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I look at her through my good eye and smile. “Better.”
“Good. Did you take your medicine? Eat food with it? You know to keep your cast out of the water, right?”
The chuckle I let out is followed up by pain that explodes in my chest.
“Don’t laugh. I can be motherly too, you know.” Pianna snaps without any anger as she sits, cross-legged, beside the tub. “You’ve done it enough for me throughout my life, I would be an idiot not to have picked up a few things here and there.”
We both let out a sigh. She’s not wrong, but still… “You shouldn’t have to take care of me.”
“Well, to be fair, Miguel has helped out quite a bit,” Pianna admits with a sheepish grin. “He has a timer on his phone that goes off whenever you need your medications, and he always reminds me to bring a towel with me when I bring you peas so the cold doesn’t hurt your face.”
I shake my head with a smile before leaning it back so that my neck rests on the rim of the tub.
“Oh Miguel… How did you find someone likehim?”
From the moment I got off the plane and met Pianna’s boyfriend, I instantly liked him. Tall, tattooed, and charming as hell, Miguel is a rare find. His smiles are genuine, the utter adoration in his gaze when he looks at Pianna makes me tear up, and his gentlemanly manners are impeccable.
“Sheer fucking luck.”
Both of us fall into a fit of laughter. It’s short-lived as pain chases my amusement away. I groan.
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“I’m sorry.” I open my mouth to tell her lovingly to fuck off but then she continues, “Maybe the news I bring will kill the mood. There’s a guy lingering outside for you. Miguel said he’s been out there all day, watching the apartment. He confronted him and the guy said his name is Trip.”
I flinch so hard that water sloshes over the edge of the tub. My heart races as a myriad of emotions bombard me. Fear and uncertainty are the strongest but they’re chased by something less dreary that I don’t want to analyze too hard. Over the course of the past few days he, Jason, and Grant have been at the forefront of my mind. What are they up to? What did Danny say when he woke up? Did they believe him? Take him to the cops? To escape the madness that’s been my life, I’ve turned off my phone since I got here, but since I’ve been unreachable, I don’t know what’s happened. Have they been trying to contact me? They must’ve since he’s here. For him to show up despite his responsibilities between work and his dad, something big must’ve happened.
Straightening up, I turn and stare at Pianna, who watches me with concern.
“W-what is he doing here?”
Pianna opens her mouth then shuts it. Wow, thinking before speaking? I would typically tease her about it, but I can’t find it in myself to do so at the moment. Not with Trip hanging around outside of her apartment.
“I can call the police…” Pianna starts, but trails off before biting her bottom lip, looking skeptical.
And I understand why. After escaping the hospital with only pajama pants, a shirt, and Jason’s hoodie, I’d ordered a car to pick me up and take me straight to the airport. Once there, I bought the earliest flight to Houston, and then, as I waited for my plane, called Pianna. In hushed whispers and between sobs, I told her everything. From blackmailing Jackie to the guys blackmailing me to what happened with Danny, I told her it all. When I landed a few hours later, she held me in the backseat and cried with me while Miguel drove us back to their place. Since then, we haven’t talked aboutthemor what happened. To be fair, my head’s been foggy up until this point. Taking half the dosage of my pain medication has made it a little easier to think and stay awake today.
“How did he find me?” I mutter, dropping my eyes to look down at all the bubbles covering the top of the water.
“Well, it probably didn’t take much to put two and two together. They probably just had to search my name or my phone number, and they would’ve gotten my address.” She sighs. “He’s probably here to tell you what happened.”
She’s probably right. I knew I couldn’t hide here forever, but it was nice believing that I’d get a small reprieve from dealing with all the bullshit my life has thrown at me recently. With a sigh, I allow myself to slide further into the tub. I can’t go too far since my cast hangs over the edge, but I go as far as I can.
“What should I do?”
Pianna doesn’t say anything again, giving my question considerable thought before answering. It’s so unlike her that I can’t help but smile despite my predicament. Finally, she asks,
“What can it hurt to hear what he has to say? He flew all the way here for you.”
“He could be here to remind me that he has shit on me,” I point out.
Pianna tilts her head left then right thoughtfully. After a moment, she lets out a soft sigh.
“I’ve been thinking about your situation a lot. What if this started off as a game, but it’s not anymore? What if they like you and want you around, but just didn’t know how to keep you if they removed the threat of blackmail?”
I scoff and roll my one good eye. “Really, Pia?That’syour takeaway from all of this? That they like me?”
“Is that so far off the mark?” she counters quickly.
