Breathe

by Tania Trozzo

  “Are you guys going out?” Clara asked. Sonia chuckled.

  Gabe was looking at her expectantly, “What?” Clara asked.

  “Your keys Clara,” Gabe told her.

  “W..Why?”

  “So I can drive you home,” Gabe replied.

  “Did you really think that we would let you go home by yourself now?” Alex asked her.

  “I don’t understand…” Clara said to them.

  Sonia spoke up, “I had warned they were just as protective as your cousins, Clara. We’re coming to bring you home and they are probably going to barge inside and introduce themselves to your family.”

  “But, you guys don’t have to. I know I just laid a bunch of baggage at your feet and there is even more to tell, but you guys don’t have to feel bad, or act any differently.”

  “The keys Clara. We can talk more in the car,” Gabe replied shaking his head, “just give in, please. We’re coming with you. Period.”

  Clara let out a sigh and handed over her keys and nearly stomped her way to her car. He was being bossy and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. Ok, she kind of liked it but she felt like she was in the dark about something. Gabe started driving, with Alex and Sonia behind them in Alex’s car.

  “I presume you know where I live?”

  “Of course I do.” He looked at her and smiled and just like that any irritation she felt went away.

  She sighed. “Can you please explain to me what is going on, Gabe?” She turned slightly in her seat to get a good view of his handsome features.

  “Look, a lot happened to you today. I wouldn’t feel right just being like, ‘ok, that was rough. See you tomorrow.’ You probably won’t say anything to your family about what happened today but you shouldn’t be alone and you shouldn’t have to pretend the entire time. Besides, I wasn’t ready to let you go just yet, ok?”

  Clara nodded, “Ok.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Whenever you want to talk, I’m here to listen.”

  “Gabe, there is more that I have to tell you.”

  “And you can tell me when you’re ready, Clara. If you want, which I hope you do. I’m still trying to take all that you told me in. I’m just amazed by you.”

  “Well, I’m not used to all of this,” as she motioned to him and to Alex and Sonia behind them.

  “Well, you better get used to it,” he said quietly and held on to her hand while he drove.

  They pulled in shortly after into the long driveway to her home. Home, she thought. She told him where to park her car and both of them proceeded to get out. She rounded the car, thinking Sonia and Alex were just turning around.

  “Thanks for driving me home, Gabe.”

  “You’re welcome, Clara,” he murmured with a twinkle in his eye.

  When she saw Alex and Sonia get out of the car, she rolled her eyes. “You guys are really coming in?”

  Sonia laughed while Gabe grinned, but it was Alex that replied, “Of course. Are you embarrassed about us or something?”

  “No, it’s just I never…” Clara sighed, “never mind. You guys are seriously coming in?”

  Alex nodded, and Gabe just gazed at her with those eyes. A tingle shot through her. She was overreacting, and she knew it, but she was nervous.

  Sonia grabbed her hand, “It’ll be fine, come on.”

  They walked inside. Her aunt had started making dinner and Julia was at the table doing her homework. Her aunt looked up, “Hello girls,” and then looked behind them and tilted her head a bit, “and boys.”

  Clara went to give her aunt a kiss and then pulled away and Sonia swooped in, “What about a hug for me?”

  Clara shook her head and laughed. “Aunt Nina, this is Alex, Sonia’s brother and their cousin, Gabriel. We all go to school together.” They all greeted her while Clara went up to Julia and sat down next to her. “Hey Jules,” giving her a kiss on her temple, Julia grinned, “homework?”

  “Yeah, I finished my essay earlier. Will you read it?”

  “Of course, I will,” Clara replied.

  “Hey, don’t I get a hug, Julia?” Sonia asked. That was the great thing about Sonia. When she came to the house the first time, she included everyone, even Julia. Most other girls wouldn’t. Julia stood up and gave Sonia a hug. Sonia pulled her along, “Come on, let me introduce you to my brother and cousin.”

  The boys said hello. Gabe glanced at Julia and then at Clara. “You guys resemble each other a bit.”

  “Really?” asked Julia.

  Clara chuckled. “She loves hearing that.”

  “I wonder why,” Gabe murmured.

  And then Clara felt a bit awkward. She had no idea what to do but thankfully her aunt saved the day. “Why don’t you go to the family room for a bit and I’ll finish up dinner. Uncle Frank and Vincent should be home soon. Why don’t you guys stay for dinner?”

  “We don’t want to impose Mrs. Salvino,” Gabe replied.

  “Hush, you aren’t imposing. I wouldn’t have said anything if you were. Go watch TV or something. It will be about an hour. I’m happy to have you all over for dinner.”

  They headed to the family room downstairs, Gabe grabbed her hand when they went inside pulling her closer to him, “Is this ok? That we stay for dinner?”

  Clara looked up at him, “Of course it is,” she smiled, “But I’m warning you, my uncle may not be as friendly as my aunt is. Let me go check and see if she needs any help and I’ll grab us some drinks.” Clara headed back upstairs and walked up to her aunt, giving her another hug. She mumbled, “Are you sure it’s ok they stay for dinner? You didn’t have to ask them to stay, they would have left, they just wanted to meet everyone.”

  Her aunt pulled away, “Of course it’s ok. Honey, I’m happy that you brought some friends home.”

  “Yeah, but 2 of them are guys. Will Uncle Frank be ok?”

  Her aunt Nina laughed, “he’ll be fine. Surprised, for sure. You know he will break their balls.”

  Clara let out a sigh but then laughed, “Ok, well we’ll see. I am going to grab some drinks. Do you need help?”

  “I’ll help her,” Julia said. “I’m done anyway. I’ll set the table.”

  Her aunt swatted her away, “Go back to them. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” Clara headed downstairs with drinks and they hung out until dinner was ready. Gabe looked around occasionally but most times he was looking at her. Every time she found his gaze on her, she tried to seem like she wasn’t affected by him and she hoped she succeeded but every time his intense stare landed on hers, she almost forgot to breathe.

  24

  Gabe

  They had just gotten into Alex’s car and were heading home. Clara had a great family, and everyone made them feel right at home. It was obvious that her uncle and Vincent were protective of their family.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Alex remarked, “if looks could kill in the beginning one of us would be gone for sure.”

  Sonia replied, “I think they were trying to figure out which one of the two of you was interested in her. Her uncle seemed to chill once he found out who our parents are. I guess for once we can be thankful for their high profiles.” Gabe however, remained quiet and contemplating.

  “Are you going to be able to do this, Gabe?” Alex asked him.

  He looked over at Alex. “Do what exactly?”

  “Stay away from her for a few days. All joking aside, after several minutes, there was no doubt of the two of us which one is interested in her. Will you be able to stay away from her at school?” Alex was pushing him.

  “I’ll have to, won’t I? This is the right way to go, it will be quicker to figure out exactly who it was. I’m glad you’ll stick to her side though,” he turned his head to look at Sonia who was in the back but moved up in between their two seats to speak closer to them.

>   She nodded, “How could I leave her? Did you hear her today?”

  Gabe murmured, “That’s what I keep thinking about. I’m just so in awe of her. I can’t get over what she went through.”

  “Agreed,” Alex replied, “I was kind of a hardass on her, not so much what I said but how I said it. I feel like an asshole. But I listened to what everyone was saying today. I don’t think she wrote the full story. Everyone knows she was kidnapped but not for how long.”

  Sonia immediately chimed in, “Yeah, I listened to what the girls were saying in my gym class. The gossip obviously kept growing and the story kept changing. Some of the stories were a bit crazy. But there is one girl from her soccer team that defended her. Amelia, I think?”

  “Rosie stuck up for her too today and told a few people to go to hell,” Alex chuckled, “I had never noticed her before, but that girl is actually fierce. We should have asked Clara what she wrote exactly in the paper.”

  “I have it,” Gabe replied as he looked out the window.

  “You do?” Sonia asked.

  “Yeah, she gave it to me,” Gabe replied, “What she wrote doesn’t matter, the crazy stories are out there but they should die down, especially since Sonia is with her. Even if we show a divide, they won’t go against her because of us. They know we wouldn’t allow that to happen to Sonia. Then when Clara is back with us, then it should die down even more.”

  Alex turned his gaze towards him, “But is she strong enough to wait it out?”

  Gabe sighed before responding, “After everything she has been through, yeah, I think she is. This is nothing compared to that.”

  “Agreed,” murmured Sonia.

  “Plus we’ll check in on her after school,” Gabe remarked.

  “Are you going to read the paper?” Alex asked him.

  Gabe looked out the window again, “Yeah, I will. But it doesn’t matter what she wrote, at least not for me. Let’s hope we find out quickly who it was.”

  “Then what happens?” Sonia asked.

  “Not sure yet, Sonia, that part I haven’t figured out yet, but I won’t let them off easily.”

  The following morning, they headed to school. Sonia drove separately. As soon as Gabe and Alex entered the halls, people made room for them to pass, a few started whispering. Clara was up ahead, he would notice her anywhere. She was with Rosie, thank goodness.

  “Hey Rosie,” both Gabe and Alex said.

  Gabe nodded at Clara while Alex spoke, “Clara.” Clara looked at Gabe and nodded. Both slowed down but did not stop and many seemed to notice. Sonia walked up, making a funny face at the guys.

  Gabe walked ahead, Henry looked at Clara and looked at him quizzically. “Everything ok, man?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  Henry shook his head, “Nothing, I’ll see you later in class.”

  Gabe nodded. He looked to his left and noticed Kristin who had just finished looking at him and then looked at Clara. She smiled. He looked up ahead and noticed Alex had wasted no time in pulling Zoe to him and whispering something in her ear. She melted instantly. Connor was coming down the hallway with a girl and he stopped to talk to Gabe. While he did, the girl instantly caressed Connor’s arm. He looked a bit tense but turned his full-blown smile at her, “Hey babe, can you leave me to talk to Gabe? I’ll find you after class.”

  She pouted but responded, “Ok, promise?”

  “Promise.” She walked backwards for a few steps smiling and turned around and headed down the hall.

  At that moment, Sonia, Rosie and Clara were coming down the hall behind them. Gabe was so tempted to turn around, he wanted to make sure she was ok. He turned slightly checking out Clara from the corner of his eye, Sonia was turned around looking at the girl that had just looked away from Connor.

  “Hello, ladies” Connor said. “Chin up, Clara” he murmured.

  She grinned, “Thanks Connor,” she said softly.

  But the girls kept walking. Connor glanced at Sonia but kept a straight face. At the same time, Sarah and Jamie were walking by and for some reason both girls decided to stop to talk to Gabe and Connor. They noticed instantly that Clara and the girls didn’t stop, leaving Jamie to smirk as she looked at Clara.

  Sarah cozied up to Gabe putting her hand on his arm, “Hey Connor! Gabe, I was thinking of having a party after your game on Friday, my parents are going away. What do you think? I wanted to make sure that you guys would be able to come, meaning Connor, Alex and you, of course. I feel like lately there’s been distance between us and we don’t hang out, like ever.”

  Gabe looked at her, trying to read her intentions. He had to literally grit his teeth to not move back. Kristin, walked by stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed that Sarah had her hand on Gabe’s arm.

  She walked up to them, “Hey, what are we talking about?” Kristin asked.

  “Oh, hey, just about the party I told you I wanted to have this weekend. You will come won’t you guys?”

  Connor spoke up, “We should be there especially since you’re asking so nicely, count us in.”

  Gabe stepped back, looking at Sarah, “Yeah, we should be there,” as he smirked and tugged on a strand of her hair. He looked at Kristin and then Jamie, “See you girls later. I’ve got somewhere I’ve got to be.”

  Connor smiled and winked, walking away in the opposite direction of Gabe. Gabe looked up at that moment and noticed Clara watching from afar with Sonia but then turned around and walked away. Sonia was giving him a cold stare before heading after Clara. He headed to class, thinking about Sarah’s invitation. The girl was friends with Kristin and had no trouble wanting to get his attention or flirt with him. What a great friendship he thought to himself. But the look on Clara’s face gutted him. This was going to be much harder than he thought.

  25

  Clara

  Rosie looked at Clara. “What is going on?” This was the second time she asked, the first being when the guys just walked by, the second being now, seeing Sarah, Kristin and Jamie interacting with Connor and Gabe.

  “Nothing. The guys are being jerks, that’s all,“ Sonia replied.

  “Bad timing to act like jerks. Are you ok Clara?” Rosie murmured.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. So, what is everyone saying?” Clara had to ask.

  “I don’t think you want to know all the stories, some of them are really out there. But, were you really kidnapped when you were little?” Rosie asked hesitantly.

  “Yes.”

  Rosie swallowed and nodded replying, “Ok, then let’s just say there are different versions of that.”

  “I can imagine,” Clara replied dryly.

  “It doesn’t matter, Clara,” Sonia reassured her, “It will die down. This has probably been the most interesting piece of gossip in a while.”

  “Probably since last year. When Mark Tealman’s mom was caught with Josh Greenberg’s older brother at someone’s bar mitzvah none the less,” smiled Rosie.

  Sonia laughed, “I heard about that one. She’ll be fine. Clara’s a fighter, there are a lot of people just rolling their eyes at the stories and defending you. Your soccer team for one.”

  “Really?” Clara almost stopped dead in her tracks.

  “Yeah, I even heard Amelia yesterday in the locker room defending you. Not everyone is like Jamie. You’re an asset to that team and you’re nice,” Sonia responded.

  “She’s right. A few seniors from the newspaper defended you yesterday, I heard them myself. My friends think you’re awesome to overcome something like that. Sonia’s right, it will die down, in the meantime stick with us. The guys though, I’m just freaking disappointed,” Rosie commented.

  “It’ll be ok,” Sonia said.

  “Yeah, I don’t blame them. I have a lot of baggage to deal with, so it doesn’t surprise me,” Clara voiced. Sonia looked at her quizzically f
or an instant and then narrowed her eyes at Clara. “I’ll see you guys later. I have to head to math.”

  “I’ll see you in Spanish, Clara,” Rosie remarked. They all split ways, she noticed Sonia texting on her phone as she was walking away. Her phone buzzed. Clara pulled it out before walking into math.

  Get out of that head of yours. This is an act and you KNOW it. Stop it.

  Got it.

  Don’t you one word me. It’s me. I’m the one who refused to pretend because I didn’t want to leave you alone. DON’T one word me.

  Clara smiled. It was actually 2 words but ok. I know it’s an act.

  Are you sure? Because I feel a but coming…

  Just seeing J, S and K talking to them just didn’t feel right.

  I know. Believe me I know. Sonia then added. Just have faith, ok?

  Clara took a deep breath. I know, I know, it’s just, I’m not used to this and so I doubt it sometimes.

  I get it. You have trust issues. But then Sonia continued. So do I. I can understand with others but trust me, ok?

  Clara read that sighed. Deal.

  She walked into class feeling better and sat down, knowing a few people were looking at her with pity and whispering. But they didn’t matter. Rosie was in her next class, and she was ready to narrow her eyes at anyone who tried to look at her with a hint of malice. But her third period came along, and she knew she had to pretend again. She took a deep breath and walked into Creative writing. Gabe was sitting there, and he glanced at her.

  He hesitated but then said, “Hey.”

  “Hey,” she answered, and turned to look straight ahead. Mr. Brooks, turned his gaze to her and his eyes showed a bit of concern, but he hid it quickly. He turned his attention back to class and began his lesson. After about 20 minutes he handed out a sheet of paper and says, “Pop quiz, today.”

  Everyone started murmuring because he was not known for giving pop quizzes. “Now, I have graded your papers, and I will hand them back to you at the end of class. Here’s your quiz. You have 20 minutes. Go.”