The Loner and Her

Chapter Eighteen : First

"Yes, Mom. I-I know. The cops are already on their way. I told you, I'm fine. Yes, Griffin is right here. Why do you want to talk to him? You don't believe that I'm fine?" Gia groans aloud, "Griffin, it's for you," she mumbles, sourly.

He can't help but laugh lightly before taking the cell-phone and answering, "Hi, Rosa." He remembers to call her by her first name.

"She's...." He glances down at the girl sitting in his front passenger seat. "She's shaken up quite a bit. Don't worry, I won't let her leave my sight."

Gia sighs, resting her head against the car window.

"Yeah, we're heading over to her house, but we won't go back inside until the cops show up. I don't know if there's any damage. She didn't have a chance to look.

"Yeah...Yeah...I know, it's scary. I'm just glad she was able to get out of there just in time. Yeah, I'll see you in just a bit. Bye, Rosa."

Griffin sighs loudly as he places Gia's cell-phone in the empty cup holder. "Your mom is on her way."

Gia sniffs, "Griffin, thank you so much."

"For what, Giules?"

For everything, she thinks.

"Just for being you."

He, then, wraps his strong arm around her as they wait silently for the police to arrive.

"I'll always be here for you, Giules."

Silent tears fall from her eyes in response.

A couple of hours later, Gia finds herself right back inside Griffin's truck. Him, again, sitting in the driver's seat, but this time her mom is standing at her passenger's side window.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay home with you? It could be just you and me. I'll watch you while you're asleep- "

She shakes her head slowly, "No, Mom, it's okay. Go see Nonna and Nonno. I know they're probably worried sick."

Rosa sighs, "If you're sure..." Then she turns her attention to Griffin, "Thank you...Again. Gosh, it feels like I'm always saying that to you."

Griffin can't help but smirk slightly, "I guess, I'm her hero."

Gia rolls her eyes. "I'll be fine, Mom. I just...I can't stay there, right now. I need space from the house for just a bit."

Rosa nods, "I understand, Gigi. And are you sure you don't want to see your grandparents- "

Gia quickly shakes her head in disagreement, "Nope. Nonna is overbearing enough as it is. I don't need her coddling me at the moment."

Rosa huffs, "Now, she'll coddle me."

Gia shrugs.

Grabbing her daughter's head, Rosa places a kiss at her temple, "I love you, Gigi. I'll see you, hopefully, tomorrow."

"Bye, Mom. I love you!" Gia says, before her and Griffin take off.

Looking at the dashboard, Gia realizes it's six in the morning. The sun had already risen. "I'm so tired," she mumbles.

Griffin nods in agreement, "Me, too. When we get to my house, we can sleep in."

Gia looks over at him. Her hands fumble absentmindedly in her lap. She's wearing her white v-neck top and black and white pajama bottoms. Her hair is in a messy bun. Griffin is in a black t-shirt with casual black pants.

Her faces burns red.

"Thank you for letting me stay at your house."

He smiles, "No problem, Giules."

"So, is your sister, or Mr. Prescott, going to be mad that I'm there?"

Griffin simply shakes his head, "No. They'll never know you came by, and even if they did, they don't care enough about me to care if I have a girl over."

"I don't- " She starts to state her confusion, but he shushes her.

"You'll see," he says, cryptically.

They carry on in silence for a few minutes. Until, Griffin asks her, "What did that cop ask you when you were alone?"

Gia looks out the car window, watching the many houses go by. "He just asked me the general questions. What did the guy look like? What time did this all happen? Did I recognize him? Did he say anything to me?"

Griffin sighs, "And your mother thinks...?" He trails off, since she had left to go to her grandparent's house in a hurry.

Gia shrugs, "She never tells me these things until she knows for sure."

Griffin's eyes widen slightly, "Does this time of stuff happen to you periodically?"

She laughs in return, "Not exactly."

Now she's the one being cryptic.

Griffin's hands on the steering wheel tighten, "What's going on, Giules? Are you in danger?"

She runs her right hand through her dark locks, "You know the kind of business my grandfather is in. Stuff like that could happen, whenever..."

He shakes his head in a stubborn way, "I don't like this. I don't like the thought that you can randomly be kidnapped in the middle of the night."

She sighs, "Griffin, this isn't something I can control. Nonno knows that once you go into something like that, everyone around you is at risk."

"Then, why did he do it?" He asks in irritation.

Gia shrugs, "Because his dad did it."

Griffin mumbles quietly, "I...I feel like I need to protect you, Giules. This isn't easy for me to hear."

She sighs, "It could still just have be a random break in- "

He scoffs loudly, "The guy shouted, "Hey, girl!" He knew you were there, Giules. He was looking for you. That's why he chased you out of there."

Gia sighs. She knew the moment she told Griffin everything that happened he would be upset, but she didn't know he cares this much about her. Her heart is pounding wildly in her chest at the thought. He cares. He truly, truly, cares.

After tonight, Gia doesn't know if what she feels for him qualifies as a crush anymore.

She loves him.

How much? She isn't quite sure, but she know it's a hell of a lot. She wishes she is brave enough to tell him how she feels. She doesn't trust it, though. What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he only loves her like a sister? Lord, that would kill her.

They both still have so much to learn about each other. It's crazy. In such a small amount of time how much she's grown and he has as well. He's her best friend, and she knows that if she reveals her true feelings, she can possibly wreck the best thing that's ever happened to her.

Is it worth it?

She's broken out of her thoughts by the sound of Griffin's engine shutting off and she realizes that he has parked the car.

"Come on," he says, "Follow me."

She's never been to this neighborhood before. Taking a look around, Gia notices how extremely big and wealthy looking these houses are.

Griffin is heading into the direction of one of the biggest houses on the block. Gia's eyes widen. She knows Mr. Prescott has money, but she didn't realize how much until now.

Her face forms into a scowl when he doesn't walk straight to the front door, instead he begins walking through to the side of the house.

"Griffin, where are- "

"Just follow me, Giules."

Gia sighs to herself. If she didn't know Griffin so well, she would've thought he is trying to kill her. It is kind of shady, if you think about it.

Following him slowly, she makes no noise as she watches him use a key to open up the large white gate that is at the end of the driveway.

They both enter and Griffin slowly, so it could be done as quietly as possible, closes the gate and it automatically locks itself.

Gia watches him closely and he walks passed her, then gestures for her to follow him, again.

The backyard is gigantic. There's a pool with a slide and behind it is all grass that goes out so far it looks like it never ends. Gia is so shocked. From the front of the house, you'd never think the backyard is as big as it is. That is when Gia notices it.

Griffin is heading into the direction of what looks to be a small house, which is probably a quarter of the size of main one.

She now realizes that Griffin lives in a guest-house.

She shakes her head to herself, knowing he can't see her. Really? They don't have room for him in there? The house is practically a mansion!

Pulling out his keys again, Griffin unlocks the door and they both enter, without a word. He turns on the light, then finally says, "Um, through the doorway is the kitchen if you're hungry, at all, and right here is the living room.  Down that hallway is a bathroom on the left and on the right is the bedroom."

He says everything so fast, Gia almost doesn't catch it all, but she does. The living room consists of a 25 inch t.v., and a black sofa with a tiny coffee table in between.

Gia looks around and realizes there isn't much decoration to the place.

"It's nice...Got your own bachelor pad," she winks at him, jokingly.

Griffin can't help but blush in response. "Uh," he scratches the back of his neck, "Sort of- not really. I don't bring girls here. Or anybody, actually. You're kind of the first person, besides the Prescott's, to come back here."

Now, it's her turn to blush. "Wow, I feel...honored."

Griffin shrugs, "It's just a house."

Oh, she thinks.

Gia subconsciously begins to rub at her back. Her muscles are aching from the fall, and she knows by tomorrow she'll have a bruise or two.

"What's wrong, Giules?" Griffin asks.

She shakes her head, "It's nothing."

He scowls at her, "Giuliana, what is wrong?"

She rolls her eyes. She hates when he calls her Giuliana. "I'm serious, nothing is wrong," she lies again.

He scoffs, "You're looking down at the ground, genius."

Gia picks her head back up in response, "No, I wasn't." She says stubbornly.

He doesn't say anything, but watches her closely. His dark blue eyes trail from her shoulder blades to her arms.

"Is it your back? How far did you fall, Giules?" His voice is hard and his questions are clipped.

Gia gulps, "It wasn't that far." Another lie.

Without warning, Griffin approaches her and instantly places his right hand against her back. He applies pressure on the base of her spine and Gia can't help but whimper in pain.

Griffin's eyes immediately fall shut and he curses loudly, "f**k, Giules. Why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugs, but the more she shrugs the more she realizes it's starting to bother her, "I-I- I didn't want to be a bother- "

His left hand moves to her back, as well. He begins to rub, soft circles all across her back to soothe away the pain.

She whimpers again, when his hands move across bruises barely beginning to form.

"Sorry," he whispers so softly, she almost didn't hear him. He clears his throat as he stops his movements, "Do your muscles hurt badly?"

She nods her head.

He nods, too. "Okay, let's go to the bathroom."

Griffin, surprisingly, takes Gia's hand and pulls her through the hallways and into the bathroom. He opens up a drawer and shows a white tube.

"This lotion will help the pain. Turn around."

Her hazel eyes widen.

He smirks, "Come on. I'm not a pervert."

Her breathing deepens and she slowly turns around, her back facing Griffin, now.

They both stand there for a short while. Neither saying a word until Griffin finally speaks, his voice slightly huskier than normal, "Lift up your shirt." He whispers behind her ear.

Her skin begins to crawl with goosebumps and neither say another word as she does what he instructs.

He smoothes the lotion over her skin and Gia flinches at the coldness of it and his hands. He doesn't notice, though, because he continues what he's doing.

Looking at her soft skin, Griffin can see the areas where the bruising is occurring and tries his hardest to avoid those areas.

Gia is trying her absolute hardest to bite back a moan. She can't moan, not with Griffin. She'll be so embarrassed if she accidentally lets that slip.

She can hear his breathing behind her. It's so shallow, it almost matches hers.

His hands move up to her tense shoulders and Gia can't help it any longer, and she moans very quietly.

For a split second, his movements stop, but then he carries on, as if nothing happened.

Griffin can't help but ask her, "Why are you so tense, babe?"

Babe? Gia's heart melts.

"I-I," she stutters, "I don't know..."

When the lotion is all rubbed in, Griffin sighs and mutters, "All done." He helps her bring her shirt back down and when Gia turns back around to face him, she realizes how close they really are to each other.

"Oh," she mumbles to herself.

"I- uh- you're so...you're really pretty, Giules."

Her heart beat quickens.

"So pretty..." He mumbles again.

His lips are so close to her. She imagines what he would taste like. What his lips feel like against hers. If only...

In one swift movement, Griffin crashes his lips against Gia's. His arms encircle her waist and crashes her body against his.

His lips nimble on hers, both are closed and he bites gently to ask for entrance. She blushes, never having to have done this before, and shyly lets him in.

Her hands grasp the sleeve of his shirt tightly as he tongue battles with her. Her face is hot and red and her eyes are closed. This feels like a dream.

Maybe...just maybe...it is worth it.