Page 52 of Aviator
I throw a look at Riley, who rolls her eyes. “I was coming without their threats. I just like to let them think they’re in charge. They behave better that way.”
Krystal bounces on the bed. “Yeah, we couldn’t just stay at home and wait. We had to come make sure you were okay. Besides, it totally got us a couple days out of school.”
I ruffle her hair. “Well, thanks, I think. . .”
Kenzie chimes in with her wide, innocent eyes. “I made you a ‘Welcome Back’ card!”
She thrusts a colorful card into my hands, and I can’t help but smile at the heartfelt effort she put into it. “Thank you, Kenzie. I love it.”
Riley gives me a reassuring pat on the back. “You can’t die without me, bitch. I wouldn’t survive without you.”
I sink onto the bed beside them, the warmth of their presence easing the turmoil within me. “I was worried. I kept trying to call you, but it kept going to voicemail.”
Riley scowls. “Service was shit at first, and then I lost my damn phone, and Klaire forgot hers.”
Klaire leans in, her expression mischievous. “Maybe now you’ll get a new phone.”
Krystal grins. “So, is the cute guy from the news the one you were stranded with?”
I blush, feeling caught off guard by her directness. “Yeah, he is.”
Kenzie gasps in exaggerated surprise. “Ooooh, he’s pretty. I like him.”
I chuckle, tickling her in the ribs. “Oh, you do, huh?”
Riley leans back, looking at me seriously. “You guys looked cozy at the hospital. Is there something going on there that we should know about? Someone took pictures of ya’ll at the hospital and leaked them everywhere,” she adds when she sees my confused look.
I don’t have to answer before Klaire shouts, “I knew it! I told you there were totally vibes happening there. When do we get to meet him?”
“You slut!” Riley adds to the din, her high-pitched voice of outrage cutting above the rest. “Here I was worried about you, and you’re bumping uglies with a sexy-hot mountain man?”
Kenzie’s expression turns pensive. “What does bumping uglies mean?”
We all dissolve into fits of laughter as I put a hand to Riley’s face and shove, knocking her back onto the bed. “You need to watch your big mouth,” I warn.
The food finally arrives, and thankfully, I ordered a family-sized serving, so we split the eggplant Parm, and Riley gets some soft drinks from the machine at the end of the hall. As we eat, I entertain them with a recounting of the past few days (PG, of course, although Riley wiggles her eyebrows at me, indicating that the dirty details will be for later).
“Has there been any word from Kady?” I ask Riley when the girls are distracted and giggling over photos of Dean. “There wasn’t any sign in the cabin other than something written on the mirror. Project Sentinel? You haven’t heard of it, have you?”
Riley frowns. “I’ve never heard of it. And no, I haven’t heard from her either.”
My high mood at their appearance sinks a little because I’m no closer to finding Kady than I was when this all started.
Eventually, the room is filled with yawns and stretching. “Looks like it’s bedtime for you three,” I say.
Kenzie pouts. “But we wanna stay up and talk more!”
I chuckle. “We’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow. Right now, you need your beauty sleep.”
After tucking them into the foldout couch, I sit beside Riley on the bed. She gives me a knowing smile. “Feeling better?”
I nod, feeling a sense of clarity settling over me. “Yeah, I am. And having you guys here. . . it means the world to me.”
Riley wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Now, about this Dean guy. . .”
Just as I start to explain, another knock at the door echoes through the room. My heart skips a beat, and I exchange a puzzled glance with Riley.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone else,” I murmur, my brow furrowing. A part of me hopes it’s Dean on the other side of the door.
