Falling Fast
Page 41
Hearing that and feeling his muscles tense, I try to prepare myself for what he’s going to say, but nothing can prepare me for what comes out of his mouth.
“Cops arrested Lisa, and from what I understand, she won’t be getting out of jail for a while,” he tells me, and my head flies around so I can look at him. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.
“What?”
“It was my gun in the glove box of your Jeep,” he says, and I feel my eyes widen and my stomach knot.
“What?”
“After the cops left my parents’ place this morning, we went to the bar and Mom ran back the tapes from the weekend, just to see if there was anything out of the ordinary that would lead us to who broke into the storage unit. That’s when we saw Lisa break into your Jeep early Sunday morning. The cameras were far away, so there wasn’t a clear image. We didn’t know what she was doing in your Jeep, but we knew she did something. Seeing that, we called the cops to let them know what happened. That’s when I found out from the detective who was handling my case that an arrest had been made. When he told me who was arrested, I knew exactly why Lisa broke into your Jeep.”
“She set me up?” I ask in disbelief, watching his body get tight and his jaw tic.
“I hate myself for having brought this shit into your life. For not protecting you from her.”
“She set me up?” I repeat. “I had a gun pointed in my face and was arrested not even an hour after I watched two men carry my dead grandmother out of her room,” I grit out, not noticing his body go still or his scary energy fill the room. “Why? Why would she do that?”
“Your grandmother?” he chokes, and I focus on him. Seeing the look in his eyes, mine close. He didn’t know. Then again, how could he? I didn’t even tell Nat. I was so freaked out about being arrested that I didn’t want to think about Grandma until I had time to process her loss.
“You didn’t know.”
“No.” His voice sounds rough as he gathers me closer against him. “Tell me.”
“Right after you left, Elizabeth called to tell me,” I say, and his arms tighten. “I tried to call you.”
“Fuck, baby, I should have fucking been here.”
“She’s gone,” I whisper, and the tears I have been holding back spill over. “Just like that, she’s gone.”
He pulls me up his body then rolls us so my back is to the back of the couch and his leg and arm are over me, cocooning me and making me feel safe and protected. It’s like the world will never be able to touch me, because he will always be right there, waiting to take on any threat.
“Let it out.” His fingers sift through my hair as I cry and let it all out with my face against his chest.
Holding onto him, I let go of everything until there is nothing left. When my tears have finally dried up, I pull my face out of his chest to look up at him, and he dips his head while his eyes meet mine.
“I wish I could take this all away.” I know he does. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
Closing my eyes, I press my forehead into his chest. “You’re here now,” I say, and his lips rest against the top of my head and his chest expands. Keeping my eyes closed, I eventually pass out from exhaustion.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I hear Colton say, and I blink my eyes open to find myself alone on the couch with the TV on and the volume low. I pull my hair out of my face and sit up. Looking over the back of the couch, I see Colton is in the kitchen shirtless with his back to me and his phone to his ear. “Yeah, Dad, I get that, but when the woman I love needed me, I wasn’t fucking there for her, she couldn’t even get a hold of me since I left my fucking phone here in a hurry to get to you. Top that shit off with the bullshit Lisa pulled, and you can see why that’s fucking with my head right now.”
Love? He loves me? My heart starts to thunder against my rib cage and my stomach feels funny, like it’s too full.
“We won’t be in tomorrow, and she probably won’t be in for a while unless it’s just to hang out. I want her to look for somewhere else to work.” What? “Yeah, tell Mom I love her too. See you guys tomorrow, and tell her I said thanks for calling Ned and Nina to let them know about Genevria. Yeah, later.” He hangs up and I see his back muscles expand as he takes a deep breath, then his arm muscles flex as he runs a hand through his hair.
“Did you just tell your dad that I won’t be working at the bar anymore?” I ask, instead of asking if he’s in love with me, and he turns around, his worried eyes meeting mine.
“You need to find a job doing what you love.”
“I like working at the bar,” I respond truthfully, and he shakes his head.
“You might like it, but you don’t love it. It’s not what’s going to keep you happy long term,” he states, and I blink at him. “I want you to start a life here with me, in this town, and in order for you to do that, you need to find a job working with kids.”
“You want me to live here with you for good?” I ask stupidly, and his head tips to the side.
“Yeah,”
“I—”
“Either that or I’m moving to Chicago with you,” he inserts, holding my gaze, and that feeling in my stomach expands throughout my entire body.
“What?”
“I’m not going to live my life without you, so you move here, or I move there. Either way, we’ll be together.”
“You’d do that, move to Chicago just to be with me?” I whisper, and he frowns.
“I’m in love with you, and I know that isn’t going to change. I don’t want to be without you, so if you said you wanted to live in Chicago… fuck, if you said you wanted to live in Hell, I’d follow you there and do it happily.”
“You’re in love with me,” I repeat. Yes, I heard him tell his dad he was, but hearing him say it while looking me in the eyes is different. It makes it seem completely impossible.
“With everything I am, baby.” He rests his hand over his heart and my eyes fill with tears.
Shaking my head, I close my eyes briefly. “I don’t want to move to Chicago. I like living on the lake with you and Loki.”
“Then we’ll stay here.”
“Also, I love you, too,” I whisper, and his face softens as he leaves the kitchen and comes toward me.
Bending over the back of the couch, his hand wraps around the back of my skull. “Do you think you can be happy here?” he asks, dropping his face close to mine.
I pull in a breath then answer honestly, “As long as I have you, yes, I know I can be.”
“I love you, Gia. Had no idea what love was until you, but I know now, and I know I’ll always cherish everything you’ve given to me.”
“You’re going to make me cry.”
“Please don’t. I’ve seen enough of your tears today to last me a lifetime,” he says, and my eyes close.
Dropping my forehead forward, I rest it against his abs. “How is one of the worst days of my life also one of the best?” I ask him, and his hand on the back of my head tightens. Then he pulls my head back and touches his mouth to mine. When he pulls away with one final touch of his lips, I look into his eyes and know without a doubt that as long as I have him, I’ll have everything.
~**~
Standing at baggage claim at the bottom of the escalators waiting for Nat, I tighten my hold on Colton’s hand. It’s been four days since Grandma passed away, and in that time, I’ve made funeral arrangements and plans for Grandma to be buried next to Grandpa. I’ve talked to what feels like everyone in town, and grieved the loss of a woman I loved and cared about for the second time in my life. I wouldn’t say it’s any easier to let her go this time around, but it’s different. Long before she was gone, she had faded away with her disease and become someone I didn’t recognize anymore. What has made a world of difference this time is having people to lean on, people who care about me, like Nat, Ned, and Nina, plus Colton and his family. They have all let me cry on their shoulders and lean on them for help when I’ve needed it. I don’t know what I would do without them, and thankfully, I doubt I ever will.
“Cops arrested Lisa, and from what I understand, she won’t be getting out of jail for a while,” he tells me, and my head flies around so I can look at him. I don’t know what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.
“What?”
“It was my gun in the glove box of your Jeep,” he says, and I feel my eyes widen and my stomach knot.
“What?”
“After the cops left my parents’ place this morning, we went to the bar and Mom ran back the tapes from the weekend, just to see if there was anything out of the ordinary that would lead us to who broke into the storage unit. That’s when we saw Lisa break into your Jeep early Sunday morning. The cameras were far away, so there wasn’t a clear image. We didn’t know what she was doing in your Jeep, but we knew she did something. Seeing that, we called the cops to let them know what happened. That’s when I found out from the detective who was handling my case that an arrest had been made. When he told me who was arrested, I knew exactly why Lisa broke into your Jeep.”
“She set me up?” I ask in disbelief, watching his body get tight and his jaw tic.
“I hate myself for having brought this shit into your life. For not protecting you from her.”
“She set me up?” I repeat. “I had a gun pointed in my face and was arrested not even an hour after I watched two men carry my dead grandmother out of her room,” I grit out, not noticing his body go still or his scary energy fill the room. “Why? Why would she do that?”
“Your grandmother?” he chokes, and I focus on him. Seeing the look in his eyes, mine close. He didn’t know. Then again, how could he? I didn’t even tell Nat. I was so freaked out about being arrested that I didn’t want to think about Grandma until I had time to process her loss.
“You didn’t know.”
“No.” His voice sounds rough as he gathers me closer against him. “Tell me.”
“Right after you left, Elizabeth called to tell me,” I say, and his arms tighten. “I tried to call you.”
“Fuck, baby, I should have fucking been here.”
“She’s gone,” I whisper, and the tears I have been holding back spill over. “Just like that, she’s gone.”
He pulls me up his body then rolls us so my back is to the back of the couch and his leg and arm are over me, cocooning me and making me feel safe and protected. It’s like the world will never be able to touch me, because he will always be right there, waiting to take on any threat.
“Let it out.” His fingers sift through my hair as I cry and let it all out with my face against his chest.
Holding onto him, I let go of everything until there is nothing left. When my tears have finally dried up, I pull my face out of his chest to look up at him, and he dips his head while his eyes meet mine.
“I wish I could take this all away.” I know he does. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
Closing my eyes, I press my forehead into his chest. “You’re here now,” I say, and his lips rest against the top of my head and his chest expands. Keeping my eyes closed, I eventually pass out from exhaustion.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I hear Colton say, and I blink my eyes open to find myself alone on the couch with the TV on and the volume low. I pull my hair out of my face and sit up. Looking over the back of the couch, I see Colton is in the kitchen shirtless with his back to me and his phone to his ear. “Yeah, Dad, I get that, but when the woman I love needed me, I wasn’t fucking there for her, she couldn’t even get a hold of me since I left my fucking phone here in a hurry to get to you. Top that shit off with the bullshit Lisa pulled, and you can see why that’s fucking with my head right now.”
Love? He loves me? My heart starts to thunder against my rib cage and my stomach feels funny, like it’s too full.
“We won’t be in tomorrow, and she probably won’t be in for a while unless it’s just to hang out. I want her to look for somewhere else to work.” What? “Yeah, tell Mom I love her too. See you guys tomorrow, and tell her I said thanks for calling Ned and Nina to let them know about Genevria. Yeah, later.” He hangs up and I see his back muscles expand as he takes a deep breath, then his arm muscles flex as he runs a hand through his hair.
“Did you just tell your dad that I won’t be working at the bar anymore?” I ask, instead of asking if he’s in love with me, and he turns around, his worried eyes meeting mine.
“You need to find a job doing what you love.”
“I like working at the bar,” I respond truthfully, and he shakes his head.
“You might like it, but you don’t love it. It’s not what’s going to keep you happy long term,” he states, and I blink at him. “I want you to start a life here with me, in this town, and in order for you to do that, you need to find a job working with kids.”
“You want me to live here with you for good?” I ask stupidly, and his head tips to the side.
“Yeah,”
“I—”
“Either that or I’m moving to Chicago with you,” he inserts, holding my gaze, and that feeling in my stomach expands throughout my entire body.
“What?”
“I’m not going to live my life without you, so you move here, or I move there. Either way, we’ll be together.”
“You’d do that, move to Chicago just to be with me?” I whisper, and he frowns.
“I’m in love with you, and I know that isn’t going to change. I don’t want to be without you, so if you said you wanted to live in Chicago… fuck, if you said you wanted to live in Hell, I’d follow you there and do it happily.”
“You’re in love with me,” I repeat. Yes, I heard him tell his dad he was, but hearing him say it while looking me in the eyes is different. It makes it seem completely impossible.
“With everything I am, baby.” He rests his hand over his heart and my eyes fill with tears.
Shaking my head, I close my eyes briefly. “I don’t want to move to Chicago. I like living on the lake with you and Loki.”
“Then we’ll stay here.”
“Also, I love you, too,” I whisper, and his face softens as he leaves the kitchen and comes toward me.
Bending over the back of the couch, his hand wraps around the back of my skull. “Do you think you can be happy here?” he asks, dropping his face close to mine.
I pull in a breath then answer honestly, “As long as I have you, yes, I know I can be.”
“I love you, Gia. Had no idea what love was until you, but I know now, and I know I’ll always cherish everything you’ve given to me.”
“You’re going to make me cry.”
“Please don’t. I’ve seen enough of your tears today to last me a lifetime,” he says, and my eyes close.
Dropping my forehead forward, I rest it against his abs. “How is one of the worst days of my life also one of the best?” I ask him, and his hand on the back of my head tightens. Then he pulls my head back and touches his mouth to mine. When he pulls away with one final touch of his lips, I look into his eyes and know without a doubt that as long as I have him, I’ll have everything.
~**~
Standing at baggage claim at the bottom of the escalators waiting for Nat, I tighten my hold on Colton’s hand. It’s been four days since Grandma passed away, and in that time, I’ve made funeral arrangements and plans for Grandma to be buried next to Grandpa. I’ve talked to what feels like everyone in town, and grieved the loss of a woman I loved and cared about for the second time in my life. I wouldn’t say it’s any easier to let her go this time around, but it’s different. Long before she was gone, she had faded away with her disease and become someone I didn’t recognize anymore. What has made a world of difference this time is having people to lean on, people who care about me, like Nat, Ned, and Nina, plus Colton and his family. They have all let me cry on their shoulders and lean on them for help when I’ve needed it. I don’t know what I would do without them, and thankfully, I doubt I ever will.
