My phone rang immediately.
“Are you kidding me!” Zoey screamed down the line as I answered. I jerked my ear away from the phone and quickly lowered the volume. My eyes darted nervously toward the door. I hoped Aiden wasn’t loitering out there because she’d been loud enough he totally could have heard her.
“I’m dying,” Zoey continued. “I’m actually dying.”
“You’re not dying.”
“Did you even see that picture?”
“Yes, I saw it. I took it, so I saw even worse…”
“Worse? Worse?” Zoey might not have been dying, but she sure did sound like she was hyperventilating. “You’ve clearly come down with the virus. You must have a fever addling your brain, because seeing Aiden Moore in all his topless glory—in real life—could not be worse than anything.”
“I don’t have a fever,” I replied. “And it really was bad. I woke up to him working out in my room like that. Who does he think he is?”
She didn’t respond immediately, and I wondered if we’d been cut off. “Zo, you there?”
The sound of Zoey clearing her throat came over the line. “Sorry, I was just trying to picture it. And, yep, you are crazy because there cannot be anything more hot than what I just imagined.”
My best friend’s judgment was clearly clouded by Aiden’s six-pack. Yeah, he looked good, but it took more than that to make a guy appealing. Why couldn’t Zoey see Aiden the way I did? How did she fail to notice how self-absorbed he was?
I threw my head back on the pillow and let an irritated breath escape my lips. “He’s so annoying. He loves getting in my personal space and winding me up. He’s always saying stuff that puts me on edge.”
“I would love Aiden to put me on edge.”
I rolled my eyes. “You should have seen him while I was cooking dinner last night. He kept talking about how much he loved my cooking and how he was going to keep me here forever. It’s totally creepy.”
“Yeah, that sounds horrible. A hot guy who can’t stop complimenting you and wants to lock you up in his sex dungeon…”
“He did not say he wanted to lock me up in his sex dungeon!”
“Sorry! Sorry! Wishful thinking,” she said. “You know I’m living vicariously through you at the moment, right?”
“Well, you should probably put the brakes on that because nothing else like this is going to happen. I’m only going to be staying here a few days, and then my parents will be back and everything will go back to normal. At least, as normal as things can get at the moment.”
“Only you could throw a cold bucket of water onto the hottest scenario ever,” Zoey grumbled.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you’re turning eighteen soon, and you should live a little. You need to loosen up, and Aiden is the perfect solution.”
“I don’t need to loosen up.”
“Yes, you do. You’re too safe and too responsible,” Zoey replied. “My parents would never leave me home alone while they were out of town for work, and yours do all the time. Why do you think that happens?”
“Because I’m trustworthy. And, unlike you, I’ve never come close to burning the house down with a curling iron.”
“No, it’s because you never do anything that might get you in trouble. Life is boring enough while we’re in lockdown; you need to have some fun.”
“I’m not boring.”
“No, you just choose the boring options. Take your last boyfriend for example…”
She meant my only boyfriend. “You’re talking about Daniel?”
“Yes, Daniel.”
I failed to see how he’d been a boring option. He was sweet and kind, and there wasn’t a bad bone in his body. I always felt relaxed around him, and I couldn’t see how that was a bad thing. We’d only broken up because his family had moved away. But that was years ago. I’d been a freshman at the time, and I didn’t understand why Zoey was bringing him up now.
“You know that was forever ago,” I said. “I can’t see why it matters.”
“It matters because he was pretty much the guy version of you—except you’re like a million degrees hotter.”
“So, now you’re saying I’m boring?”
Zoey exhaled. “No, I’m saying that he was a safe option. There were no fireworks or explosions between you two. It was comfortable and easy. You were more like friends than lovers.”
“I can’t believe you just said lovers.” I scrunched up my nose. “And what’s wrong with being with someone who you’re comfortable with? Surely that’s what makes a good relationship.”
“Ah, young Clarissa, you have so much to learn.”
I didn’t know how else to respond. Zoey and I clearly had very different beliefs when it came to the fundamentals of what made a good relationship. The way she flitted from guy to guy, it seemed Zoey thought any relationship was better than no relationship. She had dated enough guys to know what she was talking about though. Was I too safe when it came to dating? I hadn’t dated anyone since Daniel and I broke up though, so perhaps that was a sign I was doing something wrong.
“So, what have you got planned for today?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from thoughts of my sad dating life. There was a chance Zoey wouldn’t be derailed, but thankfully, she took the bait.
“You don’t want to know…” The enthusiasm in Zoey’s voice was gone, and she sounded like she was completely dreading whatever she had planned. My curiosity was piqued though.
“Sure, I do.”
She let out a long breath before she continued. “So, you know those dolls my dad keeps?” She hadn’t video called me this morning, but I didn’t need to see her face to know she’d be cringing as she mentioned them. Zoey was well aware of how weird her dad’s dolls were.
“Yeah…”
“Well, Mom thought it would be a great idea to take a picture of them.”
I had no idea where this was going. “Okay…”
“And she had that picture turned into a one-thousand-piece puzzle for Dad’s Christmas gift last year. She thinks we should get it started, as a super fun family lockdown activity…”
I burst out laughing. “You’re doing a puzzle of your dad’s dolls?”
“Yes!” she moaned. “And there’s no escape. With school closed, I can’t even pretend I have an assignment or something to get out of it.”
I struggled to contain another bout of laughter.
“As my best friend, you’re supposed to share my pain, not enjoy it,” Zoey muttered.
“Sorry!” I said, briefly managing to contain my laughter. “I’m completely sharing your pain. This is horrible.”
“I know. But it’s okay because I have plans for sabotage. I’m going to hide one of the pieces, so when we get to the end, they won’t be able to complete it.”
“Zoey, that’s so mean.”
“Making me do a puzzle is mean. I never thought I’d miss school, but right now, I’d do just about anything to be back there. I’d happily sit through class—even biology. Hell, you could even throw in a lecture from Mrs. Bates on how I need to cover my bra strap, and I’d still prefer school to being trapped at home.”
“Is it really that bad?” Mrs. Bates was a stickler for the school dress code, and Zoey frequently had run-ins with her. Her lectures were the absolute worst, and one time, she’d completely flipped out when Zoey rocked up at school with her midriff showing. Things had to be pretty hard at home for Zoey to even consider Mrs. Bates as a better option.
“No, it’s fine,” she grumbled. “I’m just overreacting.”
“It’s going to get better, Zo. Life will get back to normal before we know it.”
“Maybe,” she replied. “But I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” It had only been a week since school closed for spring break, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Zoey was the one person out of all our friends who I struggled to be without.
I heard her mom’s voice
calling out in the background, and Zoey let out a sigh. “I better go get ready for a fun-filled day of puzzles.”
“I should get up too,” I replied. “Talk later?”
“We better,” she said. “And think about what I said about living a little…”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll think about it.”
“And by think, I mean do. Go do Aiden.”
I snorted out a laugh. My bestie was nothing if not determined.
“Have fun with the puzzle, Zo.”
I hung up before she could say anything more about Aiden. Despite Zoey’s advice, I would definitely not be “doing” anything with the guy.
6
Clary
When I went down to the kitchen for breakfast, I found Aiden’s mom sitting at the counter, cradling a cup of coffee. She was still in her pajamas, and there were tired bags under her eyes. Jade didn’t look much like her two sons, but they shared the same light-blue-green eyes and tanned skin. Her hair was much darker than Aiden’s, and she had it piled high on her head in a messy bun.
“Morning, Dr. Moore,” I said, as I entered the room.
She looked up, and her face brightened in a smile that faded the worry lines creasing the corners of her eyes. “Clary, please call me Jade. It’s so nice to see you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you yesterday. I got caught up at work.”
“That’s fine. I totally understand.”
“Can I make you some breakfast?” She moved to get up from her stool, but I quickly rushed into the kitchen to stop her.
“I can get it,” I said. “I’ll just have some cereal.” I opened the cupboard and helped myself to the box of Cheerios. Jade looked exhausted, and she was already doing more than enough for me. I didn’t need her fetching me breakfast too. Plus, after cooking dinner last night, I was getting to know where everything was kept in the kitchen.
“There’s coffee there too if you want some,” she added.
“Thanks.” I gave her a grateful smile. If there was one thing I needed to get me through today, it was coffee. The smell alone was enough to kick-start my senses. I hadn’t had my regular cup yesterday, and that was probably half the reason I’d been such a grouch all day.
“Are you settling in okay?” Jade asked, as I came to sit next to her. She had such a gentle voice and kind eyes. It made me relaxed in a way I hadn’t felt in days.
“I am,” I replied. “It’s so good of you to let me stay here with everything that’s going on.”
“Nonsense, it’s not a problem at all,” she said. “I’m happy to have you, and it’s the least I could do with your parents stuck overseas.”
“Still, it’s very generous.”
She gave a light laugh and shrugged. “If anything, it’s a little selfish. I can’t tell you how often I wish there was another girl in the house. Having you here is like a dream come true.”
I smiled in response. “Your boys are definitely a handful.”
“Don’t I know it.” Jade’s eyes were wide with agreement, but her smile was indulgent. It was clear that, despite Aiden and Elliot’s intensity, she wouldn’t have them any other way.
“I saw you cooked for them last night,” she continued. “I had some of the leftovers before I went to bed. Your pasta was amazing.”
“Oh, thanks. I like cooking.”
“Well, you’re very good at it.”
I blushed at the compliment. My parents always told me how good my cooking was, but they were completely biased. It was different hearing it from someone who wasn’t genetically programmed to think everything you did was perfect.
“She’s not just good; she’s a culinary genius,” Aiden said, entering the kitchen. His hair was wet, as though he’d just showered, and he was just as topless as he had been in my room earlier. I had to wonder if he was parading his body around just because he knew it annoyed me. He winked at me before walking over and giving his mom a kiss on the head. “Morning, Mom.”
“Good morning, sweetheart. Gotten into any trouble since you woke up?”
“Of course.” He chuckled, and his eyes briefly darted in my direction. He turned his attention to the fridge before his mom could notice the exchange though. He opened the door and startled rifling through the fridge, throwing questions over his shoulder to his mom as he did. “How was your shift yesterday? Have you had enough sleep?”
Jade glanced at me. “He worries about me too much.”
“Because you don’t worry about yourself at all.” He pointed a bottle of Gatorade in her direction.
As I sat there watching the two of them interact, it felt like I’d entered the twilight zone. Aiden was so sweet with his mom, but it was completely at odds with the guy I saw at school daily.
“Are you back at the hospital again today?” he asked her.
She was in the middle of taking a sip of her coffee and nodded as she placed the cup back on the counter. “My shift starts in a couple of hours,” she said.
“You haven’t had a day off all week.” Aiden sounded surprisingly annoyed.
Jade shrugged. “Well, they need me. More and more people are starting to come down with the virus. And judging by how hard hospitals in the rest of the country are getting hit, it’s only a matter of time before we start to struggle too.”
“Have you seen a lot of people with the virus?” I asked cautiously.
“Some, but luckily, most of our cases haven’t been too severe. We don’t have the capacity to handle a surge of critically ill patients…” She shook her head, as if she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. “We’ve been preparing for an influx of cases as best we can, so I’m sure it will be okay.”
We fell silent at her words. The pandemic was all anyone spoke about these days, but it felt different hearing Jade talk about it. I’d heard so much on the news about it that the topic had started to become white noise, but Jade was actually seeing people who were getting sick with the virus. They weren’t just numbers on a chart to her, and by helping others, she was putting herself at risk.
I glanced at Aiden. His face had paled as he looked at his mother. It was clear how much he cared about her but also how scared he felt that she was putting herself in danger.
My phone vibrated in my pocked, and I pulled it out to see I had finally received a text from my parents. I’d sent them about ten messages when I woke up, insisting they call me. This wasn’t quite what I wanted, but at least a text was something.
I let out a sigh as I read the message. “Mom and Dad are still stuck,” I announced, glancing up at Jade. I hoped she might have some wisdom to impart, but she looked just as helpless as I felt.
“It’s only been a day,” she said. “Everything’s still so chaotic. Give it time; they’ll get home.”
“Yeah, I hope so.”
She rubbed my arm, gently reassuring me. “There’s not much we can do from here unfortunately. But it’s probably a good idea for you to keep busy. Have you got anything planned for today?”
I shrugged. “I saw on the internet that some people were dropping cards in their neighbors’ mailboxes offering to help them with their groceries and stuff. I was thinking I might do something similar.”
“You know, I was thinking the exact same thing,” Aiden said. “How funny is that?”
“Uh, it’s hilarious?” My reply came out like a question. Surely, he hadn’t really had the same idea as me. What was he playing at?
“How about we do it together?”
I frowned as I glanced at him and was met with his cheeky grin. Aiden was clearly messing around, and I’d have bet my favorite pair of Converse he was only offering to help to annoy me. Some people learned a new skill during lockdown; Aiden seemed to be working on perfecting his ability to irritate me.
“That’s okay. I don’t need help.”
“Don’t be silly. I insist.”
Aiden’s mom was watching me closely, and I felt backed into a corner. I’d sound ungrateful if I refused his help. Then ag
ain, could I handle a day spent putting cards in mailboxes with Aiden? I’d barely managed to get through cooking dinner in his presence last night. I’d eaten my meal in my room to avoid spending more time with him. Yeah, I definitely needed to get out of this.
“I appreciate the offer, Aiden, really, I do,” I said. “But we can’t leave the house together anyway. Not with the current lockdown restrictions in place.” I had to withhold a smile as I delivered my excuse. It was perfect. And, for the first time, I was actually grateful for lockdown restrictions.
My sense of victory wavered though as I noticed Aiden’s trademark grin grow even more confident. “Actually, I think you’ll find that since we’re from the same household, it’s fine,” he said.
My heart plummeted as I realized he was right. And from the self-satisfied way he was watching me, he totally knew it.
“Oh, so now you know the rules,” his mom said, lifting her eyebrows at Aiden. “Because I got a voicemail from Seth’s mother who wasn’t too impressed you went over to his house to hang out yesterday.”
My eyes darted back toward him. “You broke the lockdown rules already? They’ve only been in place for two days.”
Aiden’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and he looked down as he scuffed one foot across the floor. “It’s not like I went near him or anything,” he muttered.
I folded my arms across my chest as I shook my head at him. My pose almost mirrored his mom’s exactly. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised a guy who didn’t seem to have a care in the world wasn’t all that bothered about flouting social distancing rules too.
“These rules are in place for a reason,” Jade said. “You have to remember that just because you’re young that doesn’t mean you’re invincible. And while you might not die from this disease, if you pass it on to someone else, they could get really sick. You can’t mess around with this.”
I found myself nodding along with her. Jade was totally my idol right now. Not only was she putting Aiden firmly in his place, but she was completely calm and thoughtful as she did it.
Stuck with You Page 6
