Page 195 of Fractured Fate

Aiden hoped taking a walk and getting fresh air would ease the prickly feeling crawling over his skin. He needed to remain calm and not go after Noah. He hated that he needed to continuously remind himself that the real threat to Charlotte wasn’t the curly-haired guy with smiling blue eyes.

41

FAMILY

Charlotte looked at Aiden as he led her from the dorm building. She didn’t understand why seeing the bathroom wrecked made her break down the way it did, but she couldn’t handle it all anymore. She looked down at the cobblestone beneath her feet.

Through the entire ordeal with her stalker, she kept her wits about her. She contacted the police, secured her home, did everything right. Now she felt like a blubbering damsel-in-distress running to Aiden to save her from the big bad.

Her mouth parted as a thought dawned on her.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him, knowing he felt the shockwave of panic that went through her system. “What if he went to my mom’s next? What if he’s with them now? What if he’s hurt them?”

Riley angled toward her as they walked. “I can call Sara.” She pulled out her cellphone.

“No!” Charlotte lifted her hand. “I thought they couldn’t know.”

“I’m not gonna say anything stupid. I’ll ask her about my hours this week. I mean, I don’t actually remember them anyway, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve called her about it. She’s used to it at this point.” Riley shrugged. “If something is wrong, she either won’t answer or will say something.”

Charlotte listened as Riley carried on a lively conversation with her mom on speakerphone. They were at home watching a movie and eating takeout Chinese food. The panic and tension in her muscles eased. She didn’t know what she would do if James hurt her mothers.

After the phone call ended, and they started walking again, she said, “I feel stupid.”

“Why?”

She looked up at Aiden. “Instead of doing the right thing and contacting security like Seth did, I turned into a mess and made you take care of me. And now Riley is checking on my moms instead of me. I feel kinda useless right now.”

Aiden stopped, forcing her to stop too or let go of his hand. She turned to look at him. The others came to a stop around them.

“Don’t do that.” He squeezed her hand. “You’re allowed to stop and have a moment. You’re allowed to break down.” He stepped forward and cupped her cheek. “I’m here. Break, scream, cry. I’ll still be here. I will hold you up until you’re able to stand on your own again.” His thumb swiped a tear from her cheek.

“We’re here too,” Riley said, and Lukas and Seth nodded.

“You don’t have to be alone anymore, Charlotte. We love you. You’ve always been my sister, and I hated you weren’t with me through this.”

Charlotte turned and threw her arms around Blaire’s shoulders, sobbing. “I thought you didn’t care about me anymore. I thought I’d lost you.” Blaire’s shoulder muffled her cries. Later, she might feel embarrassment about her emotional outburst, but right now, it felt cathartic to let it all out.

Blaire hugged her tightly and laughed. “You haven’t lost me. Never will.”

“I love you so much.”

“Me too, Char.”

“How cute. Isn’t human love wonderful?”

Charlotte released Blaire, and they all turned to see five men and two women standing across from them near the side of the main building that faced the dorms.

“What do you think, Lee?” A woman on the far right sporting skinny jeans and an army green T-shirt looked at the man beside her dressed in baggy jeans and a red T-shirt.

“Only love that matters is yours, babe.”

“Ain’t he the best?” She smiled, and they shared a quick kiss.

“Will you two shut the fuck up?” the man in the middle said. He stepped forward. His sun-kissed brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that fell down his back. He wore light-wash jeans with a white T-shirt and a leather jacket similar to Lukas’s and Noah’s. Were they not hot? “Ignore those two. They just bonded, and we’ve been subjected to their fuckfest all week.” He swiped a hand down his face. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.”

Lukas glanced around. “How the hell did they get on campus?”