Chapter 14 Gianna
FOURTEEN
GIANNA
The music flowed through the studio and sweat dripped off Gianna’s face as she leaped and spun to hit every single one of her moves.
As soon as her last class for the day ended, she headed straight to the studio to make sure she had enough time to practice.
Her performance was still a bit away, but every time she went to hit the grand jeté, she stumbled and looked like a giraffe just beginning to walk rather than an experienced dancer.
She desperately wanted to get it down already.
She didn’t know how long she’d been at the studio for, but all her classmates were already gone and so were her instructors. Gianna had decided to practice on campus rather than at home, mostly to avoid the plague that seemed to linger there more often than not.
She hadn’t seen him since she revealed to everyone in the kitchen that she was going on a date, but she could feel him everywhere. His presence was so ominous, leaving her with sickening anxiety constantly.
She couldn’t handle it, so staying out of the house for as long as possible was the best solution.
Gianna stopped, feeling the soreness in her calves.
She was overdoing her body and if she didn’t stop now, she would no doubt be entering into injury territory, which was the last thing she needed.
Icing her feet and sitting with some cereal sounded like the best way to end her night.
Plus, she still needed to do all her date prep for her coffee meet-up tomorrow.
Sure, she was excited, but the date didn’t spark the same thrill that others had in the past and she wasn’t sure why.
You know why.
Nope. She had no idea.
She took off the pointe shoes and the tape from her toes, letting them stretch and breathe.
She rolled out her legs briefly, letting out groans from how good the pain felt before she rolled out her foot.
The stretches were equally her least favorite and her most favorite part of her routine.
She stood up, stretching out her spine in the process, and tugged on a pair of sweatpants over her tights and a pair of fuzzy boots that were more like slippers.
With everything thrown into her bag haphazardly, she hoisted it over her shoulder and walked out of her studio.
Her time walking to the car was usually when she caught up on her phone.
She refused to let herself get distracted with it during practice, especially if someone decided to send something horrible.
Like Allister texting that their mother was coming back for another visit soon and they would have to go back home to see her.
Gianna stopped walking, her heart halting.
For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why her mother even bothered seeing them once a year or why their father made them show up to the visits.
She left them when they were children, abandoning them because she didn’t want to be a mother anymore.
She’d only decided on it after she had Gianna, though.
They had been raised by their father and nannies, seeing their mother as often as they saw Santa.
Maybe calling that woman her mother was too strong of a word because that was something she had never been and never would be.
Gianna shoved her phone back into her bag, taking a deep breath as she started walking again. She needed to push it down for now. Bury it deep, deep inside of her where she could pretend that her mother leaving when she was three years old didn’t make her feel like she was the problem.
You are unlovable.
There it was. That nasty voice again. The one that came at the worst times but told her the truth.
She lifted her hand, biting on the skin around her fingers. She hated being alone for this reason. When she was alone, that was when she felt the most abandoned, even if she knew she had a whole network of people at home who supported her.
She would be home soon and then she would find Allister and Blair and Cecilia, maybe even Luna and Valerio and Dante, and then she could rest her mind.
She dropped her hand, going to reach for her phone again. Maybe she could call one of them while she walked. That would ease her mind.
A hand wrapped around her mouth, pulling her against a firm body. She gasped, her body tensing. Then she started to fight, thrashing her body against the unknown assailant, trying to scream for anyone to help her.
“You seriously need to be more aware of your surroundings, princess.”
Her brows furrowed. Why the hell did that voice sound so familiar?
“Look how easily you recognize my voice,” he said, leaning close to her ear. “You know who it is.”
Finn.
He turned her around, still keeping his hand covering her mouth tightly. She desperately tried to ignore the way his arm held her waist, the way he pushed her body up against his.
She was getting distracted.
“I’m going to remove my hand. Don’t scream—or do, I don’t give a shit,” Finn said, a wicked grin on his face.
Gianna frowned, pushing him as soon as he removed his hand, but he didn’t move an inch. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do something like that? You scared the hell out of me.”
“You’re so careless, you didn’t notice that I have been following you since you left the studio.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Giving you a ride home like the sweet man I am.”
She looked at him skeptically. It was hard to believe a single word that left that beautiful mouth of his. “I have a car waiting for me.”
“I sent it home.”
“You don’t have a car.”
“I have my bike.”
“I’m not getting on that death trap,” she screeched, trying to pull away.
“I have a helmet for you.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her along. “You’ll be fine.”
Gianna looked at the bike that was parked by the sidewalk. It was one of those that people raced obnoxiously fast, not the type that biker gangs had.
“Nope. I can’t do it,” she said, putting all her strength into tensing her body so he couldn’t pull her along.
It didn’t matter when all he needed to do was lift her and carry her over to the bike. He held her awkwardly, as if he didn’t know where to put his hands, but it was such a short walk that she was back standing in no time.
He grabbed a helmet, handing it over to her. She crossed her arms. “I’m not putting that on.”
Finn simply shrugged. “Okay.”
He sat the helmet on her head, pushing it down without a moment of hesitation. She stumbled at the action.
“Asshole. You could have let me undo my bun first.”
“I gave you the option. You didn’t take it.”
She slid up the visor, looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Where am I supposed to put my bag, genius? It’s not like your bike has a trunk.”
He glared at her. “Don’t insult my bike.”
He opened a small compartment where another helmet sat, taking it out. He grabbed the bag off her shoulder and placed it inside. He closed it with a look on his face that dared her to try to make another complaint.
“I’m still not getting on.”
Finn threw one leg over the bike, hopping on like it was completely natural for him. It almost looked like second nature. He turned it on, revving the engine.
“Then I guess you’ll have to find a way home without your phone.”
She was confused until she realized that her phone was in the bag that he was now sitting on.
She let out a growl, pushing down the visor and getting on the bike behind him.
It was uncomfortable to say the least. She tried to keep as much space between them as she could, but every time she did, her body slipped down until she was flush against him.
She kept her hands beside her, waiting for this nightmare to be over. They lived close to campus so it would hopefully be a quick ride.
Finn put on his helmet and kicked up the stand. Without a moment to waste, he took off full speed onto the road. Gianna screamed, wrapping her arms around his body to keep from flying off. That was exactly what it was. To protect herself, nothing more.
She hadn’t realized she closed her eyes, but when she opened them, she saw they had already passed their neighborhood. In fact, they weren’t anywhere near it.
The trees around them had become denser, the lights and access to the world scarcer.
She swallowed harshly, finally understanding the predicament she was in.
He had set his trap, and she had fallen into it completely.