Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

T he muffled chirp of a cell phone ringing woke Erin and it took her a few seconds to recall she was in a motel room with Giovanni. The room was pitch black, but he had crossed the mattress and wrapped his body around hers sometime during the cold night.

Grumbling, he climbed out of bed and stumbled toward the ringing phone. "Shit." He cursed when he banged his toe on a piece of furniture. "Hello?"

She supposed this meant the cell reception was back. She should get up and call for a tow truck before it went out again.

A booming masculine voice rattled from his phone. "G, you okay? I thought I saw a car on the side of the road with Jersey plates. Looked like yours."

"It's mine. The battery died last night and I had to walk all the way to the damn Motor Inn."

"You need a jump? I'm out plowing right now, but I've got cables. I can come grab you if you're up."

"Yeah, give me five minutes to get dressed. I'll meet you outside." He ended the call and disappeared into the bathroom. The light flashed on, which meant the electrical issues had also been resolved.

Erin sat up as he came out of the bathroom. He sorted through his suitcase. "That was Finn. He's out plowing and gonna give me a ride back to my car so I can jump the battery."

Pulling the sheets protectively over her front, she sensed the chill between them had returned. Clearly, he just wanted to get laid. Mission accomplished. She had served her purpose. The roads were clearing and their time together was done.

"I can be out of here as soon as I get an Uber."

Keeping his back toward the bed, he fisted a sweater in his hands and nodded. "Okay. Good."

Her stomach swilled when he went back into the bathroom, shutting the door with a click that resonated with finality. She wanted to blame her nausea on the empty calories and sugar but knew better. As always, she said something wrong, acted out of order, and now he was done with her.

She was the fool who let things get out of hand. Sex wasn't supposed to hurt. Intimacy hurt. She knew better and got exactly what she deserved.

He reappeared and flipped on a lamp. She blinked at the unwelcome brightness.

He looked handsome in his crewneck cashmere sweater and black pants. His hair was combed back and his face freshly washed. A sexy dark shadow showed along his jaw, and she hated the hard line that kept his mouth locked in place. Where had his smile gone?

The scent of his cologne tinged the air. The hollow ache in her chest bloomed as he shouldered on his coat and looked back at her.

He hesitated, one hand on the door, his lips parting as if trying to think of something decent to say. "See ya." He opened the door and his silhouette disappeared against the snow blinding, bright morning sky.

The rumble of a diesel truck slowed outside and she heard Finn's shouted greeting. "What the hell you doin' stayin' way out here?"

The truck idled loudly and a door slammed before she caught Giovanni's reply.

Burying her face in her hands, she moaned with regret. Would he tell Finn? Would they have a good laugh about how easy she was?

She used the guys in Jasper Falls as much as they used her, but Giovanni felt personal. She didn't want him to tell Finn. Not because she still had feelings for her ex, but because this had been different. Finn didn't know her anymore. He knew the kid she used to be when they were two fumbling virgins trying to figure their way around each other's bodies.

Giovanni doesn't know you either…

She cut off her thoughts, wondering what the hell she was thinking. Giovanni didn't know her. So what if they exchanged a few secrets about their pasts last night and saw each other naked. None of that was real. He was just another one-night stand and by the end of the week, he'd be gone.

Her dress was mostly dry when she put it back on, but her shoes were trash. She called for an Uber and left Giovanni's shirt folded on top of his suitcase. She needed to get out of there before he returned.

The car arrived and she appreciated technology for saving her from the chore of small talk. She needed a change of clothes and someone to tow her car out of the ditch, then she could leave and go someplace where no one knew her.

It was eight in the morning, so her dad would already be at the store. Plenty of time to deal with her car and pack more than a purse.

When the Uber passed her car on the side of the road, it was barely noticeable. Just a giant snow drift by the trees. She'd need to tell the tow driver to bring a shovel. Finn's truck faced Giovanni's, both vehicles pumping steam from the mufflers and running fine.

Once home, she thanked the driver and keyed her way into the house. Kicking off her wasted shoes, she tossed her purse aside and went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Grabbing the grounds from the cabinet, she stilled. Something strange caught her eye, but she wasn't sure what.

Scanning the kitchen, her stare stopped on the glass dish. Her jaw locked. Guess the old bastard expected her to come back and make his damn cake.

Tossing the bag of coffee grounds onto the counter, she snatched up the dish and went to the back door, hurling it out into the snow. It disappeared, leaving a hollow square imprint in the white yard.

She prepped the coffee and hit start, deciding to take a shower while it brewed. Last night was one more perfect example of her gullible faith in the wrong people. She spent years waiting around for her dad to change and picked men almost certain to run from her.

Why? What sort of self-sabotaging psychopath lived like that? Did she want to be alone?

No. Deep down she wanted to be loved, but a lifetime under this roof had convinced her she was simply unlovable. A fragile part of her logical self argued that was simply the result of living with an abuser, but the battered parts of her psyche wondered if that was true. Maybe her dad was right. Maybe she'd only ever be a burden.

Her hand paused from wiping up the counter and she stared blankly at the cabinet door. How had she tolerated this house for so long? She left years ago but somehow came back. For what?

He ripped her to emotional shreds and had a temper that could leave bruises for days. What was wrong with her that she would tolerate that?

Even now, as she planned to finally move out and start over, she was terrified he might be right, that the world would reject her and she'd have to come groveling back, needing a place to live. Her experiences with people and jobs in Jasper Falls weren't that far off. No one liked her, and she had no one she could trust or depend on.

She couldn't tell if she stayed out of fear or if she stayed because she was some sort of damaged masochist who didn't know how to leave her abuser. What was that called, Stockholm's? Could she really be that messed up?

She threw the sponge in the sink and shoved the unwelcomed thought away. But the fear that she might not have the courage to actually leave lingered. Moving to a place where no one knew her seemed like a fresh start, but it also terrified her. Maybe the location didn't matter. Maybe the problem was her.

Taking an extra-long time in the shower so the hot water could penetrate her sore muscles and wash away the memories of last night, she slowly considered what her next move would be.

She'd need some boxes. Maybe a suitcase. She could head over to the town of Ryder Creek and see if they had any apartments for rent. Maybe see about getting a job waitressing or something. Anything was good enough for now, as long as it kept her alive.

When the water went cold, she wrapped a towel around her body and brushed out her hair, scowling at the damn bruise muddling her face. That would be the last time. She was so sick of buying makeup to cover up his mistakes. No one would hire someone with trouble marked all over their face like that.

"Asshole," she mumbled, opening the medicine cabinet and shutting it after she grabbed her toothbrush.

She gasped and spun around. For a second she thought she saw her dad, but he wasn't home. The house was empty and she was losing her mind.

She threw on comfy sweats, wool boots, and an old sweater, then got to packing. A tow truck was already on its way to retrieve her car. She told the mechanic to let her know right away if there was any damage from the accident.

On her third trip through the hall to stack another bag of clothes by the front door, she paused, a strange sensation creeping over her. She wasn't usually this jumpy.

Heading back to her room, her steps slowed at the edge of the hallway. Her dad's bedroom door was open. He never left it open. She wanted to shut it so he wouldn't blame her for snooping, but that was stupid. She was leaving and wouldn't be there when he got home. He could blame someone else for a change.

Darting past the door, she dashed into her bedroom only to hesitate before closing her door. She backtracked into the hall and paused, a chill trembling up her spine as if the empty house mocked her for being such a coward. She wasn't a child, but sometimes her childhood fears still taunted her.

Taking a deep breath, she stiffened her shoulders and marched back to her father's bedroom to shut the stupid door. The pungent scent of aftershave and stale cigarette smoke lingered in the air like a poison she hated to breathe. She grabbed the knob to his door and?—

She stilled, releasing the knob and pressing her hand into the wood. The hinges creaked as the door glided fully open. "Dad?"

Her fingers rushed to her mouth and she backed out of the room, running to her purse where she'd left her cell.

Her fingers shook as she dialed her brother. "Come on, Harrison, pick up."

She dialed again when the call dumped into voicemail. And a third time, when he still didn't answer.

His gruff voice sounded half asleep when he answered. "Hello?"

"Harrison?"

"Yeah."

"It's Erin."

He sighed as if the mere reminder of her existence was an inconvenience for him. "What did he do now?"

She swallowed tightly, the walls closing in around her as her vision blurred with building tears of panic. "He died."