JODIE
Turns out, after Toby brought me home and made sure I was actually okay, he and the guys headed out to the Italian soldiers’ hangout and raided the place in retaliation for what they helped Jonas do—and a whole host of other things that I didn’t ask too many questions about. I figure that while I might want Toby to be open and honest about his work, I also don’t need all the dirty details.
All I know about that night was that he took a arse-kicking—although he assured me that the three Italians on the other end of the fight came out worse—and that they now have two important members of the Mariano Family hostage somewhere. Somewhere that is thankfully not the basement below where we’re living.
It’s been a week since Toby dragged me out of that house and away from the psycho that was threatening to blow us all to pieces. A week since he was able to shed the lingering demons that he was constantly battling, knowing that the reason for his years of abuse and torment was still alive.
Although we have a lot to work through in order to rediscover who we really are after everything we’ve been through—both individually and as a couple—I wake up every day feeling a little better, a little lighter. And know he feels the same. I can see it in his eyes, feel it in his touch.
Swiping some lip gloss on, I stare at myself in the mirror. My makeup hides my lingering bruises. Anyone who doesn’t know they exist wouldn’t see them now. Not having to stare at them every time I catch my reflection is helping me move on. Although I’m not sure the memories of those few days locked in that basement will ever fully leave me, I can already feel some of the less memorable parts fading. Maybe one day it’ll all vanish and I can forget about the fact that I pushed a knife through a grown man’s throat and was forced to listen to his gargling breath as he died. Possibly wishful thinking, but whatever.
Happy with the face looking back at me, I spin around and head out to find some clothes.
Toby went back to school two days ago. As much as I hate him going. I know he can’t keep putting his life on hold for me. He has to achieve his grades if he’s going to get his place at uni, and I’d never forgive myself if I fucked that up for him.
The sight of our messy bed makes me smile as I step into the room. I straighten it out and grab a couple of pillows that have fallen on the floor, probably not long after we fell into it, a tangle of limbs and heated kisses last night.
Mum might still be recovering across the hallway, but it hasn’t really stopped us. I just seem to spend a lot of time with Toby’s hand over my mouth as I scream out his name and lose myself in the mind-numbing pleasure he’s able to offer me.
A pink sticky note beneath my phone catches my eye, and when I walk over, I find his handwriting on it.
Put some shoes on and grab your mum. I’ve got a surprise for you.
A smile twitches at my lips as memories of the last time I found notes like this float through my mind.
Grabbing a pair of Converse from the wardrobe, I rush across the hallway and knock on her door.
“Everything okay?” she asks when I push inside.
“Yeah. Put some shoes on, we’ve got to go somewhere.”
Mum sucks in a breath at my words.
She might think she’s doing a good job at covering up how she’s really coping after everything, but I can see deeper than I think she believes. It also hasn’t escaped my notice that she’s yet to leave the flat. Like me, her injuries are now easily covered by makeup, but it seems that’s not enough to give her the confidence she needs to step back out into the real world.
I’ve told Toby that I’m going to give her until the end of the weekend, and then I’m forcing her to come out with me. Although, it seems that he might be taking matters into his own hands.
“Oh? Where?” she asks, trying to cover her trepidation.
“I don’t know,” I confess, holding the note up. “It’s a surprise.”
Throwing her shoulders back, she stands from the bed where she was reading one of the magazines Maria brought for her. “Well, I guess we’d better not let him down.”
A smile tugs at my lips that she’s willing to push past her fears. That she trusts him enough to just do as he says.
Maria and Stella went out shopping for both of us the day after Toby took us both in to make sure that we had everything we could possibly need, seeing as everything we used to own got blown to smithereens a week ago.
Pain slices through my chest as I think about the things we lost. I know Mum’s right. They are only things, but it still hurts to lose pieces of my childhood, my life, like that.
“Any idea what this is?” Mum asks as she follows me down the hall toward the living area.
“No clue,” I mutter, spotting the next note almost instantly on the coffee table.
“Go to the lift.”
“Well, this is fun,” Mum says with a smile. “I hope there’s cake at the end.”
“We can only hope. I found my car last time he played this game.”