“Locks. You need new locks.”
“No, the other part,” she said.
“Oh, you’re getting a dog.”
“Says who?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
I’d noticed it was a common trait of hers. The thin robe she was wearing did nothing to cover up her round br**sts. Her pouty stance only pushed them higher, making them strain against the thin pink fabric.
“Says me. You are a single woman in the middle of the city, Mia. You need protection.”
“So, rather than being rational and getting something like—oh, I don’t know—a security system, you decide I need a dog?”
“Yes. Security systems are expensive and can be dismantled. Dogs can be trained, and they are good companions.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she threw her hands up in exasperation. “You are exhausting. I am not yours to boss around, Garrett.”
“Oh, I know that, Mia. You made sure of that a long time ago,” I practically spit, venom lacing my words.
I regretted the words the second they had left my mouth. I saw the hurt on her face as she looked ashen and gutted.
“I’ll look into the dog. Thank you for coming over,” she whispered.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I turned away. The coffee she’d made was still sitting on the kitchen table. It was probably now lukewarm from my icy words.
“Hey, why don’t you head upstairs? I’ll make sure everything is locked and secure,” I offered.
She didn’t even argue. She just retreated upstairs. As I listened to the soft sobs echoing down the hall, I took a deep breath and tried to center myself. I didn’t understand her. I couldn’t comprehend why a girl who had left me looked so destroyed.
She left me, damn it.
I should be the one with the right to bleed, not her. What puzzle piece was I missing here?
After cleaning up the coffee and quickly checking the locks again, I quietly jogged my way up the stairs, and found her bedroom. The stark white walls and dark wood furniture decorating the room looked washed out against the soft light emanating from the small lamp at her bedside.
Curled up with a sheet pulled all the way to her chin, she was staring out the window at the crescent moon.
“Why did you come here, Garrett?” she asked softly, her attention still focused on the window.
Against my better judgment, I walked over to her bed and sat down next to her. I resisted the urge to touch her, to caress her cheek, to bend down and taste her quivering lip, and to tell her everything would be fine.
“I had to be sure you were safe,” I answered honestly.
She didn’t respond. She just continued to stare out the window, like she was searching for an answer from the man on the moon.
“Do you remember that dinner you had me go to?” I asked, remembering my dream from earlier tonight.
“The one at the country club?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“I had strappy black heels on. You kept staring at them all night,” she said wistfully.
“They were the fanciest and sexiest damn things I’d ever seen. They made your legs look endless.”
I caught her gaze with mine, but she quickly looked away.
“You weren’t the only one who noticed. My mom caught you staring at my legs several times that night, if I remember correctly.”
I turned away, giving a hint of a laugh. “Your mom never was much of a fan of mine, especially that night. I showed up in my rented tuxedo, which was definitely not designer, and your mom’s nose curled up so fast that I thought she was allergic to me.”
Her eyes finally disengaged from the window, meeting mine, and she gave a small ghost of a laugh. “The only thing my mother was allergic to was being kind, generous, or understanding.”
“You say that like she’s not around anymore.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Her answer was final, so I didn’t push it.
“You were always willing to do anything for me.”
“I would have gone into hell for you,” I said adamantly. “For both of you.”
Chapter Six
~Mia~
“So, then what happened?” Liv asked as we settled in on the couch.
It was Saturday night, and we were slumming it in our yoga pants and hoodies at my house, getting ready to order Thai food and watch a movie on Netflix. I’d managed to push around the couch and old secondhand chair I’d picked up in a way that mimicked an actual living room despite the lack of flooring. It looked pretty depressing now, but I had a vision in my head of something much better, and someday soon, it would be beautiful. Until then, Liv and I would have to settle for sitting on crappy furniture.
On my half-completed floor.
On a Saturday night, no less.
In our pajamas.
I thought we were miserably failing our age bracket.
“He just left. He locked the door and walked out,” I finally answered.
I would have gone into hell for you…for both of you.
I omitted that part when I recapped Garrett’s late-night visit.
There hadn’t been much to say after that. He’d left. Lying awake in my bed, I’d listened to my echoing breaths moving in and out of my lungs, the sounds quietly filling my empty bedroom, as I’d wallowed in regret. I’d thought about my parents and the choke-hold control they’d had over my life back then.
Those heels I’d worn the night Garrett came and picked me up were a complete act of rebellion. Olivia and I had been told to go out and buy suitable ensembles for a formal dinner. Credit cards had been thrown at us, and we’d been sent on our way.
Olivia’s parents could throw money around, charging things every single day without worrying about the consequences. My parents, on the other hand, would rack up the debt and then worry until my dad’s next big court case, hoping he would make enough to pay the cards off. The trust fund my mother had liked to brag about wasn’t even money my dad had earned himself. It had been money my grandparents had set aside for me. I had no doubt it was gone now. My parents always lived beyond their means, and they thought they hid it well. My mother would sell her clothes on eBay to make extra cash, or she’d wear an outfit once and return it, telling me it hadn’t fit right when I knew it had.
While I’d known what they were doing, what I hadn’t understood was why. Why try so hard? Why not just live a happy existence, like everyone else?
Garrett came from a well-to-do family. His father had a well-paying job, and they always lived within their means. I’d never seen a happier family. Why couldn’t mine be like that?