I shook my head. “You tell me what it is before I lose my shit,” I warned, crossing my arms over my chest. I wanted to tap my foot, forcing him to hurry it along before steam blew out both ears and I exploded.
“Mia, Wes and I weren’t doing anything, I promise you,” said a broken voice from behind Wes. Gina leaned on the couch, and that’s when I truly noticed her. One of her legs was in a full cast, a pair of crutches lying close by near the couch. Once she stood, I noticed her body lacked the vivaciousness it once had. Now, she was gaunt and deathly thin. Taking in everything that was Gina DeLuca from the top of her now flat brown hair, the locks no longer showing the luster and sheen that rivaled any Pantene commercial, to her toes. This was not the same woman I’d met back in January. If anything, this was the empty shell of what was once an incredible beauty.
I blinked a few times not knowing how to respond when Wes sneaked up and curled an arm around my shoulders. “Mia, Gina was just visiting. It’s part of her um…” His voice trailed off.
“My therapy,” she finished. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell her, Weston.” Her eyes were sad, lifeless, almost hollow.
For some reason, I enjoyed that she called him by his full name versus the nick name I used. That helped put distance between the two that I needed a whole lot in that moment.
“Wasn’t my story to tell,” Wes shared solemnly.
Gina pushed her hair back, wiped at her eyes, and then looked at me. “My therapist says I need to see the survivors. Connect with the people who went through what I went through so that I could remember I’m alive. Attempt to move on with my life. That’s why I was here, Mia.” Her voice shook. “Wes was just comforting me. We went through a lot over there, and…um… that makes me feel safe near him,” she admitted, more tears falling down her cheeks. “I never feel safe anymore. No amount of security or locks on the doors.” She rubbed her hands over her biceps. “I’m scared all the time.” Her voice shook in a way that made me want to reach out and hold her.
Hearing her admit her fears and express what she was experiencing cut right through the fleshy parts of me straight to the bone. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. You guys have been through a lot together. Finish your chat. I’m not mad. Please…” I gestured for Wes to sit back down by the frail woman. “Take your time. The green-eyed monster popped out for a second, but I trust Wes, and I believe in our love. He’d never be unfaithful.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Wes said, his eyes shimmering with something I couldn’t define. All I knew was that it was real. I leaned forward, kissed his lips briefly, letting him know physically that things were truly okay between us.
“I’m going to take a shower and catch up with Maddy and Ginelle.”
“Okay. I’ll be done here before dinner,” he promised.
As I walked away, I stopped and tapped my thigh with my finger before turning around. “Gina, I’m glad you survived. Wes cares for you, and I know the two of you went through a lot, so feel free to come here as often as you like. I want you both to be well. Nobody should be afraid all the time.” I shuffled my feet and shrugged. “So I guess what I’m saying is that I hope to see you again soon.”
It took everything I had, all the grown-up parts that I needed to pull from, to say what I did, especially because, before all this went down half a world away, I most certainly never wanted to see Gina with Wes again or anywhere near our life together. Now, though, I had to be the bigger person. Together, they had gone through something traumatic, life-altering, and if I had any hope of helping him, maybe helping her would lead us there. It was worth grinning and bearing it to take even one small step toward Wes fighting those demons deep inside him. I could push down the green-eyed monster and smack her into submission for Wes’s health and his sanity.
“Thank you, Mia. You’re a kind soul.” Gina’s voice was small and broken when she responded.
I smiled and nodded, not knowing what else to do.
“Sweetheart?” Wes said.
“Yeah, baby?” I rested my hand on the doorframe to the hallway that led to our bedroom.
“I love you more and more every day.”
He said the words, but I didn’t just hear them. I felt them arrow into my heart and burrow there, safe and sound, where they’d stay for eternity.
* * *
Lying back on our California King bed, I dialed Ginelle.
“Hey, skank?” she answered but it lacked the normal life and teasing nature it usually carried.
My best friend had been put through the ringer last month. Being kidnapped and roughed up by Blaine and his goons had hardened her in ways I couldn’t begin to understand, mostly because she kept it hidden behind bravado and humor.