Page 100 of Heir of Fire
Gianna pulled away from him, frowning. “What did you think happened to me?”
Finn swallowed harshly. “I was afraid that you might have had another breakdown, and that I would have been too late.”
Her heart ripped apart at his words. Had she done this to him? Made him fear that badly for her life that he was paranoid he would find her unconscious or worse somewhere in the house. It was devastating, horrifying even.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“No, no, no. What are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong. That was just me being in my head,” he said, shaking his head.
“I did this to you,” she said. “If I hadn’t gotten to that point.”
“Gianna, stop. You can’t blame yourself for that.”
“Then what can I do?”
Finn placed his hands on her face, tracing his thumbs on her cheeks where a few tears had managed to slip out. “You can work on never letting yourself get to that point again. That is it.”
“I promise I won’t get to that point again,” Gianna said. She hoped that he could hear the conviction in her voice, the promise, the genuineness.
And she really would work on it. She wouldn’t wait until the pain consumed her past the point of no return. She would be more open and honest, she would let it out, and she would move on. She would talk or scream or do whatever she needed to before she kept it bottled up ever again like that.
He kissed her, accepting the promise that she made for the both of them. Her head swirled from it, but she could feel his fear and his relief. In return, she let him feel her love andapology. When they finally pulled away, she managed to feel lighter than she had in a week.
When he grabbed her hand, all his warmth seeped back into her body. At this point, it was her life force. They made their way downstairs where Luna and Valerio were sitting on the couches with Dante, meaning everyone else was still upstairs getting ready. Immediately, she ran over and hugged Gianna, holding onto her tightly.
“How are you feeling?” Luna asked, her green eyes wide in worry.
Gianna gave her a smile. “I’m feeling better. Thank you for everything, by the way.”
“That’s what best friends are for.”
Augustus walked in, nodding his head at everyone. “What’s up?”
“How did you get in?” Dante asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I have a key.”
Finn squeezed her hand, drawing her attention back over to him. He gave her a small smile, leaning in closer. “I have to show Augustus something on my bike. It’ll take one second, do you mind?” Finn asked her.
Gianna shook her head. “No, go ahead. I have to catch up with Luna anyway.”
He nodded, giving her a kiss. “I promise I’ll be quick.”
With that the two boys walked in the direction of the garage. When Gianna turned back to Luna and saw the huge smile she wore, her cheeks immediately turned red. “What?”
“I’m still so shocked by all of this. I mean, seeing you guys so lovey-dovey is wild,” Luna said, shaking her head. “I’m so happy for both of you though. My mom was actually asking about the two of you when I told her that Finn was dating you. I didn’t tell her too much, but I’m sure she would love to see you guys as a couple next time she visits.”
“Next time? Was she here for a visit recently?” Gianna asked. She didn’t realize just how much she had been out of the loop, but it had been hard to really connect with life. She needed to disconnect to just let herself move past everything that had happened. It didn’t help that it left her feeling like an awful friend though. She wanted to be there for her best friends, especially when they had done so much to be there for her.
“Yeah, she was here just last week, the day everything happened,” she said, her voice dropping slightly. “Finn managed to see her for a little bit too, but it wasn’t the best visit. I know he needs time, though. I needed it at first too.”
Her eyes widened in shock. Finn had met with his mother? Gianna had no idea that she visited let alone that he had seen her. He spoke about his mother rarely, but she knew it had to have been tough on him to go through that.
And yet, he hadn’t brought it up at all.
“I agree, he needs time.” Her answer was half-assed, but she couldn’t focus on the conversation anymore. She needed to find Finn and talk to him about what had happened. Why hadn’t he mentioned anything to her? “I’m going to go grab something to drink. Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m okay.”
