Connection (Le Garde) (22 page)

My phone ringing interrupted us. I hesitated before going for it. I wasn’t going to, but I thought it might be my mom.

No. It was Aaron.

Huffing, I threw the phone back into my purse.

“
Who was it?” Steven asked in that gruff voice he used when we were making out.

“
Aaron,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. I put my hands on his chest and leaned in for another kiss, but he put his hands up and stopped me.

“
Why is he calling you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t answer.”

His brow furrowed, and he glanced toward my purse. I took his hands and placed them on my hips. “It doesn’t matter,” I whispered. I kissed him on the cheek, then the ear. I led my lips down to his neck, and he started massaging my thighs as he had at the stands. That sent waves of warmth up my legs, and I pushed closer to him.

My phone buzzed again, alerting me to a voicemail. Steven’s hands stopped.

“
Steven,” I groaned.

“
It’s just weird, what does he want?” Steven asked.

“
Probably help with homework.” I nibbled on his ear.

“
I’m going to listen to the voicemail.”

I sat up quickly, grabbing for his hand as it reached for the purse. “No.”

He stared at me. “Why not?”

I let out a breath slowly. I wouldn’t look like I had something to hide. I’d had that conversation with Aaron today because I hadn’t wanted to lie to Steven anymore, but now I had that damn kiss hanging over my head. “Can’t we just make use of the time we have right now?” I ground my hips into his. He moaned, and I wanted to rip off all his clothes right then.

He grabbed my hips, holding me still. “I just want to know why he called.”

I sighed and leaned back a bit. “He kissed me today.”

Steven’s mouth fell open. “He
what
?”

I shrugged. “He kissed me.”

“
That little shit,” he said, staring over my shoulder.

“
I kissed him back,” I said quietly.

His whole body stiffened.

“
I pushed him away, and I yelled at him, but.
 
.
 
.I did kiss him back, at first.”

He nudged me, and I wasn’t sure what he was doing until he pressed me a little harder. I got off of his lap and slouched on the seat next to him. “Steven, it was—”

He got out of the car. I hurried to get out, too, and walked around the car to meet up with him. “Steven, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you, but you deserve to know.”

He crossed his arms and stared at the lookout. “Why would you kiss him back?”

My shoulders sagged. “I don’t know. I guess I wanted to know how it felt. I mean, he’s liked me for a while, and.
 
.
 
.maybe I wondered what it would be like.” I shook my head. “But it doesn’t matter, okay? I’m with you.”

He turned to face me, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “How could you make out with me for so long without telling me?”

“
I—I don’t know,” I said, frowning. “I just wanted to forget about Aaron.”

“
Would you have told me at all if he hadn’t called?”

I struggled to find the true answer.

Steven scoffed and opened the driver’s door. “I think it’s time for you to go home.” He got in the car and slammed his door.

I walked over to the passenger’s seat and silently got in. Steven started the ignition and pulled out. He spun around too quickly, and I scrambled to put my seatbelt on. “Slow down, please,” I told him.

“
What the hell is it with you and him?” he asked.

I couldn’t tell him the true answer because Aaron didn’t want me to. I didn’t know if I would have, anyway. “I told you, we were best friends for a long time.”

“
And now that you’re friends again, are you just going to throw me out?”

“
No, of course not! I’m with you—”

“
But you’re kissing Aaron.”

“
He kissed me!”

“
And you kissed him back!”

“
For a few seconds, maybe! I told you I’m sorry.”

He hardly stopped at a stop sign.

“
Steven, come on. Slow down.”

“
Was this the only time?”

“
Yes, I swear.” He turned sharply, and my head hit the window. “Ow! Slow down!”

“
You
swear
this was the only time? Just like you
swear
he’s only a friend? Just like you
swear
you want to be with me and not him?”

“
Yes, it was the only time!” I said, my voice hitching.

He shook his head, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.

“
There’s a stop sign coming up.”

“
No, there’s not.”

“
Yes, there is! That tree is in the way until the last minute, and—”

“
The other street has a stop!”

“
Steven, if you don’t slow down, I’m never getting in a car with you again!” I yelled.

“
Oh, what a loss! No more meaningless make-out sessions! No more lies! No more Aaron!” The stop sign finally came into view. “
Shit
!” He hit the breaks, the tires squealing. We sped past the stop sign into the street, and a car barreled into us on Steven’s side. The world exploded in a flood of glass, pain, and screams.

Aaron

Anna’s panic hit me as I was contemplating calling her again. It was a sharp cry, like a slap to my face, then it was gone. My ears rang with what sounded like her scream, and I sprung up off of my couch. I put on my dad’s sandals before I raced out of the house. I called her cell phone as I ran to her house. No answer.

I pounded on her front door once I got there. Ginger opened the door.

“
Is Anna here?” I asked.

Ginger shook her head. “No, she’s not home yet.”

I swore loudly and spun around. Where was she? What had happened? I closed my eyes and concentrated, like she might call out to me again. That had never happened before, but we’d never turned lights on with our touch before, either.

I had a feeling she might be west, so I set off running. The soles of my feet pounded on the blacktop, unprotected by the thin soles of my dad’s sandals, and they started to ache after a few minutes. Maybe this was pretty stupid. Maybe it was just a mistake. Maybe she was in a fight with Steven or something.

But
no
, it’d been true panic and fear. I’d felt it as though she were standing right next to me.

As I ran past the junior high school, I felt Anna in the area. Shouts echoed in the air to my right, and I turned a corner. Two cars sat in the intersection ahead, glass scattered across the street. One was a truck, the front hood dented. The other was a small, green car, the driver’s side nearly folded in on itself. Steven’s car. Anna was panicking, her desperation and fear washing over me.

I raced to the intersection. A few men had crowded around the car. The windows were blasted out, and Anna’s screams filled the air. My heart slammed against my chest at that sound. I pushed past people to the passenger’s side.

A woman was standing by the open window, trying to calm Anna down. “Honey, honey, it’s okay. I called—”

“
Anna!” I pushed the woman aside and
wrenched open the door.

Anna had her back to me, her hands on Steven. Blood covered his face, and after I leaned in, I could see his leg was stuck between the the door and the steering wheel. The sight of more blood on his jeans, staining the denim, made me nauseous. People on the other side of the car were trying to help pry open the driver’s door.

“
Anna,” I said, touching her arm, careful to keep my hand over her sleeve.

She shrugged me off, sobbing. “We have to get him out.”

“
Anna, if we try to move him, we could just hurt him more.” I heard sirens in the distance. “Paramedics are coming, and they’re going to help him.” I pulled on her arms, and she shoved me away. She didn’t even look at me.

“
He’s bleeding,” she said between shuddering sobs.

“
He’s going to be okay,” I said, rubbing her shoulders. She leaned into me, keeping her hands on Steven’s arm. I saw blood on her face, and I tried to pull her back again, but she struggled against me.

Within seconds, the ambulances arrived. A paramedic helped me pull Anna from Steven, assuring her they would get him out. He led her to an ambulance and sat her on the edge to assess her wounds. A gash on her forehead was the reason for the blood on her face, and he immediately started cleaning it.

She finally looked at me, and her sobs slowed. I sat down next to her, and she grabbed my arm. She hissed in pain when the man picked pieces of glass out of her face and neck. Her eyes stayed locked with mine for a few minutes until they finally pulled Steven out of the car. She stood up, holding onto my arm.

They pulled Steven onto a stretcher and carted him toward the ambulance next to us. Anna stepped forward, and the paramedic put his hand on her shoulder. “You can’t see him right now. Let’s go to the ER. You’re going to need stitches in your forehead.”

Anna nodded, dazed. “What about his car? Has someone called his parents?”

“
The police found the registration, and they made the call,” the paramedic said. How did he know that? I’d been paying attention to Anna. And Steven, kind of. Now that I looked around, I realized I hadn’t even noticed the police cars that had joined us, the policemen walking around, the flares, the cars backed up. “They’ll come to the ER to ask you questions. What’s your name?”

“
Anna.”

“
Come on, hon. Let’s go.”

“
Aaron’s coming with me,” Anna said, giving the paramedic a steady look.

The paramedic glanced at me and nodded. “Get in.”

We sat in the back of the ambulance. Anna wrapped her scarf around her hand and grasped mine. We stared down at our clasped hands, both of us wishing there was no need for the scarf. Anna let out a shaky breath and leaned her head on my shoulder.

We were at the hospital in minutes, and Anna wouldn’t go anywhere without me. I sat in the ER while they gave her stitches, while the police questioned her, while she asked everybody who walked by how Steven was. She never let go of my hand. The nurse left us alone, and Anna leaned against me again. Her forehead brushed against my chin, and we shocked each other. She just moved her head a little to the side so there was a couple inches of space between our skin.

She wasn’t panicking anymore, but she was still worried about Steven. Underneath that was a huge sense of guilt, and I couldn’t understand why.

“
Anna, this isn’t your fault,” I whispered.

“
Yes, it is.”

“
No, it’s not. Why would you think that?”

“
I told him about our kiss, and he was angry.” She sounded miserable. “I never should have told him. He was speeding, and he didn’t see the stop sign in time.”

“
You said you didn’t want to lie to him anymore,” I said softly. “You did the right thing.”

She looked at me sharply. “I could have just pretended it never happened. He wouldn’t have had any idea, and we would have been fine.”

I pursed my lips. Of course I didn’t want Steven to know about the kiss, but I also knew Anna would have felt guilty for not telling him.

“
But now he’s in the ER!” Anna rose her voice. “How is that any better, Aaron? How?” She tore her hand from mine, flinging the scarf away.

“
It’s not better, but you had no idea this would happen. Steven was the one speeding—”

She slapped me, and a burst of energy left us. The lights in our room went out.

She gasped. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Aaron, I’m just upset.” Her voice sounded on the verge of tears.

I touched the side of my face gingerly; that kind of hurt.

The lights in the hallway were still on. She gently took my hands, and we turned the lights back on. She held my hands after that, and we kept a steady current. “I’m sorry.”

“
I know. It’s okay.”

A nurse came into the room, and Anna let go of my hands. The lights stayed on. “Is Steven okay?” Anna asked.

“
He’s going to be fine,” the nurse said softly.

Anna sagged in relief.

“
His leg is broken, so he’s in surgery right now,” the nurse said. “He woke up for a little while, but they put him under for the surgery. When he wakes up, he’ll probably have a concussion. There’s some other cuts and scrapes, a few stitches on his forehead, but he’s going to be all right.”