Chapter 23 Gianna
TWENTY-THREE
GIANNA
Gianna gasped awake, fighting against the body that was currently on top of her. It was convenient that there was a hand over her mouth, keeping her silent while she tried to scream for help.
“Relax.” The voice was smooth in her ear. “It’s me.”
She could barely make out his figure in the darkness, but she recognized his voice immediately. It was Finn, and for some reason he was in her room in the middle of the night.
When her body relaxed, he moved his hand away but remained hovering over her.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” she asked, agitated.
“Paying you back for the other night.”
She let out a frustrated groan, pushing him. “I have not slept a full night in forever. You are not going to mess that up for me again.”
“Are you asking me to sleep with you?” He beamed.
“I’m threatening you to let me sleep or I’m going to seriously hurt you.”
Finn sat up, pulling the covers off Gianna. “Come on, let’s go on a drive.”
“You need to get better listening skills. I’m not going anywhere. It’s the middle of the night.”
“It’s only midnight.”
“If it has the word night in it, I shouldn’t be awake.”
“Oh, come on, princess. Live a little.” He tried to be convincing, but the argument was futile. There was no explanation for why he was up and awake at this time of night, trying to drag her along for a ride.
“You’ll have more fun without me,” she told him.
“I need you there.”
She froze at his words. He said it lightly, but just the thought of being needed stunned her. “Why are you awake right now? What happened that you’re suddenly in a rush to go?”
The joking mood slipped off his face completely.
A haunted look found him instead. It was bizarre watching his eyes turn devoid of the warmth she was used to them having.
Something told her that whatever it was that kept him awake tonight was probably the very thing that had him always trying to run.
“Please, Gianna.”
She pursed her lips, but still nodded, nonetheless. “Fine, but I’m not staying out long.”
He moved away, letting her slip off the bed. She threw on the first hoodie and sweatpants set she could find, slipping on some warm boots with it. If she was going to be forced onto a bike in the middle of the night, she wanted to be warm.
“Here, put this on too,” he said, handing her a leather jacket.
She hadn’t even noticed he had another one with him, but she slipped it on, equally hating and enjoying how they matched.
Finn moved to open the door to her room, but she stopped him. Instead, she walked over to her balcony doors, unlocking and carefully opening it.
“What’s this?” he asked, surprised.
“We’re not going through the front door,” she said.
“So you’re telling me I could have been sneaking in through the balcony this whole time instead of using the door? Why do I like that idea so much more?”
“Probably because you’re demented.”
“You like that I am.”
She rolled her eyes, motioning for him to walk out first so she could close the doors behind them.
Admittedly, her balcony was pretty nice.
She spent the time decorating it with a pink outdoor couch, a small wooden table, and a hammock chair for when she really wanted to lounge out.
On warm summer nights, she would turn on the outdoor lights she strung along the roof and just relax there, letting her mind wander, but usually turning on a show to keep her occupied.
“What now? You expect me to jump down and then catch you?” Finn asked, looking over the railing.
“Jump if you want, I think I’ll use the ladder.”
She slid it out from under the couch, using her strength to hoist it over the railing and let it down slowly. Once it was leaning against the brick wall, she turned to face him.
“What the hell is that?” he asked, his voice mocking.
“A ladder.”
“That flimsy little shit looks like it’s going to snap at any second.”
“It’s served me well.” Gianna left out the part where plenty of men had also used it and been fine, thinking it might kill the mood. “You’ll be fine.”
“Is this really easier than just using the front door?” Finn threw one leg over the railing, letting his foot grab hold of the first step on the ladder before he threw his other leg over.
“Consider this your punishment for waking me up,” Gianna said. “Now hurry.”
He took his time going down the ladder, and admittedly, it was way too small for his large build. He was definitely a lot bigger than most of the guys she had been with in the past, which was probably why they had never struggled with the ladder while he did.
He let out a loud breath of relief when his feet finally touched the ground. He then held onto the bottom to steady it as she began coming down. Once she was safely on the ground as well, she had him hide the ladder in the bushes so that no one would be able to see that it was there.
“Where’s your bike?” she asked him, wrapping her arms around herself. Convenient that he had picked a windy night to go for a ride.
“Are you cold?” he asked her.
She nodded. “A little bit, but I should be fine.”
Finn grabbed her hand, walking them to the garage. It was far enough away from any of the rooms in the house for anyone to hear the garage door opening or to hear them leaving.
His bike stood there freshly polished, it seemed. Two helmets sat on the seat, but Finn didn’t walk towards it. Instead, he approached one of the many cars in the garage, pulling Gianna along with him.
“What are you doing? Your bike is over there,” she said.
“It’s too cold for you to go on a bike ride right now, so we’ll just take a car,” he said, opening the door for her.
She frowned. “I thought the whole point was because you needed the bike ride.”
“I’ll live.”
He looked at her expectantly, still holding the door open. Gianna entered the car, getting comfortable while he grabbed the keys from the wall. Him choosing her comfort over what he needed did something to her. It made her stomach flip violently in the most pleasant way possible.
Finn got into the driver’s side, starting the car up.
Gianna cleared her throat. “I can handle the cold. Seriously, it wasn’t that bad.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to risk you getting sick. You agreeing to come out with me is what I needed, not the ride.”
They pulled off into the darkness, staying in silence. She leaned her head against the window, letting out a loud yawn. Her body was unbelievably warm and cozy with the combination of the heaters and the heated seat.
She only closed her eyes for a couple of moments when she felt the car stop completely.
They were at the lake again; the wind having picked up even more now as the trees shook violently.
Thunder cracked in the distance and lightning sliced through the sky, letting her know that a storm was on its way.
Finn turned off the headlights, keeping them in darkness. Gianna took off her seatbelt and boots, folding her legs under her. Her feet had been killing her more than usual lately, and any chance she had not to wear shoes she was taking.
He took off his seatbelt, leaning back. A loud sigh left his lips, and she couldn’t tell if it was out of exhaustion or relief.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Her voice cut through the silence.
He didn’t answer right away, and for a second, she almost thought he wouldn’t tell her at all. But then he cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.
“I had a nightmare.”
“You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to.”
He shook his head. “I was ten years old again and my father was standing over me, the sickest fucking look on his face. It was worse than anger; it was like he was a monster. That’s how I remember him looking my entire childhood.
This time, me stuttering when his coworker asked a question sent him off.
He kept hitting and hitting until I was a puddle of blood.
And then I woke up,” Finn said. His voice was emotionless as if he had removed himself from the story completely.
Gianna swallowed down her nausea. “That sounds oddly specific to just be a random nightmare.”
A bitter chuckle left his lips. “My whole life has been a nightmare.”
Gianna heard the rumors. She knew Reece Kingsley was a horrible man, that was no secret.
She knew of the things he did to Luna, like forcing her into marriages and threatening to hit her at the engagement party, which was luckily stopped by Valerio.
But no one knew just how extreme the horrors in the Kingsley household were.
It made her wonder how Luna kept it from them all those years, how either sibling ever dealt with it.
“I saw the scars on your back the other day,” she said. “Were those from him?”
“From one of the many times he whipped me. Takes forever to fucking heal.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Gianna asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” he said, authenticity coating his voice. “Maybe it was because I thought it would make me tougher or I thought I deserved it, or because I had already dealt with it for that long, I knew it wouldn’t be able to last forever. I don’t fucking know.”
“And you were hesitant to kill him,” she said. “When everything was happening last year, you hesitated.”
“I know I’m fucked up.” He gripped the wheel in his hand, turning his knuckles white. “You don’t have to remind me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you think it like everyone else.”
“No, I don’t,” she said, grabbing his hand. It took some effort to pull it off the steering wheel, but he let her hold it anyway. “I’m trying to understand you.”
Finn looked at her, and in the moonlight, she caught the glazed-over look in his eyes. The unshed tears, it seemed.
“Why?” His voice was soft, small even. It lacked the confidence that he always seemed to carry, the one that now seemed to be a facade.
She swallowed harshly. “I don’t know. But you should know that I would never judge you, especially over how you feel about your parents.”
“Your mother?”