“We should go,” Oliver said. He took the risk to squeeze my foot as he passed the bed. Even in these circumstances, a shiver ran up my body at his touch.
“Thanks for coming to see Heaven,” my mother said, looking up at the tall boys. She was even shorter than I was, and seeing her dwarfed by their size was adorable. “Come by the house when we get home, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jackson drawled, winning her over for life.
The door shut behind them and a little bit of the light I’d felt left with them, but I felt different now. I knew where we all stood. Anderson, too. We could make this work.
“They really are sweet boys,” Mom declared, walking over to the bed and fussing with my blankets.
“Yeah,” I said, in full agreement. “They really are.”
Chapter 15
The doctor released me with directions to get some sleep and take a few days off school. There were signs of a slight concussion from hitting my head on the way to the floor. It didn’t seem like a bad idea, because even though my mind and heart felt better, my body wanted rest and sleep.
Anxiety does that to a person, the build-up of stress and emotions, the physical pain and mental anguish. I was learning how to deal with it—the Allendale Four helped. Reclaiming my voice did, too. I liked the new me; the bold clothing and more socially active side. I just wished whoever had it out for me would back off. It wasn’t funny anymore.
I was propped on the couch obsessing over it, scrolling through the fake-account’s feed looking at a slew of new photos. The old ones were still up; me and Justin leaving the bedroom at the party. The day with Eric in the school parking lot—and later that week with Garrett in the coffee shop. Benjamin at my locker. After that it shifts to real moments, intimate ones between me and the boys. Me and Hayden in the smoking garden behind school. Jackson kissing me on the deck at the house party. Oliver holding my hand in the parking lot at school.
Whoever was doing this spent a lot of time documenting my life. Way too much time, and more and more it seemed less like an asshole getting his kicks but someone with serious problems.
The refrigerator door slammed and I jumped, having given myself a case of the willies. It was just my mom.
She walked in carrying a bowl of mint ice cream and handed it over. I shut off the photo app and tucked my phone under the cushion. “Thanks,” I said, taking the bowl and spoon. “So, when do you go in to work.”
“I asked Captain O’Neal for a few days off, he and Deputy Atkinson have things under control.”
I frowned. “What? No, Mom, we can’t afford that.”
She smoothed the blanket over my legs. “It’s fine. This is more important and I’m not leaving you alone right now.”
Guilt wracked me. There was no way we could afford for Mom to take a few days off work. She’d already taken one, and then the hospital bills. I inhaled and said, “What if someone else came over to hang out with me.” Truthfully, I didn’t want to be alone either.
“You mean one of those boys?” She laughed. “I’m not sure which of them has a crush on you or if it’s all of them, so no way.”
“You said they were sweet.”
“I don’t doubt they’re nice boys, Heaven, but they’re boys all the same. Now if you wanted to invite Justin over, that could maybe work.”
“Mom, Justin is also a boy.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know that, but he’s also Justin. You’ve known him since diapers.”
Mothers: not the sharpest tools in the box. She had no clue that Justin was why I was in such a mess these days, or ultimately the reason I had four new “sweet” boys following me around. But if it got her back to work, then I’d call him.
“Fine, let me contact him.” I pulled back out my phone, making sure she couldn’t see any photos. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him.”
“You’ve been friends for a long time. It will be good to catch up.”
And awkward, I thought, sending a text instead. I didn’t go into detail, but Justin quickly agreed to come over and offered to spend the night. He knew the situation with my mom.
“He’ll be here in an hour.”
“Great,” her former tense expression broke into relief. “I’ll call Captain O’Neal.” She dropped a kiss on my forehead and left the room.
She was right. Justin and I needed to catch up. I just had to figure out exactly how much I was going to tell him.
*