Breathe

by Tania Trozzo

  But Clara didn’t stop. “Jamie…”

  “Enough!” The guy holding her hissed as he threw Clara to the ground again.

  “Fuck you!” Clara responded as tears sprang to her eyes. She could feel the panic rising.

  “Actually, maybe I will have a little fun. What do you say? It’s kind of hot with you tied up and not being able to see anything.”

  It was then that Jamie interfered, “Let’s just do what we said we would do and leave. The longer we stay here, the longer we risk it.”

  “You’re right. But I like taking risks. The rest of you can leave. I’ll take it from here.”

  Clara stood. “This is NOT part of the plan!” Jamie hissed.

  “What do you think?”

  He must have asked the other girl who disguised her voice and answered, “Do whatever you want. I don’t care. It’s not part of the plan but if you touch her then Gabe probably won’t want her anymore and I’d love to see that happen.”

  “Guys, this is taking it too far. We had to scare her not seriously hurt her,” Jamie argued. The guy grabbed Clara by one of her arms.

  “Plans change,” the other girl said, “let’s go. Unless you are willing to risk it staying here with him?”

  “No, I just…” Jamie started to say.

  “Then come on. I’m out and I won’t hesitate to leave you here.”

  Clara started shaking her head, “Jamie, please.” Clara was overwhelmed remembering when she used to beg to not be locked in the shed or the closet. Tears slowly trickled down her face and she whispered, “please don’t leave me here.”

  “Aww, come on Clara, we’re going to have some fun now. Don’t be like this. You’ll love it and if you don’t, well, I know I will.” His grip on her wrist tightened. If this guy was going to try to do what he was insinuating, then she would fight back with everything she had and scream until the people in the next town heard her.

  You teeter on this line of being a bit insecure about yourself but then not wanting to put up with anyone’s shit. I like that. It shows me you’re modest yet strong, humble yet fierce. Gabe’s words echoed in her mind. He was looking for her. Clara knew it. She needed to waste time and fight back when she could. So that is exactly what she did. She pushed at him and started yelling as loud as she could.

  “You’re just making it worse. And I don’t think anyone can hear you.”

  Footsteps pounded towards them. “Shit, someone’s here. We can’t go out that way,” Jamie said. She must have turned around.

  “Clara??!!” It was Alex.

  “Clara!” Another voice joined in. Was it Leo?

  Clara started yelling, “I’m he…”. The guy grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth trying to muffle her sounds. Even with the pillow case between them, Clara was able to bite his finger and let out another scream. “Fuck,” he grunted.

  “I hear her, this way!” It was Leo.

  The guy holding her froze. He cursed repeatedly under his breath, then threw her to the ground and decided to get away. Footsteps approached her and just as she was about to plead for them to help, a voice rang above all of them, “Go after them. I’ve got her.” They ran past her as someone stopped right in front of her.

  Gentle hands grabbed her. She would know those hands anywhere. “Clara” he whispered. Gabe lifted the pillow case over her head, letting out a breath and touching her everywhere as if making sure she was in fact in one piece. Gabe looked at her with such concern in his eyes as he softly said, “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.” He undid her hands and went to pull her close just as Clara burst into tears.

  34

  Gabe

  Connor was driving and kept glancing in the rear-view mirror at Gabe. Alex and Leo were following them, Alex in his car and Leo was driving Gabe’s Jeep. Both Alex and Leo had ran after the trio guilty of this so-called prank but had lost them. It didn’t matter, thanks to Kristin, they knew Jamie and Sarah were a part of it, they just had to figure out the third person. Sonia kept turning her head and looking at Clara, tears in her eyes and anger on her face. Gabe was sure Sonia felt just like him, helpless. She reached out to give a comforting touch to Clara, but as she touched her leg, Clara flinched. Connor grabbed Sonia’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, a tear trickled from Sonia’s eye, she turned around, so Clara wouldn’t see it. Connor murmured quietly to Sonia. “Hey, it will be ok. I promise.” Sonia nodded and held on to his hand. Connor kept speaking to her quietly and glanced in the mirror at Gabe and nodded.

  Gabe couldn’t worry about Sonia right now. He could only think of the girl clinging to him. His heart fractured in a million different pieces. He held her tighter. She stopped crying at a certain point but was trembling and every so often she would fist his shirt tightly. He kept murmuring reassuring words in her ear. Rage pulsed through his veins, but he pushed it down. She needed him to remain calm and his need to take care of her surpassed any other emotion right now. He was sure that this prank had brought up some pretty bad memories for her. As soon as he had untied her hands, she threw her arms around him and didn’t seem inclined to let go. Neither was he.

  After a long 15 minutes, they finally arrived at Gabe’s house. His father was travelling and would be getting home tomorrow night which meant they had privacy. He carried Clara inside. Alex and Leo arrived right behind them. They all filtered to the basement. Connor put Clara’s bag on the coffee table. He and Sonia had found it in the courtyard on the ground.

  “Gabe, I think you should tell Elisabetta that you are home if not she may come looking for you and ask too many questions,” Alex told him. He nodded thankfully at his cousin, knowing that he was stepping up again because Gabe for sure couldn’t think straight. He sat down with Clara in his lap holding her tightly.

  He moved a strand of hair off her face. “Hey,” he said softly. She lifted her gaze. Those green eyes fucked with his sanity right now. He had to wait a few moments before speaking. “I have to go speak to Elisabetta, I’ll be quick.” She nodded in understanding. He looked briefly at the others. Alex was observing him. He nodded in reassurance, Connor was quiet with his hands in his pockets, Leo was strangely pacing.

  As soon as he moved Clara to the couch, Sonia sat down and grabbed her hand. “We’re here Clara.”

  Clara looked at her and gave her a small smile before turning to Gabe, “Go. I’ll be fine,” she said hoarsely. He almost wanted to laugh, she was reassuring him when it should be the other way around. He got up and went off to check in with his housekeeper. She insisted on making food for him and his friends. She would leave it on the counter for them to eat whenever they were ready and be back tomorrow.

  When he returned to the family room he found Clara on the phone. “Of course. Thanks Laura, I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you too. Yep, don’t worry I won’t forget.”

  “We had her call her family and tell them she was sleeping over my house,” Sonia stated. “Luckily her aunt and uncle went to some fancy Xmas party in Harrisburg and are staying the night. So Laura is covering for her.”

  Gabe nodded, “Ok, good.”

  “You ok?” Sonia asked him. He looked at her thinking about how to respond. “It’s not your fault, Gabe.”

  Sonia always managed to see a different layer to him. “I should have been there, Sonia. I should have fucking been there.”

  “And I could say that my phone should have been on me so when Claudia called me I would’ve answered. We could have beat them to it,” Leo interrupted shaking his head.

  Gabe looked at Leo and responded, “You were working. You couldn’t have known.”

  “And you were meeting your study group and couldn’t have known either,” responded quietly Clara. All heads turned towards her. “I could have fought back more. I should have. I got a few good kicks but I could have done more. That freaking pillow case…” She shook her head, with te
ars in her eyes, “it messed with my head. I…”

  “Clara, stop.” Gabe approached her hesitantly.

  She kept shaking her head, “No, Gabe. I’m supposed to know how to defend myself.” She furiously wiped away the tears.

  “It was three to one Clara, the odds weren’t in your favor. It wouldn’t be in anyone’s favor much less someone with your past,” Alex spoke.

  Connor interjected, “They knew that pillowcase would mess with your head.”

  Gabe pulled her to sit down. “Can you tell us what happened? We know that Jamie and Sarah were a part of it, but that’s pretty much all we know.”

  “Sarah? So that’s who the second girl was. I should have known I just didn’t put two and two together. I was trying to keep it together. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.” Clara took a deep breath and began to tell them the events of the afternoon, with the others putting in their parts of the timeline. Clara was upset that she hadn’t defended herself enough, but Gabe had to remind her that her fighting delayed them and that allowed them to get there in time.

  Connor chuckled, “I would have loved to see their faces when you fought back.”

  Alex grinned, “I am more than positive that if it were just Jamie and Sarah, you could have taken them easily.” The others agreed. “Do you have any idea who the third person is Clara? Other than being a guy? I mean we can try to narrow it down. Eventually, we will figure it out.”

  “It’s got to be someone they both know and probably hang out with.” Sonia chimed in, “and then there’s the driver.”

  “Yeah, but the driver had no idea what was going on. He said he wanted no parts of it. The guy told him that his debt was paid but not to say anything. The driver said he wouldn’t because he didn’t want Gabe’s wrath.” Clara informed them.

  “He told the guy driving that his debt was paid?” Leo asked her. Clara nodded.

  “Dude, are you ok? Your wheels have been spinning. Are you going to get in trouble for leaving work?” Leo shook his head but he seemed very odd. He was very agitated. Gabe could tell there was something else.

  “Anything else Clara?” Leo insisted.

  Clara thought for a second, probably playing back the events in her heads until her eyes widened. “Yes, a tattoo. I saw a tattoo on his forearm when I was able to partially lift the sack. But I can’t remember what it was exactly. It was a little red too.”

  “Like it had the color red?” Gabe asked her.

  “No, his skin was red around the tattoo.” Clara told him. He frowned.

  “It was red because it was irritated. Because it’s new.” Leo said quietly. He clenched his fists.

  “I know him. My head was all over the place and I couldn’t figure it out though. He disguised his voice but he seemed familiar.”

  “It’s because you do know him.” Leo responded staring right at her adding quietly, “We all do. Especially me.”

  Clara tilted her head looking at Leo until her eyes widened and she gasped. “Bruno. I..I” she shook her head.

  “Motherfucker.” Gabe gritted through his clenched teeth. He sprang up from the couch but Alex gently pushed him back down and pointedly looked at him and Clara. Clara needs me. Keep calm.

  “I’ve got to go.” Leo turned. “I need to do something. But whatever you decide to do, I’m in. I just need to go now.” Just like that Leo left quickly.

  “Should I go after him?” Connor asked.

  It was Alex who spoke. “No, I think he needs to be alone and to come to terms with it. This is someone he knew since he was a baby. And he needs to pick a side on his own. We’ll call him tomorrow.”

  Gabe was quiet until Clara’s hand cupped his cheek. He looked down at her. Her other hand was trying to unclench his fist. He took a deep breath and as he stared at her, he slowly calmed down. He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer. He needed to be close to her probably just as much as she needed it now. She kept him calm. The others were quiet. Clara started to say something, “Guys, please I don’t want anyone to get hurt over this.”

  “None of us will get hurt. I promise. But in some way, they will pay. You’re one of us. Let’s just take this all in and discuss it tomorrow. Jamie, Sarah and Bruno aren’t going anywhere.” Alex nodded, as did the others, but a silent understanding passed between him, Gabe, Connor and Sonia.

  The others went to the kitchen to get food and drinks to bring down as Gabe got comfortable on the couch with Clara in his lap. He asked if she was ok, “I will be,” she responded burrowing herself deeper in his arms.

  During the next few hours Clara was extremely quiet. There were moments when she would stand staring outside the patio doors and other times when she would sit down and reach for Gabe. They turned on the TV but no one was really watching it. Everyone was actually a bit quieter and a bit restless. She barely ate even though both he and Sonia tried to get her to eat more. But after two bites, she shook her head. Gabe didn’t know if she needed space to take in the events of the afternoon, but at a certain point he decided that she needed rest so he picked her up to bring her upstairs.

  For a moment, she went rigid but as he carried her upstairs to his room she relaxed. When he tried to place her on the bed, she tightened her arms around his neck, “Sshhh. Let me just lock the door. I’m not leaving you. I promise.” She let go and wrapped her arms around herself as he walked to the door and locked it. He turned around and looked at her. He was so angry. All he wanted to do was go get Bruno now and beat his face in. But he knew more than anything she needed him right now. Gabe took a deep breath and headed to the bathroom. He picked up a washcloth and wet it under cool water and then went back into his room. She was sitting against the headboard, with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head bent down. He sat down next to her. “Hey.” She lifted her head and opened her eyes to look at him. Those green eyes gutted him. “May I?” She looked at him quizzically as he gently wiped her face. She closed her eyes and sighed. He then grabbed her hand and gently wiped it down and then proceeded to her other hand. He looked up and she was staring at him. It took all his strength to not crash his lips to hers. He threw the washcloth on the night table and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “When I was a kid, my mom used to do that anytime I got hurt or was really upset about something. It soothed me.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.” Clara hesitated a second and then whispered, “Gabe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Would you please hold me?”

  It felt like those words went straight to his heart and grasped it in its hands.

  “I hadn’t planned on doing anything else.” He stood up and pulled her up from the bed so he could pull the covers back. He urged her back on the bed, turned on the lamp and shut off the light. He took a moment and stared down at her. She really had no idea how damn beautiful she was. She was wearing a pair of his sweatpants because her leggings were ruined. Clara wearing his clothes, did things to him. Gabe got onto the bed and pulled her in his arms and held her.

  Although initially she was stiff, as he began to caress her hair down to mid back she began to relax. He absentmindedly pressed his lips to her forehead every so often. She burrowed her head a bit deeper between his neck and shoulder inhaling deeply.

  “You smell good,” she said. He smiled and held her tighter as she slowly fell asleep. His phone buzzed on his nightstand. A message from Alex.

  She ok? Sonia is flipping out here.

  She just fell asleep. She’s ok. I think.

  Good.

  Then another message. They will pay for this.

  Yes…they will.

  They had gone after one of their own, so they would pay. Tomorrow they would figure everything out but for now, there was no other place he would rather be. He was going to hold her until she told him to stop.

  35

  Clara

 
Her eyes fluttered open and when she saw Gabe she paused for a second. As she took in her surroundings, events from last night flooded back to her. She took a deep breath. She didn’t move as not to wake him; his arm was still around her waist. She stared at his handsome features and noticed that although she should probably be panicked or upset, she couldn’t remember a moment when she had felt as safe as she did now. Without realizing it at first, Clara began to gently run her fingers over his eyebrow, tracing the outline of his cheek and then his chiseled jaw. Just when she was going to start the other side of his face, his eyes fluttered open and he pierced her with his gaze. He slowly smiled and as she went to pull her hand away, he grabbed it and brought it back to his cheek after placing a gentle kiss to her palm.

  “Hey,” he said softly.

  “Good morning,” she replied.

  Clara could feel her own heart going a mile a minute. He moved his hand from on top of hers to move a stray piece of hair form her face and put it behind her ear.

  He pulled her closer. “How are you feeling, Clara?”

  She pulled her gaze from his lips and looked in his eyes. “I’m ok.” She nodded as though to convince herself. She needed to get a grip, this was not the time to think about making out.

  “Clara.” He caressed her face again moving another strand of hair behind her ear. “Talk to me.” His eyes were pleading with her and whatever control she had to keep her feelings to herself broke.

  She sighed. “Honestly, I am not sure about all my feelings yet. I know that I’m angry both at them and at myself.” She looked down for a moment until his fingers lifted her chin holding her gaze steady, letting her know he was listening. “I started karate for two reasons. One to be able to defend myself and second to feel closer to my dad. He always made me feel safe, so I wanted to feel like that too but on my own. I should have been able to protect myself, but that stupid pillow case over my head…it made me feel claustrophobic. Every time I closed my eyes, I was 10 years old locked in a dark place waiting for someone to open the door. I should have been stronger.” She shook her head as tears surfaced in her eyes and she tried furiously to blink them away. She hated feeling so vulnerable and weak. But Gabe continued to patiently look at her, Clara also recognized that she felt something else too. “And maybe I shouldn’t but I..” she stopped abruptly.