Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ilem had managed to convince Allin to go testify on Ian's behalf regarding the car, he hadn't had the nerve to say anything to any of his sisters about the fact that their father wasn't home and neither was Gabe, his mother had arrived so late that night that Ilem didn't dare bother her, so they and Allin decided to walk to the police station.

When they finally arrived Ilem saw Gabe next to Roland talking, Marianna was away from them, it all seemed really as if Gabe had agreed to be a Martin, thinking about that made ilem's stomach feel sick.

Still she ran to Gabe because it felt like years since she had seen him, he received the hug and kissed Ilem on the hair, she couldn't help but burst into tears, she wanted to be strong, actually not yesterday she had cried at all, certainly not when her mother made her father, not when she was left alone and not when Gabe hung up, she had been strong enough for a lifetime now she just wanted to cry.

Gabe held her close and asked Allin to go to Marianna and tell her what he was going to say in the statement, he didn't feel good being around Marianna, he couldn't talk to her or look at her after knowing that she had given up on him. , Marianna tried to give him a lot of explanations but for Gabe none of that justified her, she was a coward and selfish. It was everything

«Ilem look at me.

Gabe claimed, she only pulled him closer to her body and buried her head in her neck.

Gabe pushed her away and cupped her cheeks with his hands, making her look directly into his eyes, those little blue eyes that he had helped so much to recover, that had seen him with admiration thousands of times, now they only saw him with sadness.

«Gabe, mom left last night and I was alone, no... I couldn't tell Allin anything about what happened and Ellen is so stressed asking where our parents are, I don't know what to say, you were the one who solved these things, I didn't I know how to do this without you.

She started crying again, and Gabe wiped away her tears and made her look at him again.

«Ilem I know that you are very intelligent and you will solve this, I still can't go home, I don't want mom... Lera herself to feel overwhelmed by my presence.

Ilem looked at him devastated, it was worse than she thought, so this wasn't for a while, this could be forever.

Gabe you can't do this to us, you can't leave, you can't… you can't leave us Gabe. Mom, she's going to be fine, she's still your mom too, no matter what others say. Still... still.

Gabe put his hand over her mouth to stop her sudden verbiage and spoke.

«Ilem I am quite old, I already had to find my own house, I am not going to live at Roland's, that was only because I had nowhere to stay, today I rented an apartment and they can go whenever they want, but I still do not plan to return home.

Ilem made an exasperated noise, he knew she wasn't going to change his mind, if anything Gabe was stubborn as a mule.

"Well, whatever you want, forget me if that makes you happy.

I answer her angrier than she intended

«Ilem…

Gabe tried to stop her but she was already gone with Roland and Allin who were chatting animatedly. She felt a little rude about the tantrum, but it was wrong to want her family together she didn't think so.

«Well, hello little brother, until you realize that I exist.

Allin argued with Gabe as he stopped next to her, Gabe hugged her tight by the sword and both Roland and Ilem smiled, Gabe was always so affectionate and so willing to put everyone above himself. Roland felt bad for missing out on Gabe so much, when they went to Liverpool together yesterday he had noticed how similar Gabe was to himself.

The way she smiled, the way she frowned and the way she accepted things without the slightest hate in her eyes, still surprised him, he had seen Gabe numerous times growing up because he was Ian's best friend and he was always around and around. somehow he and Gabe had been quite close despite not knowing the truth of the facts.

It wasn't that long before Detective Fieguera called Allin to testify. Ilem was able to realize that her sister was a little nervous, but Roland managed to calm her down and offered to go with her since none of her parents were present. Figuera agreed to let him accompany her.

It was about twenty minutes before they came out again which surprised both ilem and Gabe because the last few times they had testified it had felt like forever being locked up there.

"What happened?

Gabe really wanted Allin's testimony to be enough to get Ian released on bail.

Roland seemed quite excited so that gave away a bit of what had happened in there, ilem felt happy for Ian, happy to have been able to help him after all if he really was her brother.

"Is your I'm sorry, your sister's statement has made Fieguera reconsider all the unknowns that were unfinished in her head, when she says that she opened the parking lot for Ian, all other suspicions are baseless, and there is also Ian's recorded statement saying that He went to see Carson so he never came back to Wraysbury.

Gabe hugged his newly discovered father and ilem only limited himself to observing how Marianna also joined that hug and they put aside their resentment towards her at least for a second they were what they should always have been and would have been if it weren't for the meddling of Carson Fuller and the little sense of Marianna Martín.

Ilem took her young sister by the hand and led her away from the moving scene, although Allin tried to resist in the same way she left the station with ilem.

"What's happening? I also want to see when Ian is released. I still don't want to go home.

I tell Allin more as a plea than a request.

«Mom will worry, we have to go back Ali, I'm sorry.

It wasn't like that, her mother was most likely head over heels in the toilet emptying her stomach, at dawn when Ilem saw her arrive she was so drunk that she didn't even notice her waiting in the kitchen, but she didn't want to see the meeting of a happy family, not today at least, that would break his heart, to see how the Martins recovered what they were losing. Life was just that, each one gets what he can take, there is no luck and much less destiny; there are people who hurt and make other people happy.

What about Gabe? You don't think he should come home with us, I'm coming for him.

Ilem stopped Allin before she got too far away and shook her head.

"He is right where he should be, where he always should have been. He doesn't belong to us Ali.

There was silence between them and they began to walk, Allin much faster than ilem. She knew that little confession part of hers would bring up a lot of questions from Allin when she got home.

"Not anymore.

Those words were a whisper to her own ears, Allin couldn't hear her anymore, she was too far away, ilem turned her gaze for just a second and saw Gabe watching them walk away, just at the moment she thought he would go after them, Ian crossed the entrance Walking out of the station with Roland and Marianna, Gabe turned to them and hugged his new brother, he owed him after all for mashing him to mush the day before.

Amanda had called the Fullers' house that night to insult Gabe for hitting Ian, and she ended up telling ilem everything that had happened during the interrogation.

Ian hugged her back after a while, which made her heart feel clenched in a fist. She smiled at the scene like who knows that she has lost, but even if she is happy for her opponent.

"Bye Gaby...

She said to her brother that she couldn't hear her and kept walking because after all life always goes on, with or without you.