Saving Sloan (Sloan Series Book 2) (11 page)

It was Aaron’s time to add his two cents. “Are you taking those pills again?”

She stopped in her tracks and wanted to slap him.

“Pills? What pills? You’re taking drugs?” Her mom was freaking out. And she didn’t even know about the stalker part yet.

Aaron accusing her of taking drugs hurt Sloan more than she ever thought possible. She trusted him. Part of her even… liked him. And here he, in front of her mother, accused her of drugs! How dare he.

“Answer him, Sloan,” her mother interjected. Sloan could tell by the tone of her mother’s voice that she believed him. Tears stung her eyes when she looked at the three people, the three people she cared about most in this world, looking at her like she was doing something wrong.

“I. Am. Not. Nor. Have. I. Ever. Done. Drugs.” She enunciated each word and looked at each of them individually. “The only thing I took today was aspirin. That’s it. I don’t know why I’m so tired, but it probably had to do with not getting enough sleep, or, I don’t know, being scared out of my mind with this psychopath after me. How about we focus on that?”

She was shaking.
Angry
shaking. How dare they accuse of her things when someone was stalking her!

“Whoa!” Her mom threw her hands up in the air. “You have a stalker. Sloan Bridges, why am I just hearing about this now?”

“Great.” She laughed through the tears. “This is exactly how I wanted to tell my mom. Thanks, Aaron. Just thanks.”

She stared at him, hoping he got how furious she was at him. He could have taken her outside and had a private conversation with her. He hadn’t needed to ask her right in front of God and everyone.

“Stalker or not. Roses or not. You’re acting funny, Sloan. Not yourself. I’m worried about you. We all… we care,” Aaron said, looking at her with the same intensity he had all evening.

He could take his intensity and shove it for all she cared.

“You have until three to tell me what’s going on.” Her mother threw her purse down on the empty island, the island that once had the letters
ICU
on it. Sloan knew they had been there, so where were they now?

“One.” Her mother said.

“They were here,” Sloan told Aaron, not paying any attention to her mother’s countdown. “They were here.” She never took her eyes off Aaron. She hated him at that second, but she had to make him understand. He was the only one she could look at. The only one she could focus all of her attention on. “Rose petals. They were all over the island.”

“Two.”

“Mother, stop!” she yelled. She’d never yelled at her mother, but she couldn’t stop herself. “I’m trying to explain, but you won’t let me.”

“You aren’t explaining,” her mom yelled back at her. They were all screaming apparently. “You’re talking about roses and the island and whatever else. I don’t understand, Sloan. Are you on drugs?”

“No, Mom. I’m not. I swear I’m not. And I’m not crazy. They were right here. The roses. The petals. They were here.”

She looked from her mom to Aaron to Ray. None of them looked like they believed her. Great. Just wonderful. “You know what. Forget it. Just forget it. I’m done.”

Sloan turned and ran out the back door. She stumbled a few times when she got out there and had to catch herself on the car hood. What in the world was happening to her? Boyd had hit her pretty hard in the head back in December. Was she having side effects from Boyd throwing her against the sink and hitting her head on the faucet? Sleepiness? Drowsiness? Insanity?

She shut her eyes and bowed her head while holding on to the hood. She didn’t want to be insane. She’d seen it. She’d
seen
it. She knew she had. The flowers had been in her car. They had been in her room. They had been in her locker! She hadn’t made them up. Okay, so no one else had seen them, but that didn’t mean she’d made them up.

Pressure on her shoulder made her yell and turn around. Aaron looked down at her, heat filling his eyes. “Freaking out or pouting?”

“Excuse me?” she huffed.

“Are you out here freaking out or pouting? ‘Cause I can leave you alone if you are pouting. It’s your right. If you’re freaking out, I might be able to help.”

“Like I’d want your help,” she bit back. “If you’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“I never said you were crazy. Let’s just get that straight right now.”

He was so close she could hit him if she wanted. So close she could hug him if she needed. “I saw the flowers. I saw them. They were in my car on Sunday, in my locker on Monday, and delivered to my house this morning. I know no one else has seen them, but…”

Aaron took her by the shoulders, firm but gentle. He bent down to look right at her eyes. “I don’t think you’re crazy. I think… I think you need help. I think maybe you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.”

“With the drugs?” she barely said over a whisper. He couldn’t really believe that, could he?

“Just tell me what you’re taking, Sloan. I can help you.”

“Why do you keep thinking I’m taking drugs?” she yelled. This was getting nowhere fast. How could he have jumped to such a wrong conclusion so quickly?

He wiped his mouth with his hand in a sign of frustration. At least that’s how she took it. He could be wiping away crumbs for all she knew. “Your eyes are bloodshot and you have black circles under them like you haven’t slept for days, but you say you sleep a lot. You’re frustrated, upset easily…”

She cut him off. “Anyone would be frustrated and upset easily. You all are jumping to conclusions. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Paranoid.” He kept right on going. “I’ve seen it before, remember? I know how these things look.”

“You think I’m hallucinating. You think none of this is real.”

“I think
you
think it’s real.
I
think it’s very real to you, and you convinced Ray it’s real because he went to talk to Boyd and his mother. I’m not a fan of Boyd’s, by any means, but he’s one hundred percent in a wheelchair. He’s not getting out anytime soon. He can’t be stalking you. Didn’t you freak out yesterday and call the police because you thought you saw someone watching you from across the road?”

She nodded, not liking where this was going.

“Okay. They didn’t find anyone, did they? No sign of anyone, right?”

She shook her head, getting very sick to her stomach.

“See. No one was there. No one is stalking you. It’s whatever you’re taking making you see these things. Honey, it’s alright. We can help you. My mom did the same thing.”

It felt like he’d punched her in the stomach. His mother, Susan, had been a known drug user, and to be compared to her hurt worse than she could ever have imagined.

“I don’t know what’s going on with me,” she said, fighting not to let her voice quiver. “I have no idea, but I know that I’m not taking drugs. I know that, and you have to believe me. I’ve just been taking some aspirin.”

“And whatever Darcy gave you yesterday,” he added.

“Just a pain pill. And I saw the flowers on Sunday before I took anything from her. I swear to you, I haven’t taken anything else.”

Her legs started shaking, and she knew what it had to mean. “So either whoever this is can get into my house whenever he or she wants, or I had a worse head injury than I thought when Boyd attacked me… or I’m crazy.”

Aaron did something she would never have seen coming in a million years. He pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think you’re crazy. I don’t know what’s going on, but I promise I’ll get to the bottom of it. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

She settled down in his arms, furious at him, but happy to be held, because, frankly, she felt like she was falling apart. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ray peeking out the window. When he noticed she’d seen him, he averted his eyes and walked away.

“The flower shop!” She jumped out of Aaron’s arms, making him jump as well.

“The what?”

“The flower shop! They should have a record of who sent the flowers to me this morning. That would prove I’m not crazy, right? Do you think they are still open?”

“I doubt it. It’s already after seven. You know this town rolls up before the sun goes down.”

She knew it all too well. “We can call them in the morning.”

Aaron nodded. “In the morning. Think your mom will let you stay home from school?”

“I think I don’t care if she does. I’m going.”

“Sloan…”

She was determined with this. “No. This is important to me. I missed way too much after Boyd attacked me, and I’m not missing it now. Mrs. Knight got all snooty with me for missing Biology today and next week is pig dissection, and I’d like to actually be there for that, strange as it sounds, and…”

“Okay!” He held his hands up, defeated. She could swear he had a hint of amusement in his eyes. It was nice to see him going back to his old self instead of the intense, slightly jerky guy he had been. “Go to school. Do what you want. Just be careful, okay?”

“So you think I’m not crazy or making it up or it’s all in my head?”

“I think we don’t know what’s going on, and it’s best to be safe.”

It was as good of a plan as any.

He held out his hand. “Can you come in and tell your mother what’s been happening? She’s sort of lost. I am too, to be honest. I mean, Ray filled me in on some of the details, but I don’t think any of us know everything.”

Sloan let out a long breath. “Will you believe me if I take the time to tell you, or will you all think it’s in my head?”

“Would you rather be crazy or have a stalker?”

Good question. “Neither, if I had a choice.”

He smiled and pulled her toward the back door. His hand reached for the doorknob, but he hesitated and turned toward her. “Ray wanted to come out here and check on you, but I beat him to it.”

“Okay…” She dragged the word out, very confused.

“I’m telling you that because you should know that I know he’s like crazy… for lack of a more tasteful word… for you.” Aaron stepped a few inches closer, so close she could climb on her tiptoes and kiss him if she wanted.

Sloan swallowed very hard. Was this all part of her hallucination too?

“I’ve sat back and watched him woo you. He’s doing a good job. Taking you to prom and all. He’s nice. He’s a great guy, and any girl would be happy to have him. But…”

“But?” She gulped. The way he looked at her. The position of his body to hers. This couldn’t be happening. Not now.

“But I want you to know that it’s not the best timing and I realize that, but know one thing about my brother.”

“What?”

“He’s not me.” He bent down and took her lips with his. At first, Sloan stood in shock. There was no way Aaron Hunter’s lips were on hers. No way he was kissing her outside her house after accusing her of doing drugs.

His tongue wasn’t parting her lips…

His fingertips weren’t barely touching the small of her back, pushing her toward him…

He wasn’t kissing her…

He wasn’t…

But he so was.

When it hit her, really hit her, she gave in and closed her eyes, enjoying something she’d wanted to do since the first time she’d met Aaron on Brown Hollow Road in December. Everything else slid away, and her mind went totally blank. It was the most relaxed she’d been in months — and the most excited.

She wrapped her arms around his back and held on as he kissed her harder, more needy. Before she knew it, he walked her backward until her back slammed against the concrete holding up the porch. He pinned her between his body and the wall.

Gentleman
wasn’t a word she’d use to describe Aaron, but he didn’t go too far. His hands rested on the waistband of her pants, never dropping an inch below.

Finally, her ears began working again, a roar at first then the swirling of sounds. When she could focus again, it wasn’t a swirling. It was her mother standing in the doorway. “Care to explain?” she said sternly.

At first, Sloan really wanted her mom to go away. She wiped her mouth and gently pushed Aaron back so she could have some room to breathe. It was difficult to talk to her mother with Aaron — handsome, ever so kissable Aaron — so close.

“I… uh…” Yeah, that wasn’t embarrassing at all.

“Get in here and tell me what’s going on, young lady. All of it. Ray said something about you being threatened. I want answers, not to see
this
going on out outside my house.”

“You and me both,” Sloan mumbled. She leaned her head back on the cool concrete to try to get her composure. She’d been kissed before. Boyd used to kiss her all the time. He wasn’t the first, but she thought he’d done a fine job at the time. That was… until Aaron. Wow. Just. Wow.

Her toes were still curling.

A much different kisser from Ray.

Holy Hannah! She’d just kissed her prom date’s brother while her prom date was inside talking to her mother. Could this day get any more complicated?

“Now, Sloan,” her mother demanded again, pointing inside the house.

Sloan looked up at Aaron, who had his thumb rubbing against his bottom lip. A one-sided grin pulled on his mouth, and he, at least, was good enough to look embarrassed. She swallowed hard, wishing she was rubbing her lips against his, following the trail of his thumb, and walked past him as fast as she could into the house.

She leaned on the island for support and took a few deep breaths. It took a few seconds to notice Ray sitting on the other side of the island. When their eyes met, he looked down and his jaw clenched. He knew.

Her mom scooted out of the way so Aaron could come in, but glared as he passed. Kissing her daughter hadn’t obviously been on her mom’s mind when he went out to talk to her. With Ray at the far end of the table, Aaron on her left, and her mom across on her right, it felt like an interrogation or a very uncomfortable dinner party.

“Tell me what’s going on. From the top.” Her mom scooted out a chair and sat down expectantly.

Sloan told them everything, from the roses in her car on Sunday to the flowers this morning from the florist. She even told about the note, which caused her mom to nearly freak out.

“And neither of you saw the flowers?” her mom asked the guys when she was able to form words again.