"It does solve a lot of problems though Ginny," Caleb adds from the front seat before Matthew folds over as he dissolves into another fit of loud giggles.
It is funny. I know it is. It is the way Hunter and I work. It has always been all in. But now, in this car, it stings. It hurts so much. Cause, the weird thing is, it is what I wanted. I just wanted it to be sincere. I turn away from all of their jest and joking and leave them. The noise in the car fades away as the streets flash past. And then I realise that the car is silent, and it is parked in the garage. Movement at my window is all I notice, my vision blurred by my tears that are pooling in my eyes.
The door cracks open and Hunter turns me in my seat, pulling me into his arms. Wrapping me tight, my head slumping onto his shoulder.
"Gigi, I was playing with you. We were laughing in the middle of a shit storm honey. We weren't laughing at you, we were laughing at us. Hey, look at me," he pulls back slightly and tips my head up with one of his fingers. His eyes are full of remorse.
"I am sorry if I upset you Gigi. I would never want that. And just for the record, when I do ask you to marry me, it won't be because I feel pressure from your family, it won't be to appease the media vultures and it definitely won't be because we have Dom dangling over our happy-ever-after. It will be because I want to. I would be more than happy to ask you right now because since the moment we first met, I knew it would be you. We are so close to it being our time. I have waited this long for you, I can wait a tinsy tiny little bit more,” his hands touch over my face gently, his eyes burning with his sincerity. He leans back to watch me quietly before he speaks again, “I can't believe I have never told you that I love you. I do though, with all my heart and I am so sorry Gigi that I made you think for one second that I didn't, or that I thought we were a joke, cause pretty girl, you are so not that," he moves closer to me, holding my face ever so gently, one hand wiping my stupid tears away. "I love you Verginius, with everything that I am. I do," and then he ensures there is no gap between us and kisses me softly on my lips. His kiss tells me in a single touch everything he had just confirmed in his beautiful words.
"Thank you Hunter," I whisper. I had my ‘I love you’, poised on my lips when a slow clap sounds from the end of the garage. The noise echoes around. Another clap sounds, closer this time but the direction is still hard to pinpoint as it bounces all around us. Our heads nearly clash as we turn together toward the approaching noise.
"Get in the car, lock it and phone Matthew straight away," Hunter insists, stuffing me back into the car before closing the car door on me. The car light extinguishes as I am dialing Matthew's number.
"Come quick, someone is down here. Hunter is out in the garage. He is here. Please hurry," the disconnect sounding.
I turn back to Hunter and tap on the glass quickly to tell him that Matthew and Caleb are on the way, but a hand slaps against the passenger window on the opposite side of the car scaring the shit out of me. A terror filled scream bursts from my throat and I turn to see what it is. A quick glance back to Hunter and he is already around the back of the car getting closer to where a dark shadow spirits away. Hunter takes off like a firecracker, his retreating form all I can see, even after a second.
Like any sane person will do I jump out of the car to follow after him, when I am punched in the side of the head. I stumble back into the open car door, cracking my head on the edge of the door before I sprawl face first over the garage floor. I lay on the concrete floor surprised by how quick I had ended up in this vulnerable position. A soft shoe shuffle comes from nearby and I scamper in my escape on all fours but the car tire traps me. My assailant runs in front of me, squares his body. I watch in slow motion as he swings his leg back, I focus on his tatted black Nikes in my panic, and watch as he kicks me in the stomach as hard as he can.
The force and pain explodes through me. The grunt of pain that falls from my mouth is unavoidable. I try to scamper back away from my attacker but I can’t move. I watch as those dirty sneakers close in on me again. My whimpering is obviously entertaining, as a masculine, low cackle sounds in front of me, feeding further into my panic. A noise in the distance echoes and the shoes in front of me shuffle to a stop, before spinning and moving in the opposite direction.
My laboured breathing is coupled with my grunts of pain and Caleb's frantic yells from the fire escape door on the far side of the garage. How he made it down from our floor I don't know, but my panic is quickly replaced by hysteria at the intensive relief I feel.
