Page 8 of In His Veins

I’m restless as I stride back to her room, painting still in hand. Rubbing my free hand on my chest, I attempt to relieve myself of the sudden ache there.

I don’t know if I believe in fate. Was it fate when I fled my hometown and joined the Marines, only to meet the first Giovanni brother? As I watch Ava Channing dream, I know that if I could go back fifteen years, I’d make the choices all over again if it brought me to this moment. I lock her deadbolt as I slip from her apartment, taking her portrait with me.

5

AVA

Sunlight streams through my window. Panicked, I scramble for my phone, breathing a sigh of relief when I check the time and realize I woke up before my alarm. My back cracks as I stretch my arms above my head. Stumbling into the bathroom, I take my clothes off on the way. Makeup products are still scattered on the counter and I freeze when I see something on my arm as I start to clean up. My heart jolts for a moment before I remember how the evening ended.

Dread settles in my gut as I stare at the tattoo. Medusa’s eyes are unseeing and her mouth downturned. Her snakes seem to write around her face and coil around the back of my arm. It’s a beautiful tattoo, but I can’t help but imagine my mother making the same expression of mourning when she sees it. Sighing, I turn on my shower and put away the rest of my makeup while the water heats. I leave the plastic covering on my arm, poking at the ink that seeped from the wound and collected inside the wrap.

I give the tattoo a quick rinse before stepping out of the shower. Why didn’t Paige talk me out of such an obvious placement? I snort as I wring the excess water from my hair. Knowing Paige, she probably encouraged it. Wrapping my towel around my torso, I walk into the kitchen and peer into the pantry. The tiny packets of instant coffee are calling to me, but if I can hold off for 30 more minutes, I can get the good stuff for free at the cafe. The pounding in my head almost convinces me to rip one open, but I chug a couple cups of water instead.

I grab a thin long-sleeve shirt. Even though it’s only a matter of time before everyone sees my tattoo, I feel some relief at delaying the inevitable. My feet are still sore from wearing heels for hours last night, but I slip on my sneakers anyway. I debate grabbing a protein shake before leaving for my shift at the cafe, but the thought of putting anything substantial in my stomach makes me queasy. I still feel a little unsettled by the time I pull up to The Sable House, but when I see Josh’s car in

the parking lot, I perk up a bit.

Josh is by far my favorite coworker. While he also waits on tables, he primarily makes the coffee. My headache seems to lessen just from the hope that Josh will whip up something delicious for me soon.

Lauren raises her eyebrows at me as I walk into the kitchen. Sure enough, Josh is there blending a drink.

“Hey there. You feeling okay?” I tie my apron around my waist and put both hands on my hips. His brows are furrowed, and he stops the blender.

“I have a little headache but I’m fine. Why?” He grins at me and puts his hands up in defense.

“Don’t get me wrong, you look lovely as ever without makeup. But you also look pale as death and like you didn’t sleep at all last night. But what do I know?”

My mouth falls open as I realize he’s right. I did skip that step in my morning routine, and now that he’s called attention to it, my face feels naked.

“Shit. I knew I was forgetting something.”

His smile falls as he takes a step towards me. “Look, Ava, I really wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t see you nearly every day. You look fine, I promise. I shouldn’t have said anything. Give me a few minutes and I’ll make you a drink.” If it was coming from anyone else, my feelings would have probably been hurt. But this is Josh, and he doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body.

“I mean, you’re kind of right. Paige convinced me to go out with her last night and this is the result.” I gesture to my face and flutter my eyelashes at him.

Josh is pumping syrups into a cup and glances at me over his shoulder. “Now that explains it.” I shrug my shoulders but don’t disagree.

The day drags along, and the persistent pulsing in my head doesn’t let up. Josh discreetly refills my cup throughout the day, but by the last hour of my shift, I’m ready to fall over. When I remember I have a closing shift at Brianne’s tonight, I nearly cry. I’m returning the change to a table when I hear Paige’s voice call out.

“Hi Josh, so good to see you.” She’s perched on a stool in front of the coffee bar and grins at him.

“I’m not sure if I should serve you considering you almost killed Ava last night.” He says it lightly, but his eyes don’t match his returning smile. Paige’s eyes are bright as she waves him off.

“She’s a big girl. She was just fine. My regular, pretty please?” Josh rolls his eyes at her and starts making her drink.

I bump my shoulder into Paige. “Are you harassing my coworker?”

Paige cuts a glance to me then back toward Josh before lowering her voice. “Girl, he’s got it so bad for you.” It’s my turn to roll my eyes but Paige just purses her lips before continuing. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Speaking of, I saw the hottest guy outside the cafe. Dark hair and he had several inches on me. I almost decided to skip out on seeing you today. Scratch that. I’m still thinking about it.” She runs her fingers through her hair as if she might run outside to hunt him down.

I go to the kitchen to grab Paige’s drink from Josh and to spare them from interacting with each other again. “I’m so honored that you managed to tame your libido long enough to grace me with your presence,” I say wryly. My friend nods her head before taking a light sip of her drink. She smacks her lips and sets down her cup.

“I knew he’d make it too hot. I swear, I think he actually hates me.” Her wine red lipstick leaves a mark on the lid and I can see steam coiling from the small opening. Exasperated, I sigh.

“It’s coffee, Paige. Coffee is hot.” Her look is venomous, and I walk away before she has a chance to lash out. I’m still annoyed with her for the tattoo incident anyway and my patience can only take so much from her today.

I close out my last table and find Josh back at the coffee bar. I lean against him, my head against his bicep for a moment before he puts his arm around me, squeezing my shoulder and pulling me closer. His clothes smell like ground coffee and his voice is warm when he speaks.

“You okay?” I pull back and rub my eyes, smiling wearily as I grab my purse from below the sink.

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