"How'd it go?"
I sat Snow's cage down on the couch and opened the small metal door. Our new pet chittered with excitement before running across the furniture and heading straight to my mom.
"It went well," I answered. "She's officially up-to-date on her vaccines. Oh, I also checked for a microchip. Just in case. There wasn't one."
My mom cradled Snow in her hands. "Well, that's good. I don't think Aria would have been happy if you had to return this little cutie to someone else."
No, Aria wouldn't be happy. She was already very attached to Snow. Understandably, so. I never thought of myself as a cat person, but it was hard not to fall in love with a kitten as adorable as this one. And she seemed to love us, too.
I fell onto the plush sofa and exhaled a tired breath. I glanced around the house. "Has Aria come back yet?"
My mom shook her head. "No. But she went to see her family, right? I'm sure she's just enjoying herself."
The last thing my mom said really rubbed me the wrong way. I may not know the 'whys' of it, but I knew Aria was having issues with her parents. I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
"I'm gonna call her."
I dialed her number and frowned when the call went straight to voicemail.
I tried her number again.
No luck.
"Are you worried?" my mom asked, setting Snow down on the carpet.
"I'm...not sure." A shiver went down my spine. But her phone was probably just dead. Right? She was fine. "I'll try one more time."
Before I pressed the last digit of her phone number, my phone rang. But it wasn't her.
"Trevor?"
"Hey, Micah."
I shared a look with my mom. It's been almost a year since I've seen or spoken to Trevor. "It's good to hear from you, but can I call you back? I'm kinda dealing with something right now."
There was a loud noise in the background. The musical notification that someone hit a bullseye on a dart machine echoed through the phone. Then the crack of someone breaking the racked balls on a pool table. He was working at the bar.
"That, uh, might be what I'm calling about. Did someone...steal your car?"
My heart dropped. "Why do you ask?"
"Well...a blonde chic rolled up in here in a car that looks a helluva lot like yours. And she kinda stands out."
"A blonde? What is she doing?"
A brief pause. "She's pretty smashed. Is she your girl?"
"Yes—I mean, no. It's a long story. Shit. I'm coming up there. Wait, Trevor? Can you keep an eye on her for me? And take her keys."
"You got it."
I hung up the phone and jumped to my feet. "I gotta go, mom."
"Take my car, Micah. Is she okay?"
Just as I grabbed the keys off the hook, something dawned on me. "Shit. I can't take your car. Aria's been drinking and she can't drive. I'll just walk up there. It's not far. I don't want to wait for an Uber."
My mom followed me to the door. "It's too cold, Micah! Please, just take an Uber."
When I opened the front door, the brisk air and snow got sucked into the living room. I looked back at my mom. "I can't wait. I'll keep you posted."
I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before I took off into the cold. Fuck. My mom wasn't kissing about it being freezing out here. The one thing that made then any kind of bearable was the fact that it wasn't snowing hard and the wind wasn't too strong.
Goddammit. I was having a mental conversation with myself about the weather. I guess that was better than worrying about the alleged car thief that was currently getting hammered at a bar called The Neighborhood.
Something happened. Obviously, something happened.
I mean, if she wanted to just go grab a drink to grab a drink, she would have texted me. But she turned her phone off. Yeah. Who was I kidding? Something happened. I was more worried about her than I felt comfortable admitting. Luckily, I didn't have to dwell on it for long.
I pulled open the door to the bar and scanned the crowd for Aria. I ended up finding Trevor first behind the bar. I bee-lined right to him an tapped the counter to get his attention.
"Trev!"
His head snapped in my direction and he pointed to the end of the bar. I walked in that direction and my eyes landed on Aria. She was sitting in the last seat—the one closest to the kitchen. She was alone. And she was drinking.
When I got close, I slowed my walking and approached her carefully. Trevor brought over another shot and sat it in front of her. He threw me a wink before leaving to go back to his job.
Aria reached for the shot. She hesitated before drinking it. She wrapped two fingers around it and slid the glass back and forth across the bar.
Then she froze. I couldn't see her face, but there was a tenseness in her shoulders. Yeah...something definitely happened.
I took a deep breath before finally pulling out the vacant chair next to her.
"I'm not interested in being hit on right now," she slurred without looking at me.
That made me smile. "Good. That's not what I'm here for."
Her hand froze as she lifted the shot to her mouth. She turned towards me. "You! How did you find me?"
I shrugged. "I got a call that my car was stolen and the car thief was here." I casually looked around the bar. "You haven't seen any suspicious characters have you?"
She glared in Trevor's direction. "Only that bartender guy. He stole my keys!"
"Uh, those were my keys."
"Whatever." She finally threw back the shot and signaled a different bartender for another one.
"I think you've had enough. Why don't we head home. Snow is waiting for you."
I was hoping that the mention of our new pet would help motivate her to go home. Not so much.
"Snow will be there later. I just want to stay here and drink right now." Her shot arrived and she didn't waste a second. "But if you want your keys back, I'm sure bartender guy will give them to you."
"Do you want to talk about what happened?"
That tenseness returned. "Talk about what?"
"What happened at your parents?"
She squeezed her eyes tight before turning towards me to slid off her stool. She swayed on her feet and I reached out to steady her. "I'm going to go dancing."
She pushed past me and went straight to the dancefloor. Seconds went by before I followed her. When I saw she was headed for a random guy, I reached out and grabbed her hand. I spun her and brought her body against mine. Even though she allowed me to dance with her—probably because she needed help standing—she glared at me.
"Micah, I'm not in the mood for your prying."
I shook my head. "I'm not going to pry."
She rolled her eyes and moved her arms to circle my neck. I don't think she even noticed that she did it. "I don't believe you. You love to pry. You're just a prying, pry-er!"
I chuckled. She was smashed. "I promise, Aria. No prying."
"Only fun?"
"Only fun," I vowed."
She smiled wide and melted against me. "Good. I need fun. And drinks. More drinks."
I had no idea what song was playing on the jukebox, but we continued to slow dance anyway. Anything to keep her smiling.
"We can get a drink in a little bit. Let's dance some more first."
She was totally on board with that.
We spent the next few hours dancing, laughing, and drinking. Okay, I didn't drink. I pretended. I told Trevor to make sure mine looked the part but I didn't take in a sip of alcohol. I needed to keep all my faculties to make sure I got her back to my house safely. I still had no idea what happened with her family, but I knew something happened.
When it was clear that she could barely keep her eyes open, I settled the bill with Trevor and managed to get Aria in my car. She slept during the short drive home. No surprise there.
The other non-surprise was how quick we made it home. I kept my worried mother updated while we were at the bar. She was asleep now, but said to wake her if I needed anything.
After I pulled into the driveway, I shut off the car and got out quickly. It was even colder now and I didn't want to waste any time getting Aria inside. I opened her door and carefully unbuckled her seatbelt. She barely shifted when I freed her from the restraint.
I slipped one arm under her knees and the other under her arms. I carried through my quiet house and up the stairs towards the room Aria stayed in. I pushed the door open with my foot and tried my best not to make the floor creak beneath me.
I laid her softly on the bed and she sunk into the mattress. I removed her shoes, setting them beside her nightstand. I grabbed the throw blanket and spread it out over her.
Acting on impulse instead of common sense, I sat on the side of her bed. I studied her face. She really was beautiful. Again, I acted on stupid impulse and reached out to brush her hair back. That's when I noticed something. There was a very red mark on her cheek. Maybe a bruise. Did someone hit her? If her dad did anything to—
"She's dead."
Aria's sleepy voice caught my attention. So did the two words that passed her lips.
"What did you just say?"
Tears filled her eyes before they started running down her cheeks.
"She's dead. Analiyah..." She covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes were wide now. Panicked.
I tried to keep my voice calm. "It's okay, Aria. Just tell me what happened."
Aria shook her head. "No. You don't understand. She's dead. Oh, Micah. She's dead...and I killed her."