Saving Sloane | gxg

10

It was late, and I was watching TV with my mom when there was a knock on the door. Mom got up to answer it.

I heard my mom greet the person. She walked back over to the couch. "It's your friend. Sloane," she said.

"She's here?"

Mom nodded.

"What's she doing here?"

Mom raised her eyebrows, a wry smile on her face. "I think she's here to see you."

I sat up, running my hands through my hair. "Do I look okay?"

"Honey, you're fine."

"What do I do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What should I say?"

"You say 'Hi Sloane,' and then you sit down."

"That's it?"

"Yes. You can do this, honey."

I watched Sloane walk into the room. Mom followed after her, closing the door behind them. Sloane turned around and smiled at me.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," I replied, swallowing hard.

"I just wanted to check up on you," Sloane said, taking a few steps toward me.

I glanced at my mom, who was standing behind Sloane, smiling.

"Thanks," I said, my voice soft.

"How are you feeling?" Sloane asked.

I looked down, feeling my cheeks grow warm. "I'm fine," I replied.

"Good."

There was an awkward silence, and then Mom spoke up. "Well, I'm going to head to bed now." She came over and kissed me on the forehead."I'll be upstairs if you need anything. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mom."

Sloane sat down as Mom went up the stairs. I could feel her eyes on me, watching me.

She cleared her throat, looking away from me. "So... what have you been doing today?"

"Nothing really," I replied. "I was just watching TV."

I nodded, staring at her in silence. She glanced back at me, and we both started to laugh.

"Well, this is awkward," she said

"I know," I replied. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'm just nervous."

"Me too."

"I don't usually get nervous," Sloane laughed, scratching the back of her head. "So, uh..." Sloane started but stopped when she saw that I was looking at her. She turned away and cleared her throat, the tips of her ears turning red.

"So..." I repeated, watching her fidgeting in her seat.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking up at me. "I'm not sure what to say."

Sloane was playing with the hem of her shirt, tugging at it. She kept glancing back at me, a nervous smile on her face.

"Can we start over?" Sloane asked, a smile playing on her lips.

I nodded, feeling my heart flutter in my chest.

"Okay. Hi, I'm Sloane. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand. I shook it, feeling my skin tingle at her touch.

"I'm Vera. Nice to meet you."

She squeezed my fingers, holding on a moment too long. I stared at her, watching her bite her lip.