Stay With Me (She's With Me #2) - Jessica Cunsolo Page 0,96
Mason ever make up?” I blurt out in response.
Aiden doesn’t take his eyes off of the road. “I’ve never heard of that type of food. Is it Italian?”
“Aiden! Come on.”
I get that he’s pissed off at Mason, but they’ve been friends for so long, I’d hate for this to ruin it.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” he answers calmly. “Do you like him?”
What?
“He’s my friend, of course I like him.”
Aiden’s knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. “That’s not what I meant.”
I sigh and turn my body to face him properly, putting my hand on his arm. “I like Mason as a friend. I love you, Aiden.”
He looks at me, the expression in his eyes light but heavy at the same time. “But you’re still leaving.”
“I have to. I don’t have a choice.”
“But I’ll never hear from you again,” he says softly.
“No. I won’t let that happen. You’re stuck with me, Aiden Parker.”
The car jerks, but Aiden quickly recovers. “What? What do you mean?”
I smile at him, hoping he sees the love and confidence in my eyes, hoping he knows how huge this is for me. “I can’t never talk to you again. FaceTime, phone calls, maybe even visits. I don’t care. I can’t just throw us away. I can’t never see your face again.” I hesitate at his silence, feeling stupid for making it sound like a huge revelation when it really isn’t. “I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but—”
“Are you fucking kidding me? It’s a huge deal! I’d get to see you!” The expression on Aiden’s face fills my heart with so much joy and excitement. He smiles so big it reaches his eyes and transforms his whole face. “Are you sure it’s safe, though? I don’t want to put you in danger. If staying away from you is what will keep you safe, then I’m prepared to do that, even if it’s the last thing I want to do. Even if it’ll kill me.”
“We’ll find a way,” I promise, not only to Aiden, but to myself. Maybe I’ll be losing all my friendships, but I’ll get to keep Aiden.
Aiden laughs and hits the steering wheel with excitement. “Yes! I wish you told me while I wasn’t driving because I really want to grab you and kiss you right now.”
I unbuckle my seat belt and lean over to give him a quick kiss. “When we get out for tacos, I promise.”
He laughs. “Is that what you finally decided you want?”
I sit back down and buckle up. “Been craving them since I woke up.”
He looks at me, his beautiful smile never faltering. “Then tacos it—”
I don’t hear the end of Aiden’s sentence, because there’s a sound of a horn honking at us from behind, like a warning.
And then there’s metal hitting metal, the squealing of tires, more honking, glass shattering, my screams. I can barely see what’s happening, I can barely comprehend it. The world is spinning and spinning and there’s metal crunching and grating and I feel my skin being sliced again and again and again.
The car stops moving but the world is still spinning. There’s a ringing in my ears and a pounding in my head and I’m so disoriented I can’t tell up from down or left from right. Distantly, my name is being called, demanding that I answer. The voice is angry. No, it’s scared, scared because I’m not answering. I groggily shake my head, the world slowly coming into focus.
“Thea! You’re okay, you’re all right.” It’s Aiden, but he’s upside down?
Oh wait, I’m upside down. I’m strapped into the seat, but the car is on its roof.
“I’m going to cut your seat belt off, okay? I need you to not land on your head,” he instructs, more frightened than I’ve ever seen him in my life, but still managing to keep calm, his face set in determination.
I make some type of noise in agreement. Will the pounding in my head ever stop?
“It’s going to be okay,” he repeats, and even I know it sounds like he’s only trying to convince himself.
“Put this foot there, and that one there, and your arms here and here,” he positions my limbs so that they’re all braced against something.
“I’m going to try to catch you, but try to catch yourself as much as you can, okay?”
“Umm-hmm,” I reply, my head starting to clear.
How can he catch me? He’s lying on his back on the ground—or technically roof—with his lower body flat on the ground sticking out the window, and