Thirty

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Leo let out a tiny chuckle, which was muffled by my lips on his.

"That was the best 'hello' I've ever gotten!" He smiled.

"I'm just so glad you're okay!" I gushed.

He closed the door gently behind me. The living room had an overstuffed couch with lots of pillows, a TV, and white coffee table. Framed photos hung on the walls. It wasn't overly decorated and was really charming. Something about it made me feel at home.

Maggie wasn't there. Leo and I sat on the couch and I asked him how he was feeling.

"A little tired from the medication." He admitted. "But other than that, I'll be fine."

"How's your head?" I asked cautiously.

He shrugged. "I'm okay, Everly. Don't worry."

I gave him a small smile. It was impossible not to worry. The more I looked at him, the more fearful I became. If Ariana had done this to him, what else was she capable of?

 If Ariana had done this to him, what else was she capable of?

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"How's Maggie?" I questioned.

"She's hanging in there. The store got cleaned up, but in all honesty, I think she's mostly worried about you," he said. "She wants to help with this whole Ariana thing."

He took my hand in his. I told him about my run in with Vivian and how she could hopefully help me.

"That's amazing." He smiled sweetly. "Maybe she should meet my mom. Together I bet they can figure out exactly how to fix this."

It wasn't a bad idea. The only thing better than one person trying to protect me was two. I nodded.

"I think you're right. She's supposed to call me tomorrow, so I'll let her know."

Time was running out. I would have to meet Ariana on Sunday. I only hoped that was enough time for Maggie and Vivian to somehow find a way to make this all end.

I hung out with Leo watching movies and talking. The rest of the day went by so fast. I lost all sense of time with him. Finally, he started to look a little drowsy so I offered to go home. He tried to argue, but I wanted him to rest and get well.

After I left his house, I went home. It had been nice seeing Vivian again, but I hated how she felt towards Ariana. If what she'd said was true, I couldn't blame her for having ill feelings. I just wished Ariana hadn't been that type of person.

I grabbed my box of photos from my closet shelf and looked through them slowly. I searched my face for any sign of anguish in my eyes. The more I looked, the more my mind played tricks on me. I kept questioning myself. Am I smiling because I was actually happy or was I hiding my displeasure?

I couldn't tell just by sifting through old photos. As I held one photo, I brought it up to the light. In it, Ariana and I were in her backyard. I remembered that exact day. We were swimming in her pool. Her mom snapped this picture of us, and then minutes later, her parents left to go somewhere, leaving us alone.
Ariana had invited some boys over and I was terribly uncomfortable because they had brought wine coolers. Looking at myself in that photo, I was happy...at that moment. The photo didn't show events that happened minutes after it was taken.

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