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Two
We’vebeeninFloridafor a week. It’s been a week since August asked me to be his girlfriend, and a week since Mason woke up and told me he wants everything, even after all my admissions. My heart has never felt more torn, and I've been through some earth-shattering shit.
When I left Mason's room, I expected to just grab a coffee with Vivi, but as we were walking down the corridor back to Mason's room, Bryce showed up. It was so unexpected. I didn't think he would be back so soon. He just left a little over a week ago, and he and Mason didn't have any sort of relationship. Briefly, they had met a few times through me and knew of each other, but no friendship.
When he showed up at the hospital, I found it odd, but I was too excited that he was there to dwell on it. All I could do was wrap my arms around him in a big hug, happy to see him.
Bryce explained he came back to grab a few things from his mom's house and stopped by mine on his way out. That's how he found out what had happened and where I had been spending all my time. At the time I bought it, now I know better. He was back for me.
Vivian and I followed him out to his car, where he claimed he had left his phone. I was under the guise he wanted to show us pictures of the shop. Sitting in the passenger seat, scrolling through photos is the last thing I remember.
My friends drugged me.
Vivian was in on everything. She slipped the sleeping pills into my coffee and then decided to tag along for the kidnapping. Yes, I say kidnapping, because there is no way in hell I would leave my job, family, or let Mason run my life. I was furious when I found out this was orchestrated by him. I mean, who the hell orchestrates this kind of thing from a coma? Before I left the room, he’d asked, "Do you trust me?" That should have been my red flag, but silly me, I assumed he was trying to ease my concerns about starting a fight with August.
Once I was out, they drove straight to Florida. I didn’t wake up until we were crossing the state line. That’s when Bryce filled me in on everything. He explained Mason's theory that he believes I'm in danger because Ethan is plotting against August and using me as bait. First, Ethan had a tracker installed on my car, then the breaks on Mason's car were tampered with. It would appear that Ethan used Mason and then tried to tie up loose ends by getting rid of the evidence, i.e., Mason.
At this point, I think everything looks coincidental at best. I believe Mason is overreacting, but Bryce, Vivian, and surprise-surprise Aiden all agree it seems too suspicious not to be something more than a revenge plot against August.
Since I was forced down here, I'm now living in the same house with my long-time crush, and let me tell you, some crushes are meant to stay just that. I never really talked to Aiden in the past. I just admired him from afar and dreamt up what being his girlfriend would be like. But now that I live with him, I'm glad those dreams never came to fruition. He is a moody son of a bitch, and I don't care what anyone says, I know he holds a grudge against me for August punching him at the club.
Saying the guys’ place is small would be an understatement. The actual living space is minuscule. You walk into a living area/kitchen combo with a tiny hallway that leads to two bedrooms and a cramped bathroom. Bryce gave Vivian and me his room while we are staying here. He's been sleeping on the couch. I felt so terrible when we arrived that I refused to stay and put them out like that. That's when I got another huge surprise.
Apparently, Mason didn't know how long it was going to take to get things settled at home, so he paid the guys’ rent for the next two months. As if that wasn't a huge shock, Bryce then handed me an envelope filled with cash to the tune of ten thousand dollars. Where he got all this money from is beyond me.
I went into the bedroom and cried for hours. A million different things running through my head. Mason knew I gave my virginity to August, knew I was with him the night of his crash, and knew I would show up with August at the hospital, and he still loved me through all of it. How can I be so cold, so callous, so heartless? I've been beating myself up over the events that have led me here because they weren't part of my plan, but what I've learned is that sometimes the things we didn't plan for are what we need the most. Sometimes no plan is the best plan.
"Gianna,let'sgo.Wesaid we would help the guys at the shop today."
I hear Vivian call me for about the third time since we've been up. Today we decided we should do something productive instead of staying holed up in the house thinking up worst-case scenarios of what's going on back home.
At first, Vivi and I were too scared to leave. Then when we thought about leaving to go to the beach, we felt like assholes for treating this like some sort of vacation while Mason—and, I assume August—are working to figure out who's potentially after me.
I'm not able to have contact with anyone back home. Vivian willingly left her phone back home and pulled out enough cash to live off of while she was here. She said there was no way she was letting me do this alone. Mason only asked her to help get me to Bryce's car, but she insisted on coming with me. So here we are.
"I'm coming, but my hair got stuck in my swimsuit ties twice," I yell back. It's a surf shop, so we figured we would wear swimsuits under our cut-off jean shorts and tank tops. When I come out of the bedroom, I find her standing in the kitchen with her hand on her hip glaring back at me like I have two heads.
"What, is there a problem with my outfit?" Quickly, I do a double-take of my outfit. I've lost a little weight from stress, and I'm pale, but other than that, I don't think I look that terrible.
She shakes her head before saying, "It took you twenty minutes to put on a swimsuit, shorts, and tank top? You're not even wearing any makeup!"
That's the thing about best friends. They know you better than you know yourself sometimes, and they'll call you on your shit when it's needed. Vivian knows I spent the past eighteen out of twenty minutes overthinking leaving the house and worrying about my heart.
"Gigi, I need you to open up to me and stop bottling everything inside. I know you're worried about Mason and August, but sometimes talking it through and saying the words out loud is the best medicine. I can just listen if that's what you need, or I can give you feedback, but either way, you need to work through this. It's not healthy the way you are handling things."
Closing my eyes, I nod in agreement before saying, "Okay, let's have lunch on the beach today and talk." She smiles and then comes over to give me a big hug. The smell of her coconut lotion surrounds me, and I can't help but laugh. "What's funny?" She looks down, checking herself out to make sure nothing is out of place.
"Nothing, I know we both always use coconut products, but now that we're living by the ocean and working in a surf shop, it feels a little cliché."
“Hey, I think our love for all things beachy has finally manifested itself and we landed where we were always meant to be.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
We'vebeenworkingatthe shop all morning. We started with helping the boys get organized and set up inventory software, something I was familiar with from working at Reds. The place has been hectic so far, and I’m impressed. While the guys were helping customers, Vivian was able to cover the register, and I managed the back of the house. I figured the less I was seen, the better, just in case.
"Bryce, it looks like the skateboard sales outweigh the surfboard sales." I hear Vivi yell out. That must mean the shop is empty, so I come out from the back. Vivi is standing at the register, her long brown hair blowing in the breeze.
The front of the shop has sliding doors that push open and disappear into the walls. Overall, I'm still not sure how the guys are pulling this off. Bryce didn't win that much money on his scratch-off ticket. Maybe Aiden has money I didn't know about, or they took out some big loans.
