"There you are! Oh, I'm so sorry, am I interrupting something?" We both pulled apart in a fraction of a second, slowly turning to face him. On his face was a smile that could only rival Ted Bundy's but his tone remained... cheerful.
"Actually, yes. Yes, you are" Bryan spoke first, turning to look at Aiden, cold, hostile looks being exchanged between the both of them. "Oh, really? I'm so incredibly sorry, Bryan" Aiden spat out, irony lacing his words. "Yeah, you should be. You fucking should be, 'cause you've been trying to ruing this all night long." Bryan fought back, a little more aggravated than I expected.
"Bryan" I put a hand on his forearm, trying to calm him down. It wasn't worth it to spend his energy on Aiden. "This? What's this? You trying to get into her pants, not getting the fucking hint that she's not into you?" Aiden scoffed, teasing him.
"Aiden!" I spoke, now getting aggravated as well. Even if what he was saying was partially true, he was not in the place to be talking like that. "You're right. You're right, she's not into me. She's into a piece of shit that doesn't appreciate her and acts like a fucking immature middle schooler, 'cause he can't get his head out of his ass" Bryan spoke, taking a step towards Aiden, making me start to panic. Things were escalating and the last thing I would want was for them to start fighting. I knew for a fact someone, if not the both of them would get hurt, and I wouldn't be able to stop them.
Aiden scoffed, taking a step closer to Bryan. "Who even are you to be talking about me like that. You don't know shit about my relationship with her, so why don't you shut your fucking mouth before I knock your fucking teeth out, huh?" Aiden threatened. I ran to where they were standing, trying to get between them when I saw Bryan shove him back. Before I got the chance to stop them, Aiden had grabbed Bryan by the collar and had thrown him against his car.
I desperately grabbed onto his shirt, trying to stop the punch that was about to land on Bryan's face. "Aiden! For Pete's sake, stop!" Aiden turned to look at me, reluctantly loosening his grip on Bryan. "Just go inside, I'll be there in a sec" I begged him and he left without another word.
"Bryan, I'm so sorry, I literally don't know what to say. I'm so sorry, I had no idea he was going to act like this, I don't even know why he came here in the first place-"
"-Why are you letting this go on, Evelyn? I don't get it. Why did you tell him to go wait inside and didn't just tell him to piss the fuck off? He's- he's crazy, unhinged, and you'll go in there with him?" Bryan ignored my apologies to comment on Aiden's behavior.
I opened my mouth to speak but he started again. "Like is it even safe for you to go back in there with him? What if he-"
"-You don't know him, so please don't make these assumptions about him. I know what it looks like, but he would never touch me like that" I cut him off, a small part of me couldn't believe I was defending him, but I couldn't stand to imagine Aiden getting violent with me.
"You really like him, don't you? You get all that shit from him, but you're still defending him. " Bryan said, he himself not seeming to have processed what he was saying. "As you said earlier, it's complicated. That's the best answer I can give you right now" I told him, wanting this conversation to end.
But yet again, I wasn't sure how much I wanted it to end, considering that if it ended, it meant I had to go inside and face Aiden, something I really wasn't looking forward to. "I think it's best if you left, and I'll call you tomorrow" I told him, looking at my shoes awkwardly. "Please do. And if something happens, anything, call me" he said and I nodded.
We said our goodbyes and quickly he got in the car and left the street. I walked back to my house, footsteps heavy as I knew what was about to go down. I took a deep breath to calm myself, reminding myself that I need to be as strong as possible to do this. I might not feel very confident right now, but I sure need to look it.
I reached the door and my hand hovered over the knob. Before I could make the decision for myself to open it, though, someone else did it for me. I was greeted by a very... enthusiastic Aiden. He didn't say anything, he just made room for me to walk inside.
I dropped my things and rested against the kitchen table, Aiden himself sitting on the couch. I released a breath, covering my eyes with one hand, trying to rest them. "Do you mind telling me what the hell you were doing out there?" I asked, not sure I wanted an answer.
"I saw you came home and thought I should stop by and say hi to our friend." he stated like it was obvious and I could sense a headache forming. "Our friend? Aiden cut the bullshit you came to make a scene, there's nothing else to it" I scoffed. "But I'm choosing to put it behind time just to get this over with". I said, and he looked at me, questioningly. "What? I had a great night, the last thing I want is for you to ruin it even more" I stated "So say what you want to say, 'cause I'm tired"
I was being a little bitch at that moment, I knew that, but after blowing up my phone at the bar and getting in a fight with my date, I don't think he deserved any better.
"I should leave after that but you're lucky that-"
"-What? Oh, I see, you're the bigger person, right, you're doing me a favor" I waved my arms around, annoyed. "If that's what you think it is then sure, I'm doing a favor. I'm trying to fix between us, but all you do is be hostile and not listen to me" he said, and I could feel my heart rate increasing already.
"What is there to hear? You acted like a massive jerk tonight, plus I already know the truth, I told you earlier." I told him, and that seemed to tick him off even more. "You don't know the truth, you only listen to what Cole says and you can't accept that if someone's not who he says he is, that's him. Don't forget Evelyn, I might've but he did too"
I found his argument ridiculous "He left for college, he had no other choice" I said back and he chuckled soundly "First of all, neither did I. Second, now are you sure that he left for college?"
"First of all, you had another choice, you could've spoken to me about what was happening and we could've found something together instead of you going through it alone and going for the last option like there was nothing else. As far as college goes, I can't believe that he did something so crazy as to lie about if he's in college or not. You're trying to convince me that he's manipulating me when you're coming up with these science fiction scenarios"
"Why is it science fiction? Because he's your brother and he's above suspicion? Think about this; have you ever seen any projects from college? Has he ever taken you there? Has he ever invited you to his presentations? No. He just said he's going to college and you believed him without thinking about it twice"
"Cole put in a crazy amount of work to get in that school, there's no way he'd throw away that opportunity"
"If it was such an important thing for him, then why is he never studying for school? How good of a student could he be to not even need to study in order to maintain his position?"
"You're ridiculous, you're trying with all you got to convince me about something that doesn't even make sense! We were supposed to talk to figure something out for us but all you've done so far was make things worse with all your endless lies! You're doing exactly what you did when you were telling me you care about me and when you were kissing me while having a girlfriend"
"But I do care about you, where the fuck did you even get that from?" he asked, a deep frown on his face.
"Stop bullshiting me, Aiden, I know everything. I heard it with my own two ears, so don't try and change my mind because you can't take back what you said"
"What did I say? Tell me what I said to make you this angry"
"You were talking on the phone and telling to whoever it was you were speaking to, that I mean nothing to you, that I'm a dumb bitch that has fallen into your trap, and that all of this is just a game to you. I admitted to only caring about Lindsay, Aiden, when you were selling me your crap about how important I am to you. How do you explain that?" I spat, crossing my arms over my chest.
"When did you hear me say all this?" he questioned.
I fished out my phone and found the recording where you can clearly hear him say the stuff I mentioned, and by the end of the memo, he had changed faces more times than my principal when we were trying to explain the fight with Lindsay.
He looked ready to burst out laughing, while at the same time he seemed to be getting aggravated. Like I said before- Ted Bundy. "Where did you get this from?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, and I really wanted to punch him right there and then. "Why should I tell you? So that you can come up with another story where you're the victim and someone's out to get you?" I spat, putting my phone in my pocket.
"Is this how you think communication works? You constantly accusing me and refusing to listen to anything I have to say? You're fed up, I get it, but if you're going to continue this act, tell me now 'cause I can't continue like this" he said, his voice softer this time.
My first instinct told me that he was such big of a prick that he was playing the victim after all of this and that my current behavior was exactly what he deserved, but for once, I pushed it aside. I had walked in the house with the intention to act like this, to show him I was regaining control and that I wasn't going to let him walk over me, but after leaving him and replaying my words in my head, I realized I might've taken it too far.
"Can I talk now?" he asked and I nodded. "Thank you. Î'm afraid, I'll have to agree with you. I did say those things, who heard it yourself so there's no point in denying I did" he said and paused, leaving enough space for my already shattered little heart to shatter some more. I felt more confused than ever because just a few moments ago he was trying to convince me of the opposite. So what was he saying now?
He smiled, and continued, right when I was about to protest. "You didn't hear me mention any names, did you?" he questioned. "No, but I didn't need any names to figure out what you were talking about"
"But if you didn't hear any names, then how did you know who I referring to?" he said, the conversation seeming to really amuse him. "It was obvious who you were talking about, you mentioned that Lindsay has you wrapped around her finger, and you would do anything for her."
As time went by, Aiden seemed to be getting frustrated, and he let out a small sigh. "But I didn't say her name, so why did you assume I was talking about her?" he said, and I rolled my eyes.
"There's no one else you could be referring to, if it's not Lindsay, then who could it be?" I said, getting more and more confused as time went on. Lindsay is his girlfriend, it didn't make sense for him to not be talking about her, because if that was the case then... why was he dating her?
He took a breather and thought about it for a moment. "Can I ask something here?" he said and I nodded. "Why do you care? Even if I was talking about Lindsay, why do you care? There's nothing going on between us, there's not even an 'us' to begin with, so what's the problem here?" he asked, smirking.
A deep frown settled on my face. This fucker always knows what to say. "That's not the point here, you're getting out of topic"
"No, no, no I'm not getting out of topic, you're trying to avoid the topic. Tell me. What's the problem?"
"Okay fine. You know what, the problem is that regardless of if there's anything happening between us or not, you were talking poorly about me to someone, and I don't like that. I have every right you be angry at you for the way you made me look on that phone call"
He bit his lip, getting up from where he was sitting. He joined me in the kitchen and took a seat on the other side of the table. "Alright then, to set the records straight, and since you won't believe a word that comes out my mouth and we'll end up fighting again, why don't we have a word with the person I was talking to that night?" he said, and I found the suggestion interesting.
I wanted to get the truth, and I figured that since I couldn't trust Aiden at that moment, it wouldn't hurt to hear it from someone else. We made the deal with each other that the third person wouldn't know I was in the room, just to make sure that he'd hold nothing back.
Soon, Aiden was calling him. "Hello?" Jagger's voice boomed in the room from the speaker. "Garcia, I need help" he told him and we heard Jagger sigh. "Judging from the fact that you're calling from your phone, you're not in a holding cell. What did you do this time?"
"Nothing, you prick. I just want you to remind me something because my memory doesn't seem to be working today" "Shoot me" "Do you remember, some time around last week, was it, when we were talking on the phone, and the conversation went to a topic that's a bit complicated... do you remember what I was telling you?"
"Ah, yes, the classic. Open your ears, goldfish" Jagger said, before beginning to explain what they were talking about.
"Why? Come on, you know me better than that. There's no way in hell I'd make out with her, the only reason I did it was 'cause if I didn't, she'd burst out crying" he stopped, taking a drag out of his cigarette.
"Was it that bad?" Jagger said, disbelief, lacing his voice.
"I'm telling you, she was practically begging" another drag. "Was it any good, at least?"
"Hm...was it any good..." he dragged each syllable, giving himself time to think about his answer. "Let's just say the hype was for nothing" he laughed
"Come on, dude, I might hate her guts but Lindsay's kind of hot" Jagger argued.
"She's pretty man, I've always known that, and there's not doubt she can pull guys but...something was missing" the pause lasted longer this time.
"You haven't forgotten about Evelyn, have you?" he asked.
"Of course I haven't forgotten about her, dude, she's my girl. I'm telling you, she has me whipped around her finger, hell, I'd do anything for her".
"Yeah, make sure to remember that next time you fuck up things with her and come crying to me about how she won't talk to you"
"Suck it up dude, you're jealous it's not you she's into" he laughed, and the sound of drawers opening and closing could be heard.
"Dude, for real, you need to figure out what you're going to do with that, you can't keep this up, it's just not right for Evelyn. You need to handle the Lindsay situation now, before I start thinking you want her"
"Don't even continue with that, I've already told you, it's all a game. There's only one girl I care about, and it's definitely not her."
Aiden cut him short before he could continue telling us the rest of the conversation. "Thanks, Garcia, you're not that useless after all" he said and hang up, before turning to me, a smirk on his face.
~~~
You ask, I deliver.