Kristal Anderson
I was never good at comforting people.
I just felt like I could never find the right words, like every word I said was the exact opposite of what they wanted to hear. So for the most part, I chose silence over comforting words. Which could arguably just be making things worst and making the person feel a lot more shitty.
But in that very moment, I wished for nothing more than to have every right word at the tip of my tongue, every single word that would comfort him and calm him in such a difficult situation.
But I had nothing.
And I hated myself for it.
We were in his car speeding down the dark desolate streets that would lead us to his parents house. His grip on the steering wheel was deadly, his knuckles turning white in the process. His eyes hadn't left the road since we got in the car.
We had left the ball the moment he finished reading through it, it was a text from his mom's nurse asking for him to come over. The vagueness in her text sent him on a spiral of pure panic.
Rushing out of the venue, I had insisted on taking a cap home so that he could go and see his mother in peace but he protested against it, telling me that I was his responsibility and that he wouldn't be able to go on with his night knowing I was out in a stranger's car.
According to him, his parents house was just a few minutes away from the venue so it was much more time efficient to go see what his mother's nurse wanted before dropping me back at home. We had been driving for about ten minutes and seemed to be moving away from the city, the road was empty almost as if it were a private road built for supercars to race on.
Another glance at Aiden and my heart completely shattered in my chest, the distressed look on his face was harrowing and I wanted nothing more than for it to disappear.
Say something! Do something! I screamed at myself.
My hands trembled as I considered reaching out and touching him, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, anything that would help me show him that I was here, that he could count on me. My fear of doing something wrong held me back making me squeeze my hands into fists on my lap.
Maybe touching him would make things worst, maybe that was the last thing he needed in that moment.
We came to a stop in front of a large black gate that stopped me from considering any more ideas. Rolling down his window, he pressed his thumb on the keypad and just like that the gate opened revealing what could be considered a palace.I was practically peeling my jaw off the floor as we rounded a large fountain at the front of the house and came to a stop.
My guess was always that Aiden was some kind of model but after tonight it was safe to say that he was no ordinary neighbor, he was the son of a multimillionaire with an empire that would be passed down onto him.
We lived in a pretty good neighborhood, don't get me wrong, but it would never be the first choice for the son of a multimillionaire, especially not one who lived in a mansion of this size growing up.
"I'll be back in a few minutes, will you be okay?" He asked pulling me out of my thoughts, he had turned off the engine and was well on his way to undoing his seatbelt.
I nodded, "Of course, and please take your time I'll be right here," I reassured him but it still didn't feel like enough. He gave me a brief smile and a nod before he went to reach for the door handle, "Aiden wait," My voice was enough to make him stop in his tracks and turn to me, without giving it anymore thought I lunged forward wrapping my arm around him in an embrace.
He was rightfully caught off guard by my embrace, he stood still for a few beats before his arms slowly snaked around me, returning the embrace. His body held a comforting warmth that radiated off of him, it was intoxicating.
The embrace felt so tender and raw, so much was said and yet no words were exchanged between us. When his face found its way to the crook of my neck, I pulled him possibly closer desperately needing him to know that I was here.
I don't know how long we stayed like that, could've been a few mere seconds or minutes but it still didn't feel long enough.
My anxiety was through the roof as I saw there patiently waiting for Aiden to come back out with some not so horrible news. I tried to keep myself busy by watching the guards that were patrolling around the property, rifles in their hands. I busied myself by counting the number of rounds they did of the property during the thirty minutes we were parked there.
When he finally returned to the car he was quiet, I asked him how it had gone and his answer was simply, "Fine. Nothing I don't already know," by the tone of his voice, I could tell that there was something more. But I decided not to pry, I kept to myself the entire ride letting him process whatever emotiom he needed to process.
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A week went by and he had become a shell of the man he was before receiving that text. For the most part, he had tried to maintain his bubbly sarcastic personality through our texts and calls throughout the week but it just didn't feel the same.
It was clear that something was eating at him. But I had no right to assist for him to reveal it, not when I too had been keeping so much from him.
I wanted to hug him again.
I forced myself not to ponder too long on the reason why I desperately needed to feel his warmth again. I mean everybody a hug sometimes right? And I'm sure he could use one too. I also just wanted to see him, in person, no windows serving as barriers.
The guilt of sneaking out was slowly ceasing to exist and that frightened me to my very core. The thrill I felt when I snuck out was more power than my fear of disappointing Aunt Jenna, I wasn't sure that was a good thing.
Tonight Aunt Jenna and I made dinner together; fettuccine Alfredo one of Aunt Jenna's favorite. As much as I forced myself to stay in the moment, my thoughts were consumed by something else.
My distracted state didn't go unnoticed by aunt Jenna as nearly poured hot boiling water all over my feet while draining the pasta. She asked what was wrong and I had to lie straight to her face, reassuring her that I had a bad night. But in reality, I had been rehearsing my lines for what I had planned for tonight.
Going off my lie that I had a bad night, I excused myself soon after dinner to get some sleep. But in reality I was coming to my window, phone in hand, dialing Aiden's number.
Exactly two rings later he picked up and almost instantly the curtains to his window were pulled apart revealing him, like opposite ends of a magnet our eyes were drawn to each other. "Hey," His voice filled my ear; deep, tender and husky.
"H-hey," The nerves were eating at me, in all my previous relationship I was never one to make the first move under any circumstances so I don't know where I'd found the courage to do this. "Are you busy?"
"For you? Never," That cocky smirk played upon his lips.
"I'm flattered," I muttered with an eye roll, "so um I was thinking; I'm not doing anything tonight, you're not doing anything tonight maybe we could. . .you know," I couldn't bring myself to fully say it, the possibility of rejection making me swallow back my words.
A grin played upon his lips, "Go on, darlin," He knew exactly what I was trying to say, he was just taunting.
Swallowing back my pride I spoke, "I wanna go out. . . and I want you to come with me," I mumbled quickly.
"Am I hearing this correctly?" He snickered, "Is the one and only Kristal asking me out?" He taunted with a smirk on his face.
A giggle escaped my lips, "Don't flatter yourself; I wanna go out, you have a car, you're just a medium to get me what I want, darlin,"
A laugh rolled out of him, a laugh that sounded genuine, it was music to my ears, "Unbelievable," He said with a head shake, "I'll meet you out in five," I giggles before hanging up.
I changed quickly into an oversized yellow wool sweater, jeans and white sneakers, I finished off my look by bringing my hair up and tying it into a high ponytail. When I returned to my window, he already had the ladder pressed against my window. I made my way down with a lot more ease this time, I was getting used to it.
Taking my last step down I turned to face Aiden, his hair a beautiful disheveled mess that he had used his hand to lift from his face but a few stubborn loose curls stayed on his forehead. He was dressed in a black hoodie and matching black sweatpants.
We drove in silence, the hum of the radio providing the only form of noise. It was a comfortable silence, one that we both needed. With the windows rolled down, the cool breeze rolled in in relaxing waves.
We drove around mindlessly without a sense of direction until we found ourselves pulling out of the city and down a trail that led us up a hill. Under any other circumstance, my first thought would be that I was being taken somewhere out of the city to be chopped up into bits and found three weeks later by the police but with Aiden it was different. I felt calm and at ease around him, I knew I could trust him.
We came to a stop at the top of the hill, got out of the car and made our way towards the front of the car, from up above the entire city sparkled in the distance.
"Aiden this is breathtaking," I leaned back against his car staring out into the city below, "how'd you find this place?"
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his car too, "I don't know, one day I just kept driving and I found myself here,"
The breeze here was stronger taken the altitude, it was bordering on freezing but wasn't quite there yet. I shut my eyes taking it all in, welcoming the cold air with open arms, "Being so high up is so peaceful you know?" I muttered with my eyes still closed, "Everything looks so small and insignificant that all your problems become insignificant too up here," I let out a humourless chuckle, "if I tried hard enough, up here I could pretend that my father wasn't on a hunt for me,"
I caught myself as soon as the words left my mouth but it was too late and there was no denying what he'd heard. Fuck.
Snapping my head in his direction, my eyes painfully wide, I took in his expression as it shifted from confused to concern, "What?"
And I oopâ
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