In The Arms Of An Angel
Chapter 1
A vacation was what Gaby needed. Her life in the Philippines was just so
complicated that living there for another week would kill her. Her parents
were treating her as if she was a spineless kid that needed to be taken
care of every minute every hour of every day. She was 19 for Christ's sake!
Her boyfriend---make that her ex-boyfriend---dumped her because he found
someone else. Her male bestfriend, Sean, doesn't talk to her anymore ever
since she confessed that she has always loved him. Her eldest sister is
carrying a child out of wedlock. Her younger sister is having a very
complicated relationship with a drug-dependent guy. Her second brother is on
the verge of breaking up with his long time girlfriend and her baby brother
is changing women faster than you can say the girl's name! All of these were
creating havoc on her life and putting so much stress on her. So when her
favorite cousin, Anya, invited her to go to Sligo for a vacation, she said
yes right away and arranged the necessary papers.
"Honey, your mum and I don't think Anya will be able to take care of you!"
her dad said, whilst she was in her bedroom packing her things for her much
anticipated trip.
"Dad!" Gaby cried. "Anya is 21 years old. I'm 19. We can take care of each
other! And I can very well take care of myself. Stop treating me like I'm
some weakling who can't stand on her own two feet!"
Her dad came over and placed his large hands on her shoulders, calming her
down. "You know that's not what I meant! Your mum and I are worried you'll get…"
"I won't, ok?" Gaby snapped immediately. "I'm perfectly fine and I'm gonna
have the time of my life! This is my chance to see Ireland, to go to Europe
and---" "See this Mark dude from Westlife!" he cut in for her.
She laughed inspite of her frustrations. " You know me too well, dad!" She
hugged him and kissed the side of his face. Gaby felt crying. She was really
mean to her dad. "Dad, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a pain in the ass. All
I want is for you to give me back that trust I worked for. I want you to
believe that I can do this, that I can still do the things I used to do. All
I want is for you and everyone else to treat me like before."
Pushing her on an arm's length, he cradled her face in his callused hands
and wiped the tears that escaped from her eyes unknowingly. "I know, I know.
I'm sorry. I'm just scared for you. Like everyone's scared for you."
She shook her head while sobbing. "I don't wanna be scared, dad. So stop
being scared for me. I'm a brave girl! I can sock any bad guys if I want to!"
He chuckled. A hearty laugh that made Gaby`s insides jump on delight. "I
haven't heard you laugh in quite a while, dad. I love you." She embraced him
tightly and then let him go. "I gotta go pack or else I won't finish at all.
I have an early flight tomorrow."
A kiss on the cheeks and he was gone. "I have to move fast or else I`ll be
up all night packing," she muttered to herself.