No Second Chances by Marissa Farrar Page B

surprise.
    “Thanks for the ride, Cole.” I opened the passenger door and slipped from the seat.
    “Hey, Gabi,” he called to me, before I’d had the chance to slam the door shut.
    I turned back to him, and he threw his sweatshirt at me. I snagged it from the air.
    “So you don’t get cold.” He smiled at me.
    I couldn’t help but smile back. He leaned across the passenger seat and pulled the door shut behind me.
    I pulled the item on over the top of my still damp t-shirt and wrapped my arms around my torso as I headed toward my house. The truck idled in the road until I’d walked through the front door, and then it pulled away. I was touched he’d waited until I was safely inside before he’d left.
    I didn’t want to lose the warm glow that being with Cole had created inside me, but I had to deal with my dad. Exhaling a sigh, I walked into the living room to find him asleep in his spot on the couch.
    The relief I’d experienced upon seeing his car in the drive vanished, replaced by raging anger. I stalked over to him and whacked him on the foot, the smack jolting him awake.
    “What the hell, Dad!”
    He gave a grunt and rubbed his hand over his face. “Huh? What?”
    I balled my fists and glared at him. “I’ve been out half the night looking for you!”
    He sat up and shook his head slightly. “What on earth would you do that for? I’m a grown man, Gabi. I can take care of myself.”
    He appeared genuinely baffled by my actions, and once again, I started to doubt myself. Then I noticed the empty bottle and cans I’d come home to that afternoon had been disposed of, and I wondered if I’d find them in the trash or if he’d been more careful with where he’d disposed of them.
    That was the trouble with addiction. It was sneaky and manipulative, and if you weren’t careful it became every single part of you.
    “If you’re the adult,” I snapped back, “how about you start acting like one, and at least let me know where you’re going to be. If I come home and find you not here, I’m going to worry. I’d like to think you’d do the same for me, but I’m starting to wonder if you care about me at all.”
    His expression softened. “I love you, Gabi. Of course I would care about where you are.”
    “Really? Because you didn’t seem to care too much tonight. Or did you not notice I wasn’t even in the house?”
    He sighed. “You’re almost eighteen. I figured you were with your friends.”
    “Well, I wasn’t. I was out looking for you. But like you say, you’re the adult and I’m the kid, so I guess I didn’t think before I acted. Next time, I’ll stop myself even caring.”
    I knew I was being huffy, but I was feeling alone and unloved. I turned and stormed from the room, stamping up the stairs to my bedroom. I peeled off my wet clothes, but took Cole’s hoodie and bundled it into a ball to use as a pillow. I climbed beneath my sheets and allowed the scent of him to lull me to sleep.

 
    Chapter Thirteen
     
     
    Gabi – Present Day
     
     
     
    My days were filled with various appointments—doctors, physical therapy, my psychiatrist—and between those I read, and cooked, and generally allowed life to pass me by.
    I got back from another torturous physical therapy appointment to find my back door wide open. My dad hadn’t told me he was going anywhere that day, so I figured he was out back on the deck. I’d planned on making some iced tea, so I headed out to ask him if he wanted a glass. It would be nice to sit out in the sun with him for an hour and catch up on things.
    When I stepped outside, it took me a moment to spot him. He wasn’t sitting on the deck, or pottering around in the flowerbeds. Instead, he was on all fours right at the back of the yard, his head pressed up against the bars of the gate which closed our yard off from the alley behind.
    I frowned, my stomach twisting in anxiety.
    “Dad?”
    Something was wrong. All thoughts of iced tea vanished as I hurried