Page 44 of Mara
It was always Mare.
Had something happened to my sister?
The video of her getting ready while being oblivious to a masked stalker watching her plagued my mind. I couldn’t shake the idea that she was in trouble.
I couldn’t press the pedal down fast enough, and I felt sick to my stomach the longer my messages of clarification went unanswered.
If something were to happen to my sister, I would be so lost. It had always been just Gigi and me. Since we were little, our mother was popping pills and getting high while our dad was unconscious, unable to even get out of bed most days. I took care of my little sister the moment she was born on a dirty kitchen floor.
Our parents didn’t even know my mother was pregnant. Gianna was majorly underweight, and at just eleven years old, I had to care for a newborn in order to keep her from dying.
My mother had been strung out on drugs, and she couldn’t even wake up while her body pushed out a human being.
Gianna was so noisy. She entered my world, screaming for help that only I could give her, and into adulthood, a state that never changed. I loved her with everything in me.
No matter how annoying Gigi was, she was the one thing in my life that grounded me…my true constant and the only semblance of normalcy.
I had to tell her the truth about Jinx. I had to end this. I hadn’t spoken to him or any man for over two weeks. I did my job and came home.
I isolated myself from the happy fucking family, hoping to get Jinx out of my mind. My sinful thoughts and masturbating at night to Jinx’s stupid voice in my head would be my only sin.
My sister deserved better.
She had to have better for the sake of her baby.
Since I isolated myself away from everyone, I didn’t know what the fuck was even going on in the world. I only spoke tomy coworkers, and I hadn’t even had the energy to entertain the drivel gossip of the facility. It was all just draining.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I arrived at the apartment and didn’t see that stupid bike parked in the parking lot. Jinx wasn’t here. Maybe Gigi dumped his ass, and this was a cry for help to unload her sorrows with me and a tub of ice cream.
I shot a text to Gianna, letting her know I arrived. I didn’t get a text back, but at least she let me in when I buzzed the intercom button at the front doors.
The fucking elevator was broken again, so I had to walk up four flights of stairs and was breathing like an ox when I got to her door. I took a second to try to catch my breath, raising my hand to knock. The door opened before my hand even made contact with it.
Jinx was standing shirtless in baggy sweatpants, blocking my entrance. That smirk of his was plastered on his stupid face.
“Oh, how cute, Nirvana. I haven’t touched in so long, and you’ve already lost your breath at the sight of me.”
I stiffened, straightening my spine and holding my breath to prevent any hyperventilating in his presence.
“Fuck you, Bonehead.” I shoved past him.
I couldn’t ignore the electric shock that felt like a lightning bolt zipping through my body at the touch of his bare, naked skin. He felt it too, his eyes zeroing in on the area where my hand touched his side to pass him. Our eyes locked for a second, and then I heard a disturbance in the distance toward the back rooms.
“Gianna?” I ignored Jinx and tucked him into the back of my mind.
I walked forward, following the coughing sound coming from Gianna’s room. She was lying down on her comforter, her hair was a mess, and there was dried blood on her pillow.
“What the fuck happened?” I clicked into nurse mode, practically running to assess the damage.
It looked like a gash that was caused by a fall or blunt force trauma. I narrowed my eyes toward the hallway.
“Gianna, what happened?” I asked softly.
She had pain in her eyes. I knew this had to hurt. “I know you hate hospitals, Gigi, but you may need stitches.”
She waved me off, her eyes not quite meeting mine. “No. I don’t care about the pain. Check on my baby.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, looking down at the smallest of bumps in her little dress. Taking a deep breath, I laid my hand on her stomach and felt for the fetal position.
