“I’m going now,” Riza says, ignoring Kelly’s warning. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Kelly puts her arm around me as we watch Riza leave. I don’t have the energy to make her stay.
“What do you want to do?” I ask Kelly, feeling too tired to really do anything.
“We can stay in bed, watch movies and laugh like old times.” She pulls me in the direction of my apartment.
“Lucky for you I have Netflix.” I glance over my shoulder when I feel a weird sensation, as if I’m being watched. I shake it off and go back upstairs with Kelly.
I hope Riza will find her answers so at least one of us can return to normal.
~*~
Chapter Thirty One
Garrett~
I’ve been parked outside the coffee shop a few stores down the road from her bookstore. Justin was with me until he saw Riza run from the store. He went after her and I watched Riza throw her arms around his neck. She looked happy to see him. He waved at me and walked down to the beach with her.
So here I am, stalking Kristine.
I didn’t sleep. I kept trying to think of ways to fix this mess.
I keep seeing glimpses of her and the other girl, when they pass in front of the window. I sit for a few more hours hoping she’ll come out. But luck’s not on my side today.
It’s okay, I have nothing but time.
I go home to shower. When I walk out onto the deck I see Justin and Riza sitting down on the beach.
“Who’s that?” Mom asks behind me.
“The girl?” I nod my head in their direction.
“Yes, is she from town?”
“No,” I don’t know how to explain this to Mom. If she ever finds out what we had to do to get Andrea back, she might just kill us. Instead I say, “she’s a friend we met a while back. They ran into each other in town.”
It all sounds so normal but it’s far from.
“I’m taking Andrea shopping. We’re going to go get something to wear for tomorrow.” I hear the excitement in Mom’s voice. “I’m so glad you’re all going to be there.”
Yeah, about that. “Mom…” She looks up at me with so much happiness I can’t take it away from her, “…never mind. I’ll see you at dinner.”
There’s only one thing I can do. I have to beg Kristine to keep quiet. I walk the short distance back to her store. I can’t believe I haven’t seen her around here. The town has one main street. There aren’t many places to go. That’s what makes it so peaceful.
When I reach her store, I hesitate to knock. What if she freaks out again? I’ll just have to deal with it then, won’t I?
I knock and wait a few seconds. When she doesn’t come I knock again and then spot the button. I press it and hear it ring inside.
Seconds later I see her come from between the shelves. She sees me and stops. For a moment I think she’s going to leave me standing here, but instead she squares her shoulders, lifts her chin and comes to open the door.
“What the hell do you want? I told you to leave me alone!” she snaps at my chest, seeing as how she’s refusing to make eye contact still. There’s a fire burning in her eyes and it makes me smile. She has her fight back. It’s so good to see the flames licking, darkening her eyes.
“I just want to talk,” I say quickly when the frown on her face darkens. “It’s about Mom, you’re hosting the signing for her book.”
“I can add one and one together. I’ve figured out Liza is your mother after I almost broke my neck tripping over the boxes you just left in the middle of my store!”
She’s so feisty, I love it. A full blown smile spreads over my face. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Fuck off, Garrett!” She goes to close the door and I quickly block her by stepping into the store. She goes to shove me but I grab hold of her wrist and yank her against my chest. Her eyes snap up to mine and our eyes meet for the first time.
“There you are,” I murmur, staring deep into her eyes.
Her breathing speeds up the longer I hold her eyes captive. I brush my fingers over her cheek, enjoying to soft feel of her skin. I get lost in the moment and lean in.
“What the fuck!” someone screams from the back of the store. “Get your hands off her.” My head snaps up and I see the other girl running towards us. Couldn’t she have waited just five more minutes?
Kristine yanks her wrist free from my grip and steps back, thinking she’s safer next to her friend. She’s not, but I’ll let her think so for now. Now that I’ve seen the emotions in her eyes, the anger, the hurt but most of all the longing, I won’t stop until I have her.