Page 28 of Quake

“It would’ve been great if Luca hadn’t insisted on using the fucking plastic dinosaur they give thechildren,” one of the dark-haired men grunts out.

One of the guys, who I now know to be Alessandro, rolls his eyes and says, “He was trying to impress a table full of women bowling beside us by being a goof. Newsflash, it didn’t work. Their boyfriends all showed up, and that was the end of that, but he was committed to the bit.”

Gloria grins and looks over to where Gianni is leaning against the back of the love seat Charlie and Rose are sitting on. “And, Gi, did you need the bumpers up this time, or were you able to score like a big boy without them?” she asks.

“Oh shit, shots fired,” Kira says with a laugh.

My cheeks burn red hot at his clear embarrassment. He cups the hair at the base of his neck before meeting my eyes.

“I didn’t score, even with the bumpers,” he says, and my mind gets caught on what I think might be an innuendo but really couldn’t be. This is Gianni we’re talking about. The guy is pretty somber. He doesn’t strike me as someone to make sexual references, especially not around his family. That apple fell pretty far from the smutty tree.

I finally break eye contact with him, but my skin tingles as if I’m being watched. I swing my eyes around the room, and sure enough, several of the women have theirs glued to me.

Gloria clears her throat and tells him, “That’s alright. You always sucked at bowling.” She gives him a smile that crinkles the corner of her eyes. “You can’t be good at everything, and considering the magic you make with all those instruments, I’d say you have more than your fair share of talent,” she says, turning her attention to me with a wink.

All of the air is sucked out of my lungs, and I feel like I might faint. Despite how unabashedly she works to make everyone in the room laugh, usually at the expense of others, it seems like she has her comforting moments too. Almost like she changes her parenting style to meet the needs of her children, even in adulthood.

Aside from her little wink at the end, what she said was actually really sweet, and frankly, it intrigues me even more. I had no ideahe played any instruments. Where does he find the time with his busy soccer schedule?

“Thanks, Mom,” he says quietly, ducking his chin and heading into the kitchen.

“I hate to break up the party, but Kat and I should probably get home to take Tank out,” Alessandro says.

After lots of hugs and goodbyes, my friends and I agree to come back for next month’s book club. It’s definitely an improvement from our monthly rotation between our tiny apartments, and, of course, I have not a single fucking clue where I’ll be living come next week.

1. Animal – Neon Trees

Chapter fifteen

Gianni

Sunday, March 2, 2025

This woman has somehow managed to invade my brain in a matter of weeks. No,minutes.

Everything about her makes me feel like a live wire lying over a car on the road. My body hums with apprehension when I’m around her, knowing she’s in a relationship but seemingly unable to stop me from fantasizing about her. I’m volatile. When a power line falls on your car, you stay in your goddamn vehicle.

And if I were to try to act on these feelings? That would just end poorly because she’s not interested.She’s taken.

I repeat that mantra over and over until I no longer feel like the electric line lying on the road, waiting to singe anyone who dares to get out of the safety of their grounded vehicle. Because ultimately, that’s something that I most definitely am not.Grounded.

I haven’t felt tethered to this planet since September thirteenth, when my life went to hell. Or further than it already was, at least.

Ever since the accident, I haven’t been able to take a full fucking breath. I’m constantly on edge, just waiting for something else to go wrong.

When Dr. Hughes didn’t show up to class on Saturday, I felt sick to my fucking stomach. I barely even know her, but every time someone becomes some form of a constant in my life, and I don’t know where they are when they should be withme,I lose my mind with worry. I’ve lost too many important people to reckless drivers. It’s honestly a wonder how I’m still able to even manage driving myself around.

Letting out a shaky breath, I work to calm my racing mind. I feel Pickles’s soft fur glide across my cheek as she nudges me, moving to lay her bulk across my chest like she does most mornings.

She’s a big girl, but she doesn’t seem to think so. I swear the damn dog thinks she’s a teacup Yorkie with the way she demands to lie in my lap and crawl on my chest for hugs.

I wrap my arms around her fluffy bulk as she settles in with her chin resting on my shoulder. I’m unable to work my puffy eyes open just yet, so I take in my surroundings instead, focusing on my senses just like Alex used to coax me.

“When you’re feeling anxious, just close your eyes and focus on what you can feel and smell. It works. Just trust me.” I can hear his voice, clear as day in the back of my mind, still coaching me out of my own thoughts. My heart squeezes in my chest at the memory and the realization that that’s all it’ll ever be now.Memories.

I run my hands up and down Pickles’s long, soft fur, taking in the feeling of it beneath my calloused hands. I focus on the scent of her fur, an earthy one from the dirt she rolled in on her walk last night.

The faint scent of bleach permeates through the air, leftover from the kind woman who cleaned my apartment yesterday after I had had enough of living in squalor. Alex would have been pissed to see me letting myself fall into such misery without him around.

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