I walked towards Cole's car as fast as I could, not bothering to look behind me as I went. This night was a disaster, a big -I mean it- very big disaster. For a brief second I found myself thinking about going back to Aiden instead of letting Cole drive me home but quickly realized I needed time to process everything I had heard and him being with me during that time wouldn't help a single bit.
Cole seemed angry, fuming almost which made me even angrier. I was the one supposed to be mad at both of them, but especially him. He obviously knew about the whole situation with Aiden and was in contact with him the whole time when I was suffering, waiting for the phone to ring so that could hear even a single word from him.
Cole got in the car, starting it immediately as I followed close behind. I didn't look at him, I just looked straight ahead instead. The car started moving as we both looked at the road, neither of us saying a word.
''I told you to stay away from him, Evelyn! I fucking told you!'' Cole yelled after a moment of silence, shaking his head.
''You can't just force me not to see my best friend, Cole! Not after not seeing him for so long!'' I yelled back, my hands flying everywhere. I had promised to stay away and I thought I wanted to but I can't. I thought I could and I thought that it was for the best but now that he's back, now that he's here, I realize I can't shut him out of my life as if he was nothing.
''He's not who you think he is! He's got you wrapped up around his finger and you can't even see it. He's dangerous, Evelyn. If you stay with him, he will ruin you''
Ruin me?
''Well- Well, you don't seem to be that perfect either or any less dangerous. You yourself just offered him to 'join your forces' or whatever and he said he's done helping you which means that he has helped you again in the past! What help could you possibly want from him if he's as dangerous as you say?"
He looked at me, shocked but didn't say anything.
''Well?" I pushed, demanding an answer. I spent the past three years in ignorance because I was too scared to find out what was happening. I ignored all the signs that said I should do something. I wasn't planning on spending any more time like this. ''That's different'' he said under his breath, loud enough for me to hear. I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. ''Sure, Cole.'' I rolled my eyes.
''You don't know what I know so you better drop it and stop accusing me of things I didn't do.''
''I didn't accuse you of anything I simply mentioned what I heard come from your own mouth, in your own words'' I said, trying to hold my ground. ''And you know what, I'm so tired of people telling me I know nothing about this and no one actually telling me what I should know''
''Should know?'' he chuckled ''You have nothing to do with this so it'd be better for all of us if you'd just stay out of it'' he said, his tone harsh. It was almost like he was implying that I was a burden and was making things hard for them by learning about this and being involved, even though I still wasn't even close to being involved.
''Then why don't you tell me about it?! It's not that hard Cole, plus I do have something to do with it, I know it now. Aiden told me'' I said, turning to look at him. The car stopped abruptly at a red light, making both of us jolt back in our seats.
''He what?!'' he yelled, his fist colliding with the steering wheel ''That fucking idiot'' he murmured, probably not wanting me to hear, but I did. ''You know what, that's it. If he dares to come near you again, he's done. Dead. Same goes to you, you better keep your ass away from that scum'' he said, his voice low but harsh and angry.
I looked at him with wide eyes, hoping he was being metaphorical when he said he was going to kill Aiden. Scum? I normally would have defended my best friend if he was called a scum but in that moment, I stayed frozen, my eyes narrow and my mouth slightly parted.
The car started moving again and Cole took his gaze from me, directing it back to the road again. Our house wasn't that far away from that party but that night, it felt as if we had been driving for hours. I wanted to know more, needed to know more while at the same time I didn't know if I could handle more.
''What's going on Cole?'' I asked, my voice low, weak ''Are you guys in trouble?'' I said, concern evident in my voice. I was angry, yes but at the end of the day this is still my brother and best friend we're talking about. We all grew up together -though Cole Is five years older- and now I can't even recognize them. What have they been doing? Was it illegal? Most likely.
''He sure is'' he chuckled, shaking his head, looking amused with this situation when I found it quite the opposite of amusing. It was terrifying. ''He's not a good person, Evelyn. Not even close. He's done shit you can't even imagine and you still chose to go with him.'' He shook his head once again. ''He's not telling you the truth. You'd be appalled by him if you knew''
I looked down, choosing not to let myself think about what he just told me, considering I had heard it come from his mouth so many times but never getting an explanation ''How about you? You're associated with him and the things he's doing, should I be appalled by you too?'' I asked, already knowing what kind of answer I would get.
''No'' of course. ''I'm not like him. I'm not that sick'' sick?
He pulled up to our driveway and I knew that this would be the end of our conversation since this was the only time I could get him alone in a place where he wouldn't be able to escape my questions. ''Why don't you tell me about it? About Aiden? You hate him, why do you care so much about whether I know or not since 'you're not like him'?'' I asked knowing that -once again- I wouldn't get a straight answer.
I knew something was fishy about this whole thing and Cole's earlier encounter with Aiden confirmed my thoughts. He claimed he wasn't like him but I didn't believe a single word coming from his mouth. I'm not saying that Aiden's a saint, he never was but that doesn't mean that my brother's any better. Minutes ago he was offering him a deal he seemed quite eager about and now he was trying to sell me all this crap about him being 'different'. Plus, if he was innocent he wouldn't mind me knowing about his 'enemy's' actions.
''It's not safe to tell you, Evelyn! When are you going to wake up and realize this isn't just about you and Prince Handsome?'' Cole raised the tone of his voice, startling me. I should have said something back, should have defended myself to his accusations but instead I stayed silent, looking down on my lap.
He was angry and his patience with my questions had worn off, so I knew better than to push It further. Apart from that, he was desperately trying to prove his innocence by accusing those around him, so his claims and accusations were all over the place, and making zero sense.
He pulled up on our driveway and turned the engine off. He started saying something but his words were of no matter to me so I got out of the car before he could finish what he was saying. Silent, I stormed inside the house, quickly heading towards my room in a desperate attempt to get some rest. The only thing I wanted was to lie down and possibly read a book to help me relax.
I walked into my room and paused, remembering I had left the front door open and thought about going back to close it but then remembered that my brother was going to come too so I decided against it.
I stumbled in the dark, trying to find the light switch. I turned the light on and closed my eyes, trying to control my breathing. There were so many things to think about, and so many things that needed to be done but at that moment I just wanted to save the rest of the night to relax and clear my head from all thoughts regarding the earlier hazard.
I knocked off my shoes using my ankles, kicking them to the corner in the process. I reached my desk and tried to find my book through the mess that I had made earlier while trying to finish my schoolwork.
''Where did I put it?'' I mumbled to myself, my hands making an even bigger mess of my desk in an attempt to dig through it. ''I swear I had left it on top of my algebra notebook'' I muttered, frustrated.
''Looking for this?''
I screamed, dropping the notebooks I was holding. I turned around in what someone would describe as the speed of light and widened my eyes to the sight that greeted me. ''What the hell are you doing here?!'' I whisper-screamed, keeping the fact that my brothers and granny were also in the house.
''No need to go all crazy town on me, I'm just here to talk" Aiden said, his signature smirk playing on his lips. He was leaning back on my bed -with his shoes on- and holding the book I was looking for in his hand.
I let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through my hair "You have to stop doing this. You do know we have a front door right?" I said but he just shrugged "Yeah, well that's no fun. How else would I get to see that pretty face of yours all crazy?" he responded.
Speaking of the front door and considering my granny and Jason were both asleep when Aiden came here since it's three in the freaking morning and the door was locked, how did he get in?
I asked him exactly that and to that he said "Let's just say, a younger, better looking and way more fun version of you happened to be awake and he opened the door for me"
Younger, more fun vers- Jason. He was talking about Jason.
''Ugh I'm going to kill that kid! How many times do I need to say it for him to understand: he must not open the door to whoever knocks it and especially not at three in the damn morning! It could have been a thief, or a serial killer or a-"
"Relax'' he said with a chuckle while going through my book that was still in his hand "You're seriously acting like Catherine right now, you need to chill a little. Plus, he was in no danger, it was just me"
I lowered my gaze, my thoughts going to mine and Cole's earlier conversation and how his words were contrasting to Aiden's. I was confused, so freaking confused and didn't know who I should trust. Trust my brother who was always looking out for me and being honest but on the other hand wasn't as honest as I thought and by his words is in some pretty deep shit, or trust Aiden who was -or is, I don't even know- my best friend and was always by my side and turned his whole life around so that me and my family could be safe?
"Earth to Evelyn, do you copy?" the former said with an amused smile.
"Ha-ha very funny" trying to take away some of the tension that had gathered from my side I brought the topic back to what he had said before my mind had wandered off "What is it with you calling your mum Catherine anyway? I thought you guys were in good terms" I said, taking a seat in my desk's chair.
"We were, until she found out about my tattoos. She doesn't seem to be exactly fond of them" he said, scratching the back of his neck and making a weird face. Aiden has tattoos? I've only seen him a few times since he came back but I guess I was too consumed by everything that was happening to notice. My eyes went to his arms and I spotted a few designs here and there but I couldn't tell what they were from where I was.
"Oh" is all I said. "Yeah" he added.
After a long moment of awkward silence, I heard Aiden say "So, what do you wanna do?", his oh-so-annoying smirk being plastered back on his face.
"For starters I want you to get your dirty shoes off my bed, I'm supposed to sleep on that, you know'' I said and rolled my eyes, my attention going my blanket which was now under his dirty black converse. There was no way in hell I was going to sleep in that.
"Fine, fine, damn you and your cleaning tendencies" he chuckled but got off the bed. "Anything else I can do for you, Monica Geller?" he rolled his eyes.
I narrowed mine and said "You know what there is one more thing I want you to do for me" I said, lowering my voice to sound playful.
"And what would that be?" he did the same to his, only he now sounded way more sexy- sexy? No,no,no I did not just say that about Aiden. Aiden is rude, and annoying and has been making my life a living roller coaster since we were five. Sexy is not a word I can use to describe him, no way.
You don't even convince yourself, a voice in the back of my head said.
"You could...I don't know...maybe...get your ass out of my room" I said and smirked at his annoyed face.
"You can't mean that" he said, a smirk covering his own face.
"Oh yes, yes I do" I laughed and spun around in my chair. "I have had my daily dose of Aiden- actually I think I have had enough Aiden to last the entire week, maybe longer, so I would very much appreciate it if you left now"
"Have it your way then" he chuckled and went for the door when a knock interrupted him followed by a voice "Evelyn, are you in there? I want to talk to you" I heard Cole say and my eyes instantly went wide, my body lunging off the chair I was sitting in. Aiden rolled his eyes, unfazed.
I heard the sound of the door being opened and literally ran to snap it shut and lock it. "What the hell?" he said and tried to open the door once more. "I-I'm g-getting d-dressed" I somehow managed to say, stuttering all over the place while Aiden just sat on my bed laughing his head off.
I turned to him and whisper-yelled "You have to hide, if he finds you in here we're both dead". My eyes were wide and my hands were still holding the door tightly just in case Cole somehow opened it.
"Please, I'm not gonna hide, it's just Cole" he ironically said and chuckled.
"Just Cole? Are you kidding me?" I said, desperate, as I realized he wasn't going to move anytime soon.
"Who's voice is that? Evelyn is someone in there?" Cole said, trying harder to open the door.
"W-What? N-No, of c-course n-not, I'm j-just watching a v-video" I let out a frustrated sigh, I couldn't form a single sentence to him without stuttering.
Behind me, I heard Aiden laugh at my expense "Stop laughing and hide" I said with gritted teeth.
"That's it, you better open this door now, or I'll find a way to" Cole warned/threatened from the other side of the door, making my grip on the handle tighten.
"O-One sec, Cole!" I heard a noise and turned around to cuss at Aiden for being loud, but he was nowhere to be found, so I guessed that he had stopped being an asshole and hid in the closet or under the bed.
I took a deep breath before slowly unlocking the door and opening it. Trying my best to pretend that I wasn't hiding the one person I wasn't supposed to be with in my room, I lazily said "Hey Cole, what's up?"
"What took you so long? I was getting worried" he said and let himself in my room while I stood frozen and my eyes went wide. That wasn't part of the plan, he wasn't supposed to get inside the room.
I turned around and gave him a smile, my eyes scanning over the room in an attempt to try and find Aiden. No luck. Cole went over and sat on my bed and my eyes went wide once more as I internally prayed Aiden hadn't hidden under the bed.
"So...uh...I just kind of wanted to apologize for how I've been acting recently and especially today. I'm just looking out for you and want the best for you, you know?" he said, looking down.
I moved towards the side of the bed that was facing the closet and debated whether I should sit next to him or not. Quickly realizing I needed to get some space from both of them -not that space is exactly what you call what I was getting from them- I decided to lean back on my closet door instead.
"Yeah, I understand" I really didn't. I mean, up to some point I can understand that I'm his younger sister and he wants what's best for me, but his behavior is of no excuse.
"I just don't want you to start seeing me differently from now on" well it's kind of too late for that.
"You can't ask me that, Cole. The things you said today just- make me think that I've been living in a world of my own for the past three years. I thought I knew what was going on around me but apparently I knew nothing". I wanted to say more, much more about how I no longer think I know who my brother is but I fought against it since I knew Aiden was somewhere in the room listening to us.
"And I promise to fix that, just not now" he said, scratching the back of his neck. "And I know that that's not a good enough excuse for all of this but I..." Cole went on but I no longer could focus on him, but on the fingertips that were now brushing against my shoulder's skin. Aiden.
The feeling was so delicate and...foreign. Not because I hadn't experienced anything like that before in my life, but because none of these times where with Aiden. I had kept telling myself that me and him were like siblings and that's how we acted towards each other.
Thinking about it now, Aiden has got pretty attracti- No, no, no I cannot be thinking this way about my best friend. It's all types of wrong and definitely not me.
I tried to repeat to myself how wrong and off-road my thoughts were getting, but I couldn't seem to convince myself as I felt his fingers slowly and gently move towards my back and lower, rubbing circles in the area of my clothed waist. I was really glad Cole wasn't facing me and my heart was racing at the thought of what would happen if he did realize what was going on in front of him.
I tried to forget about Aiden's touch on me since it was probably just an attempt to make me laugh or get a reaction out of me so that I'd get in trouble with Cole. He always pulled stunts on me so that I'd get in some sort of trouble with my brother or my mum, this one was probably on of them . Just a slightly different one.
My attempts to listen to my brother had now failed since by the time I went back to the conversation the only thing I heard was him saying "you get what I'm trying to say I hope" to which I replied a "yes, of course I do" silently praying I didn't say yes to something bizarre.
Before I could process what I was doing, I found myself leaning against Aiden's hand, giving him more access to continue what he was doing. I reassured and excused my actions to myself by thinking that I probably just needed something to calm me down, considering it had been a pretty intense day. It was just that. Nothing more, nothing less. Right?
As I nervously looked around the room and bit my lip I found myself wanting Cole to leave so that I could be alone with Aiden- NO, I did not just think that. I meant I wanted to be alone. All alone in my room. Did I mention I'd be alone, with no one else who's name sounds similar to Caden?
Just as I was trying to leave these thoughts behind and find some excuse for Cole to leave, I suddenly felt Aiden's hands move lower and under my shirt, so that they were now caressing the skin in my lower back, making goosebumps erupt everywhere in my skin.
My eyes widened and I took an abrupt step forward, moving away from Aiden, which resulted in his hand falling limp on the closet door, making a loud noise.
"What was that?" Cole asked, turning to look at me. "Oh, t-that?" not the stutter again "It was n-nothing I just t-thought I saw a b-bug" I said a little too quickly. He narrowed his eyes and frowned "You're acting awfully weird today, you know that?"
I laughed and opened my mouth to try and find an excuse for my behavior, but nothing came out and Cole really didn't seem to be buying my behavior.
"What are you two doing here still awake?" granny said, entering the room and startling both of us.
"Oh, nothing granny, we just couldn't sleep" Cole said with ease, he didn't seem to have trouble lying straight to her face unlike me.
"Well, come on downstairs then, the sun will be out soon, I can make breakfast" she offered with a smile. The sun will be out? How long were we gone and how long had we been talking? "Uh, granny, what time is it?" I asked nicely.
"It's five thirty, dear" she replied and my eyes widened. I didn't realize how fast the night had gone by. Great, no rest for me.
"Well I could have some breakfast so lead the way" Cole said with a chuckle, getting up and leaving the room along with my grandma who made sure to ask if I needed anything before leaving with him. I kindly asked if she could make me some coffee because boy I was gonna need it.
They went downstairs and I sighed in relief, just when I heard granny call for me from the kitchen. I quickly went down to see what she needed and when I came back up I closed the door behind me and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Coast is clear, you can come out now" I told Aiden who was still hiding in the closet. A minute passed and I got no answer. "Aiden?" I said, moving towards the closet, slightly worried "Did you suffocate in my clothes?" I asked and chuckled, opening the closet door. To my surprise, It was empty- or a least as empty as It can get with all of my things in it. "What the-" I turned to look around in my room and noticed the window was open. He jumped? I reached the window and looked down hoping not to see a corpse, and -once again- to my surprise, no one was there.
I heard my phone make a sound, meaning I had a text. I opened it and noticed that it was from and unknown number.
Unknown:
;)
I rolled my eyes, instantly figuring who its sender was. This boy...