Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

A ndrea closed her eyes, letting his words wash over her. For the first time in days, she felt a small glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, she could find the courage to move forward. To confront her mother and sister for the way that they had treated her for years, for her entire life.

A couple hours later, Andrea was sitting at her mother's dining table, the familiar setting both comforting and stifling. The aroma of her mother's signature chicken parmesan filled the room, but Andrea's appetite was nowhere to be found. She glanced at her mother, who was busy setting the table, her movements precise and practiced.

Her mother always used her finest dishware and settings, even though dinner should have been a more casual thing between them.

"Mom, sit down for a moment. Can we talk?" Andrea began, her voice steady despite the storm of emotions brewing inside her.

Her mother looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Of course, dear. What's on your mind?"

"I've been going through a rough time lately." Andrea took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "My health…" Her mother waved her off and continued placing the food.

"Yes, but you're better now," she said quickly, sitting down.

"It was a serious issue, Mom. Life-changing." Andrea felt her chest tighten.

Her mother's expression shifted slightly, but she quickly masked it with a smile.

"Oh, sweetie, we all know that you always worry too much. You're young and strong. I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, you're back at work, how life-changing could it be?" She poured herself some wine.

"Mom, this isn't something that will just go away," Andrea insisted, feeling the frustration build. "I'm back at work because I love my job at the camp. I love the people I work with. They've helped me through this. They've been more supportive than I could have ever imagined. More than you or Amy have ever been. You both…you don't seem to take my health or my work seriously."

Her mother waved a dismissive hand again. Like she was shooing away an annoying fly.

"You never tell me anything, Andrea. How am I supposed to know what's going on with you if you don't talk to me?" Her voice turned slightly whiny. "You're always so secretive," she accused as she dished up two plates of food and set one in front of her.

It appeared as if her mother was more focused on eating than having this conversation.

"I've tried to talk to you, but you never listen. You're more interested in keeping up appearances than understanding what I'm going through." Andrea clenched her fists under the table, trying to keep her composure.

"Well, maybe if you communicated more, we wouldn't have these problems." Her mother sighed, a touch of irritation creeping into her voice.

"I do try to communicate! But you brush everything off . Like Amy's marriage problems. Did you know she's been having serious issues with Brad?" Andrea's frustration reached its peak.

Her mother's expression softened momentarily when she mentioned Amy. "Yes, I know about that. But everything is fine now. They're having a baby, and that will fix those little hiccups all marriages have in the first few years."

Andrea's heart ached at the casual dismissal. Her mind raced back to Dean's family. The secrets they'd confided in her. How strong the three of them were throughout all the years, all the struggles, all the pain.

"A baby isn't a solution to their marriage problems, Mom. You can't just sweep everything under the rug and pretend it's all okay."

Her mother gave her a tight smile.

"Andrea, you need to have a more positive outlook. Life is too short to dwell on negativity. Honestly, I don't know why you're bringing all this negativity into my home tonight."

Andrea felt the weight of her mother's words pressing down on her, suffocating her attempts to be heard. She wanted to scream. To punch something. To hit out and yell until she was noticed. Really seen.

"This isn't about negativity," she said, her voice strained. "It's about facing reality. I'm going through something incredibly difficult, and I need your support, not platitudes."

"Well, if you talked to me more, maybe you'd get the support you need." Her mother's face hardened.

"I love you, Mom. I really do. But sometimes it feels like you don't really see me." Feeling suddenly defeated, Andrea looked down at her hands.

"I see you perfectly clearly. I just wish you would open up more." Her mother's expression softened again, but there was still a distance, a hardness in her eyes.

Andrea nodded, realizing that this was as close to understanding as they were going to get tonight. Unable to take the awkward silence and unwilling to eat dinner with a complete stranger, she made some excuse about not feeling well and left.

She was glad that the awkward evening with her mother was over but felt sorry that she hadn't been fully listened to.

At least she had tried to take a step forward in trying to heal her family. She knew that true understanding and support from her mother and sister were still a long way away.

Feeling a little overwhelmed and emotional, she sent Dean a text before pulling out of her mother's condo complex and asked him if he wanted to come over to hang out. By the time she got home, his car was already parked in her driveway.

"I'd love to come over," he said with a chuckle as he helped her out of her car. Then he kissed her and she felt her world righten. All of the worries from the past hours, days, melted away as his arms wrapped around her.

"Please," she said softly, "take me inside. I need to feel…loved."

She gasped when he lifted her up in his arms in one quick swoop and carried her to the door. She unlocked the door while in his arms and, once inside, she tossed her bag down before he carried her back into her bedroom.

For the first time in her life, Andrea made love to a man. Sure, there had been plenty of sex. Wild and crazy, hot and steamy, passion-filled sex.

But this, this was totally different. Something more. Something deeper.

Her heart ached before, during, and especially after he touched her. She felt tears roll down her cheeks as he held her in his arms in the darkness of the room.

She was afraid to say anything or even move. Instead, she counted each breath, each beat of his heart until she fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke, it was to the smell of bacon and coffee. Hearing Dean moving around in the kitchen, she rolled out of bed and decided she needed at least a few moments to clean off in the shower.

After rinsing off, she wrapped her hair up in a messy bun and pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a camp tank top and stepped out to see him putting a plate of eggs on the table.

"Morning," he said and easily walked over to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "You?"

"The best." He chuckled softly.

"Hungry?" she asked, glancing at all the food he'd cooked.

"Starved." He nudged her towards the chair. "I was going to start without you if you took too long in the shower."

Andrea laughed as she settled into her chair. While they ate, they talked about her sister's shower that weekend and everything the Wildflowers had done to prepare for it.

She confided in him about the disastrous dinner with her mother. He helped her see things in a better light, explaining that she'd tried her best and couldn't change anyone but herself. It sucked, but she knew in her heart he was right.

It wasn't her place to change her mother or Amy. They were who they were and it was up to her to choose if she wanted them in her life or not.

As they finished up breakfast, Dean caught her hand across the table, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.

"I was thinking, how about we go out tonight? I can have someone cover the second half of the dinner shift for me so I can take off early. When you're done with work we can head to that little Italian place you like."

Andrea smiled, the idea of a quiet evening with Dean easing some of the tension she'd been carrying since the night before.

It was wonderful how being with him was so easy. She'd never felt a moment of tension or discomfort with him like she did with her mother or sister. Even when they sat in silence, she felt relaxed, comfortable, and loved.

"That sounds perfect. I'd love that." She wished more than anything it was the perfect time to tell him just how she felt for him. Was she ready for that? Her heart fluttered at just the thought of saying those simple words to him.

She should have told him the night before when he'd carried her inside. But she'd felt too much to say those simple words she felt for him.

While they cleaned up the kitchen together, they moved in sync. The simple act of doing dishes felt grounding, a reminder that life continued no matter what.

"Ready to head out?" Dean asked as he dried his hands after putting the last dish away.

"Yeah," Andrea replied. She walked over to kiss him. "Thanks for breakfast."

"Thanks for letting me crash here. I've missed it, and you."

They rode to the camp together in his truck, the morning sunlight filtering through the trees as they pulled into the lot. They had just stepped onto the pathway when the sprinklers turned on. They laughed as they ran to avoid getting soaked.

"See you at lunch." He kissed her before heading down the path that led to the main building. She turned and walked the rest of the way into the pool house.

The day promised to be a busy one. Her schedule was packed, but the thought of spending the evening with Dean gave her something to look forward to.

Around lunchtime, she was busy clearing out the room and setting it up for her next client when the loudspeakers that had been installed after the last hurricane came through the area crackled to life.

Brett's voice came over the system, urgent and strained.

"Attention, all staff and guests. This is not a drill. We have an active shooter on the grounds. Repeat, there is an active shooter. Everyone, get indoors and lock yourselves in a safe space immediately. Employees, proceed to your designated stations." The message repeated several times.

The blood drained from Andrea's face as the announcement echoed in her ears.

They had trained for this. Once a month. She knew what to do. Knew it was up to her to keep people safe. Yet, somehow, her body and mind refused to focus.

Suddenly, she could hear screams from outside and the sound jolted her into motion. She rushed out of the massage room and into the lobby area, where Kara was standing looking very pale.

"Kara!" Andrea called out, her voice steady despite the panic rising in her chest. Kara jumped and turned to her, her expression mirroring Andrea's urgency. "We need to get everyone inside. Now." She rushed towards the front doors and opened them as several older campers rushed towards them.

"Please, be careful," she called out. "Everyone inside." She waved towards the few employees helping some of the older guests who needed help with walkers.

They herded the campers towards the pool house, moving quickly but trying to remain calm. Andrea's heart pounded as she scanned the area for any sign of Dean or the shooter. She'd seen Dean serving guests at the pool deck moments before when she'd checked out her last client.

She wanted to call him on his cell phone, but she knew she had to stay focused on the immediate task of getting the guests to safety first. No doubt Dean was doing the same thing somewhere.

As soon as they had all of the employees and guests from the pool and bar area inside, Andrea locked the outer doors and moved everyone towards the back rooms, where they'd be out of sight. Then she finally pulled out her phone, her fingers shaking as she typed a quick message to Dean.

"Where are you? Please be safe. I'm in the pool house under lockdown."

She hit send and stared at the screen, willing a reply to come. Nothing. The seconds stretched into agonizing minutes, and still there was no response.

When she couldn't stand the wait any longer, she rushed from the massage room back to the locker room and grabbed one of the employee walkie-talkies. There was a bunch of chatter between Brett and Aaron and the rest of the security team.

"Last seen heading to the pool house…" someone said and her heart skipped.

Was the shooter heading right towards them? She glanced at the back door and held her breath. Was it locked? She moved over and flipped the bolt in place. What about the front doors? The glass was no match for a gun or a heavy deck chair.

"Two down near the back loading dock. We need an ambulance," Aaron said.

"He's on the run," someone said, and she could hear them breathing hard. "I've got him cornered."

She knew that voice well. Dean. Dean was chasing the shooter.

"Dean?" she screamed into the walkie-talkie.

"Clear this line!" Brett shouted back at her.

She held her breath.

"Dean, where the hell are you?" Brett asked.

"Just past the unicorn chair. Heading to the fort," Dean replied a little breathless. "SOB is shooting…"

Just then Andrea heard the shots, and everyone in the room hiding with her cried out and jumped in surprise.

"I need to go," Andrea said, her voice trembling as she looked at Kara.

"No," Kara said firmly, placing a hand on Andrea's arm. "You can't go out there. We need to stay here. We have to keep everyone calm. He'll be okay. He knows what to do."

Andrea's heart clenched with fear and frustration. Every instinct screamed at her to go help Dean.

"If it was Carter, what would you do?" she asked.

Kara glanced at the door and Andrea knew the answer. She'd rush out that door too.

"I have to," she said, and before Kara could stop her, she bolted out the back door.