18 and Deceived

The alarm clock struck 8:00 in the morning, and Gabrielle "Gabi" Donner rose out of bed on what was a very special day in her young life: her 18th birthday. Gabi had waited for this day for her entire life, and as she left her bedroom, her day began with an extra special greeting from her mother.

"Happy birthday, Gabi!"

Andrea Donner greeted her only daughter with not only those words, but a chocolate birthday cake with a single candle on it, with Gabi blowing out the candle quickly. Gabi was always appreciative of her mother, and as she cut a slice of her cake, she thought about how lucky she was to have Andrea in her life. Since the age of nine, it had been just the two of them; on the evening of Gabi's fourth-grade recital, her father, Nathan Donner, suddenly didn't show up.

When Andrea and Gabi returned home after the recital, they saw their belongings all packed up in suitcases, while Nathan was nowhere in the house. The pair moved on in the nine years that passed, with Gabi being proud of Andrea for raising her all those years after Nathan left both of them. All of those factors stayed in her mind as she was eating her slice of birthday cake, and regarding Andrea, she left the kitchen for a brief moment, only to return with a gift-wrapped package.

"Here you go, sweetie!" said Andrea, after which Gabi opened her present--revealed to be a brand new red dress.

"It's beautiful!" exclaimed Gabi, who later hugged her mother. "Thank you so much!"

"That's not all!" said Andrea.

"What do you mean?" asked Gabi.

"Well...I arranged something special for you," replied Andrea. "And that something should be here any minute now." Right after Andrea's statement, the doorbell rang, drawing attention from both women, especially Gabi.

"Is that the 'something special'?" asked Gabi.

"Could be," Andrea said coyly as Gabi rushed to answer the door, with Gabi being surprised to see a young man standing across from her.

"Gabi?"

"Yes...?" Gabi said warily.

"I'm JT," the young man replied as he presented Gabi with a bouquet of flowers. "I'm here for our date." A shocked Gabi slammed the door in JT's face and then turned around to face her mother.

"That's your surprise?!" asked Gabi. "Setting up a date for me?"

"I thought you'd be happy, sweetheart," replied Andrea. "It's just...you really didn't date much in high school..."

"Yeah, and you know why," Gabi said to her mother, "I just fear getting hurt, like Dad hurt you...hurt us."

"Look, Gabi," said Andrea, "I know it was hard for you after your father left us. But you can't let that stop you from moving on. Give JT a chance; he looks like a nice young man." Gabi continued her reluctance, only for Andrea to begin pleading with her daughter.

"Pretty please? For me?"

"OK, Mom," said Gabi. "You're always guilting me into things."

"Only because I'm good at it," laughed Andrea, after which Gabi reopened the door and took the flowers from JT, while expressing her apologies for slamming the door on his face. After changing into her new red dress, Gabi went on her date with JT, which ended up being the first of several dates between the pair, much to the happiness of not only Gabi, but Andrea as well.

However, after only a month together, Gabi never saw JT again, and the breakup resurrected Gabi's fears and distrust in men, with Andrea noticing her daughter's demeanor. "Honey," said Andrea, "are you OK?"

"I'm fine, Mom," answered Gabi. "It's just...I thought JT would be different."

"I know," Andrea said as she hugged her daughter, "I know you're hurting. But there are others out there. The right one will come along." Gabi kept her mother's words in her mind as she was at a nearby coffee shop; however, due to being too deep in thought, she accidentally bumped into someone who was right behind her. Just as Gabi was about to scold that person, she noticed that the person was a strapping young man with short, brown hair, and Gabi was immediately speechless.

"I'm sorry about that. I guess I should watch where I'm going."

"It's...OK," was all Gabi could muster, but she gained enough of her speech back to introduce herself and extend her hand. "I'm Gabrielle."

"What a beautiful name," the man said. "I'm Brandon. Nice to meet you." The pair shook hands, though Brandon couldn't help but notice the nervous expression on Gabi's face.

"Are you OK?" asked Brandon.

"I'm all right," answered Gabi. "I just...I just think you're the most handsome man I've ever seen." At that moment, Gabi placed her hands over her mouth, as she couldn't believe what she had just said and feared that she would scare Brandon off. To Gabi's surprise, Brandon chuckled over Gabi's comments, a sign that he was both amused and flattered by Gabi's words.

"Thank you, Gabrielle," said Brandon. "And I think you are just absolutely lovely, and I would love it if we went out on a date later tonight."

"Of course!" Gabi shouted before covering her mouth again, as she drew a bit of attention.

"You are just amazing, Gabrielle," said Brandon.

"Pick me up at my place," Gabi said as she gave Brandon her home address, "and call me Gabi."

"See you tonight, Gabi," Brandon said as he walked off. Gabi was so elated over her encounter, to the point where she gushed about her impending date to Andrea once she returned home. Gabi was all dressed and waiting by 8PM, and sure enough, both she and Andrea spotted a lavish car driving up to their house, with Brandon getting out and greeting Gabi.

"Good evening, Gabi," said Brandon.

"Hi, Brandon," replied Gabi, who later faced her mother. "Mom, this is Brandon. Brandon, this is my mom, Andrea Donner."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Donner," said Brandon.

"Likewise," replied Andrea, who couldn't help but notice Brandon's car. "Where'd you get that beauty?"

"Mom...," said Andrea.

"It's OK, Gabi," said Brandon. "My dad got it for me for my birthday--a Jaguar. Lavish, I know, but you only turn 21 once." Andrea was taken aback by the last part of Brandon's statement. "I'm sorry," said Andrea, "did you say you're 21?"

"Well, I turned 21 last year," replied Brandon. "I'm actually 22." It was at that moment that Gabi dragged Brandon closer to the latter's car, so they could go on their date. Brandon and Gabi really enjoyed each other's company, and they ended up going on a number of dates together in the past three weeks. Though Andrea appeared to like Brandon, the following weeks would see Andrea suddenly change her tune and eventually, she voiced her thoughts to her daughter as she was on her way out.

"Going to see Brandon?" asked Andrea.

"Yes, Mom," replied Gabi. "Why?"

"You've been seeing a lot of him lately," said Andrea.

"Well, I really like him," said Gabi. "What's the problem?"

"Don't you think he's a bit old for you?" Andrea asked, with her questions and attitude bewildering Gabi. "I mean, he's a grown man."

"Yeah, and I'm a grown woman," replied Gabi.

"You are not a grown woman, Gabrielle," retorted Andrea. "You're just a child."

"I am not a child!" shouted Gabi. "I am 18; I can date whoever I want!"

"Don't talk to me like that, young lady!" shouted Andrea. "I am your mother and you need to show me some respect! Until you do, you're grounded!" Gabi was shocked and angered by her mother's words, and as she went up to her room, she was trying to process her mother's sudden change in attitude. After all, Gabi thought, it was Andrea who convinced her to start dating.

Later that evening, Gabi decided to sneak out of the house, but not before making sure not to disturb Andrea, and once she was out, she joined her best friend, Mikka, at a nightclub. "Gabi?" Mikka asked upon recognizing her friend. "Oh thank goodness. I didn't think you'd make it here!"

"Trust me, nothing was going to stop me from having my fun!" proclaimed Gabi, as they continued to party. "Not even my mom acting crazy!" The ladies danced and had the good time they vowed on having, but while they were doing so, Mikka's eyes were pointed in the direction of what appeared to be a couple dancing together. Even more interesting was the fact that Mikka appeared to recognize the male half of that couple.

"Um, Gabi?" Mikka asked, "isn't that Brandon over there dancing with another woman?"

"What?!" exclaimed Gabi, who later turned around and recognized Brandon dancing with a mysterious brunette woman, though neither Gabi nor Mikka could recognize who the female was. Gabi didn't care, all she saw was the man she really loved with another woman, and she simply rushed out of the club, heartbroken and in tears. Gabi rushed back home, planning to sneak in and keep from waking up Andrea, but to her surprise, she found the house ransacked and empty.

"Mom? Mom, where are you?"

Just when things couldn't get any more confusing or catastrophic for Gabi, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Gabrielle Donner?"

Gabi turned around and saw a blonde woman standing across from her, with a pair of officers approaching her and handcuffing her arms behind her back. "What the hell is this?!" exclaimed Gabi.

"Detective Samantha Girard, homicide," the woman said to Gabi, "Gabrielle Donner, you're under arrest for the murder of Brandon Schott." Those words shocked Gabi, because she knew that she couldn't have done this. She was being set up, but by who?

Thank you for reading this story all the way through! This is my first attempt at a multi-part fiction story, so if you like it, feel free to click the heart below, and if you really love it, feel free to leave a tip (if you want)!

Click here for Part 2!