“Andrew wanted me to tell you he got held up at the prison. They were just about to let him out when some guy made a comment about the photo of you he had in his bunk.” She put the drink down and raised an eyebrow at me. “Beat the shit out of him. Don’t worry, they’re still letting him out, just a little later.” She delivered this without a glance at the man beside her, who was very pale and looked at me with wide eyes before darting away.
I regarded the woman standing beside me, impressed. Her outfit was straight off a runway, a white silk shirt tucked into a Balmain leather pencil skirt and black Manolo Blahnik heels. Her thick red hair was piled into a messy knot on top of her head. She had emerald green eyes, an angular face and amazing skin. She was petite, but curvy in the right places. I was jealous, I wondered if she would divulge her diet and exercise secret to me if I bought her a Cosmo.
“Um thanks for that.” I blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened.
She smiled at me. “No problemo, girlfriend, this city is full of assholes. They would kick me out of the sisterhood if I didn’t do something about him. Plus, I just got stood up, needed a drinking buddy. You’ve got good taste in cocktails, impeccable style, and a cute foreign accent. You could just be my new best friend.”
And we had been, ever since.
“Yeah, she’s been here almost as much as me, but she’s ‘out getting supplies,’” Ian explained with finger quotes, bringing me back to the present.
As if on cue, Amy thundered through the door, arms full of flowers and shopping bags, followed by two of my other friends, Ryan and his boyfriend Alex.
“Holy fuck! You’re finally awake!” Amy screamed, dumping all the bags at her Jimmy Choo clad feet.
She was dressed impeccably, black leather pants, a slouchy tan tee with an oversized black blazer on top and multiple gold necklaces strung around her neck. Even in a hospital bed, I couldn’t help but appreciate her outfit.
She stared at me for a moment, standing in the middle of the room. “Girlfriend, don’t ever scare me like that again, I lost my mind for almost two weeks,” she whispered, her voice breaking and tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, mascara coming with them.
“I’m okay now, Amy,” I whispered back, trying to sound strong.
“Okay?” she repeated in a shrill tone, anger replacing sadness. “Okay? She thinks she’s ‘okay.’” She directed a look at my brother, using finger quotes.
“What those bastards did to you…” She shuddered. “You almost died, G, the doctors said you might not wake up, and even if you did there was a possibility of brain damage. You’re bruised and battered everywhere, so I would say that’s the opposite of okay. I am going to kill those animals!” she cried, starting to sound hysterical.
I flinched, thinking about another person I loved going through hell.
Ryan, another one of my best friends, approached my bedside with a tender look on his beautiful face.
Ryan had mocha-colored skin, a bald head, and bone structure to die for. He was a male model and never had a shortage of jobs, plus he always looked like he had just strutted off the runway. Today was no different, he wore a deep red cashmere turtleneck sweater and black pants tucked into some biker boots. His boyfriend, Alex, was the day to his night, tall with pale skin and seriously built with muscles everywhere. His dark black hair flopped over his face, like he spent hours styling it, but Alex wouldn’t be caught dead with any “girlie shit” in his hair. He was a macho man, and Ryan was so high maintenance he gave me a run for my money, but they loved each other, so it worked.
“Amy, take it down a decibel, only dogs communicate at that level,” Ryan hissed. “Gwen knows exactly what happened to her and doesn’t need reminding. She sure as shit doesn’t need to try and calm down your crazy ass either.” He glared at her.
Ryan stroked some hair off my face and failed to hide his wince at my battered appearance. “Baby girl.” His voice was soft and his eyes glistened, for just a moment.
“All right, girl, let’s get you into some of these wonderful satin PJs we picked up from Barney’s and get you out of that hideous gown,” Amy chirped in, sounding a lot more like herself.
Alex, who hadn’t said anything since he walked in, joined my posse and gave me a kiss on the head.
“Babe, I love you, over the fucking moon you’re finally awake. How about I take your brother for a beer while you get pampered by the cashmere mafia?” he suggested.
I smiled at him, knowing he had clocked my brother’s anger as soon as he walked in the room. I knew he was trying hard to restrain his own fury, which was hiding behind his forced smile.
“Thanks, Alex.” I glanced at my brother, who was studying me with a frown on his face.
“I’ll be fine, Ian, get away from this place for a bit,” I told him firmly.
He looked conflicted, but sighed. “We’ll see you soon,” Ian promised, kissing me on the head, leaving with Alex.
Ryan and Amy started fussing with my pillows and arguing over which PJ set would be less scratchy on my skin. Watching them, I knew even though something terrible had happened to me and I was a long way from being healed, I was going to be fine because of the people I loved, the people who would do anything for me and would always be there, every step of the way.
One Year Later
I took one last glance at my city in my rear vision mirror. The place I dreamed about while sitting in a small town at the edge of the world. The city where my life had changed so much. Where I had changed so much. I was a stronger person now.
It took me six months to fully heal after my attack. I had gone to some really dark places and even now I was still plagued with nightmares, but I was determined not to let my life be consumed by this, not to live with the label of ‘victim.’ I had to leave New York — I had to leave my memories behind and have a fresh start. And boy, was I starting over.
Amy tried talking me out of opening a boutique clothing store in Amber, California, but as soon as I saw it while passing through on a buying trip, I fell in love. It was the classic small American town, a main street with everything in one place, from the grocery store to the barber. A town where everybody knew everybody, and that gave me a strange sort of comfort, reminding me of home. It also had a beach, but it was relatively undiscovered on the tourist trail, people preferring Malibu and Santa Monica a few hours away.
I thought back to when Ian had persuaded me to tell my parents about my attack.
“I love you so much, kid, and I’ll always be here for you and respect your decisions, but you need to tell Mum and Dad about what happened, you know you do, I know it will be hard, but you gotta do it.”
Like always, I listened to my brother’s advice and rang them. After a long and tearful (on both sides) conversation, Mum and Dad took the first flight over, helping me recover, both physically and mentally.
After finding my little town, I immediately rang them and told them about my desire to move there and open my own store. Hearing the passion and happiness in my voice, which had been absent for a while, my parents gave me the money to buy the store and move to Amber.
My family was wealthy, but my brother and I were always brought up to work hard for what we wanted and I was grateful for that. We got a portion of our trust funds when we turned eighteen, and I used mine to move to the States and get myself an apartment on the Upper East Side, my ultimate dream after watching Gossip Girl — shallow, but I was young and had my dreams.