"I'm so sorry I was late, problems at home" he muttered, but I shrugged it off. "No worries, I completely understand" I replied, trying to calm my leg from shaking under the table.
An awkward silence fell upon us, one that was cut off by the waitor. He took Axel's order and left. I spoke first. "I think we should address the elephant in the room, there's no reason to try and avoid it" I said, and he nodded. I put my hands on the table to help get a hold of my thoughts. I already knew everything, I just needed to make sure he wouldn't be able to tell.
"What's your name?" I asked him. "Bryan Whithers" he replied and I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Why did Aiden call you Axel yesterday?" I questioned, taking a sip of my coffee. "It's my middle name. My brother always called me by that name, that's why I stopped using it" he explained.
I kept myself from laughing at his made-up sappy story, and instead put on an act of sympathy. "What happened to him?" I asked, pretending to be interested in the story. "He was murdered" he replied, looking away. I put my hand in his. "I'm so sorry" I said, and this time I meant it. His brother wasn't dead, but he had spent all this time thinking that he was.
"I know it's a tough topic for you, but did you find out who killed him?" I asked, and he nodded. "Aiden" he said, and I let go of his hands, pretending to be shocked. "That's impossible. I've known Aiden since he was a little kid, he wouldn't hurt a fly" I defended him, trying to understand his perceptive of the situation.
"Trust me, I know Aiden well, there are parts of himself he hasn't shown you" he said, giving me the chance to jump to another question. "How did you two meet?" I asked him, taking another sip of my coffee, noticing he was constantly playing with the straw in his, but never drank out of it.
"My brother was really close with him, they were both caught up in the same lifestyle. Somewhere along the way, we became friends until he betrayed both of us- him and that girl he's screwing" he said, through gritted teeth.
Bingo.
"Lindsay?" I questioned. "You know her?" he asked, frowning. I nodded. "I've had my share of encounters with her, all bad" I said, shaking my head. "What's the deal with her, anyway?" I asked, hoping he would share at least something with me.
"Why are you asking?" he tried to play it cool, but I sensed he was getting suspicious. "If I knew more about Lindsay, maybe I'd be able to understand Aiden, and the type of guy he really is." I said, and that made his eyes light up.
"I'll tell you, but whatever you hear stays between us" he said and I nodded. "Of course" I reassured him, hearing the police sirens in the back of my head. Oh, the irony. He opened his mouth, but I cut him off, an idea popping in my head. "Î'm so sorry, it's my mum, I have to reply" I said, pretending I got a text. "No worries, Eve, take your time" he smiled at me and I ignored his use of a nickname he had definitely no right to be using.
I unlocked my phone, pretending to be typing, while I opened my recording app and pressed record. Carefully, I placed the phone next to me, under the table. Thankfully, it wasn't visible.
"You were saying?" I went back to our conversation. "Lindsay and he go back a long way. I never understood how they ended up together, I thought he was supposed to be hiding from her and suddenly boom they're living together" he shook his head. "Her father was leading a gang, he was the most well-known dealer of the underworld, or so my brother told me. When he died, Lindsay took over the whole thing, and Aiden became her right hand"
He paused, as I pretended to be confused. "Go on." I urged him. "She made sure she'd keep her hands clean, always sending others to do all the dirt for her. That meant a lot of people died, or ended up in jail or with a stained criminal record" he explained, and my mind went to Cole. "That's horrible! So she never got caught?" I asked.
"Nope. Her record is clear. Her father had connections in the police so as long as he was alive, he always got her out of trouble. The name Johanson opens doors in the underworld, as well as the police" he said, chugging his water.
I rubbed my temples. "Wow. And the...uh...members...what kinds of things did she make them do?" I asked, pretending the answer scared me. "All sorts of things you can and can't think of. Selling drugs, threatening people who owed her money, beating up others... even getting rid of them" he said, and my eyes widened. "You mean k-kill?" I asked and he nodded.
"Oh my god, I'm going to be sick" I said, hiding my face in my hands. This Is perfect. "I probably should have given you a warning. I'm sorry" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you so much for telling me all this, I can't believe I was defending someone who not only knew about this but also took part in it" I shook my head, continuing my act.
Slowly, I moved my hand under the table, stopping the recording. "I think I need to go home to think about all this" I muttered. "Of course, it's a lot to take in" he smiled, reassuring me, putting his hand on my own. I paid for my coffee, giving Axel a tight hug, before turning to leave.
"I'll see you at school" he said, and I nodded. Walking out of the coffee shop, I made sure I was far from his view, before bursting out dancing and laughing. I knew people were looking at me funny, but I didn't care. I was so happy just thinking about all the information I gathered, I could hug the first person I ran across.
I calmed myself, walking back to my house. I felt like I was seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. I turned right instead of moving ahead, to make sure the walk back home was longer. After all the time I had spent sad about this, things were finally going well.
I was looking around me, taking in the settings before my eyes fell on a familiar couple of people. They were holding hands, acting like a happy couple on Valentine's day. I couldn't believe it.
Jagger and Maya?
Judging by the fact that neither of them had spoken to us about this, I figured they weren't open about it yet, so I changed my route, not wanting to ruin their little date.
So many things were changing in such a short period of time, and I barely had time to process them.
Unable to wait until I got home, I took out my phone, calling Aiden. "Hello?" his voice was hoarse, strained. "Hey, it's me" I said, smiling like a kid who won a teddy bear at the fair. "Hey, beautiful. What's up?" he said and my cheeks got heated when I heard the word leave his lips.
"I need to show you something, it's urgent" I replied. "Everything okay? I'm at the gym" he answered, sounding concerned. "More than okay" I assured him. "You sound happy" he pointed out, chuckling. "Wanna come over in like an hour?" he suggested. "Sounds great" I said, biting my nail.
"Can't wait to see you, love. Be careful" he said before we hang up.
~~~
"How did you do that?" Aiden said when I finished playing the recording to him. "I have my ways" I replied. He burst out laughing, grabbing me by the waist and lifting me up, pecking my lips repeatedly. "You're so great, you know that?" he said, and his gaze screamed adoration.
I giggled. "I try" I joked, flipping my hair. He put me down, placing a kiss on my forehead, before pulling me down with him on the couch. He looped his arm around my shoulders and I laid on him, my hand rubbing circles on his chest.
"This is amazing, you just saved us a lot of trouble. The problem is if things get serious and we take things to court, Axel will have to testify and I don't see him very willing to do anything to help us" he said, and I frowned.
"But we have proof" I said, frowning. "Yes, proof that is most likely illegal. Even if it isn't, we need Axel to confirm he said all that willingly" he explained, and I bit my lip. "What if we threaten him?" I suggested, getting up to look at him.
"We could, but it'll be tricky. I was deeply involved too, some of the things that incriminate him, incriminate me too. I'll figure something, don't you worry about that" he played with my hair, putting a cigarette between his lips and looking around for his lighter. I found it first, and brought it near the deadly substance, lighting it.
"You seriously need to quit smoking" I said, thinking about all the times I've seen him inhale the poison. "Why is that?" he asked, making me smack him. "It's bad for your health, stupid ass" I responded and he chuckled.
"I think my health is the least of my concerns right now" he said and my smile dropped. "Well, it's on the top of mine. You really think you'll be able to take boxing seriously if you keep this up?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
"For fuck's sake, you sound just like Catherine" he said, shaking his head. "Probably 'cause we both care about you" I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head. "You're cute when you're annoyed" he said, pulling my hair to one side and leaving small kisses on my neck.
"Is that why you annoy me all the time?" I asked, taking his hand in mine. "Mm, good try, but no. I annoy you, so that eventually you get mad at me and we have hot makeup sex" he said, earning another smack.
"Were you always a pig?" I asked, laughing nonetheless. "Only on weekends" he replied, making me run a hand over my face before he leaned in, lightly putting his lips on mine. My hands went from his chest to his face, holding it gently. I felt him smile into the kiss, as his hands gripped my waist tighter.
Suddenly, we heard the door slam.
~~~
First of all, you're welcome ;)
Second of all no I'm not dead, though I'm quite near
Now for the bad news.. I have one more pre-written chapter left, but no more (yikes). My time is very limited, and I think the last time I had time to write was two months ago. I'll try my best to keep y'all updated at least with small chapters, but you'll have to bare with me fwends.
How r y'all doing this lovely Saturday? Got party clothes on or not yet?
As always, sending love to all <3