Free Cheating Heart, A Lost Souls Novel: A Lost Souls Novel by Michelle Matkins

tried to play it off that the rose could easily be for Kim, she knew that wasn’t true.  Kim had rolled her eyes and told Vienna she was being impossible.  They both knew who it was from.  It was from Brandon.  What they didn’t know was what it meant.  Love?  Begging for forgiveness?  Did he want her back?  Vienna pushed that thought away.  The bigger question was what did she want the rose to mean?
    The crimson velvet petals were opening and the stem becoming slightly limp.  She wasn’t quite sure why she brought it with her to the airport.  Maybe she just needed to hold it for awhile as she sorted out her feelings.  A wave of pain gnawed at her gut and gripped her heart.  Then her hand tingled.  She blinked back her tears and hoped Kim hadn’t noticed the one that escaped.  For a moment she could’ve sworn that some of her pain subsided, but then it came rushing back. 
    “Our flight!” Kim squealed , waking Vienna from her thoughts.  “You ready?  Got your ticket?”
    “Um, yeah.”  Vienna nodded.  “I’m ready.  Let’s go,” she said, forcing herself to smile. She knew Kim was trying her best to keep the mood light and cheerful.  She was only trying to help her feel better, but it wasn’t working.  Kim’s cheerfulness was becoming a bit annoying.  Vienna cleared her throat.  She told herself to snap out of it.  She was going to have a great weekend whether she felt like it or not. 
    They gathered their purses and carryon bags from the floor next to where they’d been sitting, and then walked over to the terminal with their last minute plane tickets in hand.  Vienna stopped at a trashcan next to the doorway before boarding the plane.  She glanced at the rose one last time.  Despite her feelings, she dropped it in the can.

Chapter 6
    Pulling the rental car into the driveway of a decent sized motel on Coast Highway, Vienna parked near the check-in office.
    “According to GPS, this is it,” Vienna said, picking up her phone from the console and turning off the GPS app. 
    “This is going to be grea t!” Kim beamed.  “We’re so close to the beach!”  She pulled down the visor on the passenger side and gazed into the mirror to reapply her sparkling pink lip gloss.  After a couple of swipes, she pursed her lips together as she examined them. 
    “Yeah,” Vienna said.  “Except it’s a little too chilly for the beach. ”  She tapped the digital temperature gauge on the dashboard, which read 61 degrees, with her fingernail. 
    “Nonsense!” Kim said, dropping the lip gloss back into her purse.   “It’s never too chilly for the beach.  Besides, with the humidity it feels warmer.”  She ran her fingers through her long blonde locks, smoothing down any flyaway strands.  “Unfortunately it also makes my hair frizzy.”
    “You look fine.”
    “Steve recommended this place because we’re just down the street from the Marine base.”  Kim flipped the visor with the mirror back in place, finished with her primping.  “Later we’ll go meet up with the guys.” 
    Steve was an ex-boyfriend of Kim’s from high school.  They had dated all four years and split up near the end of their senior year because he was moving away to go to college and she stayed in Sacramento.  The two of them had agreed to stay friends, even though Kim resented him for leaving her.  Two years into his college education, Steve had decided it wasn’t for him and surprised everyone when he’d announced that he’d enlisted in the Marine Corps.  This last November Kim went as Steve’s date to the Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas, it had been the first time they’d seen each other in person in years. And Vienna had been talked into going with Steve’s friend James.  She went on the blind date to the ball so that Kim wouldn’t have to go to Las Vegas alone.  During that time, Kim and Steve realized that the romance was no longer there and decided to keep things on a friendship