by Savana Jade
I take an involuntary step in to get a deeper look when suddenly a set of arms are wrapped around my waist and a chin rests on my shoulder. Gabe silently whispers in my ear. “Beautiful isn’t it?” I lean back against him as all I can do is nod. “I’ve dreamt about giving you a house like this. I know how much you love this style.” He says softy kissing my cheek. “I watch your eyes light up when we see something that reminds you of this style.”
“I like a lot of styles Gabriel.” I whisper to him in my defense.
“Not like you do this.” He says chuckling. Damn, he knows me so well. “C’mon, let’s go.” He pulls at my belt loop towards the door. We walk down the hall a little further and he show’s me Emily’s room. It’s your typical teenage bedroom with rock star posters displayed all over the walls. I peek my head in looking for our one poster we made about a year ago when Will thought it would be wise to sell some at an event or two during the summer. “Looking for us?” Gabe asks.
“Of course.” I respond still scanning the room for a Live Today poster.
“Turn around.” Gabe says. I turn as he begins to close the door. And there we are. The only poster that is framed is the one of us. I smile as I inspect it. “Think we should autograph it for her?”
“I think that would be a great idea.” I say then frown when I notice Will is missing from the group now. “But maybe we shouldn’t.” I finish with a sigh. Gabe looks to where my eyes have drifted to and he pulls me into a hug.
“I miss him too angel. More than you know.” He says kissing the top of my head. I let a single tear escape my eye as I close them tightly. He takes my hand and pulls me out of that room down past the larger than normal bathroom then to his room that rests at the end of the hallway. Drew and Brennan are already in the room. I only just realized that they weren’t with us in the other rooms. That’s probably a good thing. I don’t really want Brennan or Drew for that matter worried about me.
Gabe’s room is as if it hasn’t been touched in years. I mean, I know it literally hasn’t but it’s nothing like his room at home. At home, it’s more of a mature style bedroom as this room is set up for a much younger person. He has a few rock posters on his walls, a few of his favorite teams. On his mirror there are pictures of different people tucked into the corners where the frame and glass meet. I take a step towards it to get a better look. He has his sisters and him on the center most top one. A few ticket stubs from his favorite movies and bands tucked around the edges as well. There is a photo of his entire family; they are all making a goofy face in that one making me smile. Now I know where he gets his personality from, all of them. He has some of what I’m assuming of his highs school friends. He mentioned them a few times when we first met, but the more time he spent with us, the less time he spoke about his past.
Surrounding those pictures are other pictures of him and a girl. She has long brown hair and I can tell in one of the photos, she is as tall as he is. Her green eyes stand out over her olive skin. I must say, she is very beautiful. My heart clenches a bit when I actually see him so affectionate with someone else. He looks happy in most of the pictures, but of course, he usually is a happy guy. She is smiling in most pictures, but looks irritated in some. A look of confusion crosses my face when Drew stands next to me and whispers, “That’s his past Jenna. You’re his future.”
His comment breaks my train of thought and I look up into his eyes. “I’m sorry? I wasn’t really thinking anything to be honest Drew.” I reply with a little sarcasm in my voice. He raises an eyebrow at me when I continue, “Gabe, who is this?” I return Drew’s look back to him as I wait for an answer.
“Um, those are some of my high school buddies.” He says, I instinctively turn my head to meet his eyes letting him know that his “buddies” are not what I was meaning. He sighs heavily as answers. “She is an old friend.” I tilt my head as I rest my hands on my hips. “Her name is Carmen. We dated for a few years before I left.” He says grimly. Immediately, my mind wanders as my eyes drift up to Drew then back to the mirror. I can see Gabe’s face in the reflection as I take a look at Carmen once more. Is she another reason he was so edgy about coming home?
“She’s pretty.” I say softly. I hear Brennan huff in protest before Gabe replies back to me not a nanosecond later. “Not nearly as beautiful as you are Jems.” Gabe stands from the bed he and Brennan were sitting on and walks towards the door. “Let’s see if the snacks are done. I’m starving.” He says as he leaves the room.
“Huh” Brennan says. “Wonder what that was all about?”
“I have no clue.” I reply.
Drew, Brennan and I make our way down to the kitchen where Gabe has already entered and taken up residency in a chair at the table. His total disposition has shifted from warm and loving to cold and harsh. I decide to let it go for now since I don’t want his mother to worry about him any more than I’m assuming she already has. I quietly sit beside him and rest my hand on his. He looks my way and a small smile begins to form from the corner of his mouth. I give him a big huge smile, nudge his shoulder with mine and squeeze his hand. He interlocks our fingers and leans in and gives me a swift kiss before telling me he loves me. I return the sentiment.
A few hours later, Maria insists on driving to the high school where this community meeting for the fair is being held. Ashley and Gabe’s father are there already as they have been helping set things up for most of the day. Once we enter the theatre, I immediately gasp. Standing on the stage is a man that without a shadow of a doubt is Antonio Gonzales. I knew Gabe looked a lot like his father, but words cannot describe how much he actually does.
Antonio is as tall as Gabe if not taller. His hair is peppered with grey but still holds the natural dark look. He is a fit man, very fit for his age. I hear his mom laugh and I turn my direction to her. “Good looking men we have right dear?” I blush immediately and she laughs but pats my cheek. “Like father, like son. Gabriel is a spitting image of Tony when he was Gabriel’s age.” She winks as she continues. “They only get better looking with time.” I am beet red at this point when Gabe comes up to save the day.
“C’mon angel, I want you to meet Pops and Ashley.” He says as he pulls me away. Once we are a few feet away from his mom, he pulls me under his arm and whispers, “Looked like you needed a moment from my mom.” He says smiling. I blush again when I look up at him. I’m not sure if he heard what Maria and I were talking about, but I needed more than a moment. I pat him on the stomach and nod, still in embarrassment at myself for looking over Gabe’s dad.
Once on stage, Gabe walks me over to his father. “Hey Pops.” He says. His father turns and first looks at him, then to me, then back to Gabe again.
“Well, who is this man that stands before me? When I last saw him, he was only a boy.” He says sternly before taking a step towards Gabe and opening his arms for him. At first Gabe looked taken in a bit by him, then a smile appeared on his face as he let my hand go and stepped into his father’s embrace. “Good to see you son.”
My breath caught as the sentiment made its way to my chest. So much love was in the air. “Good to see you too dad, I missed you.” Gabe says with a smile. At this moment, I made the decision to make sure that Gabe, Matt and Drew all made the attempt to see their families at least two times a year. As their hugging session breaks apart, Antonio looks over to me, followed by Gabe. “Dad, I would like you to meet my Jenna.”
My cheeks flush immediately as Antonio looks me over. I’ve seen father look over their daughter’s boyfriends before, but never have I seen a father look over their son’s girlfriends. Suddenly, I wished I was with Brennan. “So, you’re Jenna huh?” My throat suddenly dries up and before I can answer he continues. “You are the one who kept my Gabriel away from his mother all these years.” Whoa, what?
“Excuse me?” I ask softly, not wanting to disrespect the man standing in front of me, but wanting to get some clarity on his comment.
“Dad.” Gabe says with an angry tone.
“Don’t…” His father holds his hand up stopping Gabe in his tracks.
“You’re the one that has transformed my Gabriel into a man? Someone who, when he left, had not a care in the world, but now he has responsibilities and goals.” Holding my hands together in fists I reply.
“I’m sorry Mr. Gonzales but, Gabe has always had goals. They might not have been the same goals you had for him, but he has always had goals.” Antonio has a look of surprise on his face as I continue. “You should be proud of him for what he has accomplished.” I finish saying as I make eye contact with Gabe who is looking just as surprised. “Gabe isn’t just a band member Mr. Gonzales,” I continue with a stronger voice, holding my hand out to Gabe. He takes it as he steps to my side. “He is a part of our family. And we accept him for who he is.” I look up into Gabe’s glossy eyes. “And I love him.”
He takes my face in his hands and whispers. “I love you too.” Then ever so softly, he kisses me. “So much.”
“Well, I guess I stand corrected then.” Antonio says as he takes a step towards us. Resting a hand on my and Gabe’s shoulders. “Jenna, I was going to finish and say, if you can turn a boy into a man by simply believing in someone the way you and your brother have done for Gabriel, then you must definitely be something special.” He says smiling down at me. “It’s my pleasure to meet you young lady.”
A huge release of air escapes Gabe and my lungs as we both realize that we were holding our breaths. We look into each other’s eyes and laughed. I turned to Antonio and offered my hand. “Let’s start again shall we?” He smiles down at me and takes my offered hand. “Hello Mr. Gonzales, I’m Jenna Munson.”
He shakes my hand, and then pulls me into his arms. “Please Jenna, its Tony.” He says before releasing me back to Gabe. “So where is this Brennan? I hear he’s the foundation of this family?”
I tilt my head to Gabe who simply shrugs at me. “Um, yes sir, he is.”
“Well, c’mon then, let’s go before this meeting starts.” He puts his arm over Gabe’s shoulder and we turn to walk towards Brennan and the family. “So son, Ashley tells me you’ll be playing this weekend?”
“Oh, um, well, about that.” Gabe tries to get out that he made a mistake, but before he could finish, I intervene.
“Yes sir, we would be more than happy to perform.” Gabe’s eyes widen listening to my words. “It’s been too long since we have been on stage, and this way, you can see how talented our Gabe is here.” I say winking at him. He smiles with pride at me in return.
After introducing Gabe’s father to the guys, we took our seats. Brennan and the boys decide to take the seats directly behind Gabe and myself. Emily is sitting next to Drew as his parents sit beside him. Ashley, Gabe’s older sister, is on the board so we haven’t had a chance to officially meet her just yet. The lights flicker which I assume is a warning that the meeting will begin shortly. Gabe, who hasn’t left my side since we met his father, leans in and kisses my cheek. Something he has done every few minutes.
“Are you sure you are okay with the show on Saturday?” He asks with worry in his voice.
Honestly, I am not sure about anything right now except the simple fact that I made a commitment to his father and hell or high water I better be ready. I look up at him and swallow the lump in my throat and nod. “It’s kind of late now isn’t it? I already told your father and the boys it was a go.”
He shakes his head, “It’s not too late Jems. I can find my sister and have her take us off the list.” Immediately, I place a hand on his cheek to stop his shaking head and force him to look at me.
“Gabriel, it’s important to have your family see how hard you have worked for this career. I will not jeopardize it for anything in the world. Plus, Will was right.” I say softly. He squeezes my hand knowing how hard this is for me. “He didn’t want us to stop simply because he’s gone. He wants us to continue on.” I close my eyes to avoid allowing tears to spill over.
“Hey.” He whispers. I open my eyes and meet his honey brown eyes staring down at me. “I don’t want you to do anything simply for me. If they want to hear my work, they can buy a CD.” He chuckles then becomes serious. “I understand why you are doing this, but if it’s too soon Jenna, then we will wait. Okay?” I nod quickly as he leans in and kisses my lips so softly I almost forgot where we were.
“Dude, think you can spare us the PDA for an hour or so? It’s making me sick.” Brennan says. I begin to giggle as I lean into Gabe’s shoulder.
“Yeah, whatever man. You’d be doing the same thing if you had a beautiful girl by your side.” Gabe says over his shoulder.
As they begin to banter, a microphone comes to life bringing our attention to the stage that Antonio had set up. “Hello, and thank you for coming.” A soft female voice fills the room. As my eyes adjust to which person at the long table to which the voice is coming from I hear from behind me. “No fucking way.” Gabe and I look at each other quick before turning our head behind us. Brennan is sitting in his seat, eyes wide and mouth fully open.
“What’s wrong Bren?” I ask him quietly.
He breaks his focus on stage and leans in between Gabe and me. “Dude, you know everyone here right?”
Gabe scrunches his brows up in confusion and answers. “Pretty much, yeah. Why?”
Brennan points his finger from between our heads to the stage. “Who is that? On the mic? She’s drop dead gorgeous.”
Gabe stiffens and squeezes my hand as he realizes who she is. “Oh no.”
I look up at him and cock my head. “What?”
He looks at her, and then to Brennan, then he looks back to me and says. “Oh, hell no.”
“Dude, what’s wrong? Is she taken or something?”
“Or something bro.” Gabe says with a bit of anger in his voice “Uh, Brennan, that’s my sister.”
No Turning Back Now
“This isn’t a joke Gabe. Who is she?” Brennan asks a little more eager even the second time around. Gabe immediately twists in his seat turning completely towards Brennan.
“No fucking joke man. That’s Ashley. And don’t even think about touching her either.” He says sternly. Immediately I hear chuckles from behind me as I bite my lip. Those words sound so familiar, but usually they’re coming from the other person. Drew and Matt try their hardest to hold it in but their attempts fail as they draw attention to Gabe’s family.
Gabe looks at me and raises an eyebrow. “You find this funny?” All I can do is shrug my shoulders as my smile widens. “It’s not funny Jenna. Not one bit.” He says turning and sulking in his seat.
I make an attempt to take a hand he has made fists of. I continue to rub my thumb over his fisted balls of fury until he relaxes and takes my hand in his. I lean into his side and whisper. “It’s just a bit ironic don’t you think? Just last week Brennan was saying the exact same thing to you.” His eyes narrow as he glances my way, but he chooses to stay quiet. I take that as my cue to keep quiet as well and listen to the topic at hand.
After a very long and boring meeting, we stand at the exit of the theatre and wait for Ashley to join us. Everything for the fair has been finalized and we are the final act for Saturday night’s event. Brennan and Matt are happy to get back on stage. Drew, I think is more anxious than I am. This will be his first live performance since joining Live Today. I also know he is worried about me. I have to admit, I am excited for the guys, but it will be hard to get back on the stage without Will. I know I have the support from them to get me through it. At least we will have a few days of rehearsal to get our set in order and to tweak the equipment to our liking.
The door opens and Gabe’s sister, Ashley comes walking out. She is absolutely stunning. She actually looks like someone who would live in California rather in Kansas. Her short red streaked hair falls in a soft bob around her neckline. She wears a black off the shoulder V-neck top with the most adorable denim skirt. Her boots finishes off the outfit perfectly.
From behind me, I
hear a gasp followed by a whispering voice which I know is Brennan’s “Beautiful.” She is of average height, and holds the Gonzales features quite nicely. As her chocolate brown eyes which aren’t overly covered in make-up meets Gabe’s, her smile brightens. “Gabe. You made it.” She opens her arms for his embrace. “When did you get here?”
“Sometime this afternoon. It’s good to see you Ash.” Gabe says as he rocks her back and forth in a caressing hug. He kisses her cheek before pulling away from her and turning her to us. “Ashley, I would like you to meet the guys.” He says smiling. Gabe and Ashley are close. They talk or text at least once a day if not more. He introduces her to Drew and Matt before he introduces her to me as “his Jenna” of course. What surprises me the most is that he didn’t introduce last as he has all day. This time he forcefully waited to introduce Brennan. After yet another embrace from a Gonzales, my eyes narrowed to Gabe. He knew what he was doing and as amusing it was to see him suffer the same way Brennan has suffered for years, he was also being disrespectful to both my brother and his sister. Looking into my eyes, he immediately rolled them before beginning introducing Brennan to Ashley.
“Ashley, this is Brennan. Bren, Ashley.” He says with a boredom tone as he waves his hand back and forth.
Sighing even bigger than Brennan in disappointment, Ashley stepped past us and offered her hand. “Hello Brennan, it’s very nice to meet you.” She says with a seductive tone.
Gabe moans and whispers in an annoying tone. “You’ve got to be kidding me” Taking a step back, I wrap my arms around his waist and smack him on his stomach to silence him. My eyes remain on Brennan as he seriously has the look of fear.
“Uh, um…Hi, I mean hello.” I begin to giggle as he tries to get squared away. At least Gabe never got tongue tied with me. “I mean, hey Ashley, it’s a pleasure meeting you.” He finishes with a deep breath. My eyes drift over to Matt and Drew who are doing their best to hold in their laughs. Thankfully Ashley is as oblivious to their laughter as Brennan is.