Kristal Anderson
I stayed.
I stayed with him. I stayed with Aiden.
I didn't mean to stay the night, we both agreed that I'd keep him company for another hour or so. But then we found ourselves in each other's arms on his couch, cocooned in the addictive warmth of each other's bodies, I knew I was screwed.
I knew that I was all in and there was no way out. I knew that I'd crave that feeling every night now that I knew what being in his arms felt like, what falling asleep in his arms felt like. And quite frankly, I didn't really mind because I hadn't slept so well in ages. I might have even snored a little.
But at around four in the morning, my body snapped me out of that euphoric state bringing me back to reality. As much as it pained me, as much as I wished to continue to stay wrapped in his arms, I needed to head back to my room. So it was with a heavy heart that I slowly shook Aiden awake so that he could put up the ladder.
He could barely keep his eyes open, the only sign that he was awake was when he wrapped his arms around me tighter in protest for me leaving and his deep sleepy voice just barely reached my ears, "Just five more minutes," He muttered. A giggle escaped me as I reluctantly agreed, enjoying every second of our last five minutes together. Eventually it was time for me leave, I managed to make it up to my room completely undetected.
It was now the next day and I was staring back at my reflection as I finished off my hair; styling it in a half up half down updo. I wore some light wash jeans, a white top, a dark green cardigan over it and white sneakers.
The sun had just started to set and I was already heading to bed. . . or at least that's what I'd told Aunt Jenna. In reality, I was mere minutes away from climbing down my window and leave with Aiden.
Last night he'd told me that he was going to get his mother's things from his parents house since her dying wish was for him to donate whatever wasn't useful to him, and he'd asked me if I wanted to come for emotional support. Of course I couldn't say no, Aiden needed me just like I needed Aunt Jenna when I lost my mother and I wanted to be there for him.
So I had to lie to Aunt Jenna once again and tell her that my period was coming so I'd been extra tired. Being the sweet angel that she is, she gave me some tea and told me to rest.
I was going to hell.
I grabbed my satchel bag and headed towards my window after my phone dinged with his text telling me to come down. As we were driving down the street, something caught my eye.
A black SUV that was parked in between Aiden's house and his next door neighbor. It hasn't always been there. I've seen it parked right there in that same sport for over two weeks now, but I didn't think much of it. Maybe the neighbors got a new car, or maybe one of their family members were visiting.
That was until we drove past the car and I got a glimpse of two men inside, their heads turned to follow our movement and I instantly felt a sense of unease wash over me. My stomach did a couple to flips and my throat grew dry.
They were watching us.
I turned my head to keep an eye on the car as we continued to drive off, further and further away from the car who stayed parked.
"What's wrong?"
I slowly turned my head back after we turned the corner, out of sight of the SUV, "I-. . . It's probably nothing, there's just this black SUV that's been parked near your house and I just- I don't know I got the feeling that the people inside were like, watching us," I explained.
He kept his eyes on the road and continued to tap his index finger on the steering wheel to the beat of the music, casually, "Oh," Was all he said not seeming concerned in the slightest.
I tilted my head to face in and narrowed my eyes, unsettled by his calmness, "You don't seem surprised,"
Pulling his gaze away from the road momentarily, he glanced my way, "I'm not," He admitted staring back at the road, "They work for me," He said easing my worries, "They're your bodyguards,"
I blinked fast trying to process what I'd just heard, "M-my what?"
"Your bodyguards," He confirmed, "Kris, after knowing that you're in danger and I can't be with you 24/7, getting you bodyguards seemed like the most logical thing to do. That way even when I'm not around I'll know that you're safe,"
"Aiden, no, absolutely not, you are not spending your hard earned money on me like that. I won't let you get involved in this mess, my Aunt and I have everything under control," The more people involved in this, the more people that my father might hurt. I couldn't let that happen.
"Kris I'm doing this because I want to, no one's making meâ"
"Well I'm asking you not to," My tone became more stern, I needed him to know that there was no arguing on this matter, "So please, have them out of there by today,"
He glanced my way once again before be finally nodded, "Okay," Was all he said. Though I didn't want to argue any further, convincing him was seeming too easy to be true. But I let it go.
The rest of the twenty minute ride was completely quiet, the silence felt unease, thick with unspoken tension. Guilt was slowly creeping up on me, closing in on my air supply.
When we parked the car after driving through the gates, I reached out and gripped his arm getting his attention before he could open his door. "I'm sorry. . . if that came off rude," He turned to face me and shook his head, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.
"You have nothing to apologize for," He reassured bringing his hand in the direction of my own, taking them in his grasp, "but I wanna make one thing very clear darlin; no matter what you say, I'm never gonna stop worrying about you because I care about you, Kristal," His intense gaze was set on mine, putting on so much more weight to his words.
Great. Now I'd managed to make myself a burden to yet another person. My throat felt like it was closing up at the thought, I swallowed hard trying to rid myself of that feeling as my gaze slowly lowered away from his.
I was caught off guard when his firm but gentle hand rose to my chin, lifting my head back up forcing me to meet his eyes again, "That doesn't make you a burden," He said somehow taking the words right out of my head, "That just shows how important you are to me," The moment the words left his lips, something glistened in his something; something that I couldn't exactly pinpoint, something that both thrilled and terrified me.
His words lingered in the space that seemed so much smaller now, it felt like the oxygen was slowly being sucked out of the car making the air thick and hard to inhale. Neither of us dared to break the eye contact , neither of us dared to break the deafening silence.
I didn't know who moved but he was closer, I was closer, our faces were closer. I parted my lips of getting more air in my lungs because just my nose wasn't quite cutting it. That action only brought his attention to them, time seemed to slow down, his eyes seemed to be moving in slow motion taking in every detail of my face, paying special attention to my lips.
My brain was screaming at me, begging me to stop this to think about the consequences but my heart was pounding in my chest so fast, so hard, begging me to keep this going.
But in the end my brain won the screaming match and I slowly backed away, "Um Iâ we should probably head inside," I told him with a tight smile before sliding my satchel on and opening my door. I stepped out, welcoming the fresh air completely contrasting that of the car that had quickly grown stuffy.
The walk to his mother's room was quiet, I walked behind him admiring the place, it looked like a medieval castle with a very traditional structure to the place, intricate sculptures in the foyer, paintings scattered throughout the walls of the long hall.
We stood in doorway of his mother's room, the door was left completely open and inside were two women dressed in maid outfits already putting things into boxes. Aiden came to a halt standing completely still staring ahead, I turned to look up at him, hesitation was clear on his face.
I could imagine how be felt; the room in which his mother once resided, a room that was once full of life now reduced to this. I could imagine the emptiness that he felt. I reached towards his hand, taking it in mine as a form of reassurance. He gave my hand a squeeze, a silent exchange of words before we both walked in.
He told maids that he'd take over and that's exactly what we did but we were swiftly sidetracked when we came across a photo album.
We got settled in the couch and looked through it for what seemed like hours, the smile on Aiden's face as he told me the lore behind practically all photos was heartwarming. I even managed to get a few laughs out of him when he told me a few stories like one where his mother's had snapped a photo of baby Aiden right after he had just dumbed an entire bottle of lotion on himself. I enjoyed every second of it, I enjoyed getting to know more about him and his family.
I noticed that he'd skip over the few photos that his father was apart of, almost as if they weren't even there to begin.
After flipping through the last page of the album we finally got back to work, getting racks and racks of her clothes into boxes. She was a very stylish woman, most of her clothes were from famous designers.
It wasn't long until something else stopped us in our tracks, a large white box that was behind a rack of clothes.
For Aiden.
The two words were written in black marker on the front of the box. He placed it down on the bed but before he could open it, I spoke, "Um, I really need to use the restroom,"
He stopped his movements and turned his head to face me, "Two doors down," He pointed left.
I nodded and grabbed my satchel walking out the room taking a left like he'd instructed. I didn't really need to use the restroom but I knew that whatever was inside that box was none of my business. That was something his mother had left for him and he needed privacy to open it in peace and feel whatever he needed to feel.
So to pass time, I started walking down the very long hall admiring the paintings that lined the walls like my own personal museum.
The hall seemed to never end and it was all so incredibly quiet that I kept checking behind me just in case a killer or a ghost or a killer-ghost had started to chase me. I was contemplating turning around and heading back until something else caught my eyes.
It was another painting but it wasn't one in the hallway, the door to what seemed like an office was left slightly open giving me a glimpse of a very large painting. I took a step towards the door, curiosity getting the best of me, I pushed the door a little further to get a better look.
The place was elegant like the rest of the house, the furniture looked brand new despite the vintage feel they had. The room was devoid of people so I dared to push the door a little further.
I knew that I was overstepping and I knew that I shouldn't have done it but I did it anyway, I walked in the room.
The large painting tookup most of the wall behind the large desk, it was a painting of a field of pink carnations; my mother's favorite flowers. I walked further into the room, taking in the details of the painting; it was beautifully done, almost like a large photograph was just printed onto that canvas.
I clutched onto the shoulder strap of my satchel suddenly consumed by the memories of my mother.
That was until I heard a voice, a voice that was just as deep as Aiden's but much more croaky.
"Iris?" I whipped my head back so hard and so fast, I could have easily snapped my neck. I stared in complete shock at the man who Aiden had completely dismissed when showing me his family's photo album.
I stared in complete shock at the man who had just called me by my mother's name.
First chapter of 2024, how are we liking it??
Thanks for sticking around for another chapter my loves <3
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