Chapter 17

"Rory, we have to leave." As he approaches me, he chuckles. Both men gaze at one other as though they've known each other for a long time. "Where are you going?" As I fell in step with Kelvin, Gabriel exclaims, "Why else are you both out this late?" His tone is solemn, with a hint of worry about it, and he seemed disturbed about something. Before it falters, I spin round and stared at him. "We have business to attend to."
Gabriel looks at me pointedly with an raised brow and I sigh in defeat. He has a look that says 'I'm not going to let you leave until you tell me.' Or maybe it's 'Tell me or else I'll bury you on my land.' Yeah, it's probably the latter, I think to myself.
''We pranked Kelvin's friend!'' I rush out, looking up at him with wide eyes.
He sighs, running a hand through his brown hair that looks almost black in the night. ''Alright. Say that again and this time slowly.''
''We pranked Kelvin's friend and now we're on our way home.'' I mumble, looking down at my shoes as if I'm a child who has been caught.
I groan in defeat as Gabriel squints at me with a raised brow. He has a look on his face that screams, "I'm not letting you go until you tell me." 'Tell me or I'll drown you on my land,' or something similar. I thought to myself, "It's probably the latter." "We pranked Kelvin's friend!" I exclaim, my eyes wide with surprise. He sighs and runs his hand over his brown hair, which is nearly black in the dark. ''Alright. "We pranked Kelvin's buddy and now we're heading home," I say, glancing at my shoes like a child who has been exposed.
"Any genuine reason?" he asks, tipping my chin up with an expression I can't read in his eyes. ''Yes." I nod, thinking he expects me to go into more detail. "We had to get Kelvin back since he colored his hair bright pink."
"Mi amor." Gabriel grunts and rubs his face with his palm. "You shouldn't have gone with Kelvin simply to prank someone; it's dangerous to be out at night" (My love.) "Well, I want to go, and Kelvin is with me, so I'm safe,"  Looking up at him, I reason.
His piercing green eyes are fixed on my lips. He entangles our fingers and pushes me toward his house, gesturing Kelvin to follow. I gaze at his big hand, which has totally absorbed mine, causing every nerve to swell. As we walk, I look up in surprise to see him looking at me.
Unconsciously, I tighten my grip on his palm as I survey the surrounding woodland, an anxious sensation developing in the pit of my belly. The recollection of being kidnapped and forced into a cell by the men is still clear in my mind. I'd nearly forgotten about it until my brain thought it'd be a lot more fun to bring this up again...right as I was strolling through the same woods.
Kelvin comes up behind us and marches ahead, as if he knows precisely where he's going in this maze of trees and leaves. I tuck my jacket closer to my body, fighting the chills that want to run wild all over my body. When Gabriel observes me staring all around forest in terror, he returns my stare with an uncertain expression. He yanks me to his side and tucks me in. "They will not hurt you again, Amanda," lo prometo. (I promise.)
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,  Even though they're locked up, I can't help but be paranoid at times. I mean I should not do this -" I babble, and he silences me by putting his hands around my waist and forcefully gripping them. I unconsciously push myself closer till my face is on his shoulder, with our lips just a moment away from meeting, lost in the depths of his lovely green eyes. When Gabriel tugs my hood back and wraps my hair at the back of one ear, my heart thumps wildly in my chest.
I watch as he chews his lower lip before swearing under his breath, his dark eyes seem to be fighting an internal conflict. He looks up at me, lowers his head, and kisses my cheek tenderly before he kisses the corner of my lips, surprising me. Then he snuggles his nose further into crook of my neck, leaving a trail of heat right from my lips to the bottom of my neck. "What was it for?' I ask, my voice shaky. He pulls back to look at me, shrugging. "In the moonlight, you look stunning.'
I give him a long look before nodding. "Oh...actually, I think you're lovely as well." My eyes enlarge to the sizes of saucers the second I utter it. "Wait, no!" says the narrator. T-No, I didn't mean that. 'Can you forget that?' I ask gently, peering up at him. 'Crap, I m-meant, not that you're not gorgeous, you are, but what I mean was that uh...can you ignore that?" His body trembles as he silently chuckles. He bites his lower lip again and shakes his head until letting out a giggle. In humiliation, my cheeks become a bright scarlet, and a moan escapes me. I smack his chest and scream, "Stop laughing at me!"
Gabriel quietly laughs before tangles his hands into my hair and pulls me forward. He kisses the curve of my neck with a feather-like kiss that runs down my temple towards the side of my lips. "Eres bastante atractiva". He mutters, drawing back and tucked a stray hair behind his ear. (You're quite attractive.)
We resume our trek, and he refuses to release my hand. Trust me, every time I try to break free from his grip, he tightens it even more. We soon come upon Kelvin, who is seated on Gabriel's front steps. I suppose Gabriel is driving us home, and when he indicates Kelvin to come in and tugs me to the passenger side, my suspicions are confirmed.
He reverses the automobile onto the smooth asphalt that goes out of the wide expanse. It takes a long time to properly escape, but we eventually reach the expressway that will take us back to our house. As we approach the area and eventually arrive a the familiar two-storey house, I listen as Kelvin offers Gabriel directions to his house. Kelvin waves farewell and says he'll see me at school the next day before creeping around the back of his house, going up a tree, and sliding into his room with one more wave. If his mother saw him returning so late at night, she would murder him.
As Gabriel pulls out of the garage and into the road, I let out a yawn. It's silent for a long time, yet it's not uncomfortable. My eyelids close of their own own as I lie back on the headrest, mumbling instructions to my home but quickly realize that he knows already the way to my place. Chris and my buddies are just a few blocks apart and live quite near to each other. If I'm ever hanging at their place on weekdays whenever we have to get up for school, it's a huge benefit; otherwise, my own home is a twenty-minute short drive from everyone.