There’s also a circled note at the bottom of the page that says, “Mapping. She doesn’t always realize she’s picking at her skin. She doesn’t want to do it, but there’s something about it that soothes her. Keep an eye out for her touching her face. Try to help.”
I press the page to my chest and try to steady my breathing. How could I ever doubt the love this man feels for me? It no longer matters what Gemma knows about him that I don’t. He can keep his secrets if that makes him feel better. The man who wrote this is the man I want beside me, under my roof with Jules. I have no doubt about that now.
We all die alone, and I was prepared to do just that. Men have done nothing but disappoint me. I was sure I’d be better off without them. Then a teddy bear in a zombie-skin suit flipped my world upside down.
Now I just need to wait for my teddy bear to wake up.
Chapter 20
DOMINIC
My throat is burning. I’m not sure of much at the moment, but I do know that. I smack my lips together, which hurts since they’re so dry.
“Hey,” a silky voice says from beside me. “Thirsty?”
I grunt in response, my lips parting farther. I feel the straw when it hits my tongue and desperately start sucking the cool liquid down my throat.
“Slow down,” the voice says. “If you drink too much, you’ll get sick.”
My eyes flutter open and hovering above me is the face of an angel. An angel with long dark hair and different-colored eyes. “Where am I?” I ask in a very scratchy grating voice.
She tells me I’m at her house, that I’ve been drugged by a woman named Gemma.
Gemma! As soon as I hear the name, my memories come flooding back.
I felt a pinch on the back of my neck while standing outside my trailer. The next thing I knew, Gemma was flying? No, that can’t be right. Maybe she was dancing. Yeah, dancing around mein a tight navy-blue dress, telling me to relax so we could have fun. And then…there’s not much beyond that.
Lindsay starts crying as she holds my hand. “I was so worried about you when you didn’t come to the talent show.”
I pinch my eyes shut. “I fucking missed it?” I ask, devastated. “Unbelievable. How’d Jules do?”
“They won second place.”
“That’s great.” Then realization hits. “Did she wonder where I was?”
She nods. “I told her you weren’t feeling well, which isn’t untrue.”
Shame sits like a boulder in my gut. “I’m so sorry, Lindsay. I wanted to be there. I made––”
“I know,” she says, cutting me off. “I found the sign in your truck.”
I lift my hand to cup her cheek. “Why are you crying? I’m okay, lioness.”
The nickname makes her cry harder. “I’m sorry, Nic. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“What do you mean?”
She swallows, as if summoning the courage to say what she’s about to. “You don’t have to tell me anything about your past, okay? If it’s hard for you to talk about, then don’t talk about it. I’ll still love you. I don’t care. I love you now, and nothing will change that. Just don’t leave me again. Never leave.”
Her forehead drops to my chest, and I can feel my heart breaking beneath my bones. She’s giving me so much of herself, all because she was worried about me. If I truly love her as much as I say I do, as much as I think I do, then I owe it to her to reveal the truth. I can only hope that she still has enough love left in her to forgive me.
I spot my phone on the table beside the bed. “Can you give me my phone, please? I need to show you something.”
She looks up at me, eyes bloodshot and snot running down her nose. I want to tattoo this image on the inside of my eyelids so I never forget how radiant she is. Then she hands me my phone.
It doesn’t take long to dig up the well-hidden file. I never go near it, but I could never forget what’s inside. I click on the video in the folder and hand the phone back to her, willing my thumping heart to slow down.
“Press play whenever you’re ready.”
