Page 32 of Gareth

She breathed a sigh of relief when the sermon was over. Even the prospect of watching Gareth drum for the final song wasn’t enough to distract her from her grief.

“A bunch of us are going to go for dinner at a restaurant here in town,” Janessa said when they stood in the foyer a short time later. “You’re welcome to join us.”

Aria considered it for one brief moment, then said, “I think I’d rather just go home, if you don’t mind dropping me off.”

Janessa smiled in understanding. “Yep. No problem.”

When they’d been roommates, Janessa had always been more likely to socialize than Aria, so she probably wasn’t surprised by Aria’s decision. Though Aria thought Janessa would stick around to talk to people, she looped her arm through Aria’s and guided her out of the church.

When they reached Janessa’s car, Aria said, “I’m sorry—”

Janessa held up her hand. “Nope. No apologies. You owe me no apologies or explanations. You know that I’m fine with whatever you decide.”

Relief swirled through Aria. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Janessa pressed the fob to unlock the car doors, and Aria walked around to the passenger side and got in. Maybe it would be wise for her to start driving herself around so that her friend didn’t have to detour from her plans to accommodate Aria.

“Help yourself to anything in the kitchen for your lunch,” Janessa said as she pulled to a stop in front of the house a few minutes later. “There is an evening service at the church at six-thirty if you’re interested in attending.”

“Okay.” Aria pulled the handle to open the door. “I’ll see you later.”

“You can count on it,” Janessa said with a laugh.

When Aria let herself into the house, the silence seemed to engulf her. For a moment, she wondered if she should have gone with her friend. But in her heart, she knew she’d made the right decision.

Her struggle with grief had wiped away any appetite she might have had, so rather than prepare herself something to eat, Aria wearily climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

After changing out of the clothes she’d worn to church into something more comfortable, Aria closed the curtains in her room and crawled under the thick comforter on her bed. Then, knowing that she was safe to grieve, she tucked her head down and let the pain over the loss of her mom rip through her in a way it hadn’t in months.

The tears that fell soaked her pillow, her sobs draining her. Grief clouded her thoughts, and soon, exhaustion dragged her down into sleep.

When she woke sometime later, Aria fought a sense of disorientation. She lay there for a few minutes, trying to rub away the dull ache in her head. Finally, she reached out to grab her phone to see what time it was.

Just after three. She’d only been asleep for a couple of hours, and she was still tired. The sleep felt more like a reprieve from her emotions than a true rest.

Pushing up to sit on the edge of the bed, Aria felt a strong urge to get out of the house and get some fresh air to clear her head. She still had no appetite, so after washing her face and brushing her hair, she found her runners and a hoodie and left the house.

It seemed that neither Janessa nor Charli were home yet. As Aria stood on the porch, she pulled up the map app on her phone and tried to figure out where she should walk. Serenity wasn’t a huge city, so it wasn’t likely that she’d get too lost. And if she did, and the map didn’t help, she knew that Janessa would come to find her.

Walking in the cold wasn’t something she’d really thought through too well, Aria realized a couple of blocks later. She really should have pulled on a pair of sweatpants over her leggings.

Tucking her hands in her hoodie pockets, she bent her head and kept walking along the sidewalk. Once again, her thoughts were caught up in the past, making her wish she’d brought her earbuds so she could have listened to music or a podcast as a distraction.

“Hey there.”

The words were spoken about the same time as a pair of hands and booted feet came into her view. Her heart slammed in her chest, and she stumbled back as she jerked her head up.

“Hey. It’s just me,” Gareth said, concern on his face as he held his hands out toward her.

Aria lifted a hand to her chest. “You scared me.”

“Sorry about that.” His gaze swept over her. “You looked like you were a little cold.”

She balled her hand into a fist and shoved it back into the pocket of her jacket. “It is a little chilly.”

“Were you going anywhere in particular?” he asked. “I could drop you off.”

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