Intimidation

Chapter 9

Mom and Lyla came in and we all sat down to plan our next move.

I told them about the phone and everything that had happened and mom looked worried.

She got up to check my face and skin and I smiled and held her hand.

"I'm okay mom. I can handle myself" I said.

She nodded and slowly moved back to her seat.

We all talked for a while and tried to come up with a plan to get the guy what he wanted.

I understood dads point of view but I also understood his.

All he wanted was to be with his family and to know they're safe,and he's going to get just that.

No matter how long it takes I will make sure it happens.

All of the plans we came up with didn't work and all had too many flaws to try to put into action.

Dad shook his head and pushed his hair back in frustration.

"Okay. We need to do this tomorrow. As much as I want to get it over with this isn't something that's going to be easy to do and we will need to plan every single step very carefully so no one gets hurt or worse. We all need to be at our best and well rested and right now I am not either one of those" he said.

We all nodded and he patted the chairs arm as he got up and walked into his room.

I picked up the phone from the table and put it back into my pocket.

Mom followed dad and we all went to our own rooms.

I felt so bad knowing that I couldn't just help the guy then and there,and that I also couldn't help my dad figure this thing out.

I took the phone out of my pocket as I sat on my bed staring down at it and trying to think hard for something,anything that I could do to help.

I've always been a clumsy person who didn't know how to fight or take care of herself but I really hope all of this changes it soon enough.

I closed my eyes and layed back to try to think better.

Lyla came to sit next to me and I looked up at her.

"What are we doing sis? Should we really be a part of this? I know this is family and family business stuff but...this isn't us. We don't do things like this and it's hard to believe that I actually shot someone. The old me would have screamed and probably thrown it down but I didn't..it's like..ever since the fire I've been trying to be this person that I'm not. This stronger,fearless and confident person that I'm not and it's getting really hard to do" I said.

Tears started to roll down my eyes and I sat up in frustration.

"See! I can't even keep my-"

"Camilla calm down. I know you're upset and we all are. But it's the way you handle it that makes things get better or get worse. Everything you just said I know already. But,that doesn't mean you're pretending to be someone that you're not. Sometimes the things we go through can change us. Maybe you just changed for the better when you realized that this was actually happening and wasn't just a dream" she said.

I thought about that for a while,then I looked at the phone.

"You're right. So what do we do with this? And how are we supposed to help dad?" I said.

"I don't know yet. But we can start by going over everything that happened as much as you can remember and you write it down as I voice record you saying it. So we can have them both just in case" she said.

I shook my head as she went to her bag to grab a pencil and notebook.

She started the recorder and I started writing down every detail that I could remember and really hoped this would work.

Once we were done,she put the notebook and recorder back into her bag and we talked for a while until I heard Gabriel's voice and a knock on the door.

Lyla got up to open it and smiled big when she saw him.

He had a dark blue suit on that looked like he was going to a fancy dance.

His hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and his tattoos were slightly visible from the beginning of the sleeves to the neckline,and his silver earrings just made everything look so much better.

He looked amazingly stunning and I caught myself staring a bit too long.

I cleared my throat and looked down at my phone.

"Hello Gabriel. What can we do for you?" She said.

He looked down at something in his hands then looked over at me.

"I..I would like to take you and Camilla somewhere. Not for very long just to see something that I've been working on" he said.

I looked hesitantly at Lyla and her expression was exactly how I felt.

"Oh,don't worry. Your parents have already seen it and they approved already. If you want we can go to them now just to be sure" he said.

Lyla and I relaxed some but we would of course still have to go ask my parents just in case.

I really do like him but I'm not just going to go somewhere new with him just because I like him.

"Okay,give us a few minutes to get ready and we'll be out soon" I said.

He nodded and walked out.

As Lyla closed the door I layed back on my bed feeling really nervous but sort of excited at the same time.

Of course this isn't a date..is it?

No. Couldn't be. He wants Lyla and I to go so it can't be.

I was so busy thinking about it I didn't notice Lyla come out of the bathroom dressed and I realized I haven't even started yet.

"Camilla come on. Get dressed we don't have much time and we need to get back before sunset" she said.

I got up and walked over to the closet to try to find something easy but still pretty to put on just in case it was something like a date.

I settled on a dark blue dress with diamonds that was the same color as Gabriel's suit.

I put it on my bed as I went into the bathroom to shower.

Once I was done,I decided to leave my hair down but dried it and put some clips in it.

I walked out of the bathroom to get my dress and noticed that Lyla was sitting on her bed smiling widely at her phone and I was happy to see that again.

I walked back into the bathroom and put my dress on and was surprised to see just how beautiful it fit on my figure.

I've never felt this pretty before and it gave me a new sense of confidence that I wish would stay forever.

I put on some silver hoop earrings and lip gloss and admired myself again in the mirror as I took some pictures and videos for memories.

I walked back out to grab my purse and when Lyla looked up her jaw dropped.

"Wow...my sister is all grown up now" she said,pretending to cry.

I laughed and she stood up and took some pictures and videos of us both and sent them to me.

This is definitely going to be a night to remember.