Page 26 of Fragile Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #3)

My phone rings just as I’m walking into The Pipe Dream, my afternoon lessons now done.

“Eli, dude, how’s it going?” I ask, seeing my cousin’s name on the screen.

Eli laughs, the sound a deep, throaty rumble. “Awesome, just finished training, and I am now officially a firefighter,” he says, and I can hear the excitement in his voice.

“Fuck, that’s awesome, congrats, man,” I say, happy for him. He’s wanted to do this for ages, and despite missing out the first time he tried out, he didn’t give up. “So, you coming back home soon?” I ask, wondering if Sloane would be happy if my cousin moved back in with us.

They have met before but haven’t really spent a ton of time together, and I know how she is with strangers in her personal space.

“Nah, I’ve actually been assigned to a crew here on Oahu, so I’m gonna stay here for a bit. Hope to get back to Maui soon though,” he says. “But yeah, I guess I won’t be moving back in for a while.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “No worries, I actually have a new roommate anyway,” I tell him.

“Oh, I see, it’s like that, is it? Replace me as soon as I walk out the door.”

“No, it was more a case of helping someone out,” I reply, waving at Nate as I hover by the door.

“Okay, so who is it?” he asks, and my smile widens.

“My girlfriend, Sloane.”

There’s a moment of silence before Eli blurts out, “Oh my fucking god, finally!”

I laugh, fully expecting this reaction from him, because just like all my friends, my cousin is also well aware of my crush on Sloane.

“Yep,” I say.

“So what, how’d that all happen?” he asks.

I fill him in on how Sloane and Daisy got evicted from their place after the owner sold it to some developers and how I offered Sloane a place to stay since we had the space and she had nowhere else to go.

“And then what, you charmed her into your bed?” he teases.

“Nah man, she just gave me a chance finally,” I reply, as my phone pings with the sound of an incoming text. I glance at the screen and see Sloane’s name.

“Well, that’s awesome, dude, I’m really happy for you,” Eli says.

“Thanks, and you know, you can come back anytime,” I tell him. “Your bedroom is still available.”

Eli laughs. “What, and listen to you two go at it all night? No fucking thank you.”

“Whatever,” I say. “Anyway, I gotta go. Sloane just messaged me, talk?—”

“God, pussy whipped already,” he teases. “But yeah, no worries. The boys and I are going out to celebrate. It’s all good. Talk soon.”

“Have fun and be good!”

“Ha, never,” Eli says, laughing, before he hangs up.

Smiling, I open the text from Sloane as I walk toward the counter.

Sloane: My fucking mom is here. Showed up at work.

I blink, stalling out as I take in her text, unsure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I know her mom ditched her years ago, and I know Sloane has essentially given up on her, but maybe her showing up again is for a reason. A good one, hopefully.

Me: Shit ok. How are you feeling about that?

Sloane: Honestly, idk.

Me: Babe, maybe you should talk with he? At least see what she wants?

Me: I mean, only if you want to. I can come over if you need me to.

Sloane: Idk...I told her I’d talk to her after my shift ends.

Me: Want me to come over? I’m just finishing up at Pipe Dream.

Sloane: It’s all good, I’ll handle it.

Me: Ok, text me when you’re done. Love you.

Sloane: Love you too.

“Hey, done with lessons,” Nate says.

I look up from my phone. “Yep, all good,” I say, handing the paperwork to him, still distracted by Sloane’s message and what her mom showing up might mean.

“Cool, thanks,” he replies. “You wanna hang for a bit, have a drink?”

I blow out a breath, wondering if I should go and make sure Sloane is okay. A part of me wants to, but at the same time, I know I have to let her do this on her own if that’s what she wants. Even if every single part of me just wants to protect her. From everything.

“Yeah, sounds good,” I tell him, smiling.

I help Nate close up the shop, knowing he’s a little understaffed with Alana and Flynn away and Sage in class.

As we’re heading out back to grab a drink, Miles shows up, his board tucked under his arm and his hair wet.

“Hey, you wanna drink?” Nate calls, holding up a beer.

“Sounds good,” Miles replies with a nod as he walks over to join us. Nate hands it to him before running up the stairs to his apartment.

“You go for another surf?” I ask, knowing we were all surfing together this morning and Miles didn’t have any lessons booked this afternoon.

“Yeah,” he says, blowing out a breath as he sits in one of the chairs, taking a long pull of his beer.

“You okay?” I ask, knowing that as quiet as Miles is, especially compared to his brother, something feels different about him today.

“Yeah,” he says, repeating his earlier answer as he glances over at me.

I take in his face, the sadness that seems to be permanently etched all over it, which I am one hundred percent certain is because of him and Daisy and Isaac.

He was only gone for six months when he went to the mainland, and although I don’t know all the details of their breakup, when Miles came back just before Mitch died, Daisy was hooking up with Isaac and Miles wasn’t speaking to either of them.

It’s weird because Daisy and Isaac make zero sense, while Daisy and Miles make perfect sense. Having watched them date for most of high school and afterward, it just feels weird to see them apart and Daisy with someone else.

“This about our convo last night?” I ask as Nate comes down the stairs with a bag of chips in his hand.

Miles glances at him before turning back to me with a shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe you should try talking to her,” I suggest. “Like just you and her, privately.”

Miles blows out a breath, sinking down in his chair as Nate joins us.

“I don’t know if she even wants to talk to me,” he eventually says.

“We’ve barely spoken since I came back, so.

..” He trails off, not finishing his sentence.

“Sage in class?” he asks instead, changing the subject as he looks at Nate.

“Yeah. Where’s Sloane?” he asks, looking at me.

“At work, but um...yeah, her mom showed up, so she’s?—”

“Her mom showed up?” Nate asks, cutting me off.

“Yeah,” I reply with a shrug.

“Fuck,” he says, scrubbing a hand across his jaw. “She say what she wants?”

“No, I don’t know. Sloane’s gonna stay and talk with her. Why, is this, like, bad or something?”

“It’s not gonna be good,” Nate says, glancing at Miles. “Parents don’t just fuck off and leave you and then suddenly decide to show up again because they want to be in your life. She’ll be here for a reason, and I can guarantee it won’t be a good one.”

“Fuck,” I breathe out. “Should I go over there then? She said she was okay by herself.”

“Maybe just let her find out what she wants,” Nate says. “But be careful. She’s going to have an agenda for sure.”

“I remember a time when Sloane’s mom randomly showed up,” Miles says. Nate and I both turn to look at him, and he just shrugs. “It wasn’t like a secret or anything. I was there, saw it happen, back when...”

He doesn’t finish, but we all know what he was about to say. Back when he and Daisy were still together, and Daisy was living with Alana and Sloane, and Miles was a regular presence in their house.

“What happened?” I ask, having never heard this story.

Miles takes a sip of his beer before he speaks.

“She showed up high, on something, and asking Sloane for money. Said her car had been stolen and she just needed some cash to get back on her feet. Didn’t give two shits that Sloane barely had a dollar to her name and was literally living paycheck to paycheck. ”

Nate nods at this, and I can’t even begin to know what that must be like.

As much as I try not to throw my family’s money in anyone’s face, especially my friends, I know they all know that I don’t really need to work at The Pipe Dream or teach surf lessons.

That I live rent-free in a house paid for by my parents, and if I wanted to, I could probably travel anywhere in the world I felt like going.

“Jesus,” I say, blowing out a breath. “What did Sloane do?” I ask, wishing I knew more about Sloane’s past. But I know she doesn’t like talking about it, and I don’t ever want her to feel like she has to tell me anything.

She has told me bits and pieces though and that is enough to paint a picture of just how different her life was from mine growing up.

Miles chuckles. “Well, Sloane told her mom to fuck off and never come around there again,” he says, taking another sip of beer. “Me, Daze and Alana were all standing there behind her, and I think her mom just figured she wasn’t getting anywhere with Sloane not being alone.”

“Did she come back another time?” I ask.

“No,” Miles says. “Not that I know of anyway, but...um, yeah, Sloane wasn’t really in a good place after the visit.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, sitting forward in my chair, my heart now pounding in my chest.

Miles glances at Nate before turning back to me, shoving a hand through his wet hair. “She kinda spiraled, Owen. I think seeing her mom again after it having been so long triggered something in her, and yeah, it wasn’t good.”

“Like, what happened?”

“She just sort of went quiet and shit, didn’t want to do anything. Kept to herself, and apart from school and work, she didn’t leave the house.”

“Fuck,” I breathe out, turning to Nate. “What the fuck should I do?” I ask him, knowing if anyone is going to know what it’s like, it’s Nate.

Like Sloane, he was also in the foster system, and I know he had a rough time of it too until Mitch took him in.

“Just be there for her,” he says. “Make sure she knows you’re sticking around, that you aren’t gonna leave her like her mom did.”

“Never,” I say, shaking my head before he’s even finished speaking.

“It’s easy for you to say that,” Nate says, giving me a sad smile.

“But convincing Sloane to believe it is a whole other story. Getting abandoned is a way of life for Sloane and...” He pauses, blowing out a breath as he scrubs a hand over his face.

“It’s really fucking hard to trust people when they say they’ll stay.

Shit, you guys know what I was like when Mitch first took me in. ”

I nod, remembering how hostile and pissed off Nate was and how much he pushed all of us away. It was Mitch who told us to just take it easy and not give up on him. Mitch who got Nate to somehow believe we weren’t messing with him.

“Okay, fuck, I’m gonna go,” I say, finishing the rest of my beer before standing.

Miles and Nate both hold out a hand for me, and I fist bump them each before saying goodbye and heading to my car. On the way, I text Sloane.

Me: Hey babe, I’m on my way – where are you, home or work?

Sloane doesn’t respond, and when I try calling her, it rings before going to voicemail.

“Fuck,” I say, throwing my phone into the cup holder as I start the car. I head over to the Orchid Bay, figuring I’ll start there because that’s where Sloane’s mom was.

As far as I know, she doesn’t know where Sloane lives now that she’s moved out of the house she shared with Daisy and Alana. And after what Miles and Nate just told me, a small part of me hopes it stays that way.

I head into the foyer, scanning the space for Sloane, but she isn’t anywhere. I try calling again, but again she doesn’t answer, and when I see Amber behind the counter, I walk over.

“Hey, Amber, is Sloane around?”

Amber smiles at me, shaking her head. “No, she left,” she says. “So you two, huh? Cute.”

“Thanks,” I mumble, turning back to scan the space once more. I try calling her again, but once more, there’s no answer. “Fuck, Sloane, where are you?” I say to myself.

With no idea where else to go, I head home, wondering if maybe she’s already spoken to her mom and just gone home. Maybe her phone is off or ran out of battery or whatever, even though I know she plugs it in every night to charge.

The relief I feel when I pull into the drive and see Sloane’s car is nearly overwhelming. Slamming the door shut, I head into the house, calling out to her.

“Sloane?”

There’s no answer as I walk through the house, my heart pounding in my chest. But then I see her, sitting on the back deck, Mochi in her lap as she stares out at the ocean.

“Sloane, babe?” I say, stepping onto the deck, my heart breaking when she turns to me, tears streaming down her face.