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“Fine. Can we go home now?”
She turns and pulls her luggage to Jackson’s vehicle, the only one in the entire lot, leaving me stunned.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” I tell Jason, who comes to my side as we watch Gia stomp away. She was genuinely upset at the thought of someone hurting me. I’ve never seen her act like that before. I’m the one who defends her, not the other way around, and her reaction completely erases my anger at her earlier statement about feeling like she has no one.
“She loves you,” Jason says simply.
“Was I too hard on her?” I ask him. He was giving us our space, but he still heard every single word.
Jason thinks about it for a moment. “She needed to hear it. You couldn’t keep her in the dark forever, even if it was for her own good.”
I don’t regret bursting Gia’s bubble, but I hope she doesn’t hate me for it.
From beside the car, Gia yells, “Are you going to come or what? I’m tired! Unlock the trunk already!”
Jason points the keys at the car, and the trunk starts opening. Gia lifts her suitcase into the trunk then slams the door to the backseat when she gets in.
“Let’s get going, it’s been a long day,” I say, but Jason stops me with a gentle hand on my elbow, forcing me to look right into his intense eyes.
“For the record, I would.”
“You would what?”
“Kill whoever it was that did that to you.”
He says it with so much conviction and fierceness that a shiver runs through me. I believe him.
I flush and look away, unsure of how to respond.
Before him, no one would have cared. I have to stop myself from throwing myself at him and sobbing into his chest.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that. I need you here with me, not rotting in some cell.” It’s kind of a joke, but not really. I’ve grown too attached to Jason, and he means too much to me now. I won’t be able to go back to life without him, ever.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises, and I’m going to hold him to it.
Maybe forever.
Eighteen
As Jason pulls up to Dario’s house a bit after midnight, the street is shrouded in darkness and silence. Dario’s car is gone, and there are no visible signs of the accident besides the missing garage door. Jackson did an impeccable job cleaning up the debris, leaving a black garbage bag by the curb for garbage collection in the morning. The scene looks infinitely better than it did when we left, and I send Jackson a quick thank you so much text.
When Jason parks in Dario’s spot, Gia quickly exits the car, surveying the scene. Jason and I follow.
“Is Dario home already?” she asks, breaking her silence after spending the ride listening to music while gazing out her window. “What happened to the car? I left it right here. Fuck, he’s inside waiting to kill me, isn’t he?”
I can feel her anxiety rising from here. And while maybe he’ll eventually kill her, at least she doesn’t have to deal with it right now after that hard revelation about Mom. “Dario’s not home. Jackson cleaned up and took the car to Jason’s shop.”
Gia perks up, hope in her eyes. “Do you think we can get it fixed before he ever finds out? Maybe we don’t ever have to tell him. Can you do it, Jason?”
Jason and I exchange a look. Not wanting to quash her hope, he says gently, “It’s going to take time to get the parts, and your dad gets home in the morning.” As in only a few hours from now.
She instantly deflates. “Oh.”
I don’t pile on that Zia Stella will probably be home soon too, and Gia’s going to have to face the consequences regardless. Not long ago, she yelled at me about being able to make her own decisions, and part of that is dealing with the repercussions of those decisions.
Gia opens her mouth and closes it again, looking young and vulnerable when she finally works up the courage to ask, “Will you come with me if he sends me away? Even if you’re allowed to stay?”
The sincerity of her question breaks my heart, and I tilt her chin up so she can see the conviction in my eyes when I choke out, “You’re stuck with me forever, Gia, even if you hate me or we argue sometimes. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
