Kristal Anderson
I'd come to terms with the fact that happiness wasn't an emotion designed to be felt by me. But I couldn't think of a better emotion to describe these past two weeks other than happiness.
Pure, unadulterated happiness.
The root cause of said happiness was no secret; Aiden Vasilakis and his lips and his gaze and his voice and his arms that had quickly turned into my safe space.
Our kiss two weeks ago paved the way for something so magical between us, it was something that I struggled to put into words. Sometimes I found myself questioning if that was normal, that. . . urge I felt to be around him and to have his lips on mine at all times.
But as much as my body craved for that urge to become a reality, I couldn't. These past two weeks I tried to be on my best behaviorâ emphasis on tried, there were days where speaking to him on the phone or seeing him through my window wasn't cutting it and I practically begged him to come up to my room, sue meâ because Thea and I had been doing our best to butter Aunt Jenna up. We were doing everything in our power to convince her to let me go to the music festival that Thea had bought tickets for months in advance.
We even made a PowerPoint presentation outlining all the safety features of the venue and ensuring her that we'd know exactly what to do in case something happened. At first, her answer was obviously no because it was far from home and it was dangerous. But as the week went by and we talked her through every single step of the journey, I managed to be on my best behavior and Thea made sure to bring her a few of her favorite thingsâsome chocolate covered donuts and some chocolateâ she slowly started to give in. Until she finally agreed.
I had to make her repeat herself a few times because I could hardly believe my ears and I was starting to believe that miracles didn't exist. Being able to be out of the house for an entire weekend sounded like a dream come true.
After telling Aiden the news, he said that he and Cole would be coming with if he managed to get tickets. And just like the orchestra a little while back, he was able to get two more tickets the next day. The privilege of being the son of someone important.
Thea was quick to create a group with the four of us where we'd plan everything out; she was an organizer, she loved planning everything out and ensuring that everyone was on board. She was the type of friend you needed on any trip, well she was the type of friend you needed in your life period. She nearly squeezed me to death in a hug when I told her that Aiden and I had kissed, the joy she felt seeing me so giddy over someone was contagious.
Aside from convincing Aunt Jenna, convincing Cole was another challenge we came upon. I'd even go as far as saying convincing him was harder than convincing Aunt Jenna, he was one stubborn man.
By convincing him, I mean Aiden trying to convince him while Thea and I watched from the sidelines. For a few hours, our groups was just a back and forth between the, it even got to a point where Aiden offered to let him use his bike on the next race but that didn't really work either.
Aiden: You can borrow my bike on our next race
Aiden: Emphasis on borrow.
Cole: Tempting. But no, I can't. I'm a busy man.
It got to a point where we were all basically slowly accepting the fact that nothing would convince him.
Thea: Guys it's fine, he doesn't wanna go we can't force him. More for the rest of us :)
Thea: Plus that ticket won't go to waste, I could ask Bran to come with so that it could be like a cute little couples road trip
Brandon or Bran as she liked to call him, was the man that she went home with the night we went to Cole's bar. That night they danced the night away and eventually went home together, the next day she provided me with the details of their enticing night and vivid detail and told me that they planned to meet again. And so they did. Now they had sort of a friends with benefits relationship going on and it was clear that Tee was trying to take it to the next level.
Thea: P.s @cole I'm kicking you out, you serve no purpose in this group
A response came in just mere seconds after.
Cole: Wait
Cole: I changed my mind. I'm coming.
Thea: You little shit.
Thea: You're doing that just to spite me, aren't you?
Cole: No I just changed my mind. The world doesn't revolve around you, Sugar.
Thea: @Kris hold me back. I'm literally about to punch someone through the screen right now
Thea: You already made your choice so fuck off.
*Thea removed Cole from the group*
Thea: Much better already :))
*Aiden added Cole to the group*
Thea: Aiden! How could you!
Aiden: Calm down, both of you. Here's the plan, I'll get us another ticket so that Bran can come with us, all FOUR of us, got it?
Seeing Aiden communicate with them was like watching a parent discipline their troublemaking kids.
Cole: So now I gotta fifth wheel? Fuck me.
Thea: You still have time to change your mind again and I'll gladly kick you out again :)
Cole: @Thea Fuck off.
Me: @Aiden where are you even getting all these tickets? Thea and I waited years to finally get our hands on it.
Aiden: A magician never reveals his secret, Darlin.
After that little incident everything was smooth sailing for the five of us. We planned out where we would be staying and booked three rooms for us; one for Aiden and I, one for Thea and Brandon and one for Cole. We also rented out a mini van which we would use to take up to the hotel that was within walking distance of the venue.
Friday evening couldn't have come fast enough, I was out the door as fast as I could, still not fully convinced that Aunt Jenna wouldn't change her mind in the last second. I had to pinch myself a couple of times when I found myself in the passenger seat of the van, Aiden beside me driving, Thea and Cole in the backseat as we made our way to our final stop which was picking up Brandon.
We were outside his apartment building for a good fifteen minutes as Tee desperately tried to get a hold of him. We were all starting to get worried until he finally had the decency to pick up.
"Oh my gosh Bran, you picked up! Are you okay? We're outside," Thea paused listening to what he had to say, "What do you mean why; the trip we've been planning for like a week," She paused again before scoffing, "Seriously? Bran you made us come all the way over her just toâ" She took another pause, now much longer than the previous ones before she sighed, "Fine, see you then. Bye," She brought the phone down slowly, "Um he's not coming, s-something came up with work but he said that he'll be over first thing tomorrow morning," The sadness in her voice broke my heart into a billion pieces, her attraction to Bran was apparent I could tell that this was really hurting her.
The rest of the ride went by smoothly, Thea and I were in charge of the aux so the ride had slowly turned into a carpool karaoke session. Aiden joined in on a few songs, while Cole spent most of his time on his phone or staring out the window and on the rare occasion; watching Tee and I.
Four hours went by in a breeze because for once I wasn't slowly losing my sanity worrying about everything and anything but the present. We got to our hotel at around 10pm and it was buzzing with people most of which were there for the festival. I expected that to be the end of the night, that everyone would just go to their respective rooms and call it a night but instead the four of us gathered in my and Aiden's room to play some board games.
We all decided to go with Uno and at one point we were all playingâ yes, even Cole. I was just as shockedâ but after about two hours of playing Cole and I had forfeited the game leaving Thea and Aiden to play. Two highly competitive people who would stop at nothing to win. It was like a neverending cycle; when one won, the other accused them of cheating and demanded a rematch and they fought over it like siblings would.
Cole had moved to sit on the couch while we stayed at the small dinner table, he was mostly on his phone typing away furiously. When I forfeited the match about an hour ago, I got up from my spot at the table with every intension of taking a spot by Cole's side on the couch but Aiden had other ideas. He pulled me down onto his lap where I'd sat watching their relentless match.
"Fuck I'm starving, what do you guys say we order room survice," That was only half true, the ride did cause a little hunger but my ultimate goal was to get them to stop because with the way that it was going, they would be playing until one of them physically couldn't anymore.
"In a little bit, Darlin I'm so close to beating her,"
Thea scoffed at that, "Keep fucking dreaming,"
I rolled my eyes, accepting that there was no getting through to them so I got up but I couldn't hide the smile that slithered it's say to my face, because there was no better feeling than seeing two people you deeply care about getting along. "You two are impossible. I'm just gonna go get something from the vending machine," I walked over to the nightstand I had placed my phone on and headed towards the door, "Cole," I called out and he finally peeled his eyes from his phone staring up at me, "I'm heading to the vending machine, do you want something?"
For a short split second, something that resembled a smile crossed his lips before he was back to his neutral expression with a slight scowl, "No thanks, I'm good," I smiled and nodded in response before I was out the door.
It was a little over midnight but the halls of the hotel bustling with people, most of which were drunk young adults who were either going to a party or coming back from one. The music festival meant two things for most people; drinking and partying for an entire weekend so the halls were alive and it felt so cleansing after being in mostly silence for the past few months.
When I got down to the lobby where the vending machines were, something else caught my attention; a group of girls walking into the hotel with corn dogs in hand. That's when I remembered the food stalls that were set at a park right around the corner from the hotel, as we were driving in we were welcomed by the delicious scent of street food.
So instead of wasting my money on the vending machine, I made the executive decision to walk over to the park. The streets were just as busy as the hotel, the city was just as awake as it had ever been so I felt safe walking alone. Nothing bad could happen in public, right?
The park was just a block away from the hotel and I was welcomed by so many scents at once, it was almost overwhelming. Most of the stalls had a line of hungry customers who were eager to eat. I went to the stall with the shortest line which ended up being a stall that sold animal style fries.
The line moved quickly and soon it was my turn to order. With the waiting time of five minutes, I decided to stroll around to see what else they had. And they had fucking everything, from dumplings to popcorn to hotdogs, I could tell that I would be spending a lot of my time there.
But something stopped me in my tracks. A man.
He looked a little different but I was almost sure it was him.
Uncle Greg, Aunt Jenna's ex husband.
Last time I saw him, he was slimmer and more put together, now a beer belly protruded from his body, a beard covered covered most of his face and his clothes looked ran down and rugged and of course his looked older. He was strolling around like I was looking through the stalls.
But I was almost sure it was him.
He who broke Aunt Jenna's heart into pieces. I could still vividly remember myself coming home from schoolâ this was about two months after my mother had been murderedâ to find Aunt Jenna on the couch bawling her eyes out.
And I still vividly remember her words to me that day.
"He left."
"He wasn't ready to take on the responsibility of raising a child."
In other words, he left because of me. I was the reason he left and I was the reason their marriage had gone to shit.
It was all my fault.
That night, I cried myself to sleep and silently begged my mother to come take me with her. She never heard my pleas.
Remembering that Aunt Jenna sacrificed her love life because of me still felt like a punch in the gut, and I knew that I would never be able to repay her for all she's done.
I found myself striding towards him.
Why?
I wasn't quite sure. To yell at him for leaving such an amazing woman behind?To apologize for being the reason his marriage ended? Maybe a bit of both.
"Greg?" As soon as I said his name he snapped his head in my direction, confirming my suspicion. It was him. He furrowed his brows in confusion, "Its me Kristal, Kristal Anderson. I- I don't know if you remember me, I'm the girl your ex wife Jenna's been looking after," I had no idea where I was going with this.
He studied me for a while, coming to terms with the fact that that little girl was now standing right in front of him, all grown up. "Don't know who you're talking about kid," His voice was a dead giveaway as well, he had a very distinctive voice with a slightly higher pitch. He turned his back to me, ready to leave.
"Please don't lie to me, I know it's you. Y-you- I know that I'm the reason you left your wife,"
That sentence caught his attention because he whipped his head back around to face me, "What?"
I licked my lips that had gotten so dry completely unbeknownst to me, I nodded slowly, "I know everything, Aunt Jenna told me. You weren't ready to have a child and I was practically thrown your way s-so you left, and she chose to take care of me on her own,'
He scoffed shaking his head, "Of course that's what she told you," He said under his breath, more to himself than me, "Look kid, I don't know what you want from me, your Aunt has already told you a version of the story that's easy to swallow and I want no further association with that woman so I will not provide any further details if that's what you're looking for,"
"No I'm justâ I'm here because you deserve an apology too, I ruined everything for you guys. If it weren't for me, you probably would been with aunt Jenna to this day andâ"
"You did nothing. Our divorce had absolutely nothing to do with you," He explained never skipping a beat.
I stared at him, a puzzled look on my face, "But Aunt Jenna saidâ"
"There's so much you don't know Kristal and deep down I hope you never find out, for your own sake," And with that he turned back and walked off disappearing into the crowd effortlessly, leaving me staring ahead with my mouth hanging trying to process what he said. When I finally snapped out of my trance, I looked around and found no sight of him.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Happy Valentine's day my loves<3
Any guesses on what Kristal doesn't know?
Thanks for reading my loves<33
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