AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She swallows, taking a deep breath.
“When I was sixteen, I had a best friend. Her name was Annalise. She was wonderful. She had this energy around her that just caused everyone to love her. I make jokes all the time to hide how I’m really feeling, but Anna was always brutally honest, fierce. She was pretty protective too, like a certain someone I know,” she says with narrowed eyes.
“Not the time for jokes,tesoro,” I say softly. I give her an encouraging look, brushing her cheek.
She sighs. “Anna died. We were two sixteen-year-olds going for a joyride in my dad’s new car. I had just gotten my license and she was at my house so I invited her along. I promise I was driving safely, but then it started to rain hard, out of nowhere. Anna made me turn around. We were going back home. I could barely see. I wasn’t speeding or anything like that, but another car crashed into us. A drunk driver. One second, I was singing at the top of my lungs with Anna, and then the next there was just so much blood. The last thing I remember before I passed out was the sound of thunder. I was so scared.”
A tear falls and I brush it away tenderly. Daniella’s fists are clenched tight.
“When I woke up she was gone. The driver died, too. His neck snapped on impact. Anna died due to bleeding in her brain. I blamed myself for a long time after the crash. I survived with only a broken arm to show for it while my best friend was gone.”
“It wasn’t your fault, baby.”
“I really got into painting after Anna died. Dr. Wells said it was a perfect outlet for all the emotions raging inside of me. But honestly, for the longest time, I just felt guilty and empty. I couldn’t think about Anna without crying. Then one day I woke up and stepped in front of the easel. I made myself feel—pain, guilt, everything. I poured it all into the painting.”
My jaw tightens as I think about the painting. “It feels like you’re punishing yourself. Like you want that cyclone to sweep you up. Like you want the suffering to end.”
“I knew you were a sorcerer,” Daniella says dryly. She takes in the expression on my face and blows out a breath. “I’m not the person who painted that anymore. I was in a dark place after Annalise died, but that’s not me anymore. I promise.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I repeat, needing her to understand that. I can’t bear to think about how much she must have suffered. How much pain she must have gone through.
“I know. It took a while for me to realize that, but I know now that I couldn’t have controlled it. I was a stupid teenager and I had no control over the man that got behind the wheel and killed a teenage girl.”
“He’s lucky he died,” I say fiercely. “Otherwise I would have hunted him down and—”
“Put a bullet in his brain. Yeah, yeah, I know.”
A chuckle escapes me. “You’re way too blasé about this murder thing. It’s making me worried.”
“It’s probably because I spend so much time around you.” She smirks. Then her expression sobers. “The anniversary of Annalise’s death is tomorrow. My family visits her grave every year. We meet her parents there and we all just cry and miss her together.”
“Will you be okay?” I ask gently.
“I’ll be okay. As long as you’re beside me.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,tesoro.”
“Good, because my appointment with Dr. Wells is tomorrow morning. And since you’ll be with me tomorrow, you might as well come with me.”
I groan softly. “You’re going to drag me to see that therapist tomorrow, aren’t you?”
She grins. “Yep.”
I kiss her softly, carefully due to her busted lip. “Fine. We’ll go see Dr. Wells in the morning.”
CHAPTER29
Daniella
“You seem to be handling the abduction well,” Dr. Wells notes when I’m done narrating the past few days to him.
Dr. Harrison Wells is a man in his sixties with bronze skin and short salt-and-pepper hair. I’ve known him since I was a teenager. He has helped me through all my issues and honestly, sometimes he feels like a grandfather.
“What can I say, Doc? I guess I grew tougher skin over the years.”
He nods. “You definitely did, and I’m so proud of how far you’ve come. Although we could maybe do with fewer jokes.”
Christian makes a noise of agreement at that. He has been otherwise quiet since we walked in, a silent, immovable supportive force at my side. Dr. Wells attention turns to him, though.
