Page 19 of Redemption

“It came out…” Victoria propped herself up on an elbow. “Super bitchy for a woman who’s sleeping in borrowed pajamas.”

Mia lifted a cardigan-covered shoulder. “I don’t know much about what you went through, but bitchy is probably the least of your concerns.”

Victoria breathed in as the scent of coffee slowly filtered into the room, trying its damnedest to entice her to the land of the living. The temptation was there, but her muscles and her mind were still on protest. Only her coffee-addicted taste buds were on red alert, desperately trying to remind the rest of her body how great caffeine was.

“Sleep’s a good thing. No one’s telling you not to sleep for a few days. Your body has to recuperate. Survival mode is depleting. Add in how you helped others, and Victoria, you need to sleep, eat, and if and when you’re ready, deal with what happened.”

Helping othersrang out in her head. God, she had another one fooled, and this time, Victoria had done so without saying a word. Guilt bubbled under her skin.First Ryder, now Mia.Victoria should clear up this misconception, if only she could force herself out of bed.

“Ryder’s here,” Mia mentioned, turning back to the tray, moving the cup, and unwrapping the silverware from the napkin. “He wanted to stop in.”

Victoria froze.Ryder. She’d never wanted to see him again and suddenly couldn’t wait to say thank you. He’d been her savior, her believer. He’d been fooled by the belief that she was as strong as Victoria had once thought of herself. She wanted to run, fast and furiously, away from him because of everything that she was dealing with, because he said a simple goodbye and sent her off with a hug that she could still feel after she met Colby Winters. That was that. She didn’t know why she’d thought Ryder would drive over with her. All she knew was that lonely sadness was almost worse than knowing how she could never go back to the career and life she’d known before.

“Can I sit?” Mia asked after assessing her for a moment too long.

“Of course.” She nodded. “It’s your bed.”

“But you’re in it.”

“Everyone asks me now if they can come next to me. On the couch, on the bed.” Victoria smoothed her hand over the sheets. “Is this what it’s going to be like when I go home?”

She could barely remember her hometown—nothing more than a distant memory of a place that tricked her with its safety and security.

“We’re just being cognizant of what you went through.”

“The idea that people are treating me with kid gloves...”Yet, I can barely get out of bed.“Deservedly so, though. So thanks.”

Mia sat and scowled. “You are really hard on yourself, aren’t you?”

“Well… Yes.”

“You need to eat.” Apparently changing her mind, Mia jumped off the bed. “I’ll tell Ryder to come back some other time.”

“No. It’s okay.” Victoria wanted to see him more than she wanted to sleep or eat. She realized she was finger-combing her hair into something semi-presentable and quickly slapped her hands down, burying them under the covers.

“Here.” Mia poured juice into a glass. “You need a little sugar in your system.”

She needed something, alright, and juice was probably not the answer.Sleep. Xanax. Something.

One of Mia’s eyebrows arched as she handed the glass to Victoria. “Might help.”

“With what?”

“With whatever you need it too.”

That was awfully cryptic. Maybe Mia read her mind and crushed up a sedative. She took the glass and carefully sipped it. “Oh, that’s good.”

“Thanks. I squeezed it with my kids.” She waited until Victoria placed the glass on the nightstand.

“Grapefruit juice and something else?” Though the chances of pharmacology juice making with kids was probably not what happened.

“Lemonade too,” Mia said. “There’s a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit wrapped up in that linen napkin, and if you want to take shower, I’ll tell Ryder you’ll be ready in an hour or so. He and Colby can go do guy things.”

“Why is he here?” She quickly bit her lip, not wanting to know what Mia thought the answer was.

“Maybe he’s here for the same reason that I just saw signs of life.” Mia leaned against the wall.

A blush hit Victoria’s cheeks. “I don’t know what you think, but—”

---