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Great, which door is Axel’s? It has to be this one. I don’t even bother knocking and pound on it.
Nothing. All I hear are people laughing and yelling downstairs, but no Gia.
“Fantastic.” I rub my knuckles, which are killing me from my violent knocking, and turn to see the redhead shake his head at me as he opens what I assume is his room’s door.
“Excuse me? Is this Gia? I mean is this Axel’s room, where Gia is?” It’s like I can’t form words today and I’m on the verge of tears.
“Yep.” The door slams in my face, which strangely makes me feel better. Clearly these guys are not thinking about me—they’re all self-absorbed. Well, besides Ryder, and that might just be my own hopes and imagination.
“Screw this.” The handle turns easily, and I push the door open, banging it loudly against the wall.
“Fantastic,” I groan, walking into the dark tomb.
“Axel. I swear to God, go away,” Gia screams as a pillow whizzes by my head.
“Oh my God. Are you completely insane? It’s me.” Slamming the door, I lean against it, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.
“Julianna?” Gia sounds confused.
“Yes, it’s me. Stop throwing stuff. I’m freakin’ out enough already.” I push off the door and feel around for a light switch.
“What? I mean, what are you doing here?”
I flip on the light. Gia screams, holding her hands up as if she’s a vampire and I’ve thrown her out in the morning sun.
“Holy fuck. Turn it off, turn it off.” She falls back into the giant black bed and puts a pillow on her head.
“What’s wrong with you?” I snap. To be honest, I’m wiped out and ready to lie down next to her and hide myself, yet self-preservation tells me we need to get out of here while we can. “I left you a message yesterday.”
Glancing around the large room, I notice a long row of guitars. Aside from Gia’s clothes on the floor, Axel’s room looks clean.
“I don’t have my phone anymore,” she mumbles under the pillow.
I snatch it away. “Get up. We need to go. I’ll tell you everything on the way back to—what are you wearing?” I stare at her. She’s in a fetal position in some rag of a T-shirt that doesn’t even cover her butt.
“Gia?” Sitting down next to her I can actually feel her sadness seep into me. And then she starts to weep, or maybe she’s been crying the whole time. All I know is this is not good.
“Are you… can I get you anything?” I go to rub her shoulder, but it’s awkward. Crying and showing emotion are something else I never grew up with. My dad doesn’t show emotion, and my mom is way too self-absorbed to even think I would want or need a hug every once in a while. That’s why I almost scream when her cold hand reaches for mine. She sobs quietly.
“I’m so sorry, Gia. I didn’t know you were this bad.” I blink back my own tears. What has happened to my beautiful friend?
“I can’t get up today,” she stutters and turns her face into the mattress. “Maybe tomorrow, maybe never.” She screams the last part at me.
“I…” This day can’t get any worse. I have zero idea what I’m doing or how to help her, so I say the first thing that comes to mind. “I think your brother would like you to go back to school.”
She turns her head to look at me, and I blink at her appearance. Oh my God. She looks horrible, like beyond horrible. I barely recognize her. Her green eyes are almost swollen shut from what seems to be nonstop crying, her nose is red, and her long dark hair is in a ratty bun that looks as if it hasn’t been brushed out in days.
“Axel doesn’t understand.” She sits up and tries to breathe, but her nose is so stuffed she simply gasps for air. “I can’t think straight right now.” Her eyes search my face for something she must not see, and she shakes her head.
“You don’t understand. I’ll never be the same again. I love him. And he… he destroyed us,” she sputters, tears still trailing down her cheeks as she hits the side of the bed for full effect. A bit dramatic, but that’s Gia. At least I see a little of her spirit. That’s a good thing because this Gia is unnerving.
I nod. What else can I do? This is a delicate situation. Like one wrong word and she’s gonna totally lose it. She puffs out some air and tries to wipe the tears away, then stares at me.
Suddenly I understand Axel’s anger. How dare this happen to Gia! I’m about to suggest a shower might make her feel better when she grabs my hand and starts to tell me everything, the good, bad, and full-on ugly that she’s been through the last seven weeks. Some I had already heard, but a lot she had conveniently edited out of our phone calls. It’s upsetting and awful and right now, I really despise Rhys Granger.
