Page 159 of Aria

I don’t remember moving, but I suddenly found myself kneeling beside the lifeless body of the woman I loved, cradling her limp hand against my face. A guttural sound escaped me, something wretched, and it seeped into the laughing walls and burned itself into the very bones of the sterile house. Anyone who entered would feel its pain.

My pain.

The shadows continued to watch as I pulled Beth into my arms and buried my face into her blood-soaked hair. She was cold. She was still.

She was gone.

And nothing would ever be the same…

CODA

CHAPTER TWO

Chelsie

I was sitting in my office entering patient information when Anne came barging through the door. Her dark brown bob bounced as she hopped up and down on both feet, her stare frantic. “Chels, you need to come see!”

Glancing up from my laptop, I frowned, my reading glasses perched on the bridge of my nose. “Is everything okay?”

“Just… trust me. Hurry!”

Anne waved her arm in a melodramatic fashion, her chestnut eyes begging me to follow. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, my gaze shifting between the glowing computer screen and my anxious friend. It must be serious, so I stood from the rolling chair and adjusted the straps of my mustard-colored tank top. “Okay, I’m coming.”

“In the lobby.” Anne motioned me out the door, her sundress twirling at her knees.

I followed the perky brunette out of the office, and we headed toward the main entrance. It was a busy Thursday. There were deadlines, multiple new patients joining the sanctuary the following week, and payroll was due in three hours. Employees rushed past us as we sauntered down the hallway, and I wondered what the commotion was all about. “Anne, what’s going on?”

Anne reached for my wrist, dragging me the rest of the way. “You need to see this.”

As we rounded the corner, a grand sight came into view.

Jon was down on one knee with a shell-shocked Maggie standing before him. Her hand was clasped over her mouth.

Well, I’ll be damned.

“…having said that, I would love nothing more than for you to become my wife. Will you marry me, Maggie Mills?”

“Yes!”

Jon leaped to his feet, and the newly engaged couple collided into each other’s arms with an emotional hug. There was an uproar of applause from the curious onlookers. I clapped my hands together, a smile creeping onto my lips. I was happy for my friends. They had been dating for one year, sharing the kind of love that one might see in a sweet romance novel or on the Hallmark Channel. There were picnics under the willow tree during lunch breaks, stolen kisses in the halls, and fresh flowers delivered as a special surprise at least twice a month.

I was happy for them. Truly.

I was also a little bit envious.

How could two people love each other so effortlessly? Where was the pain and heartache? Where were the dramatic exits and fiery words? How did they make it look so…easy?

I had taken Jon up on his offer for a coffee date one afternoon. It was a few weeks after I’d returned from New York after Devon’s wake. He had been persistent, but in a charming way, and I felt ready to take a chance on a new relationship. At the very least, I was ready to open my mind to the possibility.

There had been pleasant small talk and a few laughs, and Jon was nothing short of a gentleman. I decided to go on a few dates with him to test the waters. It was nice. Jon was nice. Jon was everything I wanted in a man. He was passionate about helping people, and he was the best listener. He was good-looking in a quirky way with crystal blue eyes and a lanky frame, but… he had one prominent flaw.

Jon was not Noah.

There had been one evening where I’d let him kiss me. It was my first kiss in over three years, and I recalled sitting on his leather loveseat with sweaty palms and a racing heart. My insides were pitched with nerves and anxiety.

The kiss had been awkward, a mess of wavering hands and cowardly tongues. Jon had tasted like church on Sunday morning.

When he’d tried to take our blundering make-out session to the next level, I’d panicked. “I – I’m so sorry, Jon. I don’t think I can do this.”

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