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“I missed you, too!” Asher shouted, wiggling out of Lola’s arms and then running toward me too. I barely stayed upright as he bashed into my legs.
“I missed you guys, too,” I said, a lump forming in my throat. I hadn’t seen them since the classroom incident, too afraid I’d cause more trouble, but it wasn’t until this moment I realized I shouldn’t have done that. It had been two weeks, and so far, Cade was still working at the school and wasn’t being carted away to jail, which meant Miss Simmons had believed me.
I’d seen her around him more, especially at practice on Wednesday. I hated the way she smiled at him, but more than that, I detested the way he grinned back at her. It was too much to bear, so I pushed all the feelings down, along with everything else.
“Hey, I want in this group hug, too!” Lola shouted, her heels clicking on the driveway as she walked toward us. She wrapped her arms around all three of us and sighed. “Ahh, that feels better.” Her hazel eyes met mine. “We all missed you, sweetheart.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’ve…I had some things going on.”
“You don’t have to explain,” Lola said, pulling back a little. “But if you want to talk, you know I’m here, right?”
I nodded and swallowed. I did know she was there, but I wouldn’t even know where to start. She’d never look at me the same, none of them would. I wouldn’t be Aria the quiet one. I’d become Aria the delicate one, or even worse, Aria the crazy one.
“I’m hungry,” Asher groaned and squirmed away from our group hug. “Mommy, I want juice and chips.”
Lola raised her brow and whispered, “He’s so much like his dad.” She rolled her eyes and turned to follow Asher. “Don’t you mean: Mommy, may I have some juice and chips, please?”
I heard his huff as I took Belle’s hand and together we walked up the driveway toward the front door. “May I have some juice and chips, please, Mommy?”
“Why, yes, Asher, you may have some juice and chips.” Lola grinned wide at him and unlocked the door, and I couldn’t help but smile at them. This was always the one place I could come to for refuge, and that was part of the reason why I’d been staying away. It was easier to wallow in sorrow than to pull yourself out of it.
Once we were inside, Lola set Asher and Belle up with a snack and let them watch TV. I wasn’t sure if Uncle Brody and Lola were going out tonight now that I was here, but either way, I wanted to be here.
“Uncle Brody is on his way home,” Lola commented as she opened the refrigerator door. She pulled out a couple of bottles of water and handed one to me. “We have about fifteen minutes of girl time.” Lola raised her brow and leaned against one of the counters in her huge kitchen. “So, talk.”
My eyes widened, and I cleared my throat. What did she want me to talk about? Surely she didn’t know something was happening with Cade. What girl time were we meant to be having? I—
“Aria.” Lola chuckled and took a swig of her water. “Don’t look so scared. I just want to know what’s been happening these last couple weeks. It’s been weird without you coming by all the time.”
“I…” I let out a breath and looked out into the backyard. The last time I’d been out there was the night I’d stayed at Cade’s. The same night I’d given him a piece of me no one else had. And then it had all disappeared, just like everything else in my life. “I’ve been adjusting to the new house.”
“It can be jarring to move out of the home you lived in for so long and into somewhere new. I get that.” I glanced over at her, but she was staring into the backyard too. “The house I lived in after my mom died was full of memories, mainly bad ones, but it was still sad to leave it behind when I moved here.” She shrugged and looked at me. “It’s hard to leave things like that behind.”
I blinked, not sure what to say. “It is hard.” I pulled in a deep breath. “Mom is hardly home, Sal either.”
Lola frowned. “So you’re home alone most nights?”
I shrugged, acting like it didn’t matter. “It’s nothing new. It’s been like this for years. It’s just I’m not used to having a big house all to myself.”
“You know you can stay here anytime, right? You can sleep in Cade’s room.”
My heart started to race, and I tried to keep my features schooled. There was no way I could stay in his room, not after everything that had happened. It would be too much, too raw. I couldn’t do it, but I wouldn’t tell Lola that. Instead, I said, “Thanks.”
“Sweetheart, are you sure there’s nothing else—”
“Dad’s home!” Belle shouted. Her footsteps pounded across the house, and the whoosh of the front door opening rang out. “Ford is here too!”
I wasn’t sure how to act or what to say. The last time I’d seen Ford was when I was in the hospital. I waited with bated breath as the sounds in the house got louder, and when Lola exited the kitchen, I stayed put. I couldn’t move my feet, no matter how hard I tried. I’d made a mistake coming here. I should have stayed away, at least until everything settled down, but now I was going to have to face Ford, knowing he knew what Cade and I had done.
It was too much. The weight of an elephant was on my chest, and I wasn’t sure when the last full breath I had taken was. I needed to breathe. I needed to center myself. I needed…
I needed to leave.
I needed to get out and get home, but when footsteps neared the kitchen, I didn’t have time to escape unnoticed.
“Hey, baby girl,” Uncle Brody’s deep voice greeted. He wrapped his arms around me, and I allowed him to pull me to his chest. I couldn’t speak, afraid of what would tumble out of my mouth if I opened it. “You’re staying for dinner, yeah? Gonna get takeout.”
“I vote pizza!” Ford shouted, causing Belle to groan.
