Chapter 188
Aria First Person POV
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I stayed sitting on the floor of my room for a long time after the boys left. My back rested against the bed frame, and the sunlight streaming through the curtains painted golden lines across the carpet. My phone was heavy in my hartd, even though it barely weighed anything. My fingers hovered over Gloria’s name in my contacts. My chest felt tight. It had been so long. Too long.
I missed her.
I missed hearing her voice and laughing over stupid things and her dramatic voice notes that always made me roll my eyes but smile anyway. She had been my best friend since forever. She was the one person who had always known how to talk me down when I was spiraling and hype me up when I was doubting myself. Not calling her until now had been one of the hardest things. But I had to keep her safe. I still did.
My thumb hovered for another second. Then I tapped call.
The ringing made my heart pound louder than it already was.
One ring. Two. Three.
Then I heard it.
“Aria?” Gloria’s voice broke through the line, full of surprise and something close to panic. “Oh my God. Is everything okay? Where have you been? What happened? Are you hurt?”
I smiled softly, eyes stinging. “I’m okay. I promise.”
“Do not lie to me,” she said quickly. “I’ve been losing my mind. You just vanished. You left me with those awful people and didn’t say anything. I thought you were dead or kidnapped or something.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I know. I’m so sorry. I should have called sooner.”
There was a pause, then her voice softened. “So what happened?”
I hesitated, chewing on the inside of my cheek. I couldn’t tell her everything. But I owed her something. At least part of the truth.
“My dad’s death,” I said slowly, “it wasn’t random. It wasn’t an accident. Someone gave him up. The Russian mafia found him because someone told them where he would be.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
“Jesus,” she whispered. “Aria. Are you safe?”
“I’m with people who are protecting me,” I said. “They’ve made sure I’m not alone. I’m in a secure place.”
“Where?” she asked immediately. “Tell me where you are. I’ll come to you. I don’t care how dangerous it is. I’ll take a bus or a bike or even walk. Just tell me.”
I smiled through the ache in my chest. “You’re insane.”
“I’m serious,” she said. “You’re my best friend. I don’t care about the risk.”
“I do,” I said softly. “I’m not telling you where I am, Glo. Because I love you. And if anything happened to you because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
Chapter 188
Her voice broke a little. “But I don’t want to lose you.”
You won’t,” I promised. “I just need you to trust me. I’m okay right now. I’m not alone.”
She let out a long breath and I could hear the tears in her voice even though she was trying to hide them. “So the Moretti brothers really are good for something then.”
I laughed a little. “Yeah. They’re doing everything they can. I believe that now.”
There was a small silence and then she said, “Okay. I trust you. I just hate that I can’t be there.”
“I know,” I said. “Me too.”
Then her voice brightened a little and she said, “Wanna hear something that’ll make you scream?”
“Always.”
“Cassandra,” she started dramatically, “has officially dated half of the male population in the city. I’m talking waiters, DJs, med students, that one yoga instructor who smells like sandalwood and sadness. She even dated a guy with a lizard collection. A lizard collection, Aria.”
I choked on a laugh. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” Gloria went on. “And get this. She got arrested last week.”
I blinked. “What?”
“She tried to break into her ex’s house. He was with a new girl and Cass apparently lost her mind. Cops showed up. And guess who bailed her
out?”
“Linda,” I said immediately.
“Ding ding ding,” she said. “And she still blamed the guy. Said Cassandra was emotionally provoked and the man should have known better.”
I laughed harder now, the sound spilling out of me like I hadn’t laughed in weeks. Because I hadn’t. Not really.
Gloria kept talking and I kept listening, letting her words fill the room like sunlight. She told me about a guy she went on a date with who ended up being a mime and refused to speak the entire evening. He only mimed ordering food and got mad when the waitress didn’t understand him. I was laughing so hard by then I had to lie back on the floor and cover my face.
“I miss this,” I whispered eventually, once we had both caught our breath.
“I miss you,” she said.
“I miss you more.”
We stayed quiet for a moment.
Then she asked, “When can we talk again?”
I sighed. “I don’t know.”
Her silence made it worse.
“I’ll call when I can,” added softly. “I swear.”
“Okay,” she said. Her voice sounded smaller. “Just don’t forget me.”
Chapter 188
“Never.”
“Take care of yourself,” she said. “And let those mafia boyfriends of yours take care of you too. Especially the tall silent one. He’s hot.”
I snorted. “Gloria.”
“Tell him I said hi. And if you die, I get your favorite earrings.”
“I’m not dying.”
“Good. Then call me when you can.”
“I will.”
“I love you, Aria.”
“I love you too.”
We hung up and the silence that followed felt both heavier and lighter somehow.
I sat there for a few more minutes, wiping my cheeks, trying to hold on to the warmth of that call before the real world came crashing back in.
Then I heard a knock.
It was soft.
Then the door opened slowly and Dante poked his head inside. His dark eyes landed on me and he smiled a little.
“There you are,” he said. “Come on, sunshine. You’re not getting out of packing just because you’re pretty.”
I laughed quietly, brushing hair from my face.
“I’m coming,” I said.
He stepped inside and offered me his hand.
I took it.
And just like that, I wasn’t alone again.
Chapter Comments
Jordan Davies
can’t wait for update
