Page 115 of Let the Light Shine Through

I thought she had to work all day. She told me she had to work all day. Didn’t she? Either way, she’s not working now.

So…what is she doing?

I hit redial on my dashboard screen, then start my engine, shifting into Reverse. I can take her wherever she needs to go.

Gia pulls her phone out, but with one look at it, returns it to her back pocket, the call going to voicemail.

Stomping on the brake, I shift back into Park.

What the fuck was that? It can’t be period related. Right? She’s not even giving me a chance here. I bought mint chocolate chip ice cream for fuck’s sake.

My finger hovering above the redial button, I watch as she cuts across a yard to a pale blue house with a wheelchair ramp and pushes through the front door without so much as knocking. Who the hell lives there? More importantly, why is Gia blowing me off to visit them?

It’s not a guy…is it?

Fuck that.

My tires squeal across the asphalt as I pull onto the street and over to the parking lot beside the house Gia disappeared into.

Scoping out the place, my eyes snag on the lined parking spaces. What kind of house has a parking lot instead of a driveway?

Another car parks in the spot next to mine and a couple gets out—an elderly couple—then they pass a weathered sign as they inch their way up the ramp. White’s Dermatology.

Some of the properties along the main street of this particular hamlet can double as residential houses as well as offices or retail spaces. It took me a while to get used to the concept after moving back, but since I have yet to go in one, I kind of forgot about it.

This is why she blew me off? To go to the dermatologist? I already offered to take her myself. I could’ve sat with her in the actual exam room. Hell, there’s not an inch of skin on Gia’s body I haven’t been over myself—many, many times—maybe I could’ve given the doctor some pointers. I’d love to meet the hack who’s incapable of performing a single biopsy without leaving an ugly-ass scar behind in the process.

There hasn’t been anything that’s stood out to me except for that scab thing that never did heal properly. It didn’t heal properly. And Gia said she’d get it checked out if it didn’t heal, but we’ve been so busy with each other, she’s just now getting to it.

Damn.

Did I keep her from going to an important appointment? I never meant for that to happen. I don’t want to be that kind of boyfriend. The kind that sucks up every moment of his girlfriend’s time, stopping her from having any life outside of the relationship. It’s just that…I like her. A lot. Of course, I love her, but more than that, I actually like being around her. She brings out the best in me. She makes me feel alive when I was beginning to wonder if I even was anymore.

And how do I repay her? By monopolizing all her time, then holding a stakeout in her dermatologist’s parking lot, spying on her.

Before she can come out and catch me, I get back onto the road toward my house. I need to care more about her instead of just myself and how I feel.

I hate that I can’t be the first person she sees after a stressful situation, and I really don’t like the idea of her walking from the appointment, but I need to let her have this time by herself. I need to respect her wishes.

Gia gave me a gift by trusting me, and I don’t want to fuck it up by only thinking about myself.

If she wants to come over later, then I’ll be here waiting with open arms…and period provisions that may or not be necessary.

Roz

Inside our favorite bakery, I give my order of two loaves of cinnamon bread and six butter danishes to-go to the girl working the counter. “And a French vanilla espresso for here,” I add on before telling Gia to get whatever she wants. It’s become our Sunday morning tradition to pick up breakfast for the house together, so after not hearing from her for the past two days, I drove over to her house and picked her up like I usually would. She hasn’t said anything about her appointment with the dermatologist and I’m still debating if I should bring it up or not. I’ll look like a paranoid asshole if I tell her how I know about the appointment, but it’s killing me that she won’t just tell me herself.

Gia orders a strawberry shortcake scone and a bacon sandwich, then asks Kylin about her plans for the upcoming week while I pay. She always does this. She chats up people everywhere we go, genuinely interested in hearing about them, and Kylin’s no exception. She’s as quiet as a mouse, and by the looks of the way she’s struggling to keep her gigantic sweatshirt on correctly, she might be as small as one, too, but Gia never misses an opportunity to talk with her.

With my drink in hand, I keep the other one on Gia’s lower back, guiding her over to a table by the window. The bakery’s this crazy triangular shape perched on a misaligned four-way intersection. There’s not a lot of traffic usually, so it’s a nice place to sit and relax for a while. A few college students take up the other tables with their laptops out and one guy in particular keeps stealing glances at Kylin. I’ve seen him before at a couple parties, but not at my house. I think he’s a frat bro, maybe even a president.

As Gia sits down, I stand behind her, trying to see if I can make out a bandage or anything else that might be sticking out of the top of her neckline, but it’s useless since Gia’s enveloped in one of my flannel jackets and her wavy hair blocks out the rest of her neck, so I just take my seat across the table from her instead.

She slides my espresso over to her side before I even get a single sip in, then we sit in silence, waiting for the food. It’s not comfortable but it’s not uncomfortable either.

It’s uncomfortable.

I’m yanking up the sleeves to my long-sleeve shirt, wondering why it’s unacceptable to go shirtless in here if it’s going to be so goddamn hot, when I notice Gia smirking at me knowingly. An errant ray of morning sunlight strokes across her face like a painter’s brush, highlighting her lips, and I stop fucking with my shirt, going completely still to stare back at her.