Page 9 of Heir of Fire
The car stopped and she jumped out, thankful that the staff of the house got the weekends and nights off. The lights were off, the house silent.
Perfect.
She ran upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her. She looked at herself in the vanity mirror, staring at a broken girl. Her blonde hair was messy, and her makeup was smeared. She hated what stared back at her.
She turned the mirror around before she got the urge to shatter it. With the little strength she had left, she walked over to the bed, crumbling onto the floor beside it.
There was no use silencing the sobs from there. They left her throat painfully, clawing their way out of her. She gasped for air, nearly suffocating on her own tears, but every time she opened her mouth, another sob would come through, pushing her further into a breakdown she couldn’t control.
No one wanted her.
No one needed her.
No one loved her.
Not Raphael.
Not her mother.
Maybe Allister would be next, or her father, or Cecilia, or Blair, or Luna, or Dante, or Valerio.
The thoughts were too painful to bear.
Two hands grabbed her head, forcing her to look into deep brown eyes. She might have been more surprised if she wasn’t losing oxygen by the second.
“Breathe,” Finn yelled, his eyes wild and filled with worry. “Goddammit, Gianna.”
She wanted to tell him that she was trying, but it was impossible to let anything into her lungs. He shook her body, trying to get her body to loosen up, but it was futile.
Without another wasted second, he leaned in, blowing air into her mouth. He then blew air around her face before moving back to her parted lips. Their lips never touched, but even feeling the minty warmth of his breath seemed far too intimate for them.
That thought seemed to snap her out of her daze.
She gasped, finally taking in a deep breath. She coughed and every breath felt like fire, but it felt so good to finally be able to let it in again. He moved away slightly, but kept blowing air, knowing it worked. He allowed her to use him, and she did. She felt her heartbeat slowly return to normal, the air filling her lungs again. Finally, her body relaxed, falling against the bed. Her sobs had stopped, along with her tears.
All because of Finn Kingsley.
“What the fuck was that, Gianna?” he asked, pulling away from her and sitting on the ground. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed but she felt loopy. He ran a hand through his hair before running it over his face.
“I had a bad night,” she said, wiping under her eyes.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Has that happened before?”
She shook her head. “Never that extreme.”
“What if I wasn’t here? If you were alone, you could have fucking suffocated. Fucking hell, where is everyone?” He kept going on and on, spewing out questions and curses, but she could only watch him in a daze.
“They’re at a party.”
“Why aren’t you with them? Better yet why are you here having some sort of attack?” he asked.
She didn’t know what possessed her to tell him the truth, but she did anyway. “Do you think I’m someone you could settle down with?” Her voice was quiet and vulnerable, but it was hard not to be when already once tonight her heart had been ripped apart. She didn’t feel like having the same happen twice.
“Are you asking hypothetically?”
She sniffled, averting her gaze. “I was seeing this guy. I wanted him to meet Allister tonight, but he told me I’m not the type to settle down with. I’m someone you have a good time with and that’s all.” She felt the tears welling up again. “Am I really unlovable?”
It was silent for a moment. She shouldn’t have even asked him. He didn’t like her, and she didn’t like him, and revealing this much to him was a mistake.
