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“No, hun. Those valets were the nurses who had been chasing you. I was one of them. Although, I was laughing my ass off until you caught me. I looked away quickly; that's why you didn’t notice me.”
I burry my face in my hands before sighing and moving on to my next question. “Umm… My mom, Aimee, and I went to lunch together and went shopping. Aimee picked out this pretty dress, and my mom and I talked about what I thought had happened in the tub while she was trying it on. She gave me some good advice.”
“Your mother had stopped by because of the fountain incident. Your father wasn’t able to be there that day. Marlene joined, and all of you had a fairly pleasant meal together. And I’m not sure, but I think the shopping was probably her bringing you some new clothes, maybe picking them up from the laundry room. She does bring you stuff every time she’s here.”
“Okay, a tiny bit of this is starting to come back to me. But what about the coffee we had together? It felt so real...” I look away for the first time, trying to remember more details, but I come up short.
“That was mostly real. I took you to the cart just outside the main entrance, and we drank some coffee on the steps. You ended up having a panic attack by the giant tree outside, and then I took you to your room and laid you down. That's all.”
“Oh, I do remember you hitting my damn car and how smug you looked when you strolled up to my window. I had a bruise on my hip for days.”
“Actually, that's quite funny. But, also not how it happened." He laughs and kind of shakes his head before continuing. "I hit your hip with the door. I was purposely trying to get your attention."
"Seriously? So that means Aimee was standing with me and got as equally mad as I did?"
"Like I said, it was quite humorous. And… the crash? It happened before the coffee did. That crash is how we met.” He makes air quotes with his hands.
“Oh. Yeah. Right. That makes sense.” I look at my feet. “Well, what about the aquarium? Where we sat and watched the fish?” I ask.
“No aquarium; we just sat on the bench next to the pond and talked.”
“Okay, just a couple more questions before I go back to my room and think about my entire life.” I try to chuckle but can’t. “There was this one time...with Tyr... in the shower? Um, and I have no idea what that could be, and I hate to even ask, but like… I need to know.”
Alek turns red and runs his fingers through his hair. He is clearly embarrassed.
“Uhm, well. You were caught in the showers alone. You had somehow managed to get in there without a supervisor. To say it was steamy is an understatement. And before you ask, yes. I watched the entire thing.”
Just him admitting that the shower really was a shower has me clenching my legs together, remembering everything. The fact that he watched everything should creep me out, but it only turns me on more.
“Oh, of course. At least my mind didn’t make that up.” I chuckle nervously while looking down at my hands wrapped around my knees. There’s no way that I can look at his face right now.
“Nova.” His inked fingertips grab me by the chin and force me to look at him. “It’s fine. Trust me. No one else saw it. Just me and it helped everyone involved.”
I don’t think my cheeks can get any redder, but then he looks at my lips as he licks his own, and I feel like I might pass out. I try my best to regain my composure. I lean back, out of his grasp, and tuck my hair behind my ears.
“Okay, one last question. For now, at least.” He grins as he leans back and crosses his arms over his broad chest, waiting patiently. “Where’s Aimee? I mean, every time I think I see her, you tell me it’s this Marlene chick. I know she wouldn’t leave me in here without visiting as often as she can, so where is she?”
As soon as I mention Aimee, Alek’s face falls. He looks down at his folded arms, gripping them so tightly that his knuckles turn white. He looks like he wants to disappear into his scrub top. When he finally looks up at me, there’s a sadness in his eyes that matches the depths of space itself. My stomach twists in fear.
“Come with me, Min Stjärna,” he says quietly, reaching for my hand. He stands and leads me back to the room where he told me about my fucked-up-ness and my instability.
Once we’re sitting on the bed, he turns his entire body towards me and takes my other hand in his.
“You aren’t going to like what I am about to tell you. I mean, shit, I don’t even like what I’m going to tell you.” He shakes his head again, refusing to look me in the eye.
“What are you talking about? Alek, you’re scaring me.” His chest heaves in a massive, drawn-out sigh.
“Your friend Aimee didn’t make it.”
“What? What do you mean ‘didn't make it?’” My eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.
“Roger knocked you unconscious and put you in his car, then went back for Aimee. Authorities said they found her body that night once you were called in as a missing person.”
I pull my hands away and stand up, nervously pacing the floor and not wanting to look at Alek. This is too much. This is a lie. Aimee can’t be dead.
“No. No way. That’s not possible. Roger didn’t even see Aimee! She was on the beach when he grabbed me! She was so far away! And I spoke to her in the hospital after we were found, and she was totally fine. Aimee can’t be dead, she can’t!”
Alek stands up and grabs me firmly by the arms.
