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When he reached her, his hand lifted to touch her cheek; the tendons in his forearms where he had the sleeves pushed up to his elbows flexed with the movement. She leaned into the featherlight touch he gave her with his fingertips, but he pulled away so fast she wondered if she’d imagined his touch.
“I needed to see you,” he whispered.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Everything.” He took a step back, and she gripped the takeout container to restrain herself from chasing his retreat. “I drove all over trying to clear my head, and it’s not working.”
“What do you mean?”
“After I left, I went back to the academy, but when I couldn’t sleep, I left. Hit the interstate. Drove to Atlanta, then down to the coast. Drove all the way up the South Carolina coast and back this morning. I ended up parking down at Lukas’s parent’s house at Tybee Island. Tried to sleep in the car midday, but it didn’t work.”
“Didn’t work for what? I don’t understand.”
A group of young girls moved around them, laughing and talking loudly, but she couldn’t make out anything they said. She focused all her attention on Aiden.
“What did you do to me?” he rasped, confusion and conflict waging war for control of his features.
“I didn’t do anything to you,” she said, frowning. “Have you slept? Eaten anything? If you’ve been driving… Wait. Have you been away from the academy since last night?”
“Haven’t had anything. No food, no bl—drink.” His jaw ticked. “Nothing. I left around three in the morning.”
“Jesus, Aiden. You’re gonna end up dehydrated. Let’s go back to my place.” She grabbed hold of his hand, only then noticing the tremble in his fingers before he tightened his grip on her hand. “I’ll make you something. Mom had an appointment this afternoon, but Ma is still at work. No one will be there if you’re worried about them.”
“Why would I worry about them?”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t want anyone to see me if I hadn’t eaten or slept. I’d be hangry and antisocial.”
His low chuckle slid over her like silk. She missed that sound.
“Oh!” She stopped, whirling to face him. “Here.” She thrust the takeout container forward into his hands. “Eat this while we walk.”
Aiden’s dark brows twitched. “What is it?”
“I didn’t eat all my food. Chicken fingers and waffle fries with cheese.”
He opened the lid. “This is a lot. Did you eat at all?”
Was he seriously showing concern about her well-being when he was the one who hadn’t eaten since yesterday? It was near seven o’clock. That meant he’d been on the road for sixteen hours. How was he not sick? It explained his hands trembling.
“Eat.”
His eyes narrowed at the command.
“Please,” she added in a rush.
He lifted a chicken finger from the container and took a bite, giving her a “there, are you happy?” look.
“Okay, let’s go.” She turned and led him down the street toward the outskirts of the plaza where the residential area was. Her house wasn’t far from the plaza, which was convenient for her mom. She didn’t have to walk far into the heart of town. Her ma, on the other hand, had to use the car to drive around the plaza and park behind the clinic.
The entire Valley Center Plaza was only accessible by foot traffic, so locals walked everywhere, since most everything anyone could ever need was in the heart of the massive outdoor shopping mall. Charlotte and her mothers only drove to the far side of Rosebrook Valley for groceries, the mall, and a few other businesses that didn’t get retail space in the plaza.
By the time they reached her house, Aiden had polished off the entire container of food. It made her happy to take care of him for once.
She pulled out her keys and let them inside, beelining for the kitchen with the empty container to whip up something for Aiden to eat.
“You don’t need to make anything else. I’m full.”
Her hand paused on the handle of the refrigerator. “Full? You’ve barely eaten.”
