Make Me Believe You
Whatever It Takes
*Annabella’s POV*
Being home was always something I looked forward to and loved and this time was no exception. In fact, it was even more exciting because I had my fiancée with me. Fiancée… it was still weird to think I was engaged. When I was little and imagined meeting my prince and getting married I never imagined it would be while I was still in my teenage years. But waking up next to Brendan every morning was something I was never going to get sick of.
“Good morning.” He said as he stretched his arms out over his head. “Hi there.” I said as I giggled at the noise he made while stretching. “What’s so funny?” He asked as he closed his eyes and put one arm up to support his head. “Oh nothing, you just sound like a baby monkey when you stretch.” I answered as I got out of bed and headed into my bathroom to shower. “Don’t take forever!” He yelled as I was about to get in. 15 minutes later I was brushing out the tangles in my hair while Brendan was showering and I heard a knock at the door. “Come in.” I said as I finished brushing my hair. “Hey sis.” My sister Mel said from the doorway with a bump in place of her stomach. “Oh my god, you’re pregnant?!” I yelled as I hugged her and we both did little happy dances. “Yup… I found out a couple of months ago.” She said beaming as Nate came in behind her. “Hey Bella.” He said as I hugged him. “So you finally knocked up my sister?” I asked laughing. “Well it wasn’t planned or anything, but we’re ready.” He said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head. “So, where is this boyfriend of yours?” Mel asked as she leaned on Nate. “Well… he’s not really my boyfriend…” I started nervously. I knew Mel would be the one to have the dramatic reaction to me being engaged and I really didn’t want to tell her. “You guys broke up?” She asked concerned. “No… we’re… well… we’re engaged.” I said as I bit the inside of my cheek. They both looked a little shocked for a minute and then I heard the bathroom door open and out came Brendan. He walked over to me and I saw my sister break out into a smile and Nate relax. “You’re engaged to Brendan Gallagher?” She asked as she got up to shake his hand. “Good choice Bella.” She said. “Hi, I’m Melony, but everyone calls me Mel. I’m Annabella’s big sister.” She said as he smiled at her. “Nice to meet you, I’m Brendan.” He answered before moving onto Nate. “You take good care of her or Jake won’t be the only one after you.” Nate said but then started laughing. Nate had been like a big brother to me for as long as I could remember and I knew if he could have gotten his hands on Gabe and taught him a lesson, he would have, just like Jake and Matt would have if they weren’t all on the same hockey team. “I promise I will.” Brendan answered as he came over and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You’re so cute together…” Mel said leaning on Nate again. “We try.” Brendan said grinning like a 4 year old.
After talking for a few more minutes we all went downstairs to have lunch with the rest of the family. “Oh by the way Bella, Matt’s parents are having a barbeque tomorrow afternoon for Matt and Jake’s home coming and we’re all invited, including Brendan.” My dad said as I started to help my mom clear our plates. “You up for it?” I asked Brendan and he nodded happily. “What time?” I asked after returning into the dining room to clean up the last of the plates. “1:30.” He answered before heading outside to the pool with my brother, Nate, and Brendan. My mom, Mel, and I decided to go hang out in the sunroom and catch up.
“Hey babe, let’s go.” I said popping my head into my room at around 7 o’clock. “Where are we going?” Brendan asked looking up from his laptop. “I wanna show you something.” I said as I pulled him up from the bed and down the hallway to the stairs. We got to the bottom of the stairs and I took him out onto the deck. “Come on.” I said taking his hand and bringing him across the yard and to where the gap in the bushes was. I lead him along the trail Jake and I had found when we were little and down to the cliff and stopped. “This is… amazing.” He said as he looked out and saw the sun setting on the water. “How did you find this place?” He asked as we sat down on the stones my brother and I always sat on. “When Jake and I were little we used to go exploring all the time when Mel was watching us because she never actually paid attention. Looking back now a lot of the stuff we did was really dangerous, but we never got severely hurt. One day Jake brought me out and showed me a gap in the bushes and we saw that there was a trail and decided to follow it and we loved it. We used to hang out and play games and just chill out here a lot. Then Jake used to bring his girlfriend down here all the time to watch the sunset and Gabe and I came down here a few times while we were dating, but mostly I came down here with Katie when I was upset and we’d spend hours down here just talking and crying and eating marshmallows. And now I wanted you to see one of my favorite places on earth.” I finished as I closed my eyes and listened to the peace and quiet. “Well I can see why you love it- it’s quiet and it gives you time to think and not to mention it’s a gorgeous view.” He said as he took my hand in his. “Exactly.” I said. We stayed there for about an hour before the mosquitos started to come out. We took our time walking back and didn’t talk… it was a comfortable silence.
-At the BBQ-
“Matt!” I yelled as I hugged him. “Hey sugar cube.” He said smiling down at me. “How have you been?” I asked excitedly. I hadn’t seen Matt since Christmas and I missed him like crazy. “Amazing and crazy, but listen sugar cube I need to talk to you about something.” He said nervously. “Well go ahead.” I said smiling. “No in p-“ but he was cut off by a voice I hated hearing. “Hey Annabella.” My eyes got wide as Matt looked guilty. “I didn’t know he was coming until like 10 minutes ago.” He said apologetically. “It’s okay Matt… I’m a big girl and worse comes to worse I’ve got Brendan here.” I said, reassuring him that everything was fine. I turned around reluctantly, “Hey Gabe.” I said as he moved in for a hug. Oh god this is awkward I thought as I patted his back lightly. “You look great.” He said looking me up and down and licking his lip subtly. I was wearing a bikini with some shorts and a crop top over it and I was really regretting that right about now. “Oh come on babe, it’s not like I haven’t seen it all already.” He whispered huskily in my ear and I felt a shiver go down my spine. “Yeah, well that was a long time ago and a lot had changed since then.” I said trying to remain composed. “I’m sure… and I can’t want to see it.” He said and my eyes grew wide again just as Brendan came over.
“Hey Gabe.” He said smiling and giving him what I called a “bro-hug.” “Hey man, what are you doing here?” Gabe asked him. “I’m here with my fiancée.” Brendan responded as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and took a sip of his drink. Gabe looked confused and then his eyes grew wide for a second, but he relaxed just as quickly, “Congrats man! She’s an amazing girl.” He said smiling at Brendan and making it a point to not look at me. “Yeah, she really is.” He said as I smiled up at him and he gave me a quick kiss. “Well I have to go talk to Matt, but I’ll be back.” Brendan said as he left.
“So you settled for Gallagher?” Gabe asked looking slightly disgusted. “I didn’t settle Gabe.” I started as I pulled him to the side so no one would hear us bickering. “I would have been settling if I stayed with a cheater like you, but being with Brendan… that’s not settling at all.” I said as I felt myself getting angry. “You know you loved me Annabella.” He said looking at me with an expression I couldn’t read. “Yeah Gabe… I loved you, as in past tense. Then you cheated on me with the school slut and broke my heart.” I said as I thought about the bad memories from that summer. “And Brendan was there to fix it all.” He said in a mocking tone. “No, he wasn’t. I didn’t talk to him until I ran into him in October at the grocery store you dumbass.” I retorted. “Oh really?” He asked narrowing his eyes at me. “Yes Gabe, really. I go to school there and I live 10 minutes from the arena- we use the same grocery store.” I answered him, using a tone that made it seem like I was explaining something to a 5 year old instead of a 20 year old man. “Well, I don’t care if you’re engaged or not, I’m not giving up Annabella. Whatever it takes, I’m getting you back… whatever it takes.” He said looking at me with sad eyes and I got really confused and nervous. “I know somewhere in there you still love me Bella… we both know it and I’m not giving up on us.” He said taking another step towards me. “Gabe, there is no us! There hasn’t been since you’re pool party when you cheated on me and there never will be. I’m engaged to the man I love and last time I checked it’s not you.” I said as I pushed past him and walked outside to find Brendan.
I spotted him talking to Jake and went over to them. When he saw me he smiled and when I didn’t respond his face changed to a concerned and confused expression. He wrapped his arms around me as I reached him and I took a deep breath. “What’s wrong baby?” He asked as he kissed the top of my head. “What happened Bells?” Jake asked when I didn’t answer Brendan. “Nothing… just the past not staying where it should.” I said sighing. “I didn’t know he was gonna be here Bells or I would have said something.” Jake said as I saw him grip his drink a little tighter. “It’s not your fault Jake… it’s just weird seeing him again. I haven’t in such a long time and I don’t want to.” I said as I relaxed into Brendan’s embrace. “We won’t let him near you babe. I promise.” Brendan said before giving me a kiss.
Although Brendan’s promise was full of… well… promise and I wanted to believe it, I knew Gabe and I knew he always got what he wanted. I knew he would never have me but I also knew that if he couldn’t have me, he’d make sure no one else could and that scared me to death. I couldn’t lose Brendan, but Gabe had his tricks and I didn’t know if I could stop them.
