“You must miss them.”
“I miss my dad, sometimes, even though he was a pretty shitty dad. Especially at the end. It’s different with Juliet. I don’t remember her, and Nat is the only mom we’ve ever known. She was our only present parent growing up, and we owe her everything.”
“I love Nat. I know she’s my godmother, but she’s more like my second mom.”
“Man, how did this conversation get so heavy?”
“I don’t know.” She yawns, finishing the Gatorade and placing the empty bottle into her purse.
“You should sleep. We still have at least an hour to go.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gia
Joshua dropped me off a block from the apartment. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him to come home with me because I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts. But I held back. He’s right. We need to keep things strictly professional between us until I’m finished with my assignment.
I take a shower and try to think of anything but what happened in the basement earlier tonight. But my mind refuses to let me forget it. The first tear falls as I’m leaning my head back, rinsing suds from my hair. They continue falling as I get out, run a towel over my body, and blow-dry my hair. I brush my teeth four times and use half a bottle of mouthwash rinsing my mouth, but I can still taste his disgusting cum tainting my insides. By the time I’m dressed in my comfy long-sleeved pajamas and I have crawled under the covers, I’m completely under siege. Wracking sobs rip from my chest as I curl into a ball on my bed and totally lose it.
I clutch a pillow to my body as I expunge pain, grief, humiliation, and fear.
I don’t even feel the bed dipping behind me at first or have time to panic that someone got in my apartment withoutme noticing. “It’s me, Gia. I’ve got you,” Joshua says, carefully turning me on my side to face him.
I’m in too much pain to shelter my emotions from him. I don’t care how weak I must look. I can’t do anything but give in to the deep-seated pain battering me from all sides. Tears pour from my eyes like a waterfall, and I can barely see him through my blurry vision.
“You should have told me. I’m so sorry you had to endure that tonight.”
I almost choke over the sobs as anguish tears me apart on the inside. “Hold me,” I rasp in between sobs, needing someone to make it better.
His arms wrap around me without hesitation, and I sob into his chest. He’s still wearing his dress shirt and pants, and I drench the crisp white cotton with an avalanche of tears. The entire time, he holds me secure in his strong embrace, dotting kisses into my hair and encouraging me to let it all out.
Eventually, I run out of tears. I close my eyes and press my face to his shirt, inhaling his comforting scent and sinking into the protection of his arms. “Don’t leave me,” I whisper. “Please stay.”
With the tenderest touch, he tips my chin up so our eyes meet. “I’m going nowhere, and you don’t have to beg. Not where I’m concerned.” He dusts his lips lightly across my brow, my cheeks, and the tip of my nose before softly kissing me. When his eyes lift to meet mine again, I see nothing but concern and compassion. “Did he hurt you physically, Gia? Did more happen than we heard on the tape?”
I shake my head. “All my pain is inside.” I cringe at how hoarse my voice sounds. “Actually, that’s not quite true,” I add, feeling a throbbing ache in my hips and along my back. Alarm blazes in his eyes. “Not because of Liam. From the car ride to Jersey. The driver had the skills of a sixteen-year-old who justgot his learner’s permit. I got thrown around a bit.” I didn’t feel it before because my internal pain overrode everything else.
“I’m going to take care of you.” He kisses me again, and it’s a feather-soft touch of his lips against mine. “I’ll be back,” he adds, rolling off the bed.
After he exits the bedroom, I sit up against the headrest, ignoring the spasm of pain the motion produces. I scrub at my stinging eyes and shove messy strands of reddish-brown hair behind my ears. I’m exhausted from my crying stint but I feel lighter too. I needed to vent that.
Joshua returns with a mug and a tube of arnica cream. Sitting on the side of the bed, he hands the drink to me. “It’s honey and lemon. It’ll help. Mom used to always give it to us when we had a cold or a sore throat.”
Fresh tears prick my eyes for a different reason. “Thank you.” I take a sip, and the liquid is like a balm flowing down my throat.
“I’m going to kill him.” He says it real matter-of-fact as if we’re casually discussing the weather.
“If anyone is killing that prick it’s me.”
“We’ll do it together,” he says. “I’ll help, and you can deliver the kill shot.”
“Deal.” A small grin slips over my mouth in between sips of the sweet citrusy concoction.
“You’re not going to his place tonight. It’s far too dangerous now.”
As much as the thought of it disgusts, enrages, and terrifies me, I’m not bowing out. I can’t fail, and I can’t fall apart at the first true hurdle. I shake my head. “I have an assignment to complete, and we’re finally getting somewhere. I can’t back out now.”
“Please, Gia.” He sweeps his fingers across my cheek, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
