Page 41 of Fractured Mind
“Nothing.” Our time together should be private.
Her mouth twists and she repeats, “Nothing?”
I cringe at the disbelief in her voice.
“Tsk-tsk. You show all your emotions on your face. Never try poker.”
We accelerate down Nana’s driveway, and I slouch into the leather. There’s something I have to ask, so I blurt out, “Am I just a challenge to Ashton? Does he sleep with women and then have nothing to do with them afterward?”
“He doesn’t sleep with anyone at school.” But just when I feel at ease, she adds, “More older women, like twenties or thirties.”
Fire burns through me. “Yes, the women at the clubhouse, I’ve heard.”
She looks sideways at me before her eyes return to the road. “As far as I know, it was women from the clubhouse and a few randoms outside our town. Women who expected nothing from him.”
I shake my head, trying to expel the images from my mind. Being jealous is a red flag that I like him more than I should. I need to take a moment to process whatever’s going on between us.
After pulling into the usual space in the parking lot, Ruby turns to me with a serious face. “He treats you differently. His attention is only ever on you.”
As my insecurities lessen, I give her a tight nod.
She lays a hand on my arm. “You’re not like the other people he’s slept with, okay?”
Ashton and Jackson are absent today, which gives me more time to think about what I’m going to say to him.
At lunch I massage my temples, trying to ease the headache that has gradually worsened all day. Hands wave in front of my face. I blink away the haze to see Levi.
“Did you hear a word we just said?”
“She’s got a bad headache,” Ruby snaps.
Even though my head is still thumping, I smile at Ruby. At my old school, I never had a close, loyal friend like her.
Levi frowns. “Sorry, kitten.”
“It’s okay.” The pain in my voice suggests otherwise. I clutch my head at the new onslaught of agony. I can tell it’s no longer a headache—it’s morphed into a migraine.
“Mia, you look pale,” Roman says, sounding concerned.
I squeeze my eyes shut because anything bright always makes them worse. “I get migraines from the accident.” The pain gets more intense. I want to curl up in a ball and wait for it to go away.
There’s a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll take you home,” Ruby offers.
When I reluctantly open my eyes, Roman and Levi stand and walk over to me. “Turn around,” Roman says, but when I do, nausea churns my stomach. Roman helps me stand and hunches down so my arm can go around his shoulders. Levi does the same, and they help me walk to the car. Ruby takes me home, and that’s all I remember.
I wake up the next morning in a dark and quiet room. My migraine isn’t throbbing anymore; instead, it’s more of a dull ache.
Nana peeks around my door, and I smile sleepily at her. She walks over and sits on the bed beside me. “How are you feeling this morning?”
The concern in her voice makes me hesitate before answering. “Better.”
“I’ve been checking on you all night. Your phone has been going off. I had Ashton put it on silent last night so it wouldn’t wake you.”
“He was here?” I ask in surprise.
She smiles. The crow’s feet at the outer corners of her eyes deepen. “He came to make sure you were okay.”
I bite back a grin, sit up, and reach out to grab my phone. I let out a small groan, as my headache gets worse every time I move.