Return-Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Flowers were blooming, the sun was shining, people laughing, it was an idyllic afternoon as Djazyra walked to her car from her archaeology class, and she could hardly walk fast enough. Today was the first day Gabriel was home from boot camp, and even though she wanted to skip class to spend the day with him, Gabriel had insisted she go. Djazyra couldn't get over that Gabriel would be hers for two weeks before leaving again to continue with his career training. Djazyra could hardly think straight. She was beyond excited to have Gabriel home. Though, as Djazyra walked to her car to head home from class, she couldn't help but think of some of the chaos that had happened in Gabriel’s absence.
Just the week before Djazyra had flown to his graduation along with Misty and Jack. They were all so excited to see him and be there in support of him, but it was nothing compared to how excited she was to have him coming home. Djazyra had sat next to Misty at the graduation and they had all three hooted and hollered when Gabriel walked across in front of them. The only thing Djazyra hadn’t expected, was to hear another group making the same fuss. When she was able to pinpoint the source of the noise, she felt her stomach give out. Lucas was there supporting his brother, which Djazyra had expected, but not been excited about; however, she hadn’t expected to see Alexa there as well.
After what had happened the day before Gabriel’s departure for boot camp, Djazyra had tried talking to Lucas, to come to some sort of understanding, but he ignored her on every front. Misty had tried telling her that it would take time, but that it would be okay, things would go back to normal soon enough. That was what worried Djazyra. Normal with Lucas was bound to cause trouble for someone. The only time Djazyra had seen Lucas out was when she drove past him walking downtown with Alexa. They had their arms wrapped around each other, and looked every bit the typical couple in love, and Djazyra felt she might be sick. She knew that she’d given up Lucas after how he had treated her, and been so quick to throw her under the bus. What she hadn’t expected was that he would stay with Alexa and continue to ignore Djazyra and act as though she didn’t exist. It was like she was in a parallel universe, one where she would be the one barging in on breakfast with Lucas and Alexa and causing a scene. It felt so backwards, and she had no idea where it had come from. She knew that turning to Gabriel so quickly was bound to irritate Lucas, but he flew off the handle, and refused to look at things from her perspective. She had had enough. And Gabriel had made everything begin to make sense and fall into place, Djazyra wanted that stability, and Gabriel was the one to give it to her. Despite the lack of communication between Lucas and Djazyra, she knew he would be at Gabriel’s graduation, they were still brothers after all.
Djazyra had written Gabriel regularly while he was in boot camp. They wrote about what they were doing in their separate lives, how much they missed the other, and what they couldn’t wait to do once they were together again. Djazyra was even thinking about transferring schools to continue her degree while being closer to Gabriel. But not once did Gabriel mention that he had talked to Lucas, or that he expected Alexa to be at the graduation. So when Djazyra saw her there, she couldn’t help the freefall her stomach took. Djazyra knew she didn’t still have feelings for Lucas, Gabriel had filled her heart with love for him alone, but seeing Lucas with Alexa, in person like that for the first time; it was a slap in the face. Once the graduation ceremony finished, Djazyra practically ran to Gabriel. She couldn’t wait to be in his arms and forget about Lucas for even just a moment.
Djazyra knew she looked ridiculous, running to Gabriel, when everyone else was calmly milling about looking for their loved one, but she was a woman on a mission. Once she spotted him, her heart clenched, hot, wet tears began to stream down her face, and she ran again, eyes locked with his the rest of the way. Djazyra jumped at the last second, Gabriel caught her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, held his face in her hands, and kissed him as though this man was the air in her lungs. Two months hadn’t seemed that long, especially since Djazyra had started classes again, time went fairly quickly; but she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until she saw him standing there. She kissed him with everything she had, and Gabriel responded in kind. She could feel his hands on her back and neck, holding her firm against himself. He tasted of mint and smelled like only Gabriel did; clean laundry, sunshine, a fresh breeze. Djazyra inhaled the scent, memorizing it, even though she already knew it by heart. She had made Misty go over to the apartment that Lucas and Gabriel shared, and steal a sweater of Gabriel’s so that Djazyra could have a piece of him while he was gone. She had fallen asleep in that sweater more nights than she could count; the smell of Gabriel lingering in her bed, and some nights it even brought dreams of Gabriel to her. She could feel the warm breeze blowing through her hair, and she felt in this moment just as she had when they had shared their first real kiss, in his car, outside of the zoo. Gabriel was her sun; warm, safe, and happy. She could feel the warmth of the sun radiating down on her, the broadness of Gabriel’s chest beneath her, his strong arms wrapping around her to hold her to him as though his life depended on it, and Djazyra thought there was no more perfect feeling in the world.
After what seemed like an eternity, Gabriel slowed their kiss, and nudged his nose against hers, “Hey heartbreaker.” Gabriel spoke quietly with a smile. Djazyra chuckled as he set her on her feet, though he still held her flush against himself. Djazyra found herself on her tiptoes, and Gabriel hunched over, as they both refused to let the other go. Gabriel pulled her in to a bear hug and kissed her again. This kiss wasn’t as long, but it filled up a part of Djazyra that she hadn’t realized had been empty. Gabriel pulled back a little to look at her, his green eyes looking vibrant and alive, and began to wipe at her tears with his thumbs. Neither of them spoke; they simply soaked in the moment.
Until Alexa spoke. “Well isn’t this just the most special day! LJ has been so excited to see you again Gabe, we really can’t wait to have you back!” The sheer enthusiasm in Alexa’s voice made Djazyra think she was going to vomit. Alexa had no right to be here, she didn’t care about Gabriel, yet here she was, ruining the moment for them. Djazyra’s back was to Alexa, and Gabriel’s eyes never left Djazyra’s face, but he did stiffen in her arms. Gabriel sighed quietly before kissing Djazyra one last, quick, time.
Gabriel still didn’t let her go, he continued to hold her against himself, as though if he let her go, she’d run away. But he addressed Alexa as he spoke, “Thank you so much for coming Alexa. I know how much it means to Lucas.” Gabriel emphasized Lucas’ name, and Djazyra couldn’t help but wonder if Gabriel had asked Lucas to come alone, or if he knew that Lucas and Alexa were still together and not just a one night stand. “Misty, Jack, thank you guys for coming, and for staying with Djazyra. I really appreciate you being there for her while I was gone.” Gabriel’s voice vibrated in his chest, where Djazyra’s head lay, and she quickly tried to memorize the sound and feel.
Djazyra slowly began to disentangle herself from Gabriel and turn to face their friends. Gabriel’s arm found its way to her waist and held on tight. Djazyra bit her lip and smiled sheepishly at the ground before looking up to find Lucas staring at her. His blue eyes bore into her, and Djazyra wanted to turn right back around. She forced herself to look at him, and then moved her gaze over to Misty and Jack. Misty was smiling like a fool, looking between Gabriel and Djazyra, and Jack was smiling too. He began to walk over to Gabriel. He extended his arm, and Gabriel had to let Djazyra go to shake Jack’s hand, and pull him in for a hug. “Hey man, it was nothing, she was a mess there at the start, but she handled it like a champ. But I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re glad to have you back, even if it is just a few weeks.” Jack still held Gabriel’s hand and had his other hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. But he looked over at Djazyra and smiled. Djazyra smiled back, she really felt like Jack had been like a brother to her while Gabriel had been gone. Since she hadn’t had Lucas to turn to for support, Jack had stepped up and been there for her instead.
Djazyra had spent plenty of time with Jack in the past, but during the two months Gabriel had been gone, he had stepped up for her and made an effort to really talk to her, and be a friend to her, instead of just in the background as he usually was. Djazyra didn’t know if it was Misty’s doing or just the kindness from a good man caring about his fiancé’s friend, but either way, Djazyra didn’t know where she’d be without him. “I wasn’t a total mess! Just a little one. And only for the first few weeks, then I pulled myself together.” Djazyra stood a little taller, trying to make herself seem dignified despite being called out for falling apart when Gabriel first left. She knew that she had been a mess, but things had been very rough those first few weeks.
The night before Gabriel left, Djazyra had thought it was odd that her parents were out of the house for the entire night, and it had turned out, they had been in the hospital with her father’s brother. He'd had a heart attack, and though he wasn’t in critical condition, he was still in the hospital. Since he lived a few hours away, her parents had gone down to be there at the hospital with him, but didn’t want Djazyra to miss out on her last day with Gabriel, especially since Lucas had come by to pick her up for breakfast. It wasn’t until the next day that her parents had told her, and they took her down to the hospital to visit with him as well. It had been a very rough start to what was one of the hardest days Djazyra had faced in years.
Not having Gabriel there to comfort her had been hard, but not having him or Lucas was what made her a mess. She was used to always having one brother to count on, and in one day she’d managed to break up with one, and have the other leave her life for two months. She had turned to Misty, and Misty had in turn turned to Jack. Jack stood strong for the girls, and was the rock that they both needed, but for Djazyra at least, it was still not quite the same.
Gabriel had been supportive in his letters, but they didn’t come with enough regularity for Djazyra. She missed him so much she almost failed one of her midterms because she couldn’t focus enough to study. But as Djazyra was day dreaming, she felt Gabriel’s arm wrap around her waist once more, and his lips on her head. “I’m sure she was a handful, so thank you for keeping an eye out for her, and taking care of her. But also, thank you for taking care of Misty. I am very happy that she has someone as good as you to be with her for the rest of her life.” As Gabriel spoke, he looked over at Misty, and Misty began to cry. She finally couldn’t help herself any longer and came over and threw her arms around Gabriel’s neck.
Once again, Djazyra felt Gabriel’s arm slip from her waist, but she knew that Misty needed time with her “adopted brother” just as much as she did, and she wasn’t upset for a moment. “You, Gabriel James, are one of the best men I know. I hope they know what kind of man they’re getting; just how amazing you are. And I hope they also know that they don’t deserve you. Not even one little toe. They don’t deserve someone as good as you.” Misty’s words were choked out beneath her tears, and she squeezed Gabriel’s neck again. Gabriel held her, and swayed a little with her, causing Misty to laugh. “I missed you.” Misty whispered, just loud enough for Djazyra to Misty’s right, and Jack to the left, to hear.
Gabriel whispered back, “I missed you too, sis.” He continued to hug Misty, until she finally released him. Djazyra felt in that moment Gabriel showed what kind of man he was: not afraid to hug his, for all intents and purposes, sister for as long as she needed, and admit that he had missed her, that spoke to Djazyra. She found herself smiling, and she knew that she loved him more than she ever thought possible. Gabriel now stepped forward to Lucas. He stood with a few yards between them, and for the first few moments, Djazyra swore everyone held their breath. Time seemed to stop, all the commotion of the day seemed to die instantaneously, and the air seemed to thicken until you could cut it with a knife. Djazyra could see Lucas eyeing Gabriel over, his eyes giving nothing away, and she knew that Gabriel was probably doing the same thing to Lucas. Alexa stood awkwardly beside Lucas, for the first time acting unsure of what to do in this new situation she found herself in. Finally Lucas nodded, walked forward to close the gap between them, and reached his hand out for Gabriel to shake. Gabriel had yet to move. His back was stiff as a board, and Djazyra could see the tension rolling off of the sleeves of his dress uniform. Finally, after another few seconds, Gabriel took Lucas’ hand, but made no move to hug him, as he had Jack. Lucas now seemed to stiffen, realizing that things weren’t going to be forgiven so easily. They stiffly shook hands, and then turned and walked back to their respective girlfriends.
Alexa looked shocked, as though she couldn’t believe that Gabriel would dare not acknowledge her, and as she opened her mouth to speak, Lucas threw his arm around her shoulders, and they walked away. The rest of the day had been great.
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