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“Chloe, I don’t think you’re in the right frame of mind to make any decisions right now. You’ve been through a hellish ordeal. You need me.”
“No, I don’t.” I’m convinced my chest will explode. I must get away from him before I lose my mind completely. He’s right about one thing—I’m not in the right frame of mind to think about anything, but that’s why I need to be alone.
He holds my gaze. Eventually, he drops his arm, and I push past him.
I take the stairs two at a time, wondering if he’ll follow me, and I’m half disappointed when he doesn’t.
I fly into the bathroom, dressing as quickly as I can, my heart still beating furiously. The whole thing keeps washing over me as if I’m trapped in a living nightmare. Her face in the picture, how happy they seemed. I’ve never seen Gianni look so happy. He keeps telling me how much he hated her, but there must have been some love there. There had to have been good times when he felt it was him and her and nothing more.
Once I’m dressed, I head down the stairs. My shoes and bag sit patiently in the entryway where Gianni had taken them off me last night. Sorrow blooms. It’s already overwhelming me.
Where is he? Why has he not come to say goodbye? Is he too cross with me? I’m glad he isn’t here because it would take one word for me to take off my shoes, and I can’t do that to myself.
Once I’m set, I open the front door, the morning air making me feel lightheaded as I step from the threshold. I shiver and pull my arms across my chest. The morning air is chilly, the sun yet to reach high enough to warm anything. I have no coat. Gianni had placed his jacket around my shoulders last night. All I have is this oversized uniform. I walk up the path, letting the door slam behind me as I scroll through my phone for a taxi number. I have no idea where I am. I don’t recognize the neighborhood, and I’d not been paying attention when Gianni brought me here last night. There’s no way I’m going back in to ask him where I am. I’ll have to walk a little way and find a street name before phoning a taxi.
I place my phone back in my bag and walk to the end of Gianni’s front garden. As I’m about to turn, his front door opens. He’s standing by the door, T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms on. Is this the part where he runs after me, proclaiming his undying love? I wait as he jogs up behind me and takes hold of my arm.
He bows his head, his eyebrows knitting together.
“I know how this must seem, and I understand how you must feel, but I can’t ignore the fact that you’re suffering from shock. You’re not in the right state of mind to make decisions or walk home alone when you don’t even know where you are. I’m not happy about you leaving, but I can’t stop you as much as I want to. ButI amtaking you home.” We face one another. The street is deserted, but I wonder what we must look like to prying neighbors. Probably a lover’s tiff. The morning after the night before.
I want to pull my arm from his grasp and march off without looking back, but he’s annoyingly right. I have no idea where I am. My brain feels full of cheap coffee and tepid water, the granules floating on the surface, refusing to dissolve. The thirst is back, but my stomach feels raw. I’m dangerously close to breaking down on the spot.
I let him lead me to his car. In the daylight, I can appreciate how nice the neighborhood is. The lights flash on his car. We both get in, the strained atmosphere following us.
“Have you remembered you need to make a statement this morning?” Gianni asks as we pull out of the driveway. I haven’t forgotten. My stomach clenches at the thought of sitting in a tiny room, answering questions that could reveal too much.
“Yes.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Don’t you have a business to run?” I snap unintentionally.
“The shop is still closed as the police are not done yet. Piero is covering things today.”
“What about Lewis’s family?” I ask. Gianni squints at the road.
“The police have been in touch. I think they have a family liaison officer with them. I’ll contact his family when they have had time to take it all in.”
This means he has nothing to do today other than chaperone me. I don’t want him in the interview room. I can’t answer the questions with him there. I’m going to have to tell the police something. They will want to know why a man accosted me with a knife. But I can’t tell them everything.
They have seen the CCTV footage. There’s no doubt Carl stabbed Lewis, but what about my part in this? What did I do that made a man arrive with a knife in his pocket? Gianni thinks I’m a talented artist. He admires my strength and courage. What would he think of me if he found out what I’m capable of?
“I don’t need you to come with me,” I tell him. He glances between me and the road.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I don’t answer him. “You’re going to have to go through the whole night again, from start to finish. They’ll push you to remember every detail. You will remember things your mind has already blocked out. It will all come flooding back. Do you want to do that alone?”
I stare out of the window. I don’t want to do it alone, but I must.
“I’ll be fine. I just want to get it over and done with.”
He heaves a frustrated sigh as his hands hang on the steering wheel.
“Fine. Have it your way,” he says as he pulls into a lane heavy with traffic.
I grit my teeth. I need to do this. Lewis’s family will have only one question—why?I will have to give them an answer, even if it isn’t the truth.
ChapterTwenty-Five
