Page 92 of Fragile Hearts

He offers her a small smile. “She’s being held while awaiting extradition to California. She won’t be released before then, so you shouldn’t be seeing her anytime soon.”

“Do I still need to file a restraining order?” Sloane asks.

“Up to you, but given everything, I wouldn’t think you’re going to need it. The manslaughter charge will definitely carry jail time, Sloane.”

She nods, not saying anything now as his words sink in. I brush my thumb against the back of her neck, hating all of this even if it does mean Sloane’s mom is out of her life like she wants.

“We aren’t sure if we’re going to be able to get the rest of your things back,” Officer Pearson continues. “We got lucky with the laptops and headphones, so?—”

“The other stuff isn’t important,” I say. “Don’t worry about it.”

Officer Pearson nods, standing now as he offers us both a smile. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer.”

“Thanks,” I say, trailing my fingers along Sloane’s shoulders before I walk the officer to the front door.

When I come back outside, Sloane is standing at the edge of the deck, her back to me as she looks out at the water. I step up behind her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders as I pull her back against me.

“You okay?”

She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she leans back and looks up at me. “Yeah, I think so.”

“It’s okay if you’re not. You know that, right?”

She smiles, her hand coming up to cup my cheek. “I know, but I’m okay.”

I lean down and press a soft kiss to her lips. “Do you want to go and see her? It might be the last time you can for a while.” God knows how long she’s going to jail for if that’s what happens.

She sighs, her eyes closing as she turns her face to the sun. “Honestly, I don’t know,” she admits. “A part of me just wants her gone, but another part of me...” She trails off, not finishing her thought.

I kiss her again. “It’s okay to still have feelings about all this, babe. She’s still your mom, no matter what’s happened.”

“I know,” she whispers, her eyes still closed.

I press my lips to her temple before moving my mouth to her ear. “You don’t have to decide right away.”

“I know,” she says again, opening her eyes. “Thank you,” she adds, smiling up at me.

I return the smile, kissing her softly before I ask, “What do you want to do today?”

“I have class this afternoon,” she says. “But do you want to go surf?”

“With you, always,” I say, grinning. “Why don’t you see if the girls wanna come over tonight? Hang out and watch movies or whatever?”

Sloane turns in my arms, sliding hers around my waist. “Why don’t we have everyone over?” she suggests.

I rest my forehead against hers. “That sounds like a great idea.”

She smiles, tilting her head to kiss me. “Good, should we go catch some waves?”

Sloane and I spend a couple of hours catching waves before heading home to shower and get ready for the rest of our day. After she leaves for class, I head over to The Pipe Dream for my afternoon shift.

“Hey, man,” Nate calls as I walk in through the back door.

“Hey.”

“You guys okay? Flynn told me about the break-in at your place?” he now asks, a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah,” I say, blowing out a breath as I shove a hand through my hair. “Not much was taken, and we managed to get our laptops back, but...” I pause, leaning against the counter as I meet Nate’s gaze. “I’m more worried about the fact that it was her mom who did it.”

---