Stuck with You

by Alexandra Moody

  I looked in the direction of Clary’s room and wondered if Seth had a point. Wasn’t it better to tell her the truth about how I felt so I could move on if she didn’t love me back? We’d spent a couple of weeks together now, and if she didn’t like me after all that time together, then more time wasn’t going to change anything.

  “What if she says no?” I murmured. “What if she says no and we’re stuck living together. It would be so awkward.”

  “Yeah, it would be,” he agreed. “But surely, awkward is better than continuing to love a girl who doesn’t love you back.”

  I wasn’t convinced about that.

  “Besides,” he continued. “I wouldn’t be so sure she’ll reject you. I haven’t seen you and Clary together since school, and she was acting so differently around you when I saw you both at iso-prom last night. I think you have more of a chance than you believe.”

  I wanted to believe Seth more than anything. Maybe Clary’s feelings toward me had changed but I was just too scared to notice? I wasn’t sure if they had, but I couldn’t seem to snuff out the small flame of hope he’d lit inside me.

  “Maybe you’re right,” I murmured. “Maybe I need to man up and give this whole honesty thing a shot.”

  “Yeah, you do,” Seth agreed.

  “Shit.” I shook my head as I thought it through. “I can’t believe I’m going to tell Clary the truth about how I feel. Just so you know, if this backfires and I’m stuck living in an awkward version of hell, I’m going to blame you for it.”

  Seth chuckled. “You told me you guys have a connection. Perhaps you should start believing in it.”

  “You’re worse than Dr. Phil,” I muttered. “But, you’re right. For better or worse, I need to tell Clary the truth.”

  “Good,” he replied. “So, when are you going to do it?”

  “As soon as possible or I’ll lose my nerve.” My stomach was doing somersaults at the thought, and the churning feeling wasn’t something I’d felt in a long time. I definitely needed to get this over quickly. “I should probably go do it now.”

  “Good luck,” Seth said.

  “Thanks.” I blew out a breath and opened my bedroom door. “I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”

  17

  Clary

  I was trying to get ready to go to the supermarket, but my phone kept lighting up. Zoey had sent no less than fifty text messages last night. Fifty. I hadn’t checked them yet because I knew she would be hounding me about Aiden. There was a bunch of messages from my other friends too, and I knew they’d all be asking the same thing. I was going to need three cups of coffee just to get through them all.

  I let out a sigh as I picked up my phone. Thankfully, the latest message wasn’t another notification from my best friend. Instead, my mom had replied in several short messages to the picture I’d sent her of Aiden and I dressed up for prom.

  Mom: You look beautiful!!!

  Mom: Aiden does too!

  Mom: He’s cuddled up VERY close to you! TOO CLOSE!

  Mom: **Sorry, that was your dad** What he meant to say was you look great together.

  Mom: Send us more pics! We love and miss you. xM&D

  I shook my head, a smile on my lips as I texted them back.

  Me: Thanks guys. I’ll try to get more pics of last night from Aiden. Don’t worry Dad, he was only that close for the photo!! Love you both xx

  I decided I should tackle Zoey’s messages next. Once I dived in, I knew I’d made the right decision to wait until this morning. I didn’t think I could have handled them last night. She had practically given me a minute-by-minute account of iso-prom, including a complete analysis of every moment between Aiden and I. By the end of her texts, it was clear she was convinced we were in love.

  I called her immediately. “We’re not in love,” I said as soon as she answered.

  “Way to call me back, bitch,” she replied. “I must have left you like twenty messages.”

  “There were fifty.”

  “And you guys totally are in love! I was watching you both last night, and I know what I saw.”

  I groaned and threw my head into my hands. “Zoey, that’s so creepy. How could you spend all of iso-prom watching Aiden and I?”

  “Well, my date was a cat,” she replied, like the answer was obvious. “And you two together were hot! Although, I have to admit, I was slightly distracted by Seth. That boy scrubs up nice, and he knows how to move. Plus, you know how I like them tall.”

  “You do,” I agreed. Zoey seemed to fall in love at least twenty times a day, so it was hardly surprising she’d been checking out our school’s star basketball player.

  “Anyway, back to Aiden,” she continued. “Have you made out with him yet?”

  “No, and I’m not going to.” My heart betrayed me by doing a small flip at the thought though.

  A gasp escaped Zoey’s lips. “Please don’t utter such blasphemous words to me!”

  “Blasphemy? Aiden is hardly a god,” I grumbled. Although, he’d looked a little like one last night. I was still rattled by the things I’d felt during iso-prom with Aiden. I kept trying to ignore the feelings, but they wouldn’t seem to go away. This conversation with Zoey really wasn’t helping, and while I was trying to tell her there was nothing between Aiden and me, I wasn’t sure she was the only one I was trying to convince.

  “Well, I’d worship at his altar any day,” she said, with a matter of fact tone.

  I rolled my eyes. “You are the worst.”

  “No, you are. You’re living with the hottest guy within a hundred-mile radius and doing nothing about it. You are literally letting down everyone who is alone in quarantine right now. You need to take one for the team.”

  “Gosh, if I’d realized I was letting everyone else down, I totally would have made out with him by now.”

  “Really?”

  “No, of course not. I’m not going to make out with a guy just because you want me to.”

  “But you two really were cute together last night, and the goofy way he was dancing with his brother was sweet.”

  “That doesn’t mean we should make out.”

  Zoey let out a defeated sigh. “Maybe not. But I saw the way Aiden was looking at you, and I think he likes you.”

  “He doesn’t like me.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Of course, I’m sure.” The smallest sliver of doubt crept into my mind as I spoke though. “He looks at all girls that way,” I added.

  “Except he doesn’t,” she replied. “I’ve seen Aiden Moore with a lot of girls, and not once has he looked at them the way he was looking at you last night. He definitely likes you. You should give him a chance.”

  I fell silent. Was Aiden really looking at me differently? I tried to remember how he looked at the other girls he’d dated, but I couldn’t seem to picture it. Giving Aiden a chance wasn’t something I ever would have given more than a moment’s consideration in the past. For once though, I didn’t immediately reject the idea.

  A knock at the door broke me from my thoughts, and I blushed at the direction they’d been heading in. Giving Aiden a chance? What was I thinking? I was just glad my best friend couldn’t read minds.

  “Hey, Zo, I’ve got to get going, but I’ll call you later.”

  “You better,” she said before hanging up.

  Aiden pushed the door open as I placed the phone down at my side. He was typing on his own phone as he entered, and he frowned when he looked up at me. “Are you wearing that to the supermarket?”

  I glanced down and realized I was still in my pajamas. “Sorry, I got distracted talking to Zoey.”

  He chuckled. “I imagine that happens a lot.”

  “You have no idea. It sounded like she really enjoyed iso-prom.”

  At least, she enjoyed watching us like a weirdo stalker. As I stared at Aiden, I started wondering if Zoey was right about him liking me. I didn’t think he was acting any differently, so she must have been
mistaken. I was weirdly disappointed by the thought.

  “Yeah, everyone’s been messaging me to say how great it was,” he replied. “Did you have fun?”

  “Yeah, I did.” It was hard not to smile as I recalled the night. It had genuinely been the best thing to happen since this whole crazy lockdown began. For a few short hours, I’d managed to stop worrying about my parents and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, my worries were never far from the forefront of my mind, and despite the fact my parents had messaged me this morning, my concern for them was back with full force today.

  “I got a message from one of my neighbors,” Aiden said, waving his phone in the air. “One of the first responses from our postcard drop.”

  “Really?” I sat up a little straighter. “Who is it?”

  “Rosalind. You’ve seen her before. She was actually on the street with her husband Herb when we were posting the cards in people’s mailboxes.”

  “The couple that were fighting?”

  “That’s them.” He smiled. “They’re really not as bad as that though. I mean, she knits Elliot and me mittens in the winter, and Herb is always giving us lemons from their fruit tree.”

  “So, they don’t normally fight?”

  “Oh, they do,” he replied. “And I’m pretty sure Rosalind used to work for the FBI or something. The woman knows everything that’s going on in our neighborhood.”

  I laughed. “Sounds scary.”

  “It is. I swear she even knew what colleges I got accepted to before I did.”

  “So, she goes through your mail too?”

  He grinned. “Probably. Anyway, she asked me if I could pick up some medications for her.”

  “We can do that.”

  “Great, we can swing by the pharmacy while we’re out.”

  I nodded. “It’s not like we have anywhere else we need to be. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get changed.” I turned to my duffel bag to find something to wear, but he didn’t leave the room immediately.

  “Hey, um, Clary…” Aiden cleared his throat.

  “Yeah?” He was still standing just inside the doorway looking somewhat uncomfortable. His gaze seemed troubled, which was a look I’d rarely seen on him.

  “There was something I wanted to tell you.” He pushed a hand through his hair and stepped toward me.

  “Okay…” He’d been fine a minute ago, but now he was acting strangely, and I had no idea why. He didn’t respond straightaway, and I got the feeling he had some bad news for me. He looked like he wanted to be sick. “Should I be worried?”

  “Oh, no, it’s nothing bad,” he quickly replied. “At least, I don’t think it is.” He muttered the last part.

  “Well, what is it?”

  “I just… Well, what I want to say is…” Whatever it was, he was doing a really bad job of actually saying it. He blew a breath upward, ruffling some of the hair that hung across his forehead. “Well, there’s you…and then there’s me.”

  I gave him a confused smile. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”

  “No, probably not.” A door slammed shut downstairs, and he flinched at the sound. He was really on edge right now.

  “So, what do you mean?”

  “Just that… The two of us…” His voice trailed off as he faced me once more. I waited for him to explain, but there was a pained look in his gaze, making me feel like it was difficult for him to find the words. He pushed a hand through his hair once again and let out a sad laugh.

  “The two of us…” he tried again. “We have to start online learning with school on Monday.” His shoulders deflated slightly as he finally got the words out.

  “That’s what you had to tell me?”

  He dug his hands into his pockets and nodded. “Um, yeah.”

  I got the distinct impression he’d intended to say something else, but I was probably just reading too much into it. Maybe he was just disappointed the break from school was over.

  “Yeah, I saw the email,” I replied. “It will probably be nice to have something to do every day.”

  “I guess,” he agreed.

  I moved closer to him, still not sure why he was acting so strangely. “Was that really what you wanted to tell me?”

  His lips were tense as he smiled in reply. “Yeah, of course, it was. What did you think I was trying to say? Pronounce my undying love for you?”

  I let out a laugh and shook my head. “No, of course not.”

  He turned toward the door before I could catch his expression. “Anyway, I’ll leave you to get ready,” he said. “I’ll meet you downstairs in five.”

  He left without another word, and I stood there staring at the empty doorway. Why did I feel like I was missing something?

  Aiden put the radio on, and the music played quietly in the background as he drove us to the supermarket. He didn’t make any effort to talk to me, and I had to wonder if his quietness was related to how strangely he’d been acting before.

  I hadn’t been to the town center since I’d moved in with Aiden, and I was surprised by how empty it was. The place was usually buzzing with people, but today, there was hardly anyone to be seen.

  The lack of people wasn’t the only difference, and many of the shops we passed were closed. The blinds were drawn at my favorite coffee shop, and the small clothes and home goods shops that dotted the road all had their lights off and their front doors closed. There were no kids at the playground, and instead, the area was cordoned off by red tape. If it weren’t for the dozens of cars in the supermarket parking lot, I might have believed the whole town had been abandoned.

  Once Aiden parked the truck, I pulled two face masks out of my handbag along with a small container of hand sanitizer. “Better safe than sorry,” I said as I passed Aiden one of the masks.

  He let out a relieved breath as he took it. “Lucky you were thinking. I completely forgot to bring one.”

  I wasn’t surprised. He’d been distracted the whole way here. We both generously applied the gel to our hands before putting our masks on. They weren’t the cutest accessories, but they were a very necessary one.

  Aiden turned once his mask was on, and his eyes lit with amusement when he saw me. “You need to make sure it’s covering your nose properly,” he said. “Here, I’ll help you.” He reached over to adjust the mask on my face. His fingers were gentle as they brushed against my skin, and I was glad for the mask covering my cheeks, or he might have seen me blush.

  “There,” he murmured before sitting back. With a mask covering his nose and mouth, I couldn’t help but be drawn to Aiden’s eyes. His lashes were unfairly thick for a boy, and I had no idea how he managed to make a piece of protective wear look so good.

  “Thanks.” I smiled at him though he couldn’t see it.

  “Just don’t forget to make sure you’re not touching your face or the mask in there. It kind of makes wearing one pointless if you constantly touch it.”

  “Okay.” As his mom was a doctor, Aiden had probably been very thoroughly educated on the issue. For all my desire to do the right thing during the pandemic, I had to admit I had no idea there was a right and wrong way to wear a mask.

  We made our way into the store, and I paused in the entrance as surprise took hold of me. Apparently, the rest of town was completely empty because everyone was in here. The store was crazy busy, and I couldn’t understand why they’d allowed so many people inside.

  Aiden turned to me, his gaze turning serious. “We’ll make this quick,” he said, and I nodded in agreement. The sooner we could get out of the supermarket, the better.

  We made our way down the aisles, doing our best to avoid people where we could. You were supposed to keep six feet from others, but that was nearly impossible to do in here. Every time we neared someone, a small tendril of fear shot through me. It was strange to feel so distinctly uncomfortable in the presence of other people. Anyone here could have the virus, and not for one moment did I forget it.

  I stayed close to
Aiden, and we moved quickly to gather the things we needed. It was lucky his mom hadn’t asked for toilet paper because the aisle was completely bare. Even basics like rice and pasta were in short supply. I’d been thinking of making another pasta dish tonight, but I saw I was going to have to settle for the next best thing—lasagna. Thankfully, there were still some boxes of lasagna sheets on the shelves.

  The more time I spent in the supermarket, the more I realized there was an air of fear about the people around me. Carts rattled as they charged down the aisles, and everyone was eying each other with suspicion. I passed two people shouting at each other as they fought over a bottle of olive oil. The place was like a war zone.

  When we reached the checkout, I was relieved to find there was a plastic partition separating us from the girl operating the register. I couldn’t imagine how worried she must be coming to work every day in such a hectic environment. I hadn’t been close to anyone outside Aiden’s household in a couple of weeks, and I had no idea how she faced this every day.

  “I’m glad to see they’ve got these barriers here for you guys,” Aiden said to the girl, as she scanned our groceries.

  Even with a mask on, Aiden had the girl blushing. “Yeah, they put them in last week,” she said before frowning slightly. “Doesn’t stop people from shouting at us when we’re out of things they need though.”

  I blanched. “People do that?”

  “Yeah,” she murmured. “I think everyone is a bit stressed.”

  “That doesn’t mean they can treat you like that,” Aiden said. “It’s not your fault the shelves are empty.”

  She shrugged. “People like someone to blame.”

  I couldn’t understand why anyone felt they had the right to abuse someone who was only doing their job. This pandemic brought out the best and worst in people.

  The girl finished scanning our groceries, and Aiden paid. He went to gather the bags but paused before we left. “Thanks.” His eyes dipped to the girl’s name tag. “Amelia. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate what you’re doing.”