The fact that she’s talking to me like this is a wonder in and of itself.
“She was amazing. The best,” Sloan begins, her voice softening with fond memories. “Always there for me. I never had friends. I was always the odd one out. Nobody wanted to talk orplay with the weird child. Nobody wanted to hang out with the crazy girl. But she… she was my best friend. I needed nobody else because I had her.”
I can see tears well up in Sloan’s eyes, but she doesn’t allow them to fall. It’s as though she suddenly remembers who she’s talking to, and she shakes her head before lowering herself to the ground. She lays on her back and slowly maneuvers herself under the van.
“Fuck, I forgot the flashlight. Can you hand it to me? And a hose? Please?” she calls out from beneath the van, extending her hand so I can see it.
“Sure,” I mumble, trying to shake off the sadness that just rose inside me for her.
This woman had such a hard life. All I want to do is make it better.
Clearly, Sloan can take care of herself, and I’m just grateful to be here to support her in any way she’ll allow.
Please allow me to be here.
After successfully fixing everything that needed to be repaired under the van, she slides out and stands, turning to me with a smile, almost stopping my heart with the warmth of it.
Where did that just come from?
She just looked at me like she did before I fucked up.
“Done. Now, the more difficult part is getting out the old heater and installing the new one.”
I tilt my head, curious. “Why is that more difficult?”
I thought it would be like changing a refrigerator at home, pulling out the old one, unplugging it, and putting the new one in its place, plugging it in. Done.
Sloan sighs. “Because it burned through the cables,” she explains. “It might not be just a quick fix.”
She opens the van’s sliding door and gets in, allowing me to stand just outside, peering in. This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to look a little closer, inspecting how she lives.
It’s small, really small, but cute. The wooden interior creates a cozy atmosphere, accentuated by the fairy lights hanging from the roof. The bed is in the back, dressed in earthy tones, save for the white heated blanket spread across it and the pink blanket hoodie from Nash that’s folded on top.
That’s where he disappeared to last night.
I try not to grin like a dork over the fact that she is using the blanket. Hopefully, she won’t need it anymore after the heater is fixed, but still, I know she had one night of warmth to sleep because she accepted a gift from me.
Priceless.
There is some kind of stove and a few drawers, but there isn’t much room for anything else. It’s nice and fine, but it’s not a home.
She could have called my home hers, but I ruined it.
Then, hung over the passenger seat is the green hoodie again. The one she wore when she slept over at our place and looks like Saylor’s favorite hoodie.
But it can’t be, right?
It’s just a coincidence.
He’s not the only one who got one like it.
But still…
While I was busy letting my thoughts run away with me, she had already managed to disassemble the heating, putting the parts down on the floor next to me. I take them and put them away in one of the boxes to dispose of them properly later. Some of the parts are black or burned, and they smell pretty bad.
Fuck, this could have been a disaster.
It’s another reason why I got a new heater and not a used one. You never know if all the parts are still good when you buy something somebody else has already used.
