Reputation's Play (Book 1)

Ch.25 Endgame

Chapter 25

When Gia parted her eyes open in the afternoon, her first thought was Daniel. The sheets smelled like him as she rolled over and reached out across the bed. Her fingers traced over the cool cotton before coming up empty on the California king bed.

"Daniel?" Gia called out, hoping he was somewhere in the room.

After a few seconds, when she heard no answer, Gia slowly sat up and looked around. The curtains were drawn but light still managed to sneak in. The sounds of the ocean could be heard from the balcony as Gia removed the covers off of herself and climbed out of bed. Ditching her jeans and shirt, she kept Daniel's t-shirt on and patted into the bathroom.

"Daniel?" Gia lightly tapped on the door before turning the doorknob.

The bathroom was completely empty. Gia avoided looking at herself in the mirror because she knew her eyes would be too puffy and her skin would be too lifeless. Her mind and body were still tired as she turned on her heels and headed out of the room.

The beach house was too big to be occupied by just one family. Gai walked through the halls counting the many doors she passed as she followed the same path Daniel had shown her when she first entered the home. The large glass windows invited lots of sunlight into the interior but the heat that came along with it wasn't fun. Gia held her hand over her eyes to shield herself as she climbed down the stairs and explored the first floor.

"Daniel?" She called out as she poked her head out into the backyard. When she was only greeted by the waves and the seagulls, Gia walked back inside with her stomach in knots.

Bearfeet, Gia stood in front of the doors wondering where else she should look. Her eyes scanned the home to try and get a sense of its lay out before she decided on a course of action.

From the main door, she had three options. Left, right or upstairs. Gia had already checked half of the upstairs and she was sure Daniel would have heard her if he was there. The backyard was to the right and he was nowhere to be found there which meant the only place Gia hadn't checked was the left side of the home.

With a deep breath, Gia turned left. She walked down the narrow halls feeling queasy as her mind started to ask her billions of questions.

What if he's not there? Where will you look for him? Is there a phone in the house? Where could he have gone?

"Daniel?" Gia called out again, her voice shaking just a bit.

She didn't know when her heart had started to beat too quickly for its own good again. All Gia could think about was finding Daniel. Her feet began to move faster as she opened door after door only to find the rooms empty. Her eyes began to sting and the back of her throat tightened as she burst into the kitchen and stilled.

Daniel stood behind the counter with his brows knit in concentration as he stirred something in a silver bowl. He dipped his pinky into the bowl to taste the batter before reaching for the salt and spinkling in some more. When he heard Gia come into the kitchen, Daniel looked up and his eyes softened. He immediately noticed the water gathered at the corners of her eyes. Leaving the bowl on the counter, Daniel walked around the island and headed towards where Gia stood by the door.

"Hey, baby," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "What's wrong?"

Gia shook her head, feeling childish and silly. She was too embarrassed to tell Daniel she freaked out thinking she was left all alone in the house.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked, pushing her hair out of her face to look into her eyes.

"Just tired," Gia sighed. "I didn't see you when I woke up. When did you wake up?"