God, I missed her.
The memory sent a fresh wave of pain through me. “I’m sorry, Tam,” I whispered to the star-filled sky. “I tried.”
My legs began to tremble so violently I had to lower myself to sit on a nearby rock. The reality of my situation slammed into me. I had no phone, no money, no ID, and not even the ability to communicate in the local language.
I was seriously freaking out. Like, full-on panic mode. This wasn’t like getting lost in New York or Montrose, where I could walk into a coffee shop to use their phone.
Here, I was utterly, completely alone in a way I’d never experienced before.
The tears came suddenly, silent at first, then with heaving sobs. I pressed my palms against my face, tasting salt as the tears reached my lips.
“What am I supposed to do?” I whispered into the darkness.
I thought about my mother, who worked tirelessly to provide for me and who would be devastated if something happened to me on this road tonight. I thought about my father, whose absence from my life still hurt.
The memory of being in Santo’s kitchen, laughing, just hours ago, seemed like a dream from someone else’s life. I sank down on a rock, stretching my legs out, allowing myself sixty seconds of complete terror and grief.
Some time later, the sound of an approaching engine made me tense. Headlights appeared around a bend, their beams sweeping across the landscape. I stepped further to the side, half-concealing myself behind a tree’s gnarled trunk.
The older model sedan slowed as it approached. It crawled past, then stopped about twenty feet ahead. I froze, calculating my options. The nearest tree was too small to hide behind, the stone wall too far to reach quickly.
My heart jumped as the car reversed toward me.
6
I jolted awake to Zeus’s deep bark. Sunlight streamed through the half-open curtains as I squinted at the bedside clock: 9:47 AM. My head throbbed, a reminder of the whiskey I’d consumed after last night’s confrontation.
“Quiet, agorí mou,” I commanded, but Zeus continued pacing at my bedroom door.
The events of the previous night came rushing back. Katalina’s shrill accusations, Tia’s mortified expression and the way Zeus had chosen to stand beside her rather than me.
After Tia had gone to change, Kat had sidled up to me.
“I forgive you for having sex with Tia,” she said, running her fingers down my chest. “I won’t hold it against you.”
Her hand came to rest on my thigh, and I couldn’t help it. I laughed in her face.
“You forgive me?” I repeated, incredulous. “I don’t need it.”
“Please, Santo.” She rolled her eyes, leaning closer. “Don’t you remember how good we were together?”
I removed myself from her reach. “No.”
She followed me as I left the bedroom, the click of her heels echoing against the marble. “You can’t possibly be interested in her,” she hissed, grabbing my arm. “She’s fat.”
I stopped and turned, looking down at her hand until she removed it from my biceps.
“Voluptuous,” I corrected, enjoying the way her eyes narrowed at the word. “And yes, I find her infinitely more attractive than you.”
Her face contorted. “You can’t, possibly. You’re joking, right?”
“Believe what you want,” I said, already turning away. “I’ll be stopping by your house tomorrow to pick Tia up for a date.”
“She won’t be there,” Kat called after me.
Zeus barked again, bringing my focus to the present.
“What is it?” I muttered, padding barefoot across the cool floor. As I opened the door, Zeus bolted into the hallway, then stopped abruptly and looked back at me, his tail wagging expectantly.
