AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her fingers stilled, and she pulled her hand out of her sweatpants, resting her head back on the couch. She stared at the ceiling, willing her heart to slow down.
She needed to not think about them.
She needed to not think about Connelly.
Veronica shoved to her feet, the room spinning around her. She gripped the couch as the wine rushed through her head. “Shit.”
She was drunk.
She stumbled to the kitchen and exchanged the nearly empty bottle of wine for a bottle of water that she drained in a few gulps.
Of course she was drunk. She had to be to think about sex. But, even wasted, she couldn’t do it without seeing their faces. Those three fucking faces always haunting her.
Ugh, why was it so fucking hot in here?
She was suffocating and leaned over the sink to crank open the window. Cool air rushed in over her exposed skin. She leaned against the counter, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and listened to the waves pound on the cliffs below the cabin.
After a few minutes, her heart slowed, and she opened her eyes again. Nothing had changed. She was still drunk, still aching, still scared.
She might as well finish her wine.
She reached into the fridge again for the wine and shoved the door shut with her foot. She considered just drinking it straight from the bottle, but that was too much like her mother for comfort. As long as she used a glass, she wasn’t an alcoholic, right?
As she poured another glass, she heard a noise outside the window.
She froze.
The waves continued to crash against the shore, and thunder rumbled in the distance, but otherwise, everything was silent. She listened for a moment, heard her breath and heart hammering.
She was being paranoid. There was no one out there, just the wind in the trees, the brewing storm, and the waves crashing below.
She was safe.
She took a deep breath and walked back into the living room.
Safe.
She was safe.
She had to be safe.
She could stay here, alone, in her own head, in her own life. She didn’t have to go out. She didn’t have to find anyone to share that life with. She didn’t have to be anyone special.
Because she was safe here.
Veronica collapsed back onto the couch and cuddled one of the pillows to her chest, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She closed her eyes and told herself to calm down.
She was safe.
She repeated it like a mantra.
She was safe.
She was safe.
She. Was. Safe.
chapter two
