Page 7 of Stay With Me (She's With Me 2)

It takes me a second but I connect the dots pretty easily. Friday is when Aiden goes to the Tracks and races, which is how he makes most of his money. The twins probably spend that night at their friends … free babysitting for Aiden, I guess.

“What did you tell them?” I ask.

“I said I had to go out of town last minute and wanted Julian’s parents to watch them. They don’t seem to mind, though. They said Julian’s mom is making homemade waffles for breakfast and I’d better come quick to get some before they’re all gone. I’m so glad they weren’t home when Greg showed up, or when whoever killed him was there.”

His shoulders tense and there’s a tick in his jaw that appears whenever he mentions something that could harm the twins. It’s hard, thinking of something terrible happening to someone you love more than anything in the world. He’s practically the only father those boys will ever know, and them getting hurt must be Aiden’s biggest fear.

“They’re okay, Aiden,” I say, not knowing how to comfort him. “They’re safe.”

“There are so many unanswered questions. Why was Greg in front of my house? What did he want? Why did he have my old cell phone? Who killed him?” Aiden rubs his hands through his hair and I refrain from reaching out and soothing the tension from his brow.

“I’m sure the cops are working on it. This isn’t really the right way to say this, but at least you don’t have to worry about Greg ever again.”

“Good fucking riddance.”

The loud vibration of my phone against the hard counter interrupts us, and I pick it up to check what’s going on. “You probably haven’t been checking the group chat, but it’s basically been blowing up.”

All our friends have been wanting to know if Aiden is okay, how he’s feeling about the death of his loathed stepfather, and if he’s free and clear of any charges.

“We should all get together and have a conversation after I get the twins,” he suggests. “I doubt sending I’m fine back in the chat will go over well. Ten bucks says Anna punches me.”

I’m glad he’s finding humor in the situation. I poise my fingers over the phone’s keyboard. “What should I tell them? We can use my house if you want.”

“Tell them to come around seven, with some food.” He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m going to go check on the twins, see if I can come up with something to say to explain why we can’t go home for a while. Maybe I’ll see if they can stay at Tyler’s, that way it’s more fun for them.”

That conversation isn’t going to be easy, but neither is the one I’m going to have to have with Aiden, preferably sooner rather than later.

I can’t look at him as I say, “We’re going to have to have a serious talk too.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Thea.”

But I do. The guilt sits in a pit right in the middle of my chest. I’m leaving this town, leaving Aiden, and if I’m going to go, I need to leave him with the truth. Aiden’s been nothing but honest with me. He let me in when he really doesn’t let anyone in, so I want him to know me, the real me.

“It’s not about owing,” I say. “I need to tell you. All in, remember?”

I look away from him, willing my face to not turn bright red from his intense and unwavering gaze.

“Before everyone gets here tonight, you and I will talk,” Aiden says.

The rest of the afternoon moves slowly while I try to keep busy and not overthink. My mom sends me another text, just like her first one earlier this morning, reprimanding me again for letting Aiden stay the night, but what’s she going to do from Canada? I’m not really worried about getting on her bad side since she’s already ruining the semblance of a normal life I have by relocating me. When was the last time I had a boyfriend? When was the last time I felt as close to someone as I do to Aiden? The only boy who ever got somewhat close to me was Hunter, which was a few months ago when I was Hailey, but even he never got past a few dates. He never gave me mammoth-sized butterflies like Aiden does. He never made me feel safe and secure and completely at peace with who I am like Aiden does. In comparison to Aiden, Hunter was a blip on my radar while Aiden takes up the whole damn thing.

By the time Aiden texts me to let me know he’s on his way, I’ve vacuumed and mopped the entire house twice.

“Hey,” I greet him as he enters my house. “Where are the twins?”

“They wanted to stay and play with Bubba. We’re going to stay the night with Julian before we move into Mason’s, since we’re not cleared to go home. Tyler’s parents have some event tonight and some teenage babysitter can’t handle all three of them.” He laughs a bit as he takes his shoes off and follows me into the kitchen. “So they’re spending real time with Julian’s dog. They can see how much work goes into taking care of him, since they keep asking me for one.”

Laughing at the mental image of Jason and Jackson trying to play with Julian’s fifty-pound bulldog, I hand Aiden a glass of water.

“You’re moving into Mason’s?”

“Brian’s our legal guardian. The social workers are going to be checking up on us and stuff. Since my house is still a crime scene, we figured we might as well stay there for a bit until we can sort everything out.”

I nod, then bite my lip. The dark circles under his eyes do nothing to take away from the attractiveness of his face. Neither does the hard set of his jaw or the tension he holds in his back. I wish this wasn’t happening to him, that he could’ve been dealt a better hand.

“How did telling them about Greg go?”

“It was hard.” He lets out a heavy breath. “I sat them down and told them that a bad thing happened to Greg, and it was outside our home. They kept doing that twin thing where they lock eyes and communicate with each other without saying anything. I told them I’d go back home to pick up some things, but they were kind of freaked out when I told them we’d need to stay with Mason for a bit.” He releases a sad, humorless chuckle.

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