Page 46 of One Wild Ride

EIGHTEEN

Alexander

She brought painwherever she went. My mother. Her words, her actions, only rotted away lives that were happy before she entered them.

I used to feel bad for my mother. I used to think she was the victim in this world. But youth had a habit of making any parent seem perfect.

I watched Aria sleep after her confession. Lying next to her as thoughts about my life, my mother, and this stunning artist swirled in my head. My heart ached knowing my mother tried to twist Aria’s life into one of the pieces on her board game. It was coming together. All of it.

Of course, my mother knew of Aria. She probably planted her to begin with. Maybe even three years ago when I first saw her in that gallery.

What I feared was that she might have known Aria far longer than three years.

Nothing was an accident with Emma Hawthorne, despite what she may say. The only thing that I haven’t been able to figure out was why?

Why use so many people? Why control your son’s life to the point that he won’t go outside in the daytime? My mother may be evil but she wasn’t crazy.

“What time is it?” Aria’s head lifted from the pillow, her hair stuck to her cheek. My chest rolled with an intense twinge. I wanted to see that silly, sexy, sweet look every day.

“It’s about six in the evening. I’m getting hungry. Do you want to get something to eat?” I asked as I turned to my side to face her in bed.

I wanted to kiss her. Pull her close to me, but I knew now wasn’t the time. She needed to relax after opening up.

“Yes. That’s sounds great. What’s good to eat around here?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea. Why don’t we take a walk and find out?”

She smiled and when her hand lifted to my cheek, I felt my heart stumble. Now I really wanted to touch her and never leave this bed.

But we did leave and after a few minutes, we were walking down the street. I had been to this place many times but never came out for a walk. Mainly strip malls and gas stations.

“Not very scenic,” Aria said.

“I don’t know about that. I like it here. Everything is what it is. It doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. Like over there,” I pointed to a sign at a strip mall, “it just says laundromat. Nothing fancy. If you need to do laundry, you know exactly where to go.”

Aria laughed and slipped her fingers into mine sending prickles up my arm. “You’re right. I never thought of it that way. How about that place? Sausage, Chicken, & Fries. I have a pretty good idea what I’m going to get in there.”

“I think we found where to get food, and we didn’t even need the Internet,” I said.

We walked over and ordered our food. There wasn’t any place to sit and eat so we took it back to the motel.

I ordered most of their menu and realized, after we ate half of it, not to order food when I was ravenously hungry.

I leaned back in the small chair in our room. “I think my stomach might explode.”

“But what about dessert? We haven’t even gotten to that yet. You’re a lightweight,” Aria said before taking another bite of her fried chicken breast.

“My God, woman, how can you eat so much? You’re so tiny.”

“Pacing. Any true food connoisseur knows to spread out the meal. Take lots of small bites and never fill up on water. Water is for losers.”

I threw my head back and laughed. I don’t know when I had enjoyed myself that much. It was nice talking about nothing with someone and knowing they weren’t going to run off and tell my mother everything I said.

“You can have the dessert. I’m going to lie down on the bed and let that food work its way through me.”

“Unbutton your jeans,” Aria said after she wiped a napkin across her mouth.

“What?”

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