Page 91 of Gareth

A knock on her door jerked her from her thoughts. Aria rubbed her hands over her cheeks to make sure there weren’t any signs of tears, then sat up as she called for her friend to come in.

“Oh no,” Janessa said as she approached her. “You’re getting sick, aren’t you?”

Aria stared at her friend, trying to figure out what she meant.

“I recognize that glassy-eyed look,” Janessa continued. “I saw it in the mirror for more days than I liked. And you’re flushed.”

Her brain caught up with what Janessa was saying, and Aria grabbed it for the opportunity it was. “Yeah. Just sort of landed on me.”

“I get that.” Janessa frowned. “Gareth is going to kill me because you’re not going to feel well enough to go tomorrow night unless you managed to catch a less awful version of whatever I had.”

Aria slumped back over onto her pillow. “If I’d understood how horrible you really felt, I would have felt even more sorry for you.”

“Ah, sweetie, I’m so sorry.” Janessa sighed. “Why don’t you get into bed? I’ll go grab you some water and meds.”

Aria did as she said because, honestly, being in bed was where she wanted to be. Plus, she really did feel horrible. Her heart hurt terribly, which led to an actual physical ache throughout her body. Unfortunately, she doubted that the meds Janessa had gone to get for her would help with that pain.

Thankfully, she’d seen enough of how Janessa had looked and acted over the course of her illness that Aria felt she could fake the symptoms in order to get out of the events planned for the next couple of days.

Aria was trying to keep her mind from touching on the huge loss that would occur in her life when she left Serenity Point. But if she stayed, the loss would still be the same. Gareth wouldn’t want any association with her once he knew what she’d done.

Tears stung her eyes as she imagined how empty her life would be without Gareth. How empty herheartwould be. And she was going to lose her friendship with Janessa, too.

“Hey.” Janessa’s voice was gentle, and Aria realized tears had escaped through her closed lids. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

Aria sighed as she scrubbed at the tears. “Just being a weepy baby. I miss my mom when I’m not feeling well.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“I’ll be okay.”

So many lies… If they ever found out, it would just reinforce to them that she was a liar.

“Do you want something to eat?”

Aria shook her head, positive that if she ate something right then, she would throw it all back up. “Just water. Then hopefully, I can sleep.”

“I’ll let Gareth know you’re not feeling well,” Janessa said. “And don’t worry about work tomorrow. I’ll cover for you. After all, you covered for me.”

“Thanks.” She hadn’t felt tired when she got home from work, but she definitely felt exhausted right then. Part of her wanted to tell Gareth, but she knew that the sooner she distanced herself from him, the better.

“You just rest,” Janessa said as she moved around the room, closing the blinds. “I’ll come back and check on you later. If you need anything, text me. You have your phone?”

Aria lifted it so Janessa could see it, then set the phone on the bed next to her. Janessa turned off the overhead light, which left only the light from the lamp on the nightstand.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Thanks.” Once Janessa left the room, Aria snapped off the lamp, then pulled the covers up to her face.

Grief at the loss that was to come swept over her. She should have known that things wouldn’t stay good for her. After everything that had happened over the past two years, she should have been prepared for this. But she wasn’t, and it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her heart, shattering it.

She’d had time to prepare for her mom’s death, to brace herself for the change it would bring to her life. But this… in one fell swoop, she was losing everything. Her home. Her job. Her friends—both old and new. And worst of all, the man she loved.

The love might have been new, but it had held a potential that she hadn’t felt with Tim. A potential and a hope that now had been completely shattered.

If she’d been honest from the start, Nora would have had nothing to threaten her with. But she’d compounded that initial bad decision, by making another bad decision in keeping it all a secret.

She had no one to blame but herself for where she’d ended up, and Aria needed to accept that so she could do what she needed to in order to leave everything behind.

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