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Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and I led her to my bedroom. I let her hand go when we were in my bathroom and turned the shower on. The water crashed against the bottom of the shower floor, and when it was the right temperature, I stepped back and smiled at her. “Get washed, and I’ll go find you something to sleep in.”
“Okay,” she whispered, and I hesitated to leave, but I had no choice. I couldn’t stay in here with her, not when she was this vulnerable.
I left the door open ajar, enough to hear her if she needed me, and pulled a T-shirt and some sweats out of my closet. Swiping through my cell, I resisted googling about mental health. I knew all it would do was send me down a rabbit hole, so I opened up my messages and clicked on Lola’s name.
Taking a deep breath, I glanced at the door, hearing the shower still running, then typed out a message.
Cade: If you had a student presenting with mental health problems, and their parents asked you who they could go to for help, what would you say?
I knew she wouldn’t message me back until the morning, but hopefully, she’d come back with an answer because whatever Aria was dealing with, her primary care doctor wasn’t going to be able to help. With Lola being a teacher too, I often asked her opinion on certain situations to do with students, so I knew she wouldn’t be surprised by the random message.
The water stopped, and I stood, pocketing my cell, an
d moving toward the bathroom door. “I found you some clothes.” I opened the door a little but kept my eyes averted as I passed them through to her.
“Thanks.”
I moved back while I waited for her to come out, and a couple of minutes later, she exited with her wet hair hanging over her one shoulder.
“You can sleep in here,” I told her, pointing at the bed. “I’m gonna sleep on the sofa.”
“You don’t have to do that, Cade.”
I smiled gently, a small quirk of my lips. “Yeah, I do. Get some rest.” I pulled my bedroom door open. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I waited until she had slipped into the bed, and even though I wished I could climb in with her and hold her all night, I couldn’t.
She rolled over, putting her back to me, and I waited until I could hear her soft snores, then went downstairs to the mess she’d created. I placed all of the items back in the bags, intent on returning them all for her tomorrow, and then lay down on the sofa. I kept the light on, just in case, and stared at the ceiling, once again wondering if I was doing the right thing by not telling anyone.
I hoped for Aria’s sake I was.
Chapter Nine
ARIA
I wasn’t sure what woke me up, but as I rolled over and felt the soft mattress under my back, I knew I wasn’t at home. The last time I’d woken up in this bed was the morning after Cade and I had slept together, and the day that followed was one of the worst in my life.
But today I had hope.
My body was frozen as I stared at the blinds on Cade’s bedroom window and remembered everything from last night. It was as if time had moved in blocks, and there were chunks I couldn’t quite remember and others that felt like a dream. It was a weird sensation, one I’d never experienced before, but I knew deep down it wasn’t normal.
Cade was right, I did need help, but only for this. I wasn’t willing to tell anyone about my self-harming. That was still too fresh, too raw, but this…this scared me. This made me second-guess everything that had ever happened in my life.
The murmuring of Cade’s voice vibrated through the bedroom floor, and I tried to listen to what he was saying, but couldn’t quite hear him. I had no idea what time it was, only that the sun was high in the sky, and I was drained. My body didn’t want to move, my brain didn’t want to think. I just wanted to lie here for days and never leave.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and then the creak of Cade’s bedroom door rang out. “Aria? Are you awake?”
“Yeah,” I croaked out, turning my head to face him. He was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, his sneakers on his feet and hair done, and if I hadn’t known better, I’d have said he’d left the house already. “What time is it?”
“Just after one in the afternoon.”
I shot up in the bed. “What? You let me sleep this long?”
“You needed it.” He stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed. “I went back to the mall this morning and returned all the clothes, so your mom and Sal don’t know anything happened.”
A lump formed in my throat and I glanced away from him, unable to bear looking into his eyes. “You did?”
“Yeah.” His hand reached for me and landed on top of mine. I stared down at his fingers as they curled around my palm. “And I made you an emergency appointment with a psychiatrist.”
“What? Why?” I shuffled away from him and climbed off the bed. I gripped my hair in my hands and stared at him. Why would he do that? Why would— “Do you think I’m crazy? Is that why you want me to go?”
