Stuck with You - Alexandra Moody Page 0,46

and me. “Tiger King. You want to watch a documentary on tigers?”

“The tigers are the tamest part of this documentary, trust me.” It felt like just the thing to take Clary’s mind off her parents.

She didn’t object to my choice, so I pressed play. At first, Clary seemed uncertain, but as the show progressed, she was officially hooked. I barely watched the documentary unfold though. All my attention was on Clary. Her demeanor didn’t brighten significantly, but I could see her becoming more engaged as the show progressed, and a little of the usual light began to reenter her eyes.

She’d been slightly listless when she had started eating the ice cream out of the tub, but as her enthusiasm grew, so too did her appetite. By the time we were halfway through the first episode, she’d smashed through the tub of ice cream. I was both amazed and proud at the effort. Not many girls I knew could demolish an entire tub of ice cream in one sitting, and it was impressive.

“This show is nuts,” she murmured, as she placed the empty tub aside.

“You think this is nuts; it’s only the beginning. Wait until the show really gets going.”

“It gets worse?”

I chuckled. “Oh, yeah.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“You’ll have to watch and see then.”

Clary nodded and focused on my laptop. It probably would have been a better viewing experience if we’d watched it downstairs on an actual television. But there was something relaxing about huddling around the small screen of my laptop in the darkness of her room. I think Clary felt it too because she seemed to grow more comfortable as the afternoon progressed.

When the first episode ended, Clary eagerly asked to watch the second and then the third. By the time dinner rolled around, we’d almost completed the entire season. Mom had come home from work, and she called up the stairs to announce the food was ready.

I pressed pause on the show and turned to Clary. She was stretching her arms above her head, and I caught sight of the smallest slither of skin under her top. I quickly averted my eyes. The last thing she needed today was me checking her out.

“I can’t believe it’s dinner already,” she said, as she rolled off the bed and stood up.

“That’s the magic of crazy documentaries. They really make the time fly.”

She laughed and nodded. “Yeah, they do.”

I closed my laptop and started toward the door. Clary followed me but touched my arm, stopping me before I could leave. Her eyes were warm but serious as I turned to her.

“Thanks for being my official moping buddy today,” she said, tucking a stray hair behind one ear. “I think you were right. I was doing it all wrong.”

Her gratitude made my heart swell and I smiled at her. “I’m glad I could help.”

She tentatively returned my smile before gesturing toward the door. “So, dinner?”

“Dinner,” I agreed.

She walked past me and opened the door to the corridor. As I slowly trailed after her, I couldn’t help but feel like perhaps we’d made progress today. I was pretty sure I still annoyed the crap out of her. But maybe, just maybe, she was beginning to like it.

13

Clary

“The world is officially ending!”

I was still half asleep and had barely managed to answer Zoey’s call. I immediately wished I’d let it go to voicemail. The sound of her alarmed voice wasn’t exactly how I wanted to start my morning. I groaned as I pulled the phone away from my ear and glanced at the time. It was seven in the morning, and I couldn’t understand why she’d ever think it was okay to call me so early. I liked to start my days slowly, and unless coffee was involved, I barely functioned before 8:00 A.M.

I’d stayed up late last night finishing the documentary I started watching with Aiden. I still couldn’t believe he’d hung out with me all day yesterday just because I was sad. I knew it was lockdown, and he probably didn’t have anything better to do, but it still meant a lot to me that he’d taken the time to make sure I was okay.

I’d been annoyed with him for intruding at first. All I’d wanted was to be alone, but as the day went on, I began to appreciate him being there with me. He didn’t push me to talk about how I was feeling or expect me to suddenly feel better. He simply allowed me to process my