Page 10 of Fostering Chemistry
As my heart hammered in my chest, I realized I did. Maybe more than I should have, given the short time we’d known each other.
After an endless moment, his head dipped lower.
Then a voice came from the hall, making both of us jolt. “Where’d this come from?”
Aaron scrambled off me, and I sat up quickly, causing a wave of dizziness from the sudden movement. I smoothed my hair away from my face and tried to look innocent, but it was too late. Raymond was standing in the doorway, holding the escaped lampshade.
He’d seen us. The expression on his face showed surprise at first. Then it hardened into something resembling a sneer. “Close the door next time. No one wants to see that.” Disgust filled his voice as he turned his back and stormed into his room.
Aaron was leaning against the desk, breathing a bit harder than usual as he looked at me. “I’m sorry, I?—”
“Don’t.” I shook my head to negate his apology. He hadn’t done anything wrong, and neither had I—despite what Raymond thought. “These things happen sometimes when you’re flipping a mattress.” Though I couldn’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if Raymond hadn’t interrupted.
He nodded, but he still looked uncomfortable. “He was lying, you know.”
“What? Who?”
“Raymond.” He jerked his chin toward the closed door across the hall. “About no one wanting to see that. He was doing his fair share of looking at you, just now, and at the welcome meeting, too.”
Aaron’s tone sounded a little off. The friendly, relaxed manner we’d had for the past half hour had vanished. “He was?”
“Yep.” Aaron slid the desk back into place. “He—wait. Did he take your lampshade with him?”
Blinking, I looked around but couldn’t spot it. “I think he did.”
Suddenly, we were both laughing again, and the atmosphere between us returned to normal.
Mostly.
4
MIA
"Don't eat that,"a voice said from behind me. Guiltily, I set the jar of peanut butter back on the shelf and stepped out of the pantry.
Jenna leaned against the counter in black leggings and a soft pink sweatshirt that looked both cozy and classy. Her platinum blonde hair was cut in a short, choppy bob that I was envious of. My wavy strands rarely cooperated.
She frowned. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. When I was nine, I had a foster mother who said that practically every time I took a bite.”
“Because of the expense or the calories?"
She shrugged. "Both. You know the type. She scrutinized everything I ate and said it was because she wanted me to be healthy. I think she just wanted to save money."
"I definitely know the type." I’d encountered more than one foster parent like that. And once a very bossy foster sibling.
I leaned against the doorframe. I was glad to see Jenna. I hadn't seen her since the meeting Friday night even though our rooms both opened to a shared a bathroom. I hadn’t heard anything from her side, so I suspected she’d been out. And last night, I’d been out. I’d had dinner with Tori and Jayden and regaled them with the tale of Aaron and I wrestling the mattress into submission.
"Anyway, that peanut butter is on Evan's shelf, so it's off-limits.”
Oh, Evan. He was the one who’d been sitting next to her on the sofa at the welcome meeting.
"Sorry, I didn’t know."
"Of course you didn’t.” She squeezed past me and into the narrow pantry. The faint overhead light did little to illuminate the dusty shelves. “These really should be labeled. I think they were at some point."
She squinted up at an empty top shelf. "I guess that’s yours." She frowned, reaching up to touch it. "Maybe you could trade with one of the taller guys.”
“They’re all taller. Taller than us, at any rate."
