Chapter 13

Surprisingly,I slept through the night.Even more surprising was that it was a deep,rejuvenating sleep with no nightmares in sight.Usually when my dad had an episode,I shook in fear for hours.Not this time,though.The blended scents of freshly brewed coffee and warm cinnamon rolls filled the air and I turned over to shake Jeff awake,finding instead an empty space in the bed.Odd,he never woke up before me when I spent the night.He usually liked to sleep as late as possible.

I got up and looked around for my uniform.I needed to dress and get to the hospital as soon as possible.In the chaos of last night,I had not thought to grab anything extra to wear.My work clothes were nowhere to be found,however.Instead,I saw a stack of my clothes folded neatly on Jeff’s desk.He must have gone to my house early this morning

I smiled.Leave it to Jeff to think of the important things.He really was the best friend I could ever ask for.

Desperate for a shower,I crossed the hall and entered the bathroom.I jumped in and borrowed his body wash and shampoo,which I had done countless times over the years.Something was different,though.I had never given much thought about it before,but I realized the body wash was a different brand.It didn’t smell like…well,like Jeff.Weird that would bother me.

I shook off the thought and finished rinsing.I toweled myself dry and dressed before heading downstairs to the kitchen.My stomach growled and I craved those cinnamon rolls.I also wanted to get to the hospital and see my mom.Besides,Jeff didn’t need to have his weekend ruined by driving me everywhere.He had done enough.I needed to get my car running again.

Lost in thought,I didn’t hear the voices until I neared the kitchen.

“Mom,it was so awful.I knew his dad had anger issues,but I had no idea how bad it was.How do I make this better for Aaron?”Jeff’s voice sounded rough.Almost like he’d been crying.

“Honey,the only thing you can do is be there for him.Aaron will get through this.He is a strong young man.Clearly,he has shouldered a lot of pain,and unfortunately,he’ll be dealing with a lot more for some time to come.”

“I know,Mom.I just…I just love him so much,”he exclaimed,anguished.

I froze.Love?Surely he meant as a brother,a best friend.I mean,Jeff wasn’t gay,right?

“I know you do,Jeff.Just be there for him.He’s going to need you.”She paused.“Had you even had a chance to talk to him before any of this happened?”

“No.I mean,I told him I needed to talk and he guessed part of it…but then thishappened.I don’t think it’s the right time to tell him.”Jeff let out a deep,long sigh.“What if he doesn’t want to be my friend anymore,Mom?”

“Stop it!Aaron will be your friend no matter what!”She paused again and I wondered what she was doing.“But I agree with you on the timing,honey.He has a lot on his plate this weekend.Let him get through this before you throw anything more at him.Not that I think he will be upset.It’s just,he’s dealing with so much.You’ll know when it’s the right time.”

Why would he think I wouldn’t want to be his friend just because he was in love with someone?

A chair scraped against the floor,someone getting up from the table.The sound of plates being pulled from the cabinet told me she was ready to serve breakfast.

“Honey,why don’t you go check on Aaron?”

“Yeah,okay.”Another chair moved across the floor.

I hightailed it back to the stairs and hastily tiptoed up halfway before I turned,pretending I was just heading down.I heard his footsteps on the wooden floor as he made his way toward me.

I tensed,watched him come around the corner,and stop at the bottom of the stairs.I didn’t want him to know I’d heard him talking with his mom,but I felt the heat on my face and my heart racing.Hoping he couldn’t tell,I quickly pasted on a smile.

“Hey,”he said,surprise in his eyes,“I was just coming up to get you.”

“Yeah,I woke up a little bit ago and took a shower.”

We eyed each other.He,obviously trying to determine if I had heard anything,and me,trying to pretend I hadn’t.

“Thanks for the clothes,too.That was really great of you.”I was genuinely grateful.

“No problem.I wanted to make sure you had something to wear besides your ugly uniform.”He made a face and shuddered.

I laughed.“Hey,you have one,too.”

And just like that,the tension vanished.So what if he said he loved me?He just meant as a friend who was worried about me.Besides,he had practically told me last night he was in love with some girl.That memory put a quick damper on my mood and I frowned.Why should that bother me?Shit,I was losing my mind.

I followed him into the kitchen and his mom pulled me in for a tight,full-body hug and kissed the top of my head.