to decide what would hurt him less, him finding out what she did or him knowing that I knew and never said anything. But that's not the best part of this story at all. That would be the fact that two weeks ago I had already met Kane at a party sniffing coke with my best friend.

"Yeah of course, I just want you to know you are welcome here anytime and I am looking forward to getting some work done with you at the church" my dad was saying as I was lost in my own thoughts.

"It was a pleasure meeting you all,"Kane said, shaking my mother's hand, oh I bet it was. I rolled my eyes and excused myself from the table, headed straight to my room and laid down.

Ring ring ring, I grabbed my phone and checked to see my best friend calling me, I ignored the call and sent her a message,

Whats up?

*Bitch call me back, I need help packing* she texted

I'll be over in 20, btw I got some shit to tell you. I texted back remembering the awkward dinner I had with my family earlier. Sure enough I was pulling up to her driveway shortly after, I used the spare keys and let myself in.

"Honey I'm home!" I yelled.

"What took you so long sugah?" she joked doing her best southern accent pretending to be a housewife. I followed her into her room and was instantly hit by the smell of food. She has empty boxes stacked on top of each other and all her clothes laid out on the floor.

"I thought you said you've been packing all day?" I said looking at the boxes.

"Well yeah but then I took a break, and then realized I was hungry so had to order some food, then I had to drop my brother too practice and then when I got back I thought I deserved another break with a nice glass of wine and of course that turned into a bottle and one thing led to another and boom here you are about to help me finish." she said staring at me with her hands on her hips.

"Well pour me a glass and let's get this over with, cause girl, why did my dad invite that hoodrat you were sniffing coke with to dinner tonight?" I said looking at her confusing glare.

"Kane?" she questioned, handing me a glass of red wine, I nodded and took a sip loving the taste on my taste buds. I've always been a big drinker, not problematic but it was definitely better than stephanie's preferences.

"Yup, apparently he is the new pastor for that church down the street from my house. He was sitting there all dressed up acting like he had no idea who I was. And mind you he's breaking my mother's back behind closed doors and I still don't know if I should tell my dad or not." I said putting the glass down and grabbing a box to start putting her stuff away.

"Stop playing..." she said looking at me in disbelief.

"Uh huh, the sad part is, even if I do tell my dad honestly he's just going to look the other way, you know he doesn't believe in divorces." I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"No offense or disrespect but damn your mom ain't shit for that. Shit I need to find me a good man like your daddy, you think he's taking me in as his new charity case?" she said bursting out laughing barely able to get her sentence out. I laughed and threw an empty box at her.

"You're so gross"

"Yeah but for real. So what are the pros of you telling your dad?" she asked looking more focused into cleaning now than she was when I first walked in,

"I mean you know how he is Steph he's going to be so heartbroken over this. I think he'll appreciate me telling him for sure, but i don't want to cause any problems with their marriage."

"Hm you wouldn't be, you're mom's already doing that all on her own, and she's doing a pretty great job at that too. Talk to your dad and tell him the truth, and if it gets bad, welp you won't be here anyways. " She points at the boxes reminding me that I move on campus in just a few days. "Plus they'll both back off you for the first semester at least and you really enjoy yourself." she had a good point actually, plus I was more scared of my dad then my mom so his good side is the only side I need to be on. The rest of the afternoon went by faster than I thought it would, after we finished and she was ready we moved everything to the living room and sat down looking through our senior yearbook from highschool. Stephanie and I have been friends since I first moved into this neighborhood when I was four. I remember the first time my social worker brought me over my mom's house and knocked on the door. And yes I'm adopted so my parents aren't my biological family but they've been the best family I've lived with up to that point until my 6th birthday when they surprised me with the adoption papers and said they'd be so lucky and honored to permanently welcome me into their home. They had promised to take really good care of me and that's a promise they're still living up to. They had tried having a baby of their own for three years before they decided to foster me and eventually adopt me and they've never once mistreated me. Of course we get into our disagreements just like every regular teenager but I wouldn't trade them for anything. If you haven't gathered by now my parents are extremely religious especially my dad so I grew up going to church and that's when I had met Stephanie and turned out we were neighbors until she moved a couple years ago, but we still stayed close and in touch. She was my best friend. Probably the only person who actually knows who I am. All throughout high school she was there for every major milestone in my life. She was there the first time I got my period in middle school on a school trip and punched a kid in the nose for making fun of me. She was there my first day of freshman year when I started selling drugs for her brother, and she witnessed me turn into someone I don't even recognize most of the time. Even though she could never understand why I sold and did the things I did, considering my parents were good middle class citizens and would do everything they could to give me everything I wanted, she never once judged me, if anything she encouraged it and said it made me the badass at the school. HIghschool to us was nothing but a game, my parents let me do anything I wanted as long as my grades were up which was never an issue since I did take school seriously. I graduated with honors and never once got in trouble, I was their prodigy child and as long as it kept them out of my business, I didn't mind it one bit.