“Lana heard me screaming when she was coming off the elevator, saw him standing over me, and she hit him over the head with a wine bottle. He started to turn his wrath on her, but she grabbed a knife, and he ran out of there before he could do anymore. She called 9-1-1, and I spent the next week in the hospital. They said the shard just missed my heart, but despite that, they didn’t know how I was still alive with the amount of blood I had lost.”
“Did you go to the police?” he asked.
“I didn’t want to,” I admitted. “I didn’t think there would be much they could do. Lana ended up telling them everything while I was asleep. They caught Aidan at his apartment the next day and charged him with assault. He spent a week in prison, but somehow, his charges were dropped. It’s like they were erased. Everything. Even his mugshot. Lana had packed my apartment by the time I was out of the hospital. She had found me a new place and rented it under one of our other friends’ names. She took care of everything. She even changed my phone number and deleted my app profiles. I had a friend I hired once I was settled to scour the internet for any other mentions or photos of me from friends in the past and deleted them, too. And then, the next month, I saw that Aidan was back on tour with his band.”
“What’s the band?” Gavin asked, and I could see the rage billowing in his eyes.
“I’m not telling you,” I said firmly.
“Why?”
“Because there’s no point in drudging up the past,” I said. “Aidan is crazy, and he’s famous now.”
“Does he still go by Aidan?” Gavin asked, and I glowered at him.
“No, he doesn’t,” I affirmed. “And I’m not telling you his stage name.”
“Chloe—“
“Gavin.” And I said his name so finitely that he sounded like he was growling at me in response. I sighed heavily, shaking my head. “If we ever cross paths with him, feel free to pummel him into a pulp. But I’m not telling you his name for you to seek him out.”
Gavin ran his hands through his hair, teeth set, and finally, he let out a slow breath.
“Fine,” he agreed, though his voice remained on edge. “Fine. But if we ever see him, I don’t care who he is, Chloe. He’s fucking dead.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE - GAVIN
I DIDN’T SLEEP.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling as Chloe rested against my chest. Her ex was already on my list of beings to take care of, but now he had moved up, tied with the god that had taken her away from me. I felt like I was so close to pinning it down, like going to that retreat would be the final nail I needed to support the theory I’d been working on.
Even if I really didn’t want to go.
I liked the bubble we were living in, and it was nice not worrying that someone might try and tear us apart yet.
Zayn met me outside at sunrise, shirt absent and only wearing his pajama joggers. I sighed as I sat on the opposite end of the beige lounging couch, and we cheers’d the air with our coffee mugs. I noticed his unruly hair, the hickey on his pectoral muscle, and a lazy smirk making its way to my lips.
“Take it you had a fun night,” I said, looking at the purple sunrise.
“Understatement of the year,” Zayn said. “She is…wild.”
I almost choked on my coffee. “That’s a mild way of putting it,” I managed. “Whenever you propose, though, make sure you suggest her moving here. I think Chloe misses her.”
Zayn adjusted himself. “You might see less of me at the office. I’ll be chartering that plane from yesterday to take me across the country for booty calls. Fucking hell,” he muttered with a shake of his head. “Where’s she been hiding?”
I smiled against my mug as Zayn cursed and told me about Lana’s wild ways. When Chloe emerged from inside, he had just gotten to the part where she’d put honey on his dick.
“She stole that trick from me,” Chloe said, settling on my knee. “But I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she winked.
Her hair was wet, her makeup absent, and she was wearing loose black shorts and a tank beneath a plaid flannel shirt. Our eyes met as she leaned her elbow on my shoulder. Unspoken words rang between us, both thinking of the night before, of her confession.
We had barely spoken after.
“I love you,” she mouthed in silence.
“I love you.” I kissed her, my heart strumming in response to the softened way her tongue swept against mine. Her hand rested on my cheek, nails scratching the scruff on my jaw.
A smile slipped onto her lips when we parted, prompting me to kiss her jaw and slide the hand that wasn't visible to Zayn beneath her shorts. A quiet giggle left her as she shoved me.
