Chapter 19

The ringing sound of a phone broke me out of a deep sleep. It took me a moment to realize what was making the sound and I felt Patrick shift next to me, the ringing waking him up as well. I blindly reached out for my phone in the dark as I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It read 2:53 am. Who the hell would be calling me right now?

“Hello?” I half mumbled, half growled into the phone. I felt Patrick’s arm snake around my stomach and pull me back into him. I felt him nuzzle into my neck and smiled at the touch.

“Gabrielle? It’s Officer Monahan.” I squeezed my eyes closed and fought back the annoyance. I was going to kill Nathan. Right before the Winter Classic too. He should know better. “I have a girl down here by the name of Gia Henderson.” Wait, what?

“Gia’s there?” I bolted upright out of Patrick’s grip.

“Yeah. She’s really upset and refuses to talk to anyone except for you.” I was already out of bed and searching for my clothes.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

“What’s going on?” Patrick asked, sitting up in bed.

“I have to go. One of my student’s is in trouble. Can I leave Loxley here until I can get back?” I was dressed even before the question was asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Patrick said something else, but I was already bolting out the door.

It was very unlike Gia to get into any trouble. She’d only been coming to me because she’d skipped some school, her grades had dropped, and she seemed depressed. There had been no sign that she was going to get into trouble with the police. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived at the police station nor did I know why she would only talk to me.

I pulled up in front of the station in record time and ran inside. I told the officer in the front that I needed to speak to Officer Monahan immediately and waited impatiently to see Quentin walk around the corner. When he did I looked at him expectantly and saw the grim look on his face.

“What’s going on?” I asked as he led me back towards the interrogation rooms.

“One of our officers found Gia walking alone down the street in torn clothes and crying. When they stopped to check on her she became hysterical, so they brought her in. The only thing she’ll say is that she needs to talk to you,” he explained.

I looked through the two-way mirror at Gia who was seated at a table. There was a bottle of water untouched in front of her. She lifted her head to look around the room and I could see her red-rimmed eyes along with what looked to be a forming bruise on her cheek. I heard Quentin curse when he saw it too. I made my way to the door and walked in. Gia began to cry again when she saw me. I rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug, allowing her time to cry.

“Gia, what happened?” I asked her when she’d calmed down a bit.

“I thought he was my friend,” she started quietly. She stopped just after speaking those words, turning her head away from me. I felt sick, knowing exactly what she was trying to tell me.

“Who, Gia?” I pushed, hoping for an answer. A sob was the only response she gave me. “Okay, it’s okay. We should get you to a hospital and make sure you’re alright.” She nodded and I helped her up and out of the chair.

Gia and I left the police station and I drove her to the hospital, my heart aching the whole time. A doctor came and checked Gia out, confirming that she was okay. While we waited she opened up to me a little more and I convinced her to have a rape kit done. A few hours later after talking to the police, we were able to leave.

“Let’s get you home,” I said as I led her out of the hospital and over to my car.

“No!” she exclaimed. I turned to her in surprise at the vehemence in her voice. She looked away quickly, seemingly embarrassed by her outburst. “My parents are out of town for a couple of days. I don’t want to be alone.”

So instead of driving Gia back to her place, I brought her to mine. The sun had risen by the time we got to my apartment, and Gia and I were both exhausted. I gave her some clothes to change into and cleaned up my studio and made the futon up like a bed while she changed. Gia was asleep within minutes of lying down, but I was wide awake, unwelcome thoughts running through my mind.

Gia slept through the morning while I made a phone call to Isaiah who had a phone number for Gia’s parents. Then I called her parents, and received their permission to let her stay with me until they got home, saying only that being alone was making her nervous. A little while later, my phone rang.

“Hey, I’m downstairs with Loxley,” Patrick told me. I cringed, not really sure about having him in my apartment in case Gia woke up. I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.

“Okay, come on up.” A few minutes later, Patrick was walking through the door, Loxley in tow.

“Everything okay from last night?” he asked. I shook my head and put a finger to my lips to indicate that he should be quiet.

“It couldn’t be much worse. Gia’s here right now. She’s going to be here until just after New Years.” To his credit, he looked concerned, but nodded.

“Okay. I’ll just go then. I’ll call you later?” I was about to respond when a voice spoke up from behind me.

“Ms. Tunney?” I turned to see Gia walking from around the corner. She stopped when she saw Patrick standing in front of me. I noticed that she had changed back into her own clothes.

“Hey, can I get you something?” I asked her. She shook her head, but didn’t respond, instead keeping her eyes on Patrick. “I talked to your parents. I told them you were nervous about being home alone, and they agreed to let you stay here until they got home.” She nodded, but didn’t respond.

“Hi, I’m Patrick. I was watching Gabrielle’s dog for her last night and just stopped by to drop Loxley off,” he said pointing towards Lox, who was watching Gia cautiously. Gia turned her attention to Loxley and I saw a small smile form.

“I didn’t know you had a dog,” she said to me, her eyes still on Lox.

“Yeah, that’s Loxley. He’s really friendly, I promise,” I assured her. She knelt down and held her hand out for him. Loxley walked over, sniffed her for a moment and then let her pet him.

“I love dogs. I wish my parents would let me have one,” she said as she scratched his belly.

“You know, Gia, I’m going to be busy until New Years Day and won’t have much time to spend with my dog. If it’s okay with Gabrielle, how would you feel about watching my dog Dudley for me for the next couple of days?” Patrick offered. She looked up with a grin on her face as I turned to Patrick in surprise.

“Sure, it’s okay with me if she’s willing,” I said, trying to hold in my own smile. It was uncanny how well Patrick could read people and situations. The guy was a saint.

“I’d love to!” she exclaimed.

“Great. I have to get going, but I’ll be back later with Dudley. I’ll bring some dinner and let you know everything he likes and doesn’t like.” She nodded and turned her attention back to Loxley, who was eating up all the attention he was getting. I turned to Patrick and smiled gratefully at him.

“I guess I’ll see you tonight,” I told him.

“Let me know what she wants to eat and I’ll get it. Does 6 sound okay?” I nodded and he smiled at me before turning and walking out the door.

During dinner that night Gia talked more than I’d ever heard her talk before. I’d brought her home to grab some of her stuff and she’d been taking pictures of the dogs all day. When Patrick had come over she’d spent a long time showing them to him and he good naturedly let her. Was there anything wrong with this guy at all, because right now he was a saint.

The topic of the Winter Classic came up and despite not being into sports, Gia seemed fascinated by the idea of it. Patrick promised to get an extra ticket since I was already taking Nathan. Gia agreed, eager for the opportunity to take photos at such a major event. To be honest, I hadn’t seen Gia this happy in a long time, and especially after something so traumatic. Patrick was truly a godsend.

Patrick came over and I cooked dinner on New Years Eve. He stayed long enough to see midnight before heading home to get some sleep before the big game. The next day Gia and I left to pick Nathan up at the school. The three of us then headed off to the game. Gia and Nathan had known each other, but weren’t friends. That didn’t matter as we got to Wrigley Field. Just the excitement of the game had them both chattering away.

Despite the fact that the Hawks lost, the three of us still had a great time. Gia had her camera out almost the entire game taking pictures of the game, the stadium, and the crowd. By the end of the game I think almost everyone in there had posed for her at one point or another. Nathan had just been excited to be able to attend the Winter Classic for his favorite team, an opportunity he wouldn’t have had just a few months before.

When the game was over we all waited for Patrick and talked with the rest of the families of the guys that had gone to the game. Due to the atmosphere of the whole experience, no one seemed upset, and conversation was easy. When Patrick finally came out after all the interviews he’d had he took the three of us out for dinner.

Gia’s parents came the next day to pick her up and she’d given me a hug before she walked out the door. I didn’t know what things would be like with her once school started back up, or if she would open up to me anymore, but I hoped that these past few days would help. As much as I wished I could say that I’d been able to get through to her a bit, I knew it was all because of Patrick, which I made sure to tell him that night.

“I really need to thank you for what you did not just for Gia, but for Nathan,” I told him.

“I haven’t done anything,” he denied. I looked straight into his eyes.

“Yes, you have. You have no idea what those two kids have gone through. I could have only gotten so far with them in this amount of time. If it wasn’t for you and the things you’ve done, they may not be how they are now. Nathan is going to school and getting his grades up ever since you agreed to let us come to games and being able to make Gia smile after what she went through the other night is more invaluable than you’ll ever know. Thank you.”

I didn’t say it, and I’m not sure I ever would, but helping them was really helping me. He didn’t know it, but Gia and Nathan were more like me than he could ever guess. I wasn’t ready to come out and tell him what had happened in my life yet, but seeing how he handled them gave me hope. It gave me hope that when I was ready for him to really see me that he may not run the other way.