Page 117 of Scarred Hearts

“It’s Ian,” she panted, moving her hips up and down against my mouth.

“Answer it,” I growled, determined to continue pleasuring her despite the interruption.

“What? No!” she whimpered, her words turning into a high-pitched cry as I flicked my tongue over her sensitive spot. “Oh shit, Ty, I’m going to cum.” She bucked against me as her climax rushed through her body.

Replacing my mouth with my hand, I continued stroking, playing with her clit while fingering her. With my other hand, I answered the phone.

I’m kinda busy right?—

The piercing sound of Jenna’s screams echoed in the background, sending shudders through me. Meanwhile, Giovanna’s body trembled against mine as she released her juices onto my hand, her attempts to muffle her pleasure failing.

What’s wrong?! I spat.

Get your asses to our house right now! It’s an emergency! he commanded in an angry and alarming tone. It was a tone I’d never heard from him and that worried me.

Ripping my hand away from Giovanna, I said, “Go get dressed and hurry. We have to go.”

She hopped off the counter, sprinting out of the room and upstairs without questioning me.

Placing the phone back to my ear, I demanded. Tell me what’s going on.

You’ll see. Just get here as soon as possible. The line went dead.

When we arrived at Ian and Jenna’s house, nothing outside seemed out of the ordinary. We slammed the car doors, and I took her hand in mine, jogging to the front porch. I pushed open the entrance, letting her in ahead of me. The moment I shut it, I froze at the sound of a familiar laugh, followed by a sweet voice I’d recognize anywhere.

“Oh my God, he interrupted our breakfast for home movies,” I whispered as we made our way to the den to see what they were watching. When we entered the doorway, my heart pounded, and I squeezed Giovanna’s hand deathly hard. “Mom?!” I barked, and the room fell silent with all eyes turning toward us. “Dad?!”

Between our dead parents on the couch sat Jenna, blotting her eyes as she tried to compose herself. The three of them leaped up from their seats, and I stumbled backward, feeling Giovanna’s gentle hand caressing my back for support.

My father had aged, his hair completely white now, his eyes slightly hooded. He was what I imagined myself to be in the next twenty-seven years from all the stress. My mother, however, still kept her chocolate brown hair with hints of grey; though it’d been cut to her chin. She looked like my sister, but only slightly older than she looked before she… died? They were both sun kissed and dressed like they’d just arrived home from a senior citizen cruise. Both were in floral shirts, my father in green shorts, my mother in khaki shorts, and both wore slip on shoes.

“How?” I managed to choke out, my heart pounding in my chest as I struggled to make sense of the scene before me. My mother sprinted toward me, throwing her arms around my neck and sobbing into my shoulder. I could feel my father’s presence behind her as he approached to hug me tightly.

I glared between them at Jenna, who was watching with tears in her eyes and a tissue clutched in her hand. Across the room, Allen Ringfield and Ian stood together by the fireplace, their expressions filled with concern.

Above the sound of children playing somewhere else in the house, I finally found my voice again. “What happened? How did this all happen?”

My parents took a step back, still holding onto me as my mother cupped her hand on my cheek, tears spilling down her face. “Oh Tyler,” she whispered, “what did they do to you?”

“How is this even possible?” I uttered under my breath, my voice filled with disbelief. It felt like a dream, one that would fade away any moment now.

But then my father spoke, and his words confirmed that this was indeed reality. “Now that you’re here, we can tell everyone together,” he said, a hint of turmoil in his voice.

My mother’s face lit up with a warm smile as she turned to Giovanna. “You must be the lovely woman we’ve heard so much about.” I automatically pulled her closer to my side, feeling a surge of protectiveness over her in the midst of all the uncertainty.

For years, I had believed my parents to be dead. But now, here they were, alive and well. Giovanna smiled sincerely at them, reaching out her hand in a greeting.

“I’m very pleased to be able to meet the people who brought such a wonderful man into this world,” she said graciously and calmly, as if nothing happened.

My heart swelled with emotion at the sight of my parents and the woman I loved together. I wanted to love the moment more than anything. But I couldn’t shake off the need for answers.

“I want to know everything,” I stated firmly. “Right now.”

“Of course,” my father replied, his expression serious but understanding.

Giovanna and I sat side by side on the couch with Jenna and Ian. Allen settled himself in a chair in the corner. My parents perched on the loveseat facing us all.

My father cleared his throat, something he always did before he started a story. “Oh boy, okay.” He took a deep breath. “I want to start by saying we had no choice but to disappear for a while.”

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