Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Hey,” I said softly, trying not to startle her. I forced myself to walk slowly toward her. “Mia, what’s wrong?”
I knelt down next to the bed so that we were eye-level. Tears streamed out of her eyes, falling sideways with her head cradled under her arm.
Those gorgeous green eyes were open and staring in my direction, but I didn’t think she actually saw me.
“Mia?” I pushed her hair off her forehead without thinking. Then I withdrew my hand. I didn’t know enough about what was going on to know how to help.
“Mia, you’re okay. You’re safe. Can you tell me what happened?”
There was a heavy step in the hallway, and then Diego bounded into the room.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, eyes wide. He looked at me. “I heard the scream, but I was all the way in the basement. Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. I think maybe she had a nightmare, but I don’t know what she was doing up here. Should we call someone?”
“Who?” Diego asked.
Then my gaze returned to Mia’s face. She looked more aware of her surroundings now—but her eyes were still huge in her pale, ashen face.
“Aaron?”
“I’m right here. What can we do to help you?”
She noticed Diego then, and she stiffened, her mouth clamping shut.
“It’s going to be okay.”
I rose and moved to Diego’s side. I never would have admitted it, but I was glad he was here. He was only two years older than me, but he felt like an adult—whereas sometimes I wondered if I’d ever feel like one. Especially compared to my very accomplished siblings.
I’d told Mia about my secret dream of becoming mayor someday, like my grandfather. Yet I couldn’t write a damn policy proposal. And I definitely didn’t have my life figured out yet. Diego did.
“What do we do?” I asked.
“I think it’s what do you do,” Diego said quietly. “For some reason, she just doesn’t seem to feel comfortable with me, so I think it has to be you.”
Wait—he was leaving?
“Okay, what do I do?” I tried not to sound panicky. Crying women weren’t my specialty. Or any man’s, really.
“Just sit with her and reassure her. See if she wants us to call anyone, or if she wants to talk.”
“But shouldn’t you—”
“The last thing I want to do is make her more upset. I’ll go get some water and—”
“It was a nightmare.”
We both looked over in time to see Mia sit up. She immediately drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“This was supposed to be her room, wasn’t it?” Her voice was shaky.
I had no idea what she was talking about, but she wasn’t asking me.
“Yes,” Diego said.
“I wish she... I wish things were different.”
“Whose room?” I asked, trying to keep up. “Wait—that other woman who was supposed to come?”
Diego shook his head at me—a clear signal to stop talking—and walked over to Mia.
“Yes, this was supposed to be her room. I wanted you two to have the adjoining rooms downstairs with a shared bathroom. But Jenna tried sleeping here and something kept triggering her allergies. She got much better when she moved to the second floor, and I figured Sara wouldn’t mind.”
“She didn’t even get to stay here one night,” Mia said softly.
I hadn’t realized that Mia knew that other student—or maybe just hadn’t put two and two together. They were both coming from the Stepping Stones program, so maybe they’d become friends during those six weeks.
Now that Diego was handling things, I figured maybe I should go and get some water. I asked Mia, but she shook her head and asked me to stay. I sat down on the floor by the bed, leaning my back against the nightstand.
“Whatever it is, you can talk to us about it,” I said softly.
“I-I called her today. It was the first day they allowed it.”
Diego seemed to know what she was talking about. I sure as hell didn’t. But maybe I could help in some other way.
I reached out and placed my hand on the bed, half a foot from her. She immediately placed her hand in mine. I squeezed softly, giving what support I could.
“She was my foster sister,” Mia said after a long pause. Then she told the story briefly—how they’d spent so long planning to live here together, go to school together—until Sara got caught using drugs.
This was obviously not news to Diego, but that wasn’t surprising, given he was the RA.
“So you hadn’t talked to her since she left?” Diego asked.
“No. They just gave her five minutes, and… and it was horrible.”
She started crying again. I squeezed her hand, wishing I could do more.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Diego asked. His eyes flickered from the floor to the bed, and he finally sat at the foot of the bed, a couple feet from her.