“Gabriella, time to wake up,” Mama said from my door. I sighed and slowly rolled on to the side of the bed, yawned and got to my feet. I walked sleepily to my bathroom and washed my face. Looking at myself I was still shocked; although I was full Italian I didn’t look it. I was pale, had dark wavy brown hair, gray eyes and a curvaceous thin body, where as my sister, Cora, looked completely opposite, blonde curly hair, tan skin, blue eyes, and a very beautiful physic as well. Mama said that we moved from the beaches when I was born so I didn’t have a chance to get very dark and plus I hated the sun and heat. Mama also said my body was feminine and my sister’s was athletic. Mama said that was why she was twenty and still unmarried. Dad said it was because men were too intimidated by her beauty and I agreed. I walked to my closet and found decent looking clothes which were a pair of jeans and a nice white lace top. I brushed my teeth, rubbed some mousse in my hair, sprayed body mist and left out of my room and down to where the car awaited me with Mama and Cora already inside. I sat in the car and looked at Mama and Cora. Mama was wearing a nice business suit, like always, but actually with some make up which was oddly surprising. Mama was still very beautiful; she had very few wrinkles, clear skin, and very sad gray eyes; her eyes hadn’t always been like that. Cora was wearing a white dress, not too short but not too long. Her blue eyes looked even lighter against her dark skin and her face was alive. “Cora you look beautiful,” I said and smiled. She smiled back and said “Don’t be a brat today okay? We need to find you a body guard,” and rolled her eyes. I stuck out my tongue and thought “And because that’s your boyfriends house.” She seemed to hear me and tried not to smile but smiled anyways. “Enough you two” Mama said. She really wasn’t always this stressed but Cora was twenty and still not married and she didn’t like Cora’s current boyfriend. Mama thought she could do better than a soccer player, like a brain surgeon or something, something with security and she was sort of right, one broken bone and he was done, but Cora didn’t care. She liked him for him; Mama and Cora constantly argued about this. We were silent for a while. “Mama, why do I need a body guard again? That is so unnecessary,” I said, trying to ease the tension. She tsked and said “Didn’t you hear about that eighteen year old girl? She was raped and murdered by a psychopath and thrown not too far from our house.” I shook my head and said “Mama, our house is surrounded by a fence and at each corner is a guard; nobody is going to be able to sneak in and try to kill us and there are plenty of rich girls, much prettier than me.” She shook her head and said “That’s what she thought too, that’s what these sick people want you to think, they always find a way in, always. And she was walking home from school like you do when he snatched her up. I won’t let that happen to you, not at all,” and wiped at her nose. I sighed and reached over and patted her leg and said “Okay Mama, you can get me ten if it will make you feel better, sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset.” She caressed my hand and said “I’m just worried; I don’t want anything to happen to you.” I nodded and felt that the focus was too much on me. “Well if I have to get one, doesn’t Cora have to too?” and threw her a smile. Mama laughed and said “Cora can take care of herself, she would end up murdering him,” and laughed some more. Cora laughed along with Mama and said “Gabriella, you’re so small; you would be easy to snatch up.” I narrowed my eyes and stuck my tongue out again and laughed. We kept talking and laughing but Mama kept staring at her hands and wiping at her eyes; I knew what she was thinking of, she was thinking of Dad, as always. Dad died on my tenth birthday and Mama still cried every night. That’s why Mama always wanted us close and always took way to much precaution, like today for example. Thinking of Dad made me tear up but I dared not cry, I had to be strong, I promised Dad. I touched Mama’s hand and squeezed; she squeezed my hand back. Cora looked out the window and said nothing as usual. Anytime the subject of Dad was brought up, she would shut down and act like she hadn’t heard a word, people thought she was cruel and a bad daughter but the truth was she did that because she was more affected by Dad’s death than anyone. Dad and Cora had a special bond and when he died, part of her died too. I was so grateful when we finally arrived at the Mansion that belonged to one of the wealthiest man in Italy. It was beautiful. The lawn was a lavish green that stretched miles, many expensive flashy cars parked in the front, a large granite fountain that must have cost a fortune, huge oak trees spread throughout the lawn and large patches of colorful flowers lined the long stair case up to the finely designed gold door and to the glorious house. Mama knocked on the door and said “Please do not argue in front of my dear friend Leon, this is our first time meeting in years.” Cora and I nodded and said “Yes Mama.” Guess Mama didn’t know that Cora’s boyfriend was his son. I nudged Cora and she looked at me with panic. “Er, Mom,” Cora started when the door unlocked and swung open. There stood a woman, no older than twenty two, and looked like a model…or a playmate. She had dark hair, dark eyes that were framed with fake lashes, huge plump lips, a perfect nose and really tight clothes that showed off her Victoria secret body. She smiled a bright smile, revealing straight white teeth and said “Ciao! You must be Angela Moretti. How nice to meet you! Come in!” Mama didn’t have time to even say a word before she was dragged in, us along with her. She kissed Mama on the cheek and kissed Cora on the cheek and then me. “You must be Cora,” she said to Cora with an expected glint in her eyes. Cora nodded and smiled and said “You have a lovely home.” The women laughed and said “Thank you my dear” and turned to me and said “And you must be Gabriella.” I nodded and said “So pleased to meet you, but I didn’t catch your name.” Cora and Mama threw me looks. “What?” I wanted to say, she didn’t say her name. The lady laughed and said “Oh my, how rude of me, my name is Anastasia Anderson, the wife of this house, but you can call me Ana” and smiled hugely at us. Oh did I mention that her husband was an American man? Yep, old as heck but filthy stinking rich, and really good looking thanks to all the plastic surgery, AND he’s old enough to be my Grandpa…ew. We all smiled back, me with some effort. Ana smiled and turned around and yelled “Leon! They are here! Hurry up!” and turned back around and smiled and said “So sorry, he was out late on a business trip and overslept.” Mama laughed and said “Don’t worry; my husband did that all the time.” Ana’s face became soft and sorry and she walked over and hugged Mama; Geez this woman liked hugging, I mean Italians were like that, but WOW! Mama hugged her back a bit reluctantly. We heard loud footsteps coming down the grand stair case. She released Mama and walked to the stair case as a big man walked down. He was BIG. He was about six foot six, big muscles; dressed very nicely; unnaturally dark hair smoothed back and had a face of a model. No wonder she married him. “Ciao!” he said in a deep booming voice. He walked over and hugged Mama, then Cora and then me. Well hug wouldn’t quite explain it; it was more of a squish. I always felt small but jeez, I felt really little now. He laughed and said “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long Angela. Just had too much to do and couldn’t get up,” and laughed. “It’s alright Leon; well you wouldn’t remember my two daughters now would you?” Mama asked. Leon laughed and said “It’s been too long, you must introduce me again.” Mama smiled and nodded and introduced us all again. His eyes widened and he said “Wow, their all grown up now.” Mama nodded. “So how are you Angela, really?” Leon asked Mama intently. Mama said nothing and looked Leon in the eyes. Leon nodded and said “Marco was a very good friend of mine, a very good person. I admired him very much, we even named our son after him,” and laughed. Mama laughed too but she was hurting, I could see it. To distract herself, Mama asked “Really? You named him after my husband? Ana nodded and said “Leon was so touched by your husband; he told me we had to name our son after him.” Mama laughed a short laugh and said “He was a wonderful man.” Leon said “Yes he was and I’m so sorry for your loss Angela, truly I am.” Mama nodded and sighed. “Well then, let’s get started shall we?” Leon asked Mama. Mama nodded and said “Thank you Leon for this, it was such short notice and I know I had to have messed up your schedule today.” Leon shook his head and said “For a dear friend such as you, it’s never too short of a notice.” He ran a body guard thingy, kinda lame actually. “Anastasia, go get Marco, he will need to help prepare the men.” Ana nodded and ran into the other room and rushed back out while a maid ran up the stairs. “Please come and sit,” Ana said, motioning us into a room to the left. It was beautiful, just as the front. A glass table, which must cost a lot of money, sat in the middle atop a carpet that was probably priceless, while expensive couches surrounded the table. Where the fire place was a granite mantle with nothing but soccer trophies, and directly above the trophies was a family portrait; Leon and Ana looked exactly like they did now with their beloved son Marco. He looked even better, unbelievable but true. He had dark hair and light green eyes. He had Leon’s bone structure, nose, chin and ears, while he had what were probably his mom’s real lips and eye shape. He was a son anyone would’ve been proud of, a soccer champion who was incredible looking, but apparently not Mama. The rest of the room was filled with priceless things and a long diamond chandelier hung above our heads; this family liked to live expensively. We sat down but Mama kept starring at the portrait, glaring at Marco; you could see she was really upset that he was named after my Dad. Leon and Ana were talking to Mama, who was still looking at the portrait, when Ana asked “Would you girls like anything to drink?” “Sure,” Cora said. I on the other hand shook my head and said “No thank you.” Cora elbowed me. “Er...actually I would,” I said and rolled my eyes at Cora; trying to please her boyfriend’s mom. “Rosa, get these girls Cafe Con Cioccolato,” Ana ordered their maid Rosa. Rosa nodded and left. I felt a chill run through my body. I looked around and at everyone; No one seemed to have felt it. How odd. I pouted and thought about it some more when Rosa returned with our drinks; I quickly thanked her before she dashed out of the room. Cora did the same. Finally Leon got up and said “This boy never listens, I’ll be right back,” and walked out of the sitting room and up the stairs; Ana followed him out. We sat there for lord knows how long and I started feeling pissed off; this was how you treated an old friend who helped make you what you were now? Mama turned to Cora and said “Is that the boy you’re wasting your time on, the soccer player?” Cora rolled her eyes and said “I’m not wasting my time and yes, the soccer player.” Mama shook her head and said “Cora, what did I say about him?” Cora kinda growled and turned away. Everything went quite. I patted Mamas arm and she turned to look at me. I wanted to distract her. “Mama, can we just go? It’s been like two hours and still no one’s come.” Mom sighed and whispered back “Patience Gabriella.” I shook my head and said “This is stupid! They knew we were coming and they’re not ready, but whenever they have a party, they’re all there, ready and presentable.” Mama looked at me and really thought about it and finally turned around to Cora and whispered something. Cora, with her back to us said nothing. Mama was about to say something when Ana came back in and quickly said “I am so sorry, he forgot, he is on his way now.” I saw Cora grimace, what girl wanted a boyfriend who couldn’t even remember when she coming over? Leon walked in and said “Let us move to the back porch.” We all nodded and stood while I internally rolled my eyes; this was just a way to give their pathetic son some time. We followed them to the back porch and sat down at the table. “You must be the one looking for the body guard?” Leon said to me. I nodded and smiled a pleasant smile. He nodded and said “If I had a daughter as lovely as you, I too, would find one.” I smiled, very flattered. “Well, I have the best of the best, would you like to go and observe?” I nodded and got up as he got up. I guess I understood why Mama decided to deal with them; they really did have the best of the best. “Come come, this way,” Leon said and motioned me away from the table and around the wall of the house. We walked over to the side of the house and I saw lots of men doing odd things like wrestling one another, shooting arrows, and lots of them were going through some physical challenge; running to a pole with a sad model of a girl, tossing her over their shoulder and running back, while avoiding harmless, painted sticky arrows, and then climbing a rope and jumping over a seven foot wall and finally grabbing a flag which would stop the time. “Wow” I said. “You keep them in shape.” Leon laughed and said “Yeah, we have to.” He blew a whistle and a whole round of men started off but I couldn’t pay attention, the cold chill from earlier had returned, but only this time much stronger. I couldn’t tell from where it came from but for some reason I looked at a specific man. He was setting the bow in place. His short dark tousled hair blew with the breeze and the tight t-shirt he wore clung on to every muscle he had, which was a lot. His arms pulled back and the arrow disappeared and ended up in the scarecrow’s head. His long lashes brushed his cheek when he looked down to pick another bow. He had the palest skin I’d ever seen in my life, I was pale but he was even paler. He seemed to feel someone staring and turned to stare me right in the eyes; His eyes were the strangest icy blue. I couldn’t look away, I was mesmerized. He finally looked to the side for a second and looked back at me and turned away. He had the most beautiful face id ever seen. Leon harrumphed and I quickly looked down and blushed. “I am so sorry...” I whispered. He chuckled and said “Well you see anyone with potential?” I nodded, he laughed and said “Come my dear, let us go back to your mother” and turned us around. I looked back just once, and his eyes met mine for just an instant and then we were at the table. Cora was looking very irritated and Mama looked very stern. Ana looked just downright pissed, and that wasn’t a good sign. The atmosphere was tense and Leon could feel that too. We both sat down and Leon said “Where is Marco?” Ana looked at him and said “He had to go inside to change his shirt.” My jaw dropped; Cora did not just do what I think she did, she couldn’t have. But the look on Cora’s face and the flush from her cheeks confirmed my worst fears; she spilt something on him…purposely. My stomach dropped to my feet, this was not good at all. Leon raised his eyebrows and said “For what reason?” Ana threw Cora a dirty look and said “She threw the coffee on him.” Ana was definitely angry. “Why?” Leon asked, shocked. “He called me Alessandra,” Cora answered angrily. She stared Leon straight in the eyes and said “Which is not the name my Father and Mother named me.” Leon rubbed his chin and looked down and startled us by laughing loudly. His wife stared at him like he had gone mad. “I told him you’re not one to mess with,” Leon said and laughed some more. Ana on the other hand, said nothing and her perfect face which had seemed angry earlier now looked cold and scary. Mama sat forward and said “My daughter Cora is so sorry; she did not mean to act in such a way.” Cora looked at Mama, shocked and spoke up for herself. “Mom, I have a mouth of my own, and I can speak for myself.” Mama looked at her, completely shocked. “And I will not allow a man to call me by another name. My Dad raised me better,” then to Leon and Ana “I’m sorry to have wasted your time” and stood up and walked away. We sat there, feeling embarrassed…did she really just leave? I felt my head was going to explode from the lingering silence and evil stares I felt from Ana. She stood abruptly and walked into the house. I was still staring at the table when Leon said “I guess that relationship’s done,” and shook his head. I looked up and said “I am so very sorry; my sister has a very fast mouth.” He nodded and said “Well, are you and your mother still interested in the body guards?” Mama didn’t move, still shocked, so I went ahead and nodded. He got up and walked toward the other side. I patted Mama’s arm and said “Mama, we have to go.” She nodded slowly and as we got up and started being more like herself. We walked to the other side where everyone was already lined up. My eyes ran quickly across the handsome, sweaty faces, and found the one I was looking for; ice eyes. His face, unlike the others, was clean and didn’t even have a drop of sweat. He wasn’t staring at me or anyone, just at nothing. Leon looked at Mama and said “Choose the ones you like and we will continue from there.” Mama nodded and walked forward. I followed and watched the eyes of all the men look at me, all of the eyes except one pair, ice eyes. For some strange reason that irritated to no end but I shook it off...kinda. Mom walked past a few, poked some in the chest, looked at some of their eyes, looked at a few hands, and finally came back and called out the numbers of the men she liked; “One, Four, Eight, Ten, Twelve, Fifteen, Twenty, and Twenty-five.” I looked around frantically because she had not called number thirty which was ice eyes. I nudged her and whispered quietly “Number thirty too.” His eyes flashed to my face as if he heard what I said. Mom hesitated but said “And also, thirty.” Leon waved a hand dismissively and the others departed. The remaining ones stood erect and looked straight forward. Leon went over to the beginning and motioned for me to come forward; I followed and as I stepped forward number one stepped out and gently grabbed my hand in his big, sweaty hand and said “It is my pleasure meeting such a beautiful women.” I smiled and blushed. “My name is Agosto.” I thanked him and continued on. I had forgotten everyone’s name when I finally arrived to ice eyes. He looked at me with those pale ice blue eyes and gently lifted my hand, as if it were as delicate as a petal, in his large, cold, pale hand and kissed my hand with his full beautiful lips. “Andrei, a pleasure,” and just as quickly as he took my hand, he let it go. I nodded, not even breathing. I knew I should be pissed right now, because he didn’t even wait for me to finish, but I still couldn’t breathe yet. I turned around and glanced at my arm; it had goose bumps. I walked to Mama who was watching me; so his name Andrei. “Anyone you like?” she asked. I bit my lip and said “Not really, did you?” She nodded and said “I like number one, ten and twenty, their all strong and I read their hands, good futures.” I sighed and said “Mama, what about thirty?” She scowled and said “I read his hand too; his veins are filled with Romanian blood.” Mama didn’t like him already. “Mama, I want to choose him.” She stared at me hard and said “Why?” I looked around and thought of a way to answer her. Finally I let my eyes trail to the flowers and whispered “I feel safe with him, like I have a guardian angel or something...” Mama said nothing and I thought she was mad but when I felt her hand touch mine I looked up into her eyes. Her eyes were soft and comforting. “He makes you feel safe?” I nodded slowly. She looked around and stopped and I glanced to the side; she was staring at Andrei and he was staring back. She rubbed my hand and said “Well if you do want him that much…” and shrugged. I stared at her and finally realized what she said and hugged her tight. She laughed and said “Leon my dear friend, we’ve made our decision.” He walked over and said “Which one?” She looked at me and sighed and said “Thirty.” Leon nodded and said “Good choice, he’s a very clever boy I tell you and extremely talented, only twenty-two” and motioned for Mama to walk over to a table with lots of folders and old man with big glasses. I watched Mama go and felt eyes on me. I turned around and Andrei was staring at me, not even trying to act like he wasn’t. Goodness he was bold, and I liked that. I stared back, smiled, and turned around hoping he wouldn’t see through me. I looked around and sighed, I was so bored. I started walking toward the garden since there wasn’t anything for me to do and heard someone walking over to me. I turned expecting to see Andrei but was disappointed to see it was another man. He was number one, Agosto was his name right? He had cleaned up, hair washed, nice shirt and jeans and cologne that smelt good. He smiled a big smile and said “Hello again. I’m sorry about how I looked earlier.” I smiled back and said “That’s okay.” I watched his eyes run over me from head to toe and back up, although his eyes never made it back up to my face; they stayed glued to my breasts. I harrumphed and he looked elsewhere and said “Would you like to go into the garden?” I nodded and he stuck his arm out and I took it and we strolled into the green shade; I hoped Andrei was watching. We walked for a few minutes when he suddenly grabbed me by the waist, swung me around and kissed me. The kiss was urgent and even though I didn’t want to be kissing him, he was a great kisser. Reality finally settled in when I heard a zip. Hell no. I pushed him back and said “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He stared at me and said “Well…weren’t we going to…” he didn’t even need to finish. I glared at him about to tell him off when a thought came to me. I smiled sweetly and said “Of course, I just had to make sure you wanted too.” He smiled at me and kissed me once more. I kissed him back, partly because he was unbelievably sexy but also to keep up the charade. He led me into the tool shack ,which I noticed had a lock that had to be opened with a key, and tried to lift up my shirt but I stopped him. “You first,” I whispered. He nodded and took off all his clothes. He was beautiful no doubt but he was a dog. I smiled at him and said “Why should I have sex with you?” He smiled and said “Why shouldn’t you?” and winked at me. Ugh. I bent down, grabbed all his clothes and said “I wouldn’t sleep with you even if you were the last man on earth you disgusting pig

,” walked out and locked the shed. I heard him banging on the shed calling me a bitch and whore and stuff but it didn’t affect me. I laughed and said “I’ll tell Leon to come let you out in a few hours,” and walked out toward the opening of the garden. As I walked out, all the men were gathered up in a group and they all stared. I smiled sweetly and threw the clothes at them. “Lover boy is locked in the shed. You should probably get him out before he dies,” and started walking away. I heard a low whistle and some chuckles and turned back around and said “Oh, and, make sure you give this to him, a personal gift from me to him”, and stuck up my middle finger, and walked away. They irrupted with loud laughs and made me roll my eyes, boys will be boys. I walked toward Mama and saw that she was still busy with the paper work so I stood there for a second or two and finally decided to find Cora. I walked around to the front and didn’t see her. I looked around the house and couldn’t find her. So finally I walked to the car and saw her lying in the seats staring at the sky through the window. “He’s such an ass,” she said as soon as I walked up. I sighed and opened the door and sat next to her and looked at the car’s hood. “Yeah, I know, all guys are.” We were quite and heard nothing but the sound of distant grunts, bellows and the sea nearby. “What do you mean?” Cora asked. I laughed and said “Some guy just tried to have sex with me like five seconds ago.” Cora laughed and said “Really?” I sighed and said “Uh-huh.” Cora shook her head and said “Your beautiful and have really nice boobs so I guess.” I laughed and said “Shut up.” “So who did you choose?” Cora asked. “Andrei” I said and twirled my hair around my finger and thought of his ice blue eyes. Cora turned onto her side and stared at me and said “You say his name like your old friends? You know him?” I shook my head and said “I’ve only met him today.” Cora said nothing for a while, thinking. But then finally she did say something, of course it wasn’t something I wanted to answer. “What is he?” I bit my lip and said “Doesn’t matter, he’s only my body guard.” “Sure little sister, sure,” Cora said and laughed. I laughed too, but couldn’t help want it to be more. Rosa then came over and said Mama wanted to see me so Cora and I walked back to where Mama and Leon stood. “It was a pleasure making business with you all,” Leon said and shook all our hands. We all thanked him and he escorted us to the front, where the driver was already in place. We all sat down in the car and Leon shut the door and stuck his head in the window and said “Have a safe flight back home and visit some time alright?” Mama nodded and said “Thank you for everything,” and we drove away, Leon still waving. As soon as the house disappeared Cora huffed and turned to Mama and said “Home already?” She nodded. “Gabriella starts school soon, and we’ve just moved to the new mansion, I want things to be settled and I want things to feel like home before the summer is over.” We just brought a mansion in New York in an area called ‘Little Italy’, I guess to remind us of home. New York rained all the time and had little sunshine, so yeah, my perfect place. Cora on the other hand was not so happy, she liked the scorching heat, bright sun and beaches and stuff. I prefer to freeze then sweat. So Cora was pretty pissed but it didn’t really matter, she was going to come back to Italy anyways. “And what about my body guard?” I asked. Mama nodded and said “He will live with us.” I nodded and thanked god that we had fifteen bedrooms. “When we get home we have to pack,” Mama said. Cora grumbled while I smiled. We got out of the car and went to our rooms. I ran to my room and stripped off the dressy shirt and threw on one of my favorite band t-shirts. Then I went through all my drawers and emptied them all out onto my bed and went to my closet and retrieved my suitcases. Mama was explaining to the maids what was going on when I heard a baby’s cry. I dropped the clothes I had in my hands and walked into the hall. Delanna, one of our permanent live-in housekeepers, still hadn’t come up so she probably was too busy. I walked to her room and opened the door. The room was dark; Delanna must’ve put Adam down for a nap. I walked over and peered into the crib; Adam’s dark brown eyes looked around and around until his eyes settled on me. He stared at me and I stared back. I leaned on the crib and very gently stroked his soft little head with my finger tips. I couldn’t stop myself from touching his little nose to rubbing his head, picking him up, cuddling him, kissing his little head, to rocking him back to sleep. I sat and very lightly stroked his face over and over. I know I’m only sixteen, but I wanted my own little baby. I asked Delanna once how it felt and she explained that it hurt more than anything, there was lots of blood and the pain was almost unbearable but even though it was painful and scary, she said it also was the most amazing experience. To hear his heart beat, to feel his first kicks, to feel him moving inside of you, to hear him cry and to finally hold him in your arms and love him. I wanted it, I wanted my own little baby but I know if I told Mama she would tell me I had to wait until I was older and “ready”. I got up, and very slowly set Adam back in the crib, slowly taking my finger back from his warm little hand, and stroked his perfect face a few more times than tucked him in and backed away, closed the door and turned around about to walk to my room when Andrei was there. I was so startled I gasped loudly and jumped back three feet leaving my stomach where I last stood. “You scared me!” I whispered breathlessly. He stared at me with those icy blue eyes and made my already frantic breathing much more frantic. I looked away, I had to distract myself or I would probably pass out. There was a ringing in my ear and my head throbbed. I looked at the portrait of our old home here in Italy. “Your child?” he asked in his deep, mysterious voice. I looked at him in surprise and said “No, I’m only sixteen.” He tilted his head, making his dark hair fall into his icy blue eyes and said “Well you look much older and you seemed to have a very strong connection with him.” I looked down and thought “Oh shit! He watched me!” I swallowed loudly and quietly whispered “How long…?” “The whole time” He answered just as quietly. I nodded and tried to contain the panic within me. “Uh, excuse me, I gotta get packed,” I said and walked hastily past him to my room and once in, I shut it and locked the four locks and pressed my forehead to the door and grumbled “Great”. I sat there for a while and finally decided I better pack and started folding and packing things until all my belongings were in a suitcase. I ran to the bathroom with my bathroom bag and threw all my perfume and hair products and face washes and what not into it. I walked out and heard what sounded like very light foot steps out on my balcony. I stopped and listened harder and sure enough they were footsteps. I walked as fast and quiet as I could manage and looked at the balcony door; it was cracked. My eyes popped in horror but I told myself to calm down and just check it out. I walked out, not sure what to expect, and saw absolutely nothing. I walked forward and whirled but no one was there. I slumped into the railing and sighed; this place was messing with my mind. The sun was almost completely gone when a light breeze picked up and blew my hair around my face and made me shiver. I turned to walk in when I saw the corner of the curtain fall back into place. I didn’t think, I just ran in and looked around the room but no one was there again. I checked under the bed, in the bathroom, in the closet and even the curtains but no one. I stood in the middle of the room with a hand on my hip and forehead and thought “I look crazy” and laughed silently. No one was here but me, I was letting my imagination get out of hand. I sighed, shook my head, and decided it was time to head down stairs. I grabbed my suitcases and walked out into the hallway, shut the door and walked down stairs to find everyone rushing around. I set my things down and looked around for Mama and Cora. I heard Cora from the back so I went toward the back. Cora was on the floor with her Alaskan malamute Angie. Cora brushed her thick black and white coat and patted her head. As Angie heard me enter she whirled, barked, charged toward me and pounced on me, knocking me to the floor. She licked my face over and over as I laughed and wiped at the dog spit. “Hiya Angie” She jumped off of me and ran back to Cora, her Mama. “Where’s Diamond?” I asked Cora. Sure enough Diamond came running out. He was a full bred Saarlooswolfhond, odd name yes. He was all black but had a single white diamond in the middle of his forehead, giving him his name. He trotted over to me and lay on my lap and turned over so I could scratch his belly. Angie walked over, trying to get some love too, but Diamond was very protective and territorial when it came to me and growled at her. She backed away, whining and dipping her head low. I tsked and Diamond looked at me with his blue eyes. I shook my head and he huffed, scooted over and made room for a very happy Angie. She trotted over and lay on my lap and panted happily when I rubbed her belly. I saved him from drowning, almost drowning myself, fifteen years ago and ever since then, he never left my side and if he did it was only because he absolutely had too which was rare. Mama came through the door and tsked and said “Gabriella, go get your coat, were going to the airport now, and get the dog collars and leashes too.” I nodded and kissed Diamond and Angie on the heads and got up and walked into the house. Everyone’s luggage sat in the front near the front door and everyone was pretty much done and ready to go, waiting on me. I apologized and quickly ran to the coat closet and grabbed the black and pink leashes, pink for Angie, black for Diamond, and quickly put on my coat. We got in the cars and started driving when I remembered my bathroom bag on my bed and dad’s picture under my pillow! “Wait!” I called out. The driver stopped and said “What’s the problem?” “I forgot some of my stuff in the house,” I said, looking back. “Like what?” Mama said. “My bathroom things,” She shook her head and said “Gabriella, we can get you more when we get to New York.” I sighed and said “Mama, the time you’re talking to me I could’ve ran in and been out already.” She sighed and said “Alright, hurry, don’t know what’s so important about toiletries.” I didn’t want to tell her anything about Dad; she had enough to think about. Mama gave me the keys as I opened the door and sprinted back to the front door and unlocked it and ran up the stairs. I ran to my room, not noticing that the door wasn’t closed anymore, rushed to the bed, snatched the bathroom bag and the picture of Dad under the pillow, ran back out and closed the door, ran downstairs, locked the door and ran back to the car. As I sat down, things began to click. “Wait a minute” I thought, hadn’t I shut the door to my bedroom going down?” A tingle of something ran down my spine and gave me goose bumps. I felt like I had to look back at the house before we left and the rot iron gates closed. I turned just enough to look back at the huge, white house that now looked so vacant and everything seemed normal except a small movement from my balcony window; the curtain falling back into place. Fear seized me and I couldn’t breathe. What the hell was going on?! I was about to panic when I finally used all my strength up and just laid my head against the seat and then I was gone.I awoke to Mama shaking me saying “Gabriella wake up, were at the airport.” I groggily got up into a sitting position and said “What time is it?” “Nine-thirty, come on, the jet leaves in ten minutes,” Mama said. I sighed, nodded and slowly got up, still thinking of the house. We walked into the airport and went to our jet and waited as our things were put on. Diamond ran up the stairs and lay in my lap. I patted his head and whispered “I feel there are some things waiting to be unraveled, don’t you?” He starred at me with a ‘yes’. I smiled and patted his head and looked out the window, into the mixes of colors and spotted a blue that was just about two shades different from Andrei’s. The flight to New York aka home was long and tiring. As our jet started to descend onto the airport, I grew fascinated; I’ve been everywhere but New York. I stared out at my new environment and couldn’t stop myself from gasping a little. It was beautiful. The sky was nearly black now, and with so many bright lights of different colors and sizes. Seeing all the new sites made me anxious to get off and run around, so as soon as the door opened, diamond and I were down the stairs and in the limo. Mama and Cora came much later. As we drove down New York, I stared out the window, watching the people, the lights, the chaotic jammed streets; the unison walk everyone seemed to have. It was amazing to see such a difference in life otherwise mine. “Look Gabriella, there is your new school,” Mama said and pointing to a large dark shape. I couldn’t make much of it so I just nodded. Finally, we arrived at our new home. It looked very much alike the house we had in Italy, the same large rot Iron Gate with wide walls, the fountain in the middle, a large yard, and even the same house structure. The house was of a square shape, with lots of pyramids. We all got out of the limo and started walking toward the large house. The double garage under the stairs, that took you to the front door, vibrated slightly as the garage doors opened. Mama unlocked the dark double doors and we stepped in. The dome ceiling was high above the pale colored walls, the grand staircase veered to the left and went directly back and swirled. The living room was open, with large windows at the back, with matching pieces of furniture placed about. The fireplace was beautifully held by pale marble. I knew that if I walked to the right, I would be in the dining room where on the right of that room would open up to the kitchen. It looked just like home. I started walking toward the stair case when someone stepped out of the shadow of the stair case. I froze. Andrei walked toward me “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said in his seductively sexy voice. I shivered and said “It’s okay, when did you get here?” He looked around and said “I’ve been here for a while, waiting on your family’s arrival.” I nodded and said “I need to be excused,” and walked past him, up the stairs, and to my room. As soon as I got in my room, I ran to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. Ugh! It looked exactly like id been on a damn plane all day! I hastily brushed through my hair and washed my face. Once I was done I walked back to my room and lay on the bed. It felt like heaven. The smooth soft feel of the comforter made me feel younger, made me think back to when Dad was alive. I closed my eyes and remembered when Dad would make a house out of blankets on the couches early in the morning, when Mama was still asleep; she didn’t like us playing near the couches. Dad, Cora and I would all huddle in a blanket house and we’d wait for the sun to rise and when it did, it was amazing. We laid there and stared at all the different colors and designs together. I opened my eyes and realized that I’d fallen asleep. The room was lighter now. Hmm, I must’ve been out for a while. I sat up, yawned and sleepily walked out of my room. All was quite downstairs, so everyone was probably asleep. I tip toed down the stairs and found my bags; I needed a shower. I walked back up to my room and very lightly shut the door. I opened my suit case and unpacked all my clothes and grabbed Dad’s t-shirt, also my sleeping clothes, and walked into the bathroom along with my bag of toiletries. As the hot water ran over my now turning red body, I thought of Andrei. He was so…so mysterious. He always just…appeared out of thin air and…something about him was just always…so…drawn back. “Maybe I’m just crazy,” I thought to myself. I stepped out of the shower and then pulled on the t-shirt. I shivered and ruffled my wet hair. I brushed my hair and looked at the t-shirt. It used to be much too big for me. My legs used to looked like chicken legs; my chest was like a piece of paper, no hips, no butt, nothing. But now was a completely different story. My legs were thin, but thick. Everyone said they looked like model legs. My boobs stuck out, my hips definitely showed now, and my butt was firm and out. The shirt fit me but was too short now. I yawned and walked out of the bathroom, still a bit distracted, and went to my panties drawer. I opened it and thought of which one to put on. I picked my favorite one; white with blue and yellow smiley faces, it was comfortable and cute. I started dancing around with the panties in my hands, turned around and gasped. Andrei lay on my bed, both hands behind his head, eyes on me. “What the hell are you doing in my room!?!” I hissed, completely shocked, blushing red while trying to hide the underwear. He chuckled and slowly sat up. “Nothing just came by to tell you something.” I huffed, walked over to the door, opened it and said “Get out.” Andrei chuckled but got off my bed and started toward the door. I rolled my eyes and grinded my teeth; he was annoying me on purpose. Finally Andrei reached the door and as he started to walk out I started shutting the door when his arm stopped me. I blinked, shocked. He opened the door wider and said “Gabriella?” I blinked quickly, trying to sort out the dizziness I felt and slightly nodded my head. His beautiful face was closer than I thought and much higher so to directly stare at his eyes I had to look up. He leaned his head closer to me and stared down at me like he could see my soul. “Sweet dreams,” Andrei whispered with his cold breath, I shivered involuntarily. I nodded, feeling disconnected and watched Andrei pick my frozen hand up and very lightly kiss it and disappeared, closing the door with him. I sat there and tried to control my heart; Andrei, without a doubt, was beautiful. I shook my head lightly and tip-toed to the door and laid my ear against the door to see if he was still there. For some odd reason, I felt as if he was on the other side, doing the exact same thing. “Andrei,” I whispered. I heard a very quiet chuckle and cracked it open; the hallway was empty, quiet and dark. I frowned and tip-toed to Andrei’s room. “Andrei,” I whispered. No answer. I huffed and said “You’re a total dick you know that?” Another low chuckle but it sounded like it came from behind me. I whirled, half expecting to see Andrei, but saw nothing but the light from my room. I huffed again and flipped my still wet hair. A strange feeling coursed through me and made me feel all…soft…and warm. I laid my hand on Andrei’s door and lightly whispered “Good night Andrei,” and walked back to my room. Just as I was about to close it, I swear I saw a glint of blue. That would’ve probably freaked me out before but I had a feeling, it was just Andrei, and with Andrei, I felt utterly safe. I smiled to myself and picked up the underwear I’d manage to slip onto the door knob and put it on. I flipped off the light and snuggled up in my blankets and dreamed of better things, like Dad and Andrei.

***

Who would’ve known summer would end so fast? It seemed like we just moved to New York yesterday and we all had said bye to Cora as she flew off with her sorority group and tomorrow was the first day of school. Ugh. I got my uniform a few weeks ago and rolled my eyes; they looked like something porn stars would wear during a porno. Tight white button up long sleeved shirts, short miniskirts, and knee length socks; yeah, exactly like a porno. When I’d look in the mirror, I shook my head. I thought I was supposed to look like a student, not a porn star. It was much too tight around my boobs, too short for my legs and just over all not fitting me right. Now I was going to go to school and be looked at all day because I was new and rich but now I was gonna be looked at as easy. Great, I officially hated school already and it hadn’t even started. As I lay in bed, the last night without homework…without seeing Andrei all day, I couldn’t help but feel sad. Over the summer, Andrei and I had built a really close friendship. He basically picked up on who I was and I him, but I’m sure he didn’t know that I’d observed him much closer than needed…I guess you could say it was because I had sort of a crush on him... but anyways, he loved to write poetry, and he loved watching the sunset. Also, I noticed that Andrei never sweated or was ill…until we had one of those unusually sunny days, only then would Andrei have a sheen of sweat on his face. Andrei would also be much more tired and he’d sleep all day long; talk about being allergic to the sun. Also, he never tried to look directly into the sun and always, always kept his shades on when we were out. And another thing about Andrei was that he never spoke of his family…nor his origin or childhood…not once. He obviously had to come from somewhere and he obviously had to miss his family but whenever the subject was touched, he’d find a way out. Ah, another thing I observed was that he was very, very, smooth with his words. He could say anything and then you’d forget what you were saying, very…manipulative. Whenever I poked at a subject he didn’t want to talk about, he talked me out of it and started a whole other conversation, but lately, I’ve learned to not bend under his manipulation which was pretty damn awesome I’d say. I sighed and looked at the alarm clock, eleven am. Great, I was gonna be tired and lord knew I needed all my strength tomorrow. It seemed like I just went to sleep when the alarm clock went off, loud and demanding, and I groaned; I was used to waking up whenever I pleased, not five in the morning. I slapped the alarm, so it would shut up, and slowly got out of bed and felt my way to the bathroom. I flipped the light switch and blinked at the blinding lights, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Once they did, I hopped into the shower. While the hot water ran over my body, I mentally prepared myself for today. I made a promise to myself: I would NOT get in a fight today. I nodded to myself and shut the water off. I grabbed my robe and wrapped it around myself and walked to the closet. I wrapped my hair up in a towel and took off the robe and grabbed another towel to dry my body off. I put on my white bra, so it wouldn’t show through the very tight white shirt as much as a black one, and slipped on some white panties; my panties and bra’s always had to match for some odd reason. I buttoned up my shirt and shimmed into my skirt and pulled on my knee length socks. Then I skipped to the bathroom and pulled out mousse. I brushed then ran it through my hair and then scrunched. I walked to the window and looked out; the sun was just starting to come up but it wasn’t going to be very bright today. I walked over to the vanity Dad made me when I was five and slowly touched the dark wood; I missed him so much. I sat down and pulled out the ring Dad gave to me the year before he died. It was a sliver ring with a thick band and had a sapphire diamond, my favorite color and birthstone. There were little white diamonds on the sides and looked simply beautiful. “To my beautiful Gabriella,” it read in elegant script inscribed onto the band. I put it on and decided it was time to go, school started soon. I sprayed a mist of body spray and ran through it and grabbed my book bag and slipped my cell phone in. I grabbed my converse and then headed out of my bedroom. There was noise downstairs so some of the maids were up. I ran down and was greeted by Anya, one of the older maids. She smiled sweetly at me and said “You look beautiful Gabriella,” with a thick German accent. I smiled and hugged her and said “Danke,” the only German word I knew. She smiled at me and rushed me to the kitchen where breakfast was waiting. I ate a piece of toast and drank some milk; I really didn’t have an appétit today. I slipped on my converse and walked over to the coat closet and took out my fur Gucci jacket and wrapped my scarf around my neck. As I did this, I heard someone coming down the stairs and looked up. Andrei came down, looking sexy as usual, and smiled at me. I smiled back and looked away before I could blush and give myself away. “You ready?” Andrei asked me from behind. “Ready as ill ever be,” I mumbled. The school was a good thirty or forty minutes walk so we would ride the bus seventy five percent of the way and we’d walk the last twenty five percent. As Andrei and I walked we talked about the weather and what not. Every time he spoke, I just listened; I loved hearing his voice. “Are you nervous?” Andrei asked. I sighed and moved my weight to my left foot, waiting for the bus. “No,” I said. Andrei laughed. I turned and said “What’s so funny?” Andrei chuckled and shook his head. I pouted, making him smile sweetly, and making my knee’s weak, literally. I started to fall forward when Andrei caught me. “Gabriella, are you okay?” Andrei asked in an alarmed voice. Andrei’s arms were wrapped around my stomach and I couldn’t help but want this moment to last forever. “I’m fine,” I said and quickly stepped away from Andrei, turning away so he wouldn’t see the blush. When the blush faded I turned around and said “Thanks.” Andrei nodded and smiled again. My heart would surely explode one day from those exquisitely lovely smiles. “Hey, that reminds me, what were you laughing about earlier?” Andrei chuckled and said “I was just remembering that day when we first arrived in New York and I was in your room.” “Yeah, you’re a perve, I get it. But what’s so funny?” I asked. Andrei laughed louder and said “It was just your face that’s all, and no, I am not a pervert.” I rolled my eyes and said “Yeah, that’s what they all say.” When the bus came to a loud screeching stop, Andrei and I walked to the back, where it was pretty much empty, and sat in front of each other. I looked out the window but didn’t see anything, I was much too aware of Andrei watching me. I looked over into the blue eyes. “So how old are you again?” I asked, as if I didn’t know. Andrei looked at me and said “Twenty two. Why?” I shrugged and said “Thought you’d have a wife or something.” Andrei looked away from me and said “It’s not in the cards for me…not in this lifetime.” He didn’t say it like he was happy, he actually sounded really…sad. I leaned forward and rested a hand on his knee. “Andrei, you don’t know that. Your still young, give it time.” Andrei looked at me and smiled but his eyes were serious. “Trust me; no one would even want too.” I sighed, took my hand back and said “Andrei, you and I both know that women will always want you.” Andrei leaned back into the seat and crossed his arms. He looked so sexy doing that. “And you know this because?” Andrei questioned. Inside I said “Because you’re unbelievably sexy, smart, kind, mysterious, generous, and just you!”

But what I said out loud was “Because you’re young.” Andrei nodded, though I felt he knew I wasn’t telling all that I thought. “And you? Do you want to get married?” I looked out of the window and said “Yeah, I want to get married. I want lots of children too.” I expected Andrei to lecture me about how I was too young and that I would have to wait and mature and basically what Mama said but Andrei surprised me by say nothing. I looked up at Andrei and said “You’re not going to tell me I’m too young to even be thinking of it?” I asked surprised. Andrei shook his head and said “I think having your eyes set on what you want isn’t wrong.” I smiled and turned to stare out the window again. The bus called for our stop and we got off. It was windy and cloudy, my perfect type of day. We walked in silence until we came to the school. “Have fun at school,” Andrei said. I sighed and said “Thanks.” Andrei surprised me by hugging me tightly. “Don’t worry too much about today Gabriella, everything’s gonna be fine, you hear me?” Andrei whispered into my ear. My arms were pressed on his chest and his arms were wrapped around me, I was in heaven. “Yes,” I whispered, feeling so happy. Andrei pulled back and smiled beautifully at me and said “Stay out of trouble Gabby.”Gabby was the nickname he decided to give me, and I didn’t mind at all. I smiled and said “I’ll do my best.” Andrei nodded and said “I’ll see you at three.” I smiled, turned and squared my shoulders; I could do this. I walked into the office and to the front desk. The lady looked up and said “Can I help you?” I nodded and said “My name’s Gabriella Moretti, and I’m a new student here.” After that, the lady brought me a sheet of paper telling me all my classes and when I had lunch and my locker combination. She sent me off to my first class which was AP Psychology, something I didn’t even choose. I walked to my locker which was in hallway B, number twenty two. I memorized the combination so I didn’t look like a nerd and opened the locker with ease. I started sorting through all the textbooks I got from open house and started pulling the ones I needed according to the schedule. “You’re the new student Gabriella right?” A high pitched voice asked me. I looked up and saw a pretty blonde with green eyes and a very welcoming smile. I smiled back and stuck out my hand. “Yes I am, and you are?” She took my hand and shook it. “My name’s Lizzie Brandon and I’ll be your guide for the week.” I smiled and said “Well thanks Lizzie, or do you prefer to be called something else?” She laughed and said “Liz is fine.” I nodded and said “So how’s the school? Really?” Liz laughed and said “You have no idea what you just got yourself into, I mean just look at these uniforms.” We both laughed. I just met Liz, but I had a feeling we were going to be good friends. Liz asked for my schedule and that’s when we realized that we had lunch and last block, which was AP Chemistry, together, which totally sucked. Liz walked me to Psychology and wished me luck before she walked away. I sighed and reluctantly turned to walk into class. The class wasn’t full but it wasn’t empty either. Seats in the front were taken, which was fine by me because I absolutely hated the front, but the back was empty which probably meant that this teacher liked to choose people from the back during class, so I did the smart thing, I sat in the middle. Everyone who was in class stared at me like they’d never seen a new student before and I just shook my head. I took out my supplies and looked around the room, often meeting curious eyes. “You’re the new student aren’t you?” A deep male voice asked. I looked up into the face of a reasonably handsome boy with pale skin and baby blue eyes and ashy brown shaggy hair. I smiled and said “I’m Gabriella and you are?” He took the seat in front of me and said “I’m Adam Slivers, nice to meet you,” and winked at me, obviously taking a liking to me already. I smiled back. Adam’s eyes ran over my chest and I just sighed. “Like the view?” I asked. Adam laughed and looked away and said “At least I’m not touching…yet,” and winked at me. I smiled but let my smile fall and said “Yeah your right, you’re not touching and you never will.” Adam looked at me and said “Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off like that.” I sighed and said “No problem I guess.” Class started then and everyone was made to stand up and say something about themselves which was so lame. When it was my turn I stood up and felt eyes all over me; I felt naked but I ignored it and just said my name and told them I was Italian. As class passed I noticed a group of guys, all good looking, staring at me, chatting excitedly; there was no way I could take them all out if they tried something. Class was going to end soon and I would have to take a stairway that was, from what everyone said, empty. The bell rang and I got up. They all were still watching me; I’m sure they could rape a girl and just go running to daddy to fix it. I tapped Adam on the shoulder and said “Could you walk with me, I don’t know my way around,” and smiled sweetly at him. Adam smiled, clearly delighted, and said “Sure, right his way,” and led us out of class. I glanced back and the boys were no longer smiling. After Adam left me and class was over, it was time for lunch. I walked into the large room and thought this place looked like the food court in a mall. Restaurants crowded every corner and there were book stores, even a freaking foot locker. Come on, how spoiled were these kids? I sighed and looked around for an empty table or a table away from all the gawking students; likely to be impossible. I walked by a table of guys and as I did, the whole conversation stopped. I rolled my eyes and knew they were staring at my ass. I looked around the cafeteria at the girls and wondered why all the boys stared at me like there were no other girls here. As I watched a whole group of them walk toward me, I realized why. They were all much flatter than me in the breast area. I mean it’s not like they were completely flat chested but I had lots on them. And then there was their body type. Slim but not at all curvy and no hips, guess that’s why all guys stared at me. Half of the girls in the group glared at me, probably jealous that the guys didn’t pay them attention anymore, but the other half stared at me with envy. I don’t know who I felt sorrier for, the jealous girls or the envious girls. I was still walking past them when I heard one of them whisper “Slut.” I laughed out loud and kept walking; I had fans already. I stopped in the middle and scanned the cafeteria. All the tables seemed to be full…except for a table almost hidden by the trash. The few students who sat there weren’t even staring at me, which was great. I walked to the other side of the cafeteria and to the table. There were four students sitting in a cluster whispering quietly to one another, one girl and three boys. They had the same uniform as I and the others did but they were obviously different. “Hey, can I sit here?” I asked and pointed to an empty seat. They all stared at me with huge eyes and surprised faces. I stood there still waiting. Finally the girl looked me up and down and said “Your kind isn’t needed here,” in a rude, dismissive voice. I wanted to punch her right in the damn mouth. “What the fuck does that mean?” I asked just as rude. Her eyes bugged and then squinted with anger. “Exactly as it sounds you dumb prick, get lost, we don’t need your prissy, arrogant, spoiled ass over here in this group,” she said with ounces of venom. I couldn’t believe this bitch; she just called me a prissy, arrogant, spoiled dumb prick. I laughed and said “You don’t even know me. I’m not like everyone you dumb ass, I’m sure your acting all hard and shit cause it’s either your tough or you’re not, a dog eat dog world and since you’re the underdog you gotta seem tough.” They all stared at me with open mouths, so I knew I was right. “And I’m most definitely sure none of these kids would approach you all without a group to watch them humiliate you, heck they probably wouldn’t even bother, they’d just hire someone to beat you up, am I right?” The boy with large glasses glared at me; obviously a soft spot for him. “I didn’t come here to attack you guys, I didn’t even ask to talk to you guys, all I asked was if I could sit here and you all just jumped to conclusions,” and shook my head. “Well whatever, I came to try and just sit but you’re all too good for me to sit with so I’m out,” I said and turned to walk away. As I started to walk away, the female’s voice called to me. “Wait.” I sighed and turned around and said “What? Forgot to call me a slut?” I asked mocking her tone of voice. She had gotten up and walked toward me. “I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a…bitch,” she said earnestly. I shook my head and said “I guess its okay,” and started to turn around and find another place when she said “Why don’t you sit with us?” I stopped and turned to stare at her. “What?” I asked incredulously. She sighed and walked toward me so we were now a few feet apart. “I misjudged you and I’m sorry, were just so used to getting jumped on, so were always in fight mode, and you were just being nice which was totally unexpected coming from a girl like you so I assumed that you were joking and crap and just acted on impulse, but when I saw how mad you got when I called you those things and you didn’t immediately call for help and just…walked away, it made me realize you aren’t like them. So, wanna start over?” I stared at her large hazel eyes and laughed and said “Sure.” She smiled and walked toward me and hugged me tight. I was startled but hugged her back. She laughed and pulled me by the hand and said “Come, meet everyone else.” I nodded and walked along with her. She had a very slim body, kinda scary actually, very pale skin, long black hair with blood red strips, black nail polish, a black choker with spikes, multiply ear piercings, a lip ring, black combat boots and fishnet stockings. She was Goth and I liked it. As we came closer to the table, I realized they were all different. The one who had glared at me looked like he was really good with numbers, computer‘s or both. He had dark brown tussled hair, pale skin and deep chocolate brown eyes. The boy across from the boy who glared at me probably was a painter. He had shoulder length blonde hair, tanish skin, pale blue eyes, and paint all over his fingers, the obvious give away. The boy next to him looked like he could play an instrument, probably piano from the way his finger were. He had short black hair, ivory skin, and green eyes. Even though they all were different, they were the same. They all were outcasts and looked out for each other. They watched, wide eyed, as the girl and I walked back, hand in hand. We were just about to reach the table when she turned and said “What’s your name? I never caught it.” I smiled and said “You never caught it because I never said it, but my names Gabriella.” She smiled widely and said “Cool.” When we got to the table everyone was silent. “Everybody, this is our new friend Gabriella. Why don’t you all introduce yourselves?” She said in a light, chirpy voice. The one who glared at me looked at me with boy crushing eyes and said “Um…hey, I’m sorry about earlier….I’m Nathan by the way.” His voice was surprisingly deep. I smiled at him and said “It’s okay Nathan.” The boy across from Nathan nodded toward me but keep his eyes down. “Yeah…sorry about earlier…um…the name’s Eric,” he mumbled, still looking down. I chuckled and said “It’s okay Eric,” and then I walked over to his side and sat right next to him and lightly touched his shoulder. “Eric, look at me,” I said. Eric had frozen under my touch but looked up at me. His eyes, which had been hard as stones, softened and became liquid. I smiled gently and said “There, I hate not having eye contact.” Eric stared at me with a new expression…oh crap. I smiled and then turned to the guy who sat side him. He looked at me and smiled sweetly and said “I’m Austin, nice to meet you.” I smiled back and started saying something when the girl interrupted me. “Oh! How rude of me! I forgot to tell you my name Gabby,” she said. I looked at her and said “Gabby?” She smiled and said “Eh…your name’s kind of a mouth full so I made a nickname up, cool with you?” I smiled and said “It’s just kinda ironic really.” She smiled and said “How?” I shook my head and said “What’s your name?” She smiled widely at me and said “I’m Karen.” After that, everything went smoothly. They all treated me like I was one of them. We laughed about things we’d done, wanted to do and just talked like friends. We were still laughing when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Liz smiling at me. “Hey Liz,” I said. She smiled and said “I see you’ve met my group.” I smiled at her and said “You hang with them?” Liz laughed and went to sit next to Austin. As she did that, I saw Karen glare at Liz. She so had a thing for Austin. I looked at Austin and he seemed attracted to Liz but his eyes kept wandering back to Karen; he had a thing for her too. Aw. I would so hook them up. I smiled at the thought and told Liz how I’d met “her group.” She laughed and said “That’s how she greeted me too.” We were still talking when a breeze made me shiver. I looked around and saw no open windows or doors. How weird. I sighed and engaged into the conversation, which was on how video games were better than math. I went with video games; your head didn’t hurt so much. We were laughing at Austin mocking Karen, further proof of him like her, when the bell rang. I looked around and said “Already?” Everyone laughed but started packing up. Austin and Eric had the same class so they headed off to D hall. Karen and Nathan had class on the same hallway so they left together. Liz and I walked to class talking when I remembered my textbook at the lunch table. “Shit,” I hissed and ran back shouting over my shoulder “Go on, I’ll catch up!” I ran, found the book and started running back toward my class when I slipped on water that had leaked from the water fountain, and fell right on my right ankle. I heard a crunch as I went down and felt instant pain and as the floor came closer I thought “Oh great.” I thought for sure I was going to fall flat on my face and braced myself for the pain when something tugged at my jacket and snagged me, my face an inch from the floor. I stared at the floor until someone pulled me up. I looked into icy blue eyes and thought of Andrei but when I saw more of the face, I realized it wasn’t him. They had the same pale skin and pale eyes, but this boy had blonde hair. They could’ve been brothers. “Are you alright?” he asked in an appealing voice. I nodded slowly but then made the mistake of putting weight on my right ankle. I cursed and hobbled. I was unsteady and losing my balance when an arm caught me. “Here, let me help you to the nurse’s office,” he said and wrapped his arm around my waist. I stared at him and said “Um…sure, but you’ll be late.” He smiled at me and said “I’m helping an injured person, I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” and winked. At the nurses, she sighed and tsked and told me I sprang it badly and that I would have to stay off of it for at least two weeks, which was impossible I mean hello, we live in New York, where all you did was walk! But I didn’t argue and just nodded. She told me to stay put while she went to call Mama and my class. “I should get going, I have class,” the lovely boy said. I smiled at him and said “Thanks so much.” He smiled back and opened the door when I remembered I didn’t even know his name. “Hey, wait!” I shouted. He turned to me and said “Does your ankle hurt?” I looked at him for a few seconds and then realized what he meant. I laughed and shook my head and said “Oh no, I just never got your name.” He smiled widely and said “My name‘s Andrew.” I smiled at Andrew and said “Thanks so much again Andrew, by the way I’m-“Andrew interrupted me saying “Oh, I know who you are,” and suddenly looked at me with a new glint in his icy blue eyes. I stared at him, shocked and confused. Andrew smiled another smile, but this smile made my stomach clench and quiver. “I know all about you Gabriella, and I looked forward to really getting to know you,” Andrew whispered almost silently and left. I realized then that I had been holding my breath and that my skin was covered in goose bumps. I bit my nail and thought “What did he mean by ‘I look forward to really getting to know you’?” The nurse came back and told me I wouldn’t be attending class today and that I would have to stay here until Mama came. I nodded and tried to sleep but now could really feel my ankle. The nurse gave me some pills; they helped some, then she placed a bag of ice on my ankle that soothed the pain enough that I could sleep but I just couldn’t. The conversation with Andrew replayed over and over in my mind. I had never seen him before, I was sure of it. I knew that if I had seen him before, I would’ve recognized him immediately; I mean what dope would forget such a handsome face? I sighed and thought “What a great first day of school.” Mama came and of course was hysterical. She asked me over thirty times if I was in pain and if I needed a cast and other unnecessary things. I just shook my head and said ‘No’. I was so preoccupied by Mama; I hadn’t noticed that Andrei had entered the room. I only knew when I felt the sudden chill and looked up. Andrei grinned at me but said nothing. I glared at him and when Mama turned away, stuck my tongue at him. He muffled his laughter by coughing. “Alright then, she’s fine to go home,” the nurse said to Mama, then to me “Make sure you don’t put weight on that ankle alright?” I nodded and scooted into a sitting position where I thought I would be able to just walk on my own but of course that wasn’t going to happen. Andrei was right by me and had his arm around my waist, supporting me. I was shocked at how fast he was. “Ready?” Andrei asked me. I couldn’t breathe so just nodded. I hopped while Andrei held me and although I was out of my element, being held by Andrei made everything all right. When we entered the hall way, I stopped. The evil hallway seemed to grow by the second. I tried to focus on not twisting my other ankle but knowing that Andrei’s face was just a few inches away made me clumsier so we stumbled often. Finally we reached the car. Andrei lifted me effortlessly and placed me in the car and slid in next to me. My heart thudded when Andrei’s leg touched mine. The car started and as I looked out of the window, my eyes started to get heavy. I tried to fight my heavy eye lids but just couldn’t anymore and leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
My eyes fluttered and I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, not really sure where I was again. Oh my god! I realized with shock that I was lying on Andrei’s chest! My hand was placed atop of his chest and moved in time with his slow breathing. I thought of moving but then stopped; why would I move from such a wonderful spot? Instead, I stayed where I was and breathed in the smell coming from him; Andrei smelt wonderful. The smell coming off of him smelt like it could be cologne but I wasn’t sure. The arm that wasn’t wrapped around me lightly moved and now held my hand. His cold hand felt so smooth and the way his hand felt around mine felt…perfect. I wanted to say something but I just couldn’t ruin this moment, even though for all he knew, I was out. I don’t know how long we’d been in the car but I hoped we were just on the way home. Even though I wanted to stay awake and feel Andrei’s hand around mine, I couldn’t fight the heaviness of my eyes, so once again I just closed my eyes but this time, dreamed of being held by Andrei forever. “Gabby,” I heard Andrei whisper and then felt a light shake. I opened my eyes and saw Andrei looking at me. “Your home,” Andrei said and smiled and then extended a hand to me. I took Andrei’s hand and then once again, his arm was around me. Could today get any better? Andrei helped me up the stairs and then into my room. Once inside, Andrei helped me wobble toward the bed. As Andrei lifted me up onto the bed, I put weight on my right foot and immediately jumped, kneeing Andrei in the face. I didn’t see where id hit him but he grunted as we both fell. Then we were both face to face, me on top. I stared at Andrei, so close, and again, couldn’t breathe; Andrei stared back. “I’m…sorry,” I whispered. Andrei lifted his hand and brushed away the hair that had fallen into my eyes; his hand shook. His fingers did not leave; they lingered on my face, tracing my cheekbones, my jaw and my lips. Since he was touching my face, I could touch his right? I looked at his face and saw that there was so much life in his icy eyes. My hands were frozen on his chest but then I found the courage to lift my hand and lightly stroked his cheek. His skin felt like ice, so cold and hard. I took my hand back, not sure of what I was doing. But then a thought came to me, what if I never got a chance like this again? To be completely alone with him and to touch his face like I’d imagined so many times? Hesitantly, I touched his face again, but this time, with my whole hand. I brushed the hair away, and caressed his cheeks, his eyelids, his forehead and his full lovely lips. I touched his lips and gaped at how soft they were. I was still staring at his lips when I felt a cool finger lift my face up. I looked into his eyes and was lost; they were so deep and full of emotions, more than I’ve ever seen. He slowly sat up, never taking his eyes off of mine, and then once more caressed my face. He started to let go of my face but then cupped my face and started leaning in. Oh my god! Was he going to kiss me?! I closed my eyes and wished for nothing more than to feel those beautiful cold lips against mine. But instead, his cold lips place a delicate row of soft kisses from my right side brain to the bottom of my chin. Then just as suddenly as everything had happened, I was flying through the air and by the time I opened my eyes, the door was closing. I stared at the door for lord knows how long and couldn’t think straight. Had that just happened or had I bumped my head? I lay back down and moved my ankle and felt the sudden pain which confirmed that what just happened with Andrei wasn’t in my head. I sighed happily and lay there. Why was my heart still racing? I shook my head and then looked at my hand; I had goose bumps and my hand was shaking. Then I looked at the rest of me and realized my whole body was shivering and wrapped myself in the blanket. The shivering stopped and as it did, I fell into unconsciousness. When I awoke, it was from Mama shaking me. “Time for school Gabriella, get up.” I groaned. “Mama, can’t I stay home today?” I asked. Mama sighed and said “No Gabriella, you have to go, now get up,” and left my room. Ugh. I finally got up and hobbled my way to the bathroom and took a long shower. I stroked my face and could still feel Andrei’s lips. I hobbled out and dressed for school and then realized that I hadn’t done any of my homework. I groaned out loud and just thought of crawling back into bed. I really was starting to consider crawling back into bed when I smelt food. My stomach growled hearing the food call my name, so with a sigh, I opened the door and hobbled downstairs. Once down stairs, I stuffed myself with eggs, bacon and pancakes. I limped toward the door and sat on the ground and then very lightly pulled my shoe on and tied the laces and sighed with relief as I’d done all this without any pain. As I got up, I felt the chill that always alerted me that Andrei was in the same room, and looked around. There he was standing against the wall, looking so beautiful, my heart raced. Andrei looked up and I turned away. Andrei didn’t say anything to me as we walked out; well he walked. I tried to start a conversation but Andrei said very little and the conversation didn’t last. I tried not to look at him but out of the corner of my eye I watched his every move. What was wrong with him? He wouldn’t meet my eyes and he kept distance between us. I tried to look distracted and look like I didn’t notice his mood, but deep down, my heart ached. Why was he acting so…strange? Sure yesterday was…out of the ordinary but he didn’t have to be so…so…hurtful? “Gah!” I thought. He was just having a bad day I convinced myself. Yeah, that’s all. He’d go back to being himself soon. When the bus came there was no change in his attitude. He continued to look everywhere but me. The silence was starting to make my stomach hurt and now my ankle seemed to want to ache. I sighed and placed my head in my hands as the pain in my ankle throbbed. “Gabriella,” Andrei’s luscious voice called to me. My eyes opened immediately; he was talking again? I looked up and saw the eyes I had missed this morning. “Yes?” I whispered. His ice eyes were staring at me, cautious yet concerned. “Are you alright?” He asked. I nodded once and immediately, his eyes disappeared. I stared at Andrei and wanted to ask what was wrong but then I just stopped. Maybe leaving him alone would help. The walk to school was quiet just as it had been on the bus. We were on the school steps, which was where Andrei always dropped and picked me up. I turned to Andrei. “Bye,” I said, trying to sound happy. Andrei simply nodded and looked elsewhere. I stared at him, seeing that he did not intend to say a word back. For some reason, I wanted to cry. Foolishly, tears started to leak over and I quickly brushed them away and turned my back on the Andrei I didn’t even know anymore. The day dragged after that. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone much and asked to be left alone when everyone met up with me. During lunch, I heard them murmuring about what could possibly have me so down, but I just lay my head down and said nothing. The bell rang, letting me know it was time to go to last block, and I slowly got up. Liz looked at me worriedly and said “Gabby, are you alright? Is it your ankle?” I sighed and said “No…I’m just feeling a little down,” and tried to smile. The smile didn’t fool Liz but she decided not to push on the subject and just held my stuff as we walked to class. At the class door, I explained to the teacher what had happened and was excused for the absence. During class, my mind wouldn’t focus on Chemistry; it just kept going to how Andrei acted. He didn’t look at me, he didn’t talk to me…he didn’t even say bye. My heart squeezed uncomfortably and I coughed quietly. When the bell rang, I sat there, not wanting to go out and not see the eyes of Andrei, to not hear the sound of his laughter, but when Liz tugged on my arm, I got up. Liz, Karen, Nathan, Eric and Austin all asked me what was wrong again. I was irritated but to be fair, what was wrong with me? Why was I acting so down? “To be honest,” I said. “I’m not sure.” They all stared at me as we stopped on the steps. There was a honk and we all looked up to see a pretty blonde woman, waving her arms frantically. “There goes my Mom,” Liz said, looking embarrassed. “Gotta go, feel better Gabby,” Liz shouted as she rushed to the car. We watched her go and then I felt the chill that had nothing to do with the cold. I looked up and saw Andrei walking toward us. “Bye guys,” I muttered and started walking toward Andrei.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 20.11.2010

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A special thanks to my sister's Barbie and Jasmine for being so supportive and reading through it.