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Time slowed.
Fernanda might have thought I was talking about our sisters, but honestly, I had been thinking about Lake and River.My girls.Aiden had probably picked them up. I never had a chance to say goodbye. Did they think I had just abandoned them? That I didn’t care? That I didn’t love them?
“What do you think?” she asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“I, umm…” I swallowed hard. The searing pain of Lake and River thinking I abandoned them felt too heavy in the pit of my stomach. “I think I should go shower,” I mumbled. She nodded and led me toward our bathroom.
“Okay, sounds good. Shower, shave, get dressed cute, and we will eat and drink our little hearts out.”
“But Christmas Eve is tomorrow,” I reminded her.
“So?”
“So… we can’t be hungover on—"
“Says who? Why not?”
“Why…” I stopped and looked at her. Fernanda was right. Why couldn’t I get drunk and hungover. It wasn’t like I had a job. A place to go. A family of my own I had to be responsible for. The girls and Aiden’s faces flashed in my mind, but I shook them away.
“You’re right.”
“Hell yes, I’m right. I usually am.” She smiled brightly, and somehow, that made me feel better. Because if Fernie was smiling like that and not pissed off, it meant things weren’t as bad as I thought they were. “Now hurry up! Oh, and don’t forget to do your makeup and hair.”
“Wait, why would I have to do that if we’re hanging here?”
“You never know where the day will take you. You always have to be prepared. Remember what I would tell you in high school!”
“Mascara and condoms are your best friend,” I mumbled.
“Exactly.” She laughed. “Now go do your thing. I’ll get breakfast started!”
With a plan in order, I went to wash the last of Aiden’s scent off my body.
Too bad he wasn’t that easy to remove from my heart.
11
AIDEN
Iwas about to knock on the front door when it was pulled open and a brunette with sass opened the door. It was one of the twins. By the way she was dressed and was not subtle about the way she thought I was scum, I had to guess it was Fernanda.
“Hello, Miss Mart—"
“Okay, cut with the bullshit. What the hell do you want?” she asked, stepping forward and shutting the front door behind her, leaving us on the front porch. Alone.
“Umm, I wanted to see if I could speak with your sister,” I answered, sliding my hands into the front pockets of the jeans I’d pulled on.
I’d felt Aria’s absence the moment I stepped foot into the penthouse.
River and Lake had been exhausted from all the Christmas activities they’d done with their grandmother, so they hardly noticed the tree in the house. But first thing in the morning, they had come tumbling into my bedroom, fully re-energized and excited about the way the house was decorated. Not only that, but they had not stopped asking when Aria would be back from her time off.
I hadn’t had in it me to tell them she was gone.
My heart felt too heavy. Too broken to say the words out loud. I hadn’t slept a wink since our fight, and I knew it showed.
I hadn’t shaved.
I hadn’t fixed my hair.
