“It’s Return of the Zombie Aliens Part Three and a Half,” Jason emphasizes, trying to play it cool since he knows she’ll be on Noah’s team, increasing his own chance of winning.
“It’s easy, I’ll teach you,” Noah says, moving so that he’s sitting beside Charlotte on the couch, and going over what each control means.
Barely a few seconds pass before Jason looks over his shoulder at us. “You guys can go now.”
We look at each other, astonished at being so curtly dismissed.
“Well, then, no ice cream for you,” Annalisa says as we turn to leave.
We all silently laugh at the shock and regret that fills his face as his eyes widen, realizing his grave miscalculation in choosing to stay at the house.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay here with you, Charlie?” Chase asks again, warily eyeing the shrinking space between Noah and Charlotte.
“I’m fine here. Go have fun!”
She doesn’t even turn back to look at him when she responds, busy listening to Noah’s instructions, and I can almost hear Chase’s heart deflating a bit.
After Aiden tells his brothers to be good and to listen to Charlotte, we take two cars into the heart of the town, where all the activity is. I waited to see which car Mason was getting in, then immediately ran to the other one. It’s so hard to be in such a small space with him without feeling like I’m breaking out in hives. After parking, we walk through the little downtown area filled with cute, well-maintained storefronts. The majority of the stores have an overhang covering the sidewalk, which shelters us from the drizzle. I smile like a love-struck schoolgirl when Aiden intertwines his fingers with the fingers on my good hand.
He smiles at me, looking genuinely happy. It’s a good look on him, much better than being constantly closed off and all stoic.
Looking up at his chiseled face when he’s not paying attention to me, I smile when he laughs at something Chase says. I clench my teeth to stop my chin from quivering. He deserves to be happy more than anyone; I just wish he’d found it with someone more reliable. Someone who isn’t planning on jumping ship in a few weeks.
I pretend to be interested in something Annalisa points out, but I’m just counting the bricks on the wall behind her to forget about the stinging in my eyes. I know I have to tell Aiden I’m leaving. I just don’t know when or how. I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want him to be mad at me, or disappointed, or feel like I was just playing with his emotions this whole time, especially since I knew full well I was leaving before we kissed for the first time. Between what I know about Mason and what I know I have to tell Aiden, I’m surprised my body hasn’t turned into one giant hive.
The feeling of my hand in his is ever-present in my mind, and something instinctive and primal in my gut tells me that I know I don’t want to give this up. I’m brought out of my thoughts when Aiden’s grip tightens painfully.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him as we walk a bit behind the others.
I follow his gaze to one of many campaign posters plastered all over the town. Vote Mayor Kessler for Governor, they all read.
The others notice what we’re looking at and stop to look at the posters too.
“Guess this guy must really want it,” Julian comments. “His commercial has been running so much I practically have it memorized. ‘I’m a family man, fighting for the rights of your children, our future,’ yada, yada, yada.”
Annalisa shakes her head. “All politicians are full of shit. He says he cares about low income families, single mothers, etcetera, but he’s probably never even stepped foot in a house that cost less than seven figures.”
“Who cares? Why are we staring at his campaign posters anyway? Let’s eat,” Mason says, leading the group onward.
“Is everything okay?” I ask Aiden softly.
He looks at the poster with his eyebrows drawn together, as if trying to put pieces of a puzzle together in his head. He finally shakes it, as if to clear it.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” he says, back to his old, confident self.
“Aiden! K-bear! What do you think?” Mason calls to us as we reach the group.
“About what?” I reply, not
meeting his eyes for fear I’ll see his dad’s face.
“About going roller skating in that place over there?” He points at a building advertising indoor Rollerblading, laser tag, and an arcade.
Roller skating means lots of activity and moving around, not sitting in a small room and sweating when I feel Mason’s presence right there, and thinking about how I’m going to ruin his home life. It also means I can keep holding Aiden’s hand—if I concentrate on the now, and not the later, I can convince myself it’s okay to let go and have some fun.
“I say let’s go.”
When we walk to the old building, I pay for everyone with the cash Aiden won, and everyone suits up. Aiden and I are the last people to get our roller skates, so everyone is already on the rink. Multicolored lights are flashing and the whole place smells like old shoes—it’s both comforting and nauseating at the same time.