“Yes. I thought the man was hurting the woman, but when I tried to save the woman, they yelled at me and said they love each other.”
Bile rises up in my throat. “What man?” I ask him slowly.
“The mean surfer man.”
I swallow thickly at his words. “Can we sit and talk? I brought you tacos.”
Aiden releases me and nods, taking the bag from me. “Thank you. Tacos are my favorite.”
We sit in the sand where he was sitting a moment ago.
“Thank you for saving me,” I tell him after a few seconds of silence.
He removes his glasses and looks into my eyes, something he doesn’t do often. “The man yelled at me. He said I hurt you. I wouldn’t hurt my friend, Lexi.”
“I know you wouldn’t. They were just really scared and didn’t know what happened.”
“The man hurt you.” He takes his book and opens it, then thrusts it at me. “See? The man wasn’t loving you.”
I take the book from him and stare at the page for several long seconds. It’s of a man and a woman. She’s wearing a bathing suit top with her bottoms around her ankles and is bent over a cluster of rocks. He’s pulling her hair, his front flush against her back. It looks like they’re lost in a moment of passion, and the thought makes my stomach roil. Before I can stop myself, I’m running toward the edge of the water and throwing up.
“Lex, what’s wrong?” Alec comes running over. “What happened?”
“I’m okay,” I insist, hating that I’m lying to Alec.
Aiden stands. “I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t hurt her,” he repeats, pushing his glasses back on to protect himself.
“I know, buddy,” Alec says slowly.
“I’m not buddy. I’m Aiden, and I didn’t hurt my friend Lexi.”
“He knows,” I tell him. “It’s okay.” Not wanting to upset him any further, or risk him showing Alec the picture he drew, I change the subject. “Eat your tacos before they get cold.”
“Tacos are my favorite,” Aiden says, sitting back down with his bag of food.
“Here.” I pull a few bills from my back pocket and hand them to him. “For tacos.”
Aiden eyes the money. “I didn’t work. I only get money when I work.”
He shoves my hand away, refusing the money, and I sigh.
The first time I tried to give Aiden money to eat, he told me this, so instead of giving him money, I always make it a point to give him food. But since I’m not sure when I’ll be back to the beach, I won’t be able to buy him food, and I need to make sure he’s taken care of.
“Okay,” I tell him, not wanting to argue. I’ll have to think of another way to get the food to him. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay, Lexi,” he says, devouring his tacos. “See you soon.”
When we get home, I head straight for the shower. It’s too late, it’s been days since I was attacked, but seeing that picture makes me feel dirty and gross. I can’t remember it, but the picture is clear as to what happened, and based on his mean surfer comment, there’s only one guy I can think of who would be mad at me enough to do this to me.
I let the hot water rain over me as I use my loofah to scrub every inch of my body, until my skin is red and sensitive and the water has turned cold.
When I finally get out, Alec is waiting for me, a frown marring his face. I need to tell him what I think happened. This isn’t something I can keep from him, but first I need to find out if it was Jason who attacked me. Because the second I tell Alec, I know without a doubt he’s going to go after him.
“You were trying to give him money because you’re not planning to return to the beach,” he says, calling me out.
“Yeah,” I croak.
“Why? What did he tell you?”
“He said what we already know,” I half lie. “I was attacked.”
“And…” Alec prompts.
“And I’m scared,” I admit, giving him some of the honesty he deserves.
“So, you’re going to let whoever attacked you win?” He steps toward me and tucks a wayward hair behind my ear. The soft contact of his flesh touching mine sends sparks through my body. “You said in the hospital you weren’t going to let whoever did this to you win. You have your surfing comp in a couple weeks...”
“I’m not doing it.”
“Bullshit,” he hisses. “You’ve been busting your ass for this. Georgia, Max, me…we’ll go with you while you practice, but you’re not giving up. This is what you want more than anything, and you’re not letting some asshole take that from you.”
He’s right, and I love him even more for saying it. He could easily tell me to forget it. I suffered a concussion and he’s been worried sick about me, but he’s putting my wants over his fears, and I need to do the same thing.