The Haunting of Secrets by Shelley R. Pickens

gained over the past two years, he still can’t seem
to get things right with Aimee. Well, it definitely wasn’t for lack
of trying.
    Aimee’s moan brings him back to their current
predicament. He kneels beside her in the leaves and leans closer to
her face.
    “ Are you alright, Aim? I don’t know
what to do. You need the nurse. Should I carry you back to school?”
he asks, quietly treating her like he would a frightened
animal.
    Aimee blinks and her eyes go from vacant to
terrified in an instant. She turns her head right and left, taking
in her surroundings in a confounded way. “Where am I?” she asks,
her hands coming up to grab his shirt. “How the hell did I get
here?” she continues, her voice rising in panic with every
word.
    Logan isn’t quite sure how to answer. Did she
have some kind of blackout? Why can’t she remember running from the
school and into the woods? Something has Aimee spooked and Logan is
determined to find out what.
    “You ran from the school. I was in the
courtyard eating my lunch when I saw you come out the side door.
You bolted straight for the trees. I tried to call out to you, but
you wouldn’t answer. I only just now caught up to you in the woods.
Do you really not remember any of that?” asks Logan hoping his
voice doesn’t betray his worry.
    “No,” Aimee says simply. “But, I remember
what made me run. I need to find Dejana and I can’t go back to
school, it isn’t safe.”
    Logan watches Aimee take out her cell phone
from her pocket and text Dejana. Fleetingly, he wonders why she
didn’t use the darn thing in the first place. Why did she run when
all she had to do was call for help? Logan sighs. It seems that
with Aimee, nothing can be simple. Logan waits while she completes
her text and puts her phone back into her pocket. The minute those
crystal blue eyes meet his, all he can think about is kissing her.
Despite the completely insane circumstances, all Logan wants to do
is grab her and see what she tastes like. He can’t take his eyes
off her lips; which is probably why Aimee started yelling at him. Damn, why does she have this effect on him?
    “Earth to Logan. Can you help me or not?”
Aimee asks in a clipped tone.
    “Sure, I’ll even drive you to her house,” he
says. “But, are you okay to move? I kind of had to tackle you to
the ground. Sorry about that,” he says sheepishly. Aimee smiles and
waves her hand in an absent gesture as she mumbles something close
to the words ‘forget it’ before grabbing his arm with her gloved
hand and slowly starts to sit up, using Logan as an anchor.
Immediately, Logan sees all the color drain from her face and
wonders for a split second if she’s going to puke on him.
Selfishly, Logan hopes she doesn’t ruin his favorite blue shirt,
the one he got for winning the championship last year. Yet
stupidly, he finds himself moving closer to her, ready to catch her
again if she needs him. She seems to get control of herself right
away, because she lets go of Logan’s hand and stands up by
herself.
    Aimee takes a deep breath and turns to look
at Logan. “Thank you. I don’t know what would have happened if you
hadn’t come after me. I owe you one,” she finishes, her tone
serious.
    “No worries. I’ll take you up on that one
day,” replies Logan with a sly smile.
    Together, they make their way back to the new
school and head straight for Logan’s car. Despite Logan’s best
attempts to try to convince Aimee to go to the nurse to be checked
out, she flatly refuses. She stumbled once on the way back and fell
to the ground holding her stomach, but as before, she refuses
Logan’s help.
    Once they reach Logan’s car, he pushes the
button to unlock the doors and runs to open Aimee’s door for her.
She mumbles a soft ‘thank you’ before climbing into the seat,
quickly drawing her knees up to her stomach, and wrapping her arms
around her. Logan stands there for a second, wondering why she
always does her best to keep