“Oh,” Dylan replied.
Sacha's heart went out to him. He looked a wreck, like he hadn't slept in days. He had dark rings under his eyes, and the stress of what had been going on between him and Aimee was visible in his eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Dylan ran his fingers through his hair quickly, then sighed. He shook his head and replied quietly, “No. No, I'm not.”
Sacha put her hand tenderly on his shoulder. “I'm so sorry this is happening between the two of you. It sucks. I wish I could do something to help, but you just have to give her time, Dylan. Her heart has been hurt and she needs to get to a place of peace.”
Dylan nodded. “I know. I completely screwed up, but if she still loves me, like I love her, then we can work this out. I know.” He looked into Sacha's face. She noticed his eyes were dewy.
“I'm pretty good at gut feelings, and I know Aimee. I think it will work out...”
Dylan cut in, “You do?”
“Yep, but you just have to give her some time and space.”
Dylan wiped the back of his neck, then stuck his hands into pockets. “That's the part that's killing me. She won't talk to me, and I've tried to give her space...”
“Really?” Sacha said.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“So, the texts and voice messages daily give her space?”
“She's told you about those?”
Sacha replied, “Yes.”
Dylan shrugged. “I can't just sit and do nothing to try to work this out. I'm lost without her.”
Sacha nodded as they slowly started to walk towards the door. “I'm sure you are, and I hate this, but give her some more time. Okay?”
Dylan took a long breath, let it out, then answered, “Okay, but please tell her I was here, and I love her with all my heart, and I'll be waiting for her when she's ready.”
“Okay, Dylan,” Sacha agreed, “I'll tell her.”
“And I hope she feels better. If she is still sick in the morning, get her to go to the doctor, okay?”
“I'll try, but Aimee hates doctors.”
“I know, but I worry about her.”
Sacha nodded. “I know, Dylan, we all do.”
With that, Sacha watched him walk out to his FJ, get in, and drive off. She shut the door and leaned against it thinking about Dylan. Even though he cheated on Aimee, and with the worse bitch he could have, her heart still went out for him. It was very obvious how bad he felt about it, and how much this was tearing him up. She sighed a long, sad sigh and decided she wouldn't tell James about Dylan coming over. James was pretty pissed at him for what he had done to his little sister, although he really didn't know what Dylan had done.
The next morning Aimee had class at nine. She awoke at 7:20 am. Her stomach hurt from all of the vomiting, and her chest was a little tight from the coughing, but otherwise she felt like she could make it to class. She got up, threw on a robe, and wandered into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” Sacha greeted. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Aimee answered through a scratchy throat.
“Want some coffee?” Sacha asked.
Aimee shook her head. “No, I think I'll stick with bland today, some ginger ale, if there's some left, and a piece of dry toast.”
Sacha quickly pulled from the refrigerator the bottle of soda and the loaf of bread. “Here.”
“Thanks,” Aimee responded, then she began to fix something to eat.
Sacha stood against the counter watching Aimee prepare her breakfast. She took a sip of coffee, then put her cup down. “He came by last night,” popped out.
Aimee abruptly turned around. “Who?”
“Dylan,” she answered matter-of-factly.
Of course, Aimee had managed to overhear the whole conversation, but she didn't let on. “Really? What did he want?”
“He really, really misses you, Aimee, and he was worried because he hadn't heard from you.”
“I know,” Aimee said as she took her piece of toast and glass of ginger ale to the table.
Sacha joined her with her cup of coffee. She looked back at her closed bedroom door, then lowered her voice. “I don't want James to know he was here because he'll get mad, but we talked for a few minutes last night, and geez, the guy looks terrible, like he hasn't slept since this has happened.”
“Well, I haven't either,” Aimee commented.
“I know. This is gonna be the death of you both until you can talk it out and decide what to do.”
Aimee shook her head. “I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it with him.”
Sacha put her hand on Aimee's arm and looked at her intensely. “Do you still love him?”
Aimee noticed her fingers shaking, and not from being weak. Her breathing jumped into overtime, and her heart fluttered, and not the kind of flutter from being scared or nervous, but the kind where you love someone so much it causes the heart to race. Still, getting past what had happened seemed impossible. Sacha waited patiently for Aimee to answer. Finally, after forever, she looked down into plate at her toast, then softly replied, “Yes, I still love him.”
“Good,” Sacha quickly replied, “because if ever there were two people meant for each other, it's you and Dylan. Somehow, someway, you've gotta get past this and talk to the man. He's sorry and I'm sure it'll never happen again. Aimee, you need to let you heart heal. He's your soul mate, just like James is mine. You might never get this chance again to find someone who loves you like he does.”
Now the fluttering had migrated to her head. Sacha was right. Absolutely right, but putting the image of him and Brandi away and locking it in the dungeon of her brain was the hurdle she hadn't been able to do, especially when she had to go to the mall store and see the little witch.
Aimee nodded and looked up at Sacha. “You're right. I'm working on it, Sach. I just need a little more time.”
“Well, take it, and if you need to talk, I'm always here for you.”
Aimee managed a smile. “Thanks,” she answered. She looked at the kitchen clock. “I've gotta get going so I'm not late to class.”
“Me, too,” Sacha replied.
Quickly, Aimee was in and out of the shower, feeling better from the warm water. Her conversation with Sacha weighed on her mind. She knew Sacha was right. She had to get past this, even if her heart wasn't quite ready to heal. But, today wasn't the day to talk with Dylan. She felt like a semi-truck had run her over, and she needed to get to school, then on to work. She figured Jeff wasn't happy with her for missing two days in a row.
As she walked from her first class to the library, her phone in the backpack vibrated loudly. She yanked it out and spotted Dad on the screen.
“Hey, Dad,” Aimee began after she stuck her cell phone to her ear. She stopped and sat down on a bench to visit. “Yeah, I know. I'm guilty, but I've been crazy busy.”
Silence.
“Okay, I promise I'll call more often.”
Silence.
“Enough about me. How are you and Hannah?”
Silence.
“I didn't know Hannah had a sister in Boise. You going this weekend?”
Silence.
“A wedding? That sounds like a lot of fun.”
Silence.
“Well, that's really sweet of Mel to let you fly one of his planes there. Tell Mel I said hi, and the next time I come home I wanna go flying with him.”
Silence.
“Dad, it sounds like you two are really happy. Marriage has been good, huh?”
Silence.
“We're...uh...” she stuttered, trying to not answer in a way that gave her father any clue she and Dylan were separated, “we're good.” She took a deep breath. Lying about traveling wasn't hard, but lying to her father about her relationship with Dylan tore at her heart.
Silence.
“I'm not sure. I'm doing okay with all of my classes, but Jeff has me working more hours than I really want to work.”
Silence.
/> “Yeah, I know Dad. But I feel like I need to pull my part.”
Silence.
“Sure. I promise we'll come home for the break. It may only be for a couple days, but we'll be there.”
Silence.
“How's Z Boy?”
Silence.
“I know. I miss him, too.”
Silence.
“Tell Hannah hi. I'll let everyone know you called. You know, you can call James and Sacha, too.”
Silence.
“Yeah, I don't see them much, but they're good. Crazy busy, too.”
Silence.
“Okay, Dad. I love you, too. See you soon.”
Silence.
Aimee ended the call and stuck her phone back into her pack. She hurried on to the library to study. After a couple hours she had to head to work. When she came out of the library, sitting on a bench in front of the main doors was Dylan. He had his earbuds in his ears. Quickly, he snapped off his music and removed his earbuds. Aimee stopped suddenly. Dylan got up off the bench and started towards her. He had a twinkle in his eyes. Both stared into each other's eyes. Aimee wondered what she should do next. She knew she needed to talk to him, but not now. She wasn't ready, and besides, she didn't feel well enough for any drama today. Still, a smile spread on its own across her lips. She had missed looking into his beautiful, chocolate eyes.
“Hey,” he said as she stopped at the bottom of the steps where he waited. “How are you feeling?”
“Better, but not great,” she answered.
“I'm sorry. I stopped by yesterday and Sacha said you had been really sick.”
“Yeah, I musta ate something that didn't agree with me.”
“That sucks,” he said.
“Yeah, I haven't been that sick in a very long time.”
“I would have taken care of you,” he said.
Aimee smiled at him. “Hey, I need to get to work.” The unexpected encounter had the queasiness flaring in her stomach. She didn't feel well enough to do this right now.
“Can I walk with you?” he asked.
Aimee shrugged, then replied, “You don't have a class?” She started walking towards the parking lot with Dylan accompanying her.
“Yeah, but not until two,” he answered. “Here, let me take your backpack.”
Dylan slid it off her shoulder before she could protest. “So, how did you know I was at the library?”
“I had to get a book, and I saw you studying in one of the study rooms.”
“Oh,” she replied. “And you waited for me?”
“Yeah. You don't mind, do you?”
Aimee glanced at him. His full attention was on her, nothing else. He did look worn out, like he hadn't slept the entire time they had been separated. She knew that feeling, too. After a few seconds, she nodded. “That's okay, but I'm not sure I feel up to talking today.”
For a very long minute, they walked in silence. It felt excruciating, almost worse than getting a cavity filled. Aimee knew she needed to discuss how she felt with Dylan, and that would be difficult, too hard at least today. Before long they approached Aimee's car. Dylan handed her backpack to her, and she dug out her keys, then unlocked the door. Dylan jumped by and opened the door for her.
Aimee slid past and tossed her pack onto the passenger seat and got in. She looked up at Dylan who was holding onto the door.
The pain in his deep brown eyes was sharp. He took an exaggerated breath, then said, “I'm gonna wait as long as it takes for you to forgive me. I'm not that person you saw in the video, Aimee. I love you with all my heart, and I'll always love you no matter what you decide. I just wish I could convince you how much I need you, and how sorry I am for hurting you.” He waited for her to say something, but she didn't. Suddenly, he shouted out to whomever was walking by and whomever could hear, “I...love...you...Marie...Aimee...Schmidt. I love you!” A few people stopped and looked at him, then at Aimee sitting in the car, then started back on their way. Dylan stared back into the car at Aimee waiting for her to say something to his declaration.
Aimee couldn't look away, even though she wasn't ready to open up her heart. She stared long into his eyes. She was so close to blurting out, “I forgive you, and I love you, too, with all my heart!” But something stopped her from telling him. Instead she said, “I'll always love you, but I'm not ready to return.”
Dylan's face instantly looked like a little boy who had just disappointed a parent. Aimee wanted to cry so she pulled the door shut and quickly stuck her key in the ignition. She started the car, rolled down the window as she stuck it in Reverse. “I've gotta get to work, Dylan,” she managed to say.
He mouthed, “I love you, Aimee.”
Aimee peeked into the rearview mirror as she drove away. He stood with his arm up waving at her until she turned out of the parking lot. “Damn you,” she hissed under her breath, then wiped at the corner of her eye. “Why the hell can't you just forgive him?” Deep down she knew why. It was more than just the incident with Brandi, but she wasn't willing to admit it to herself. Swiftly she drove to work with tears flowing.
The store wasn't but a few minutes from the campus so it didn't give her enough time to calm herself. As soon as she pulled into the parking space, she grabbed a tissue from the box in the back seat and cleaned up her face, then blew her nose. She checked her face in the mirror and decided she didn't look great, but good enough to go into the store.
As soon as she entered the door, Jeff looked up. “I figured you would call in and want another day off.” He frowned and closed the register, then started walking towards Aimee.
“Nope,” she answered, “but I'm still not feeling well.”
“What happened, you two have too much fun on Saturday?” He snickered.
Aimee rolled her eyes, then popped back, “No. I think I ate something bad and it gave me food poisoning.”
“Oh,” he said with his brows shoved into one line, “that really sucks.”
“Tell me about it,” she agreed. “Anyway, I'm here so what do I need to do?”
Jeff picked up the bank bag and handed it to Aimee. “Well, actually, I need you to go to the other store and work with Brandi tonight on logging new inventory. She tells me you didn't train her on that yet.”
Aimee's ire immediately kicked in. Of course she had trained her on that the first day Brandi started. But the wicked witch had refused to pay attention. “Ahhh, Jeff,” Aimee whined, “do I have to?”
Jeff looked at her sternly. “Yes,” he started, “you have to, and then I want you to show her how to close so I don't have to be there every night to do it.”
“Who's gonna be here tonight?”
“I'm gonna be here. I have a new guy starting in an hour.”
“A new guy?”
“Yep. His name's Joe,” Jeff said as he started back towards the office.
“Okay, I'll go, but under protest,” Aimee hollered back.
Jeff turned around, with his hands on his hips, he sparked, “You're the assistant manager, and unless you'd prefer not working here, I'd suggest you get used to doing whatever needs to be done.”
Aimee frowned, but didn't say a word. Of course she would do whatever needed to be done, within reason. Helping Brandi wasn't within reason since the little bitch refused to learn. She was there for one reason only, and that was to cause Aimee grief. Reluctantly, Aimee spun around and started towards the door. Over her shoulder, she loudly stated, “I'm going as long as I get to come back here tomorrow.”
Jeff didn't say a word. He just shook his head as he watched Aimee leave.
The drive over to the mall didn't help Aimee to calm down, just the opposite. She grumbled the whole way about having to help Brandi. The few times she had to go to the store when Brandi was on shift, she would leave completely drained. Even though Aimee tried her best to be professional, and only talk to her about work, Brandi had a way of getting on Aimee's nerves. Today was no different.
Brandi looked up when Aimee
entered the store. “Look what the cat drug in,” she commented. “You look terrible.”
Aimee rolled her eyes, then replied as she walked past her on the way to the office, “Thanks for the compliment. You don't look so hot yourself.”
Aimee quickly disappeared into the office and stuffed the empty bank bag into the safe. Before going into the storeroom she watched Brandi through the slightly opened blinds. The weekend had left her emotionally on empty, and then a visit by Dylan topped it off today. She didn't think she could handle any more crap from Brandi, but she had a job to do, so she took a great, long breath and said a quick prayer for patience. Finally she went into the storeroom to get a cart of books.
When she brought them through the door, Brandi was scrolling through her phone not paying any attention to Aimee. Aimee stopped at the counter in front of her and waited a few seconds. Brandi didn't look up.
Aimee cleared her throat loudly. Brandi finally put her phone down and acknowledged Aimee. “Yes?” she said with a strong hint of sarcasm.
After another quick prayer and counting to ten, Aimee said, “Jeff wants me to retrain you on getting inventory into the register.”
“Humph,” she groaned, “you never showed me the first time.”
“The heck I didn't,” Aimee popped back.
“That's right, the heck you didn't, just like everything else. I think you intentionally don't wanna show me anything so I'll get fired!” Brandi stood with her arms folded tight and just glared at Aimee. That was it. Job or no job, Aimee's patience with Miss Brandi Peters was gone.
Aimee glanced quickly around. No one was in the store. Between clenched teeth, Aimee fumed, “The only reason you got this job is because of your rich daddy, and the only reason you've kept this job this long is because you wanna make my life a living hell.”
Brandi's claws immediately came out and she got into Aimee's face and hissed, “You're right. I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to me. Dylan's mine! I love him, and he loves me, and there's no way he'll ever be happy with someone like you. I know who you are. You're nothing more than a crazy bitch, and for some reason, Dylan got blinded by you and couldn't see just what you are, but I know. You're not normal, and I can't say how you did it when you showed up at the party, but I know you're not even human.”
The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: Seeking Others Page 37
