The Red Tailed Fox

Gabriella Hawkins, the only daughter of the well known and the most reputable, David Hawkins, sat on the swing in the garden as she admired the beautiful sky.

It had been raining for so many days, and she had not had the chance to step out.

But since it was sunny today, she decided to bask a bit. It felt good being like this.

Suddenly, someone covered her eyes from the back. And she chuckled,because she knew that only one person was capable of doing that.

The person bent closer to her and kissed her cheek. And she did not bother.

She was used to her adoptive brother, Steve, being this cozy around her.

"What was your answer dear? I have been waiting for so long," the person behind her asked close to her ears.

And that was when she froze. That was not Steve! She opened her eyes wide and tried to push the man away.

Allan Roman! Why was he here again? Steve would get so mad if he saw him!

However, it was already so late.

"Gabby!" There came that loud and commanding voice from behind her. And she knew that she was done for!

Before she had time to explain anything or to look at him, there came a loud groaning sound behind her.

Her eyes had been uncovered. And when she turned to take a look, Allan Roman was lying on the ground, with Steve stepping on his chest.

"Steve!" She called in fear. She knew how much of a demon this big brother would turn to if angered.

"Shut up!" Steve roared at her. It was the first time since she could remember that he had ever been that harsh on her.

She blinked her big eyes that had already been filled with tears. Her brother had always been so sweet.

He would never even question her if she did a mistake knowingly. So today, she felt confused, and wronged.

"Please, leave me alone," Allan Roman said as he winced in pain. "What did I do wrong?"

"Did I not ask you to stay away from her?" The twenty six year old man asked, his eyes spitting fire.

"Brother...I am sorry," Gabby said and wiped away her tears. She was scared of seeing someone being hurt, especially when the person was Allan, who was once her best friend.

But the angry Steve did not show any pity. He shifted his foot to one of Allan's arm.

And the next second, the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

Gabby shivered, and she moved forward and hugged Steve's waist. She could not let him keep behaving like that.

When he felt the warm and soft body behind him, his anger slightly dissipated. And he lifted his leg.

"You will lose your legs too if I see you any close to her again!" He said to the man.

His voice was very low, but it was still scary that even Gabby found herself trembling.

Allan got to his feet immediately and ran for his dear life while holding onto his broken arm.

Gabby relaxed a little. He was gone. At least, Steve had not killed him like he had told her he would do if he saw her with him again.

Allan Roman had been her classmates since young. And they were close to each other since they would play together since their families knew each other.

Her dad and Uncle Roman, Allan's dad, were very close friends.

However, after they went to campus, the man, who had always been like a brother to her changed his intentions.

And given how beautiful Gabriella was, he wanted to try his luck. And so,he had been chasing after her for more than four years.

But with Steve present, he had never allowed any man with those thoughts close to his sister. He had done all he could to send them away.

He slowly turned around to look at the little figure hugging him tightly. And the anger he had had appeared again.

Gabriella trembled seeing him like that. "Brother, I... I am sorry," she said quickly.

Even though she was twenty two years old, and in her final year of campus, she still did not understand why her brother was always so mad whenever he saw any man close to her.

She had thought that he would be happy because she was growing up. She was becoming more independent. But that was exactly the opposite of all that was happening.

"So you felt so much pain and could not bear to see him hurt?" Steve asked, having that cold expression that he had never worn before her.

Gabriella blinked her eyes again. What was happening? Was this really her brother?

But she did not have the time to look at him carefully. That was because he pushed her away and walked off.

Gabriella, being very weak, stumbled a few feet before she steadied herself on a tree.

Then she looked at Steve who was already some distance away. A tear fell from her eyes.

"Brother!" She called pitifully as she ran after him. She did not want him to be mad at her.

But Steve ignored her and increased his walking paces. He was angry, and he wished that he had broken every born in that stupid boy's body.

But what that angered him most was that Gabby defended him. She held him back so that the man could leave.

And earlier, she had laughed so happily even as the man touched and kissed her face.

Ever since he learned of his own feelings, he was always getting so jealous when he saw her close to any man.

Yet this one was courageous enough to touch her, even after he had warned him!

Unaware of the thoughts that the man was having, Gabriella kept running after him, tears falling from her eyes.

She had always been so spoiled since she was born. And everything she had wanted was always handed to her, like she was a princess.