Page 40 of Justified Lies

Lianna greedily licked the scoop before depositing it into the sink. She gazed at her big bowl of cookie dough ice cream with chocolate sauce and pretzels crumbled on top, like she had birthed it herself. Balancing it along with a glass of water and the remote, she shuffled her oversized reading socks to the couch. She missed her best friend’s company already.

Isabela had spent the remainder of the day making Lianna laugh. It was a much-needed reprieve from her daily dose of gloom. With her friend’s encouragement, she told Barb and Charles about the recent events plaguing her. Then she gratefully accepted their invitation to host the children one more night. Lianna could really use the extra time to decompress.

Understandably, they were alarmed at the prospect of someone targeting her and possibly the children. But when they offered for Lianna to stay at their home until the perpetrator was caught, she refused. With the upgrades to her security system and Gabe only a block away, she felt safe enough. If this sick individual forced her to flee her own home, then they had won. Lianna hadn’t run yet, and she refused to now.

Isabela had finally pulled out of her driveway twenty minutes ago. As Lianna stood in the doorway waving, part of her longed to drop to her knees and beg Izzy to stay. She knew her bestie had work to get back to, but it felt so nice having someone she trusted by her side.

Now, cuddled up on her sofa with just the right pillow to blanket ratio, Lianna started scrolling through the recordings on her PVR. Rom Coms were out for obvious reasons. Cops was always good for a laugh. Then again, it would just remind her of Gabe. So, a Halloween baking competition was the winner by default.

Lianna pointed her spoon at the contestants who were just told to create ‘severed body part’ inspired desserts.No way any of that actually tastes good. She was a handful of heavenly bites into her own dessert creation when the doorbell chimed.

Hand halfway to her mouth, she froze. No one casually stopped by on a Saturday night. Maybe Isabela had forgotten something, although she would have called first. As Lianna sat there motionless, she began to hope whoever was on the other side had gone away.

A hard knock sounded through the thick wooden door, sending Lianna’s heart rate through the roof. Placing her bowl of ice cream on the ottoman, she was going to sneak upstairs and peer out a window when a text message chimed.

Open the door.

Oh, God, it was Gabe.

I’m not home.She quickly typed back, her fingers shaking slightly with her adrenaline rush.

Then I’ll be on the front porch waiting when you get here.

He responded within seconds.

Ah, hell.Lianna had zero appetite for drama right now. Marching towards the entry way, she was resolved to send Gabe packing. She reached the door, swung it open and took a calming breath.

“Wow, you got home fast.”

“What is it, Gabe?”

“Hi, Lianna, how are you?” When she narrowed her eyes, he cut the crap and continued. “We need to talk. Can I come in please?”

Instead of responding, Lianna stepped to the side and let Gabe waltz inside. She was too exhausted to argue. As he breezed past her, she scolded herself for being so affected by his scent. Instead of continuing into the living room, Gabe quickly rounded on her.

“You weren’t going to call, were you?”

“I don’t remember you asking me to.”

Gabe sighed, looking just as tired as she felt. “How long did you think you could ignore me?”

She detected a note of hurt in his voice.

“I didn’t think you’d want me to call,” she replied sheepishly.

“Bullshit.”

“I didn’t know what to say to you. Okay? I made a fool out of myself, and I wasn’t interested in trying to explain something, I, myself, don’t understand. I don’t do these things, so I don’t know how they work.”

“What things?” he said raising a brow.

Instead of responding she just made a face and used her hand to make a rolling motion.

“You never made out with anyone before?”

“Of course, I have.” She rolled her eyes. “I just haven’t…” She tried the hand rolling gesture again, as if he were supposed to know what she was alluding to. When he just stared at her she gave in.

“Jesus! I never did the one-night stand thing, so I didn’t know what to expect afterwards. I thought when you got up that was my cue to leave. I got nervous.”

---