Black Blood (25 page)

Gabe’s eyes
narrowed as he watched her. Gemma sniffed a few more times then
found a large white hanky being pushed into her hand. She mumbled
her thanks and loudly blew her nose.

“I guess,
technically you weren’t together.”

“Would you quit
it with the “technically” crap!” Gemma jumped from her seat and
threw the hanky at him “I was in mourning the whole time! And if it
hadn’t been for you telling me I could get him back then I’d
probably still be hiding in my room! I felt like half a person when
he was gone.”

“He probably
did too, maybe that’s why he tried to fill the void.”

“Whatever.”
Gemma slumped back into her seat.

“Sweetie.” Gabe
reached for her hand, but she pulled it away. He shot her a dry
look before clearing his throat to continue. “I know you’re really
mad with him right now, but that doesn’t change the fact you love
him.”

Gemma’s eyes
filled with tears again.

“He makes you
happy. Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to hear what he has
to say?”

“I don’t
know.”

“Please don’t
tell me we wasted all those hours for nothing. You fought your guts
out for that guy. Don’t stop now.”

“I hate the
thought that he was trying to get over me when I feel like I’ll
never be able to love anyone else. It hurts.”

“You’ll
heal.”

She shook her
head as Gabe sighed.

“Did he tell
you he would rather be with this girl?”

“No.” Gemma’s
voice was tiny.

“So he and this
girl were over the second you came back into the picture.”

Gemma shrugged.
“I guess.”

“Then that’s
it.” He slapped his hands on the table and rose. “Get up.”

She looked at
Gabe in surprise as he hauled her to her feet.

“What are you
doing?”

“I’m kicking
you out.”

“What?”

“Don’t screw
this up, kid. He wants you. You want him. Don’t come back to my
caravan until you’re sorted.”

“But… don’t be
so mean! I came to you for sympathy!”

“That’s the
last thing you need.” Gabe winked as he dragged her down the
stairs. “Trust me, you’ll be showering me with gratitude
tomorrow.”

“Yeah right!”
Gemma gave him a black glare as she reached for her helmet.

“I love
you.”

“Whatever!”

She shoved the
helmet on her head and gunned her bike. The trip home was made in
record time. Screeching into the garage, she ignored a quizzical
look from Dom and shot up to her room.

Slamming the
door behind her, she locked it and fell onto her bed with a huff.
She was about to start cursing Gabe’s name when a lump beneath her
pillow made her frown. Reaching beneath, she grabbed the cotton and
pulled it free.

Harrison’s old
shirt was covered with creases. She brought it to her nose and
inhaled deeply. His lingering scent made her smile. Turning she
looked at her bedside table and spotted a framed photo of them.
Harrison had taken it. She remembered giggling as he held the
camera away from them and kissed her forehead. She ran her thumb
over the image and felt that familiar warmth she’d been
missing.

She’d have to
hide these things now. She couldn’t risk her parents finding them,
but before she could put them out of sight, she had to reach for
her phone.

It rung in her
hand as she went to make her call.

“Hey,” she
answered softly. “I was just about to call you.”

“
I
couldn’t wait any longer. Gem, we have to talk about this. I can’t
let you walk away. I need you to-”

“I can’t talk
right now.” Gemma closed the closet door behind her and snuck to
the back corner. “I’m at home. It’s too risky.”

“I gotta see
you. You have to let me explain.”

“Where are
you?”

“Outside your
house.”

Gemma’s heart
lurched. “Are you insane? They’ll see you!” She shoved the photo
and shirt in the back corner of her shelf and jumped up.

“I’m in the
bushes behind the pool.”

“Get out of
there now.”

“I’m not
leaving until you agree to hear me out.”

Gemma stood at
her window and looked down at the greenery. “Go wait on the beach.
I’ll be right behind you.”

* * * *

Harrison kicked
the sand at his feet as he waited for Gemma to appear. He heard the
crunching of stones behind him and turned.

“Thank you.” He
shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet.

Gemma shook her
head. “This is a risky move, Harrison. We really can’t afford for
my parents to see you.”

“I know. I
just… I can’t let this happen again.”

Gemma’s
eyes softened as she gazed at his, no doubt, wretched expression.
He ran a hand through his hair, unsure where to begin.

“I rang Amy and
told her I can’t see her again.”

Gemma winced
and sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“Because…” He
shook his head. “I didn’t want you to think that I was over you. I
wasn’t sleeping and Bryan was on my case all the time and she was
just a distraction. But I swear I never could have been with
her.”

“Did you sleep
with her?”

It injured him
that she’d even ask, but he curbed his anger and spoke softly. “No.
Of course not.”

“Did you make
out?”

He wanted to
lie. He wanted to be able to look Gemma in the eye and say an
outright no, but he knew he couldn’t.

“A couple of
times.” He swallowed.

Gemma’s brows
pinched together as if in pain. She let out a slow sigh. “Any
fire?”

“None.”

A small smile
flew over her lips before she could catch it. He felt his chest
loosen.

“I’m sorry. I'm
so sorry I hurt you. I never should have pretended. I… You’re all
I’ve ever wanted.”

Gemma’s face
rose with a soft smile.

“
I hurt
you too.” She bit her cheek. “I didn’t mean to. I would never break
up with you and not tell you why.” She shook her head. “I’d never
break up with you period! I mean the whole concept is just so…
hideous to me. Why would I choose to live without you? I
could
never
make that
choice.”

“I couldn’t
either.” He took his hands from his pockets and wanted so bad to
reach for her, but he didn’t feel he had the right. “So, do you
want…?”

“What? Do I
want to what?”

He shrugged.
“Start again as if none of this ever happened.”

She gazed at
him for a long, silent moment then shook her head. “I don’t think I
can do that.”

He frowned and
gave her a nod of understanding. “So what do you want to do
then?”

She tipped her
head and studied him. Biting the inside of her cheek, she took a
slow step towards him and then another until they were standing
nose to nose. He didn’t make a move to touch her, he knew this had
to come from her and so he waited in agony.

Her breath
brushed his face. She licked her lips then looked into his eyes
again. He didn’t know what she was looking for, but he kept his
eyes on hers. The jade swirled in slow circles, gradually growing
lighter. Her lashes dropped for a moment, she took a deep breath
and then her lips were on his, soft and inviting.

He savoured the
fire racing over his face. Placing his hands on her neck, he rubbed
his thumb along her jaw line and let the warmth work down his arms.
Her hands came around his waist and pulled him as close as he could
be. Everything clicked into place and once again he felt his
insides surging with the hope that had been missing.

Chapter Thirty-Four

St Augustine, Florida
– 2011 AD

Thankfully her
phone hadn’t rung all day. Her mother was obviously too caught up
with helping Dom and Ruby pack for college. Gemma turned on the
hose and rinsed down the car. Her relief at being left alone was
palpable. Her mother hadn’t bothered to question her when she left
that morning. Gemma had said a quick farewell and promised to be
home for dinner. She had been expecting a call all day. She knew
things were going to get really hard when the twins left. Gemma
would become her parents’ sole focus. The thought was terrifying.
With trying to keep Harrison a secret, it was going to be a
challenging senior year.

Pushing the
unsettling thoughts aside, she rinsed off the suds and laughed as
Rosie bounced around the car singing. She had rock music pumping
from her iPod. She had scrounged up some portable speakers with her
pocket money and the girls had spent the day dancing around the
suds and singing at the top of their lungs. It was doing wonders
for Gemma’s mental health.

Sensing a set
of eyes on her, Gemma turned to catch a glimpse of Helen. She was
standing at the window of Bryan’s office, her intense gaze narrowed
on the girl who had broken her son’s heart. Gemma pushed a
quivering smile over her lips and sent the woman a little wave. It
was reciprocated in movement, but the warmth she used to bask in
was missing from the woman’s eyes. She had been aware of Helen’s
quiet speculation over lunch. Gemma wished she could run into the
office and let the truth spill from her lips, but how would any
mother take it?

Biting the
inside of her cheek, she turned back to the car unable to ignore
the two lazer beams searing the flesh from her back. Turning once
more, she saw that Helen was still staring at her and decided that
something had to be done. She loved Harrison and didn’t want him to
have to go through what she did with her parents. Rustling up what
courage she could, she dropped the rag she had been using and
strode towards the office. She knocked once and entered, closing
the door behind her.

“Hi.”
Scrunching her fingers into her pockets, she stood on jittery toes,
forcing her eyes to focus on the serene, yet wary mother.

“Hello, Gemma,”
Helen’s voice was gentle and cool. “I see you and Harrison are back
together.”

“I see you have
a problem with that.”

Helen’s eyes
gleamed with a small smile. “Harrison’s had a very tough month.”
She looked down and sighed. “I just want to make sure he doesn’t
have to go through this again. Between you and Amy the poor guy
doesn’t stand a chance.”

Gemma winced as
her mind raced with an appropriate falsehood that would justify her
terrible behavior. She decided as much truth as she could give
would be best.

“I wish so much
that I could take it all back, but I had a bit of a disaster happen
in my family. I was really struggling to deal with it. I know this
probably sounds like a cop-out to you, but I didn’t want to pull
Harrison into it as well, so I walked away.”

Helen’s laugh
held a teaspoon of mockery. “You sacrificed in order not to hurt
him?”

“I can see you
don’t believe me, but maybe you’ll believe this. This summer has
been a living hell for me. I have been doing everything in my power
to try and be with Harrison again. I love your son, Helen, and I
would never consciously do anything to hurt him.”

She still
looked a little unconvinced. “So what was the big disaster?”

Gemma had the
immediate reply of “I don’t really want to go into it” sitting on
her lips, but she swallowed it back. That would never cut it with
Helen. Taking in a deep breath, she once again went for truth.

“My parents
have a very specific plan for my future and Harrison doesn’t fit
into it. I got sick of fighting so I tried living without him and
realized that I couldn’t. Harrison and I are meant to be together.
I’m sorry if you now have a problem with that too.”

Helen’s
features remained still as she absorbed Gemma’s reasoning. The
silence was a threatening cloud of rejection that hovered towards
Gemma like a brewing rainstorm. She bit the inside of her cheek as
she waited for a verdict.

Moments later
Helen’s eyes began to sparkle and her lips shot north for a brief
second.

“I know that
feeling. Forbidden love, it’s so passionate and exciting isn’t it?
But it doesn’t always last, Gemma.” Her eyes filled with a broken
sadness. “Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life
fighting for this?”

Gemma felt a
quick response would come across as flippant, so she licked her
lips and looked to the floor in consideration.

“Harrison is
worth any fight. I know what it’s like to live without him now and
I never want to feel that way again.”

Helen nodded
then looked out at the garage, watching her son emerge from beneath
a car with a rich smile on his face. Gemma’s lips quirked in unison
and Helen obviously noted the strong connection between them.

“What’s the
point of even trying?” Helen shook her head with a chuckle. “I
guess I’ll be seeing you for dinner tonight.”

“Actually.”
Gemma frowned. “My curfew’s pretty tight now. Home for dinner every
night.”

“How about
lunch on Sunday then?”

Gemma’s insides
filled with instant sunshine as her head bobbed.

* * * *

Work had
finished for the day and Harrison was walking Gemma to her bike.
She loathed having to say goodbye to him, but knew that she would
see him the next day. She ran the reminder repeatedly through her
head as they neared her Ducati.

Harrison kissed
her softly and sent her another mushy gaze. She returned his look
with one of her own.

“I’m locking up
in five! If you kids want anything from my office you better hurry
up!”

Bryan's
loud voice
pulled them
apart. They both glanced over at him with blushing
grins.

“We’re good!”
Harrison waved then turned back to her, shoving his hands in his
pockets. “So, what was the deal with you and my mom before?”