Stalker

Chapter 11- Memory

Maria

When I woke up Monday morning, I couldn't remember a thing. I went through the same routine of getting ready, and slowly pieces began to came back to me, all including Aiden Smith.

The clearest one was of Aiden lifting me onto my bathroom counter, his dark skin warm on my waist. His brown eyes looked into mine with such intensity in the memory, but I couldn't remember how we had gotten to that point. Or what happened after.

It wasn't until I was pulling up to school on the bus that a thought occurred to me.

Oh god.

Oh god.

What if I slept with Aiden Smith.

And why couldn't I remember anything about Jackson? Where was he?

Jackson hadn't texted since the dance, so he was second on my list of people to track down. I didn't want to text him yet, incase something bad happened.

I had already texted Lauren, but she said that the last time she saw me was with Jackson at a house party. After that, Lauren had a little too much punch and ended up going home, thinking I went home with Jackson.

Number one on my list of people to track down was Aiden. He would hate it, but he had to tell me what happened. He needed to fill in the pieces.

I spotted him as I stepped off of the school bus, not that hard to find due to his height. He was watching me too, as if he knew I was coming. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

Aiden sat down on the cement edge of a planter, running his hand through his curls as I walked up to him, his lips sealed for once.

"Hi." I sat down next to him, sliding my backpack off. "Can we talk?"

"Aren't we talking right now?" Aiden asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as always. His dark eyes looked into mine for a moment, seeing my desperation. "Alright."

"I want you to tell me everything that happened on Friday." I said, turning my body slightly so I was facing Aiden. "Please."

"Where do I start?" Aiden sighed, glancing around to make sure no one else was listening in on our conversation.

"After homecoming."

Aiden smiled slightly, glancing at me. "I beat the shit out of your boyfriend."

Oh.

Aiden lifted a hand, the bruises on his knuckles visible even from under the wraps.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said, a memory flashing in my mind of Jackson slumped against the wall, his face bloody.

Aiden looked at me, seeming surprised. "Yeah? Well does he know that? You got drunk and he..." His voice trailed off, his eyes no longer meeting mine. "Maria he tried to fuck you."

Aiden spat the words, a nauseous feeling rising in my stomach. I was going to be sick. And I was going to kill Jackson.

It didn't feel real, I couldn't believe it. Here I thought I had did something, when Jackson...

Tears clouded my vision as I stood up, Aiden immediately reaching out and grabbing me by the arms. He held me gently, already pulling me back towards him. I couldn't contain my sobs, my body beggining to shake. Aiden pulled me into his chest, still sitting down with me standing between his legs.

Aiden's arms were tight around me, his voice gentle. "Maria, it's taken care of. He won't hurt you."

Something had changed, but suddenly we were friends. Maybe I was wrong about Aiden Smith, maybe he wasn't what I thought.