Chapter 21
Twenty-One
GIA
Her lips still tingled with the memory of Jake’s kiss. Even now, as she lay in bed after a cold shower with a spring poking into her lower back, she was walking on cloud nine. She felt something she hadn’t in a long time… hope.
It was terrifying, yet the fear sparked a feeling of being alive.
With the moonlight streaming into her bedroom, her life looked different.
The muddied picture became crystal clear.
She could finally see a different future for herself, and it didn’t include flashing lights or cameras.
A life where she was happy with what she had. With the people in her life.
For once, the constant feeling of being weighed down, the heaviness in her chest—it was gone.
Is that the secret to happiness? Falling in love?
“You are such an idiot, Gia,” she muttered under her breath before rolling over, smothering her face in a pillow. She pretended her goofy grin had nothing to do with Jake’s confession.
Or that kiss.
Man, oh man, could he kiss.
If he could light her body on fire with a simple kiss, she could only imagine what a full-blown makeout session would do to her.
Fireworks. It would be like fireworks.
Her phone went off with an incoming call.
“Fuck.” She knew by the ringtone it was Jerry calling. Her mood plummeted. It was a cold splash of reality, the reminder of all the things she was ignoring.
She silenced the call, letting it go to voicemail. Reality could wait until another day.
The scent of rich mahogany warned her she was in danger. It reeked of opulence and self-importance. Of nightmares and defeat.
She stared into the eyes of evil. She couldn’t scream. Her voice was gone. Fear had paralyzed her limbs, making her an easy target.
I can’t breathe.
Why couldn’t she breathe?
Large hands tightened around her throat. Squeezing.
She choked, clawed at the hands that were depriving her of oxygen.
All the while staring into his eyes, dark and enraged. So angry. So evil.
Pleading for him to spare her life.
“You’re going to regret this, you dumb bitch,” he’d screamed so loud, she thought her eardrums would burst. It had been the least of her worries.
Then came the slap. The fall.
Pain and panic.
Darkness threatened.
No—stay awake, Gia. Run.
Hands tugged at her clothes.
No! Fight back!
A golden object caught her eye. Gleaming like a beacon of hope. Heavy. Her fingers stretched… stretched until she felt it in her hand.
Thud.
Blood everywhere.
What had she done?
A loud roaring. Like an angry beast.
Run, Gia! Run!
Gia woke with a gasp. Her heart pounded with repressed memories of the nightmare that still followed her around. She struggled to take deep breaths.
Curled in on herself, arms wrapped around her chest, she closed her eyes, tears leaking onto her silk pillowcase. She tried to summon the soothing voice of Milo, her yoga instructor and therapist. He’d taught her to use her breaths to center herself when she was feeling overwhelmed.
Breathe. Center. Survive.
Deep breath in. Hold for a count of three. Deep breath out.
She repeated the breathing exercise but couldn’t find her center.
Instead, she conjured dark blond hair and ice-blue eyes.
Her heart stuttered, confused but comforted.
She recalled the gentle way his hands had held her, like she was the most precious thing on earth.
She pulled at memories upon memories of tender moments throughout their lives together, memories she’d ignored, until darkness crept over her vision.
Over and over until the darkness came. Not the threatening kind. The quiet kind. The peaceful kind.
And this time, it was Jake’s handsome face fighting her demons so she could finally rest.
The fresh air was crisp as it blew in through the open windows of the minivan.
Despite the freshly brewed coffee her mother had handed her on her way out the door, Gia needed the chilly air to wake her up more.
She’d woken up when her alarm had gone off an hour before.
Despite her nightmares, she’d gotten a couple more hours of sleep, but it was still not enough if the dark circles under her eyes were anything to go by.
The breeze tousled the messy bun resting haphazardly on top of her head.
She’d borrowed Minh’s college sweatshirt to pair with her leggings and boots.
After washing her face free of any traces of the night before, she’d applied only her Korean sunscreen before racing out the door to meet Marley.
She’d never looked less glamorous than she did in that moment, but for the first time in a while… she didn’t care.
With the streets mostly empty, the drive took far less time.
When she pulled up to the familiar auto body shop, making her way to the back lot, she saw Marley sitting at the table with the crate in front of her.
By the beaming smile Marley tossed her upon Gia’s approach, she guessed the trap had been successful.
Marley stood and waved her arms as Gia made her way over. After Gia parked the car, Marley hefted the carrier into the air triumphantly. “We did it!”
Gia opened her car door and rounded the hood. “You did it?”
“Yes!” Marley gently placed it on the ground.
The gravel crunched beneath her footsteps as she approached. She could hear the frantic yowls of the caged animal. “How is it?”
“So mad.” Well, yeah, that’s pretty obvious.
“Let me see.” Gia crouched to peer inside, only to be met by an angry paw. “Whoa, it’s an angry little thing.”
Marley chuckled. “Yeah. I can’t tell if it’s hurt or not, but it’s very loud.”
Gia looked over the black tuxedo cat. Its yellow eyes glared at her, lips curling back in a snarl. “All right, let’s get it in the car and see if the vet’s open. Nice job, Marley.”
Marley beamed a bright smile and rushed to climb into the passenger seat, placing the carrier securely between her feet while Gia settled into the driver’s seat.
Soft country music played at a low volume on the radio as she pulled out of the lot, heading back to the center of town. Main Street was nearly empty, except for a young woman walking her dog.
As she drove by Moonflower Pages, she spotted Lana setting up the Open sign on the sidewalk and offered a small wave. She could see that Sip Happens, across the street, had a handful of customers.
As she continued driving, she realized she didn’t know exactly where she was going—only that there weren’t many options around town.
“Where is this vet?” She glanced at Marley, who was staring out the window.
Marley glanced at her, then gestured forward. “It should be right around the corner from the community center, up ahead.”
Gia nodded. “How did you sleep?”
“Oh, um. I really didn’t…”
“Yeah, me neither.” It had nothing to do with the cat, though.
“Oh yeah? How come?”
Since she couldn’t exactly tell Marley about the nightmare that woke her up, and how the only thing that calmed her down was imagining Jake’s face, she changed the subject.
“Any other creature could have landed in the trap. What if it had been a rabid raccoon instead? The trap is too small for a bear, but I was worried it would find the treats and there would be none left for our cat.”
Marley nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. I thought about that too, so I was surprised the cat found it. I didn’t see it cross the street this morning, so hopefully it slept with the warm blankets all night.”
In response, the cat let out a growl.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Marley reached down to pat the top of the carrier gently.
“Did you see any injuries?” Gia pulled into the parking lot of a large brick building. The sign above the front doors showed it was called Willowbrook Animal Care.
“None that I could make out, but it didn’t really let me look at it,” Marley answered right as Gia put the car in park.
“All right, it looks like they’re open. Let’s go in, shall we?” Gia unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car. She rounded the hood, opening the door for Marley.
Marley murmured a thanks as she slowly got out of the car.
She pointed at the cat, who had renewed its efforts to escape. “You got that feral beast or you want me to get it?”
“I got it.” Marley grinned sheepishly. “Shh, it’s okay, little guy. I got you. We’re just gonna get you checked out, and then I promise you can go home.”
Once Marley had the carrier securely in her grasp, Gia shut the door and followed closely behind.
The automatic doors opened with a swoosh of cool air.
The waiting room was empty. In the far corner was a fish tank with colorful fish swimming about.
They both glanced around before Marley spotted a bell sitting on the reception desk.
Hesitantly, Marley tapped the bell. The resounding ring echoed in the empty lobby.
Not long after, there were sounds coming from the back room, and a man’s voice called out something that sounded like, “Just a sec!”
Gia and Marley shared a look and shrugged. Gia wandered over to the fish tank while Marley placed the hissing animal on the counter as they waited.
A blue tang was swimming its third lap around the tank when the door behind the desk swung open.
Gia turned around to see an attractive man behind the counter wearing a rumpled lab coat.
He smiled at Marley warmly, stepping up to the desk.
Gia went to Marley. The name stitched on the man’s left chest pocket showed he was Dr. Luke Hawthorne. He turned his charming smile her way.
“Sorry about that. I had to wrestle the lovely Lola back into her cage.” He lifted his arms to show the red, angry marks lining his forearms as proof. “What can I help you with?”
Marley cleared her throat, pink coloring her cheeks. “Oh, um… I have a cat, and I want to have it checked out.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart. What’s its name?” His deep voice had a hint of a southern drawl.
“Well, actually, it’s not exactly a pet…”