Choke on the Drama

Jack Barakat

"Dude, nothing is on tv,"  I whined, flipping through channel after channel of mindless shows.

"Just give me the remote, Jack,"  Zack stated, rolling his eyes at the boy sitting on the other end of the couch.

"No.  You'll pick something stupid,"  I stated, clutching the remote to my chest for a moment before flipping through channels again while keeping an eye on Zack who was intent on napping anyhow.

"Wait!  Wait!  Go back,"  Zack suddenly requested, leaving me fairly confused.  I did as he requested though.

"What is it?"  But there wasn't really a need to ask once I saw what Zack meant.  "Dude.  She looks just like Alex.  Alex!  Alex get in here!"

"What?  What do you want?"  He questioned as he stepped into the room.

She was beautiful.  She looked eighteen, maybe nineteen, only a few short years my junior.  She had soft-looking, golden brown colored hair that fell in perfect ringlets around her flushed, sharply defined cheeks, the rest of it was pulled back into some sort of intricate braid that fell down her bare back.  The dress she was wearing was obviously meant to catch a man's eye.  The sleeves fell off her shoulders and the dress was completely backless, with a curved neckline to reveal just the slightest touch of cleavage.  Although the dress was floorlength, there was obviously as slit in it as I could see her leg peeking out from underneath, toned and muscular, ending in a small, dainty foot.  The dress, perfectly white, caused her tan skin to appear to almost glow.

She looked nervous, though why I had no idea.  The camera angle changed, showing her tiny hands gracefully flowing over piano keys.  The camera angle changed once more, her honey-hazel eyes locking onto the screen, floating just above the microphone.  I felt like she was staring straight at me, though it was just a tv.  She held the powerful gaze, licked her lips and began to sing.

A guy what takes his time, I'll go for any time
I'm a fast movin' gal who likes them slow
Got no use for fancy drivin', want to see a guy arrivin' in low.
I'd be satisfied, electrified to know a guy what takes his time

She smirked right into the camera, as if she knew just exactly what she was doing.  Sex was the first word that came to mind.  Mind blowing, her voice was.  So powerful.

"Funny, isn't it?  She even sings a bit like him,"  Zack remarked, clicking the guide button quickly to see what we were watching.  To my surprise the girl was performing on American Idol, previously my least favorite show.  Now I wasn't so sure I hated it.

"Who is she?"  Alex asked, finally realizing that Zack and I were comparing her to him.  We both shrugged.

"She looks only a few years younger than us, I wonder why she isn't already out there."  Rian commented, the first time he'd really been aware of what we were talking about all day.  He'd been sulking lately as he'd just broken up with his girlfriend.

I was completely enthralled.  Her face, her voice.  I wanted to know who she was.  More than that I wanted to meet her.  But somehow I felt like I already had.

Crazy talk.  I told myself shaking my head slightly.

"Jack!"  Then I realized they had all been trying to get my attention for some time now.

They had paused the screen on a close up of her face.  I began to ask why, but before I even started I saw the words floating on the bottom of the screen.

"Gabrielle Gaskarth, 14.  That little girl has got to be my sister,"  Alex whispered, connecting dots.  "It makes sense that I wouldn't know.  She wouldn't have been conceived until a few months after I left so I never would have had a way of knowing."

"She cannot be fourteen.  There's no way in hell with that-"  Alex glaring daggers at me was enough to make me stop mid sentence, cringe slightly and mutter an apology.  "We need to fight for her."

The rest of the people in the room stared at me blankly, seeming not to comprehend my last comment.  I rolled my eyes a bit.

"Alex, you know how they used to treat you.  You ran away from home for a reason.  What if your father does the same to her?  She's a young woman, what if he's done worse?"  At my line of questioning Alex's face paled, thinking through the possibilities of the horrors his baby sister could be exposed to.

"Is there even anything that we can legally do?"  His voice was hoarse, filled with pain at the thought of anyone laying a hand on someone so innocent, like his father had done to him.

"Really the only legal way to handle it would be for your parents to fill out a bunch of paperwork stating that you'd be her new legal guardian."  Rian interjected, sighing slightly.  He was always the most levelheaded out of the four of us.  "However, you all seem to be forgetting one very important detail."

"Yes?"  I asked impatiently waiting for Rian to continue.

"Is that even really his sister?"

I prepared myself to argue the point, but what did I have to go on?  Same color eyes, hair, and skin tone?  Plenty of people looked that way.  Their voices sounding so similar?  Again, a common feature that multiple unrelated people shared.  The same last name?  Once more, a trait that two unrelated people could share, although Gaskarth was a much less common last name than Johnson or Smith, it was still more likely that it was a coincidence.

"Rian's right.  This is stupid.  She's probably just the next Jamie Lynn Spears.  I'm going to sleep."  I huffed, leaving the room, as Alex sighed and pinched the budge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

----------

Alexander Gaskarth

"Really Rian, you think this could just be some huge coincidence?"  I questioned, flopping face down onto the couch, a headache pounding in my temples as thoughts of my father's brutal hands landing such devastating blows onto such a delicate little flower.  If she was even my sister -she had to be, right?- she would want to get away from him, wouldn't she?  But would she be willing to leave everything behind?  Would she be more afraid of me than him?  I posed no threat, but after all we've never met before.

"Quit thinking so hard.  You're going to drive yourself mad, babe,"  Zack stated, brushing hair away from my face.  I peeked up at him through my lashes, feeling overwhelmingly confused.

"Then what do I do?"

"Call Anthony, I suppose.  I feel certain he'd know if you had a sibling, he was practically your dad when your father wasn't able to be."

"This is why I love you.  You can calm yourself down and think things through while I just get all worked up,"  I sighed, softly planting a kiss on his cheek, lighting up when I saw him blush just the slightest bit.

"God, you guys are so damn cute. It's starting to seriously piss me off,"  Rian teased us, though we knew he was still upset about Clara.

I chuckled, placing my head in Zack's lap while I dug my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my contacts to find Anthony's number.  I pressed the call button, held the phone up to my ear, and waited, quite impatiently, for him to answer.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Matisse?"

"Alexander?"

"You really can just call me Alex,"  I stated, rolling my eyes a bit.

He chuckled, "And you really can just call me Anthony,"  He stated, mimicking my tone.  "So how's that boy you got?"  He asked, meaning Zack.

"He's wonderful.  How are Jamie, Liz, and Banks?"  I asked, referring to his wife, daughter, and son, respectively.

"Glowing.  We've got another little girl on the way,"  He responded, and though I couldn't see him I just knew he was beaming.  Family was the most important thing in his life.  "Any particular reason you called?"

"Uhm, yeah, actually.  I was just wondering if I had a sister that no one decided to tell me about?"

The line went painfully silent, making me wonder if he'd hung up, but a quick glance at my phone showed that we were still connected.  I waited for a response.  Finally he sighed.

"I was hoping your parents would have said something.  If I had known they weren't going to I would have told you the moment she was born.  Alex, she's lovely as a rose, and just as sweet."

"I think I just saw her."  I answered, heart pounding in my chest.  I could save her.  I had to.

"I'm sorry?  I don't think I understand what you mean."

"I think I just saw her on television, Anthony.  Her name is Gabrielle?"

"Yes, but I still don't-"

"She's on American Idol,"  I responded, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to imagine her face again, the show had long since gone off.  "She sings like me,"  I whispered, more for myself than Anthony.  While I struggled to picture her face, her eyes, I remembered her voice perfectly.  Just like when mother used to sing to me when I was a toddler, but much better.  Much stronger.

"Now, Alex, I know what you're thinking, but the man has changed."

"How?"  I practically growled, Zack's hands suddenly pressed against my temples, gently massaging, easing away the headache.

"He's sober now.  I haven't seen a bruise on her in years, though she's awful quiet, keeps to herself.  She's a strange one, Alexander, but you'd love her."

"Can I take her away from him?  Do I have any legal options here?"  This, I suppose, was the main reason I wanted to talk to Anthony as he was an attorney, he was a self-proclaimed "baby battler" helping to prove that the parents weren't always the best fit for the child.

"You have plenty of options, Alex, but he's not going to go without a fight,"  Anthony answered.

"Well, I've got to try.  I really need you to back me up on this, Papa Tony,"  I whispered, calling him the nickname from when I was hardly two feet tall, just a child.  I could feel him melting.

"I'll talk to her.  See what she wants to do.  If you meet her and she likes you, I think you'll get her.  Patrick will want this settled quietly,"  Anthony responded.  I could hear Liz and Jamie in the background, then Banks as well, and I knew he'd have to go.

We said goodbyes, then I hung up, stuffing my phone into my pocket.

"It'll get better.  It always does,"  As the words slipped from his mouth, Zack kissed my forehead.

He was right.  He had to be.

----------

Gabrielle Gaskarth

"I- I- I don't understand,"  I stuttered, clutching the picture tightly in my hand.  "Papa Tony, why would they hide him from me?"  I questioned, staring at the man who practically raised me.  If I could call anyone my father it'd be him, Anthony Matisse.

"Trust me, Gabs, Alex was hurt, too.  But, your parents, they have their reasons for doing this."

"That's not good enough,"  I responded sharply, gasping as I realized I knew the other guy in the picture.  I couldn't recall from where, but I was just certain I had seen him before.  "Who is he?"  I questioned, pointing at the familiar boy man standing next to my brother.

"His name is Jack.  I told you they're in some band?"

I nodded, whispering his name, feeling it roll off my tongue.  "Where do I know you from, Jack?"  I asked quietly, staring at the photograph for a moment.

"Gabrielle,"  Anthony started, and I knew something was wrong.  He never used my full name.  "I came here because Alex asked me to.  He grew up with the same parents and though I know that your father has changed, Alex didn't want to hear it."

Changed?  What?  Did he used to be kind?  Caring?  As of late he'd been nothing but cold, calculating.  At least he had stopped drinking, sneaking into my room late at night.

"Alex is concerned about your well being.  He feels it'd be better for you to go stay with him,"  Anthony explained, keeping his tone steady, continuously making eye contact.  "But you can say no.  You don't have to do that."

"How long would I visit?"  I asked, trying to hold in my excitement.  'concerned about my well being' that was certainly new.  He had never met me before and he was showing more compassion than my parents had ever even thought about.

"I don't think you understand, Gabrielle.  This would not be a visit.  This would be permanent."

And at that I was slightly concerned.  Where did he live?  Did he have a girlfriend?  He was in some type of band so wouldn't he be traveling a lot?  Would it be better?  Worse?  No.  It couldn't possibly be worse.

"I'd very much like to meet him,"  Was all I could think to say.