Page 162 of Healed

She paused then, her eyes clouding over as she remembered her own horrific past. “I wouldn’t want to know, no. But I still think I should be given the choice.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Dante asked, climbing the stairs with a sleeping Axel in his arms.

“The drone,” Rachel replied simply, and Dante’s jaw immediately clenched.

“What about it?”

“About whether or not Gabriella needs to know.”

“She doesn’t,” he said firmly. “Can we be done with this conversation and get to bed now?”

“I think she—”

“She doesn’t,” Dante interrupted.

“I don’t want to lie to my friend.”

“And I don’t want to lie to my old lady, but this is the fucking situation we’re in!” I hissed, doing my best to keep my voice quiet.

“What happened to honesty at all times?” she hissed back, glaring at me. “Isn’t that the whole point of you two? Aren’t you supposed to be painfully honest with one another?”

“And where would it get her?” I snapped back. “What would it achieve? She knows Nico is watching her. She knows this, Rachel! She knows because I fucking told her!”

“I—”

“No. You don’t get to have a say in this. I could have hidden it from her. I could have shielded her from everything Nico was doing, but I haven’t. She’s aware he’s around. She’s aware that he’s seeking her out. I’ve been as honest as I can—so much so that I was banned from her room these past few days because I was fucking honest with her about the dressing room. So if I choose to hide a few things from her, if I choose to protect her mental health, to guard her peace, then I will fucking do so!”

Rachel glared daggers at me. “So your word is final, is it?”

“Yes. When it comes to this, my word is absolute. Ask yourself what it will achieve other than her realising that this place isn’t as safe and secure as we have made it out to be? She reclaimed some of herself tonight, she took back some of her power. She doesn’t need to be sent straight back to where she was because of some vindictive little prick who thinks he owns her, okay?”

“You know she will find out eventually.”

“Fine! So what if she does? I’ll tell her the truth if she asks. But she doesn’t need to know every fucking detail. Not everyone is as strong as you. Not everyone is capable of knowing everything. If I have to keep some of the more gruesome details from her in order to keep her mentally healthy, why the fuck wouldn’t I do that?”

“Vienna—”

“I think we need to weigh up impact over intent,” Dante interrupted. “I get what you’re saying, Rachel. Your intention is to be kind. Gabriella deserves the truth. But what would be the impact of that? That’s the point Vienna is trying to make.”

We both looked at Dante in shock, having forgotten he was there to begin with.

I took a deep breath, sighing heavily. “Dante is right. I get you’re mad, Rachel—trust me, I fucking get it. Don’t you think I’m furious with myself for putting her in that position? For not thinking ahead and anticipating something like this? I fucking hate myself for letting her be caught during something that should have only been shared between us two. If that’s how bad I’m feeling, I can’t imagine what it will fucking do to her. So, no, she won’t be finding out. Swear to me you’ll keep quiet.”

“You know I won’t break your trust. If you tell me not to, then I won’t. But these things have a habit of coming out.”

“And I’ll deal with it at the time if that happens. But for now…” I sighed. “For now, can we just let her know a moment of happiness for once in her fucking life?”

We all looked at the door that concealed Gabriella from our view.

“You’re right,” Rachel said. “She deserves some peace. Lord knows Nico won’t wait too much longer before he makes himself known again. Let’s enjoy what time we have without him.”

Chapter 50

Gabriella

Life at the compound seemed to settle. Not because I was miraculously recovered—I certainly wasn’t. In fact, I was now in daily discussions with Doctor Ashleigh, the club therapist. Nightmares about Nico and my mother had me waking numerous times a night. Sometimes sobbing, sometimes screaming, and sometimes feeling such a profound sense of loss that my body almost went into shock.

Each and every time, Vienna gathered me into his arms and soothed me back into a calm space. I didn’t always go back to sleep, but he adjusted his schedule, staying up with me through the long nights, following my lead and letting me come to terms with things in my own way.