The Loner Girl

Chapter twenty three

Some guys can't handle it when a girl crys. They just run away and leave her there to feel even more sad and alone than she already was feeling. Well I am not one of those guys. I mean I sure don't enjoy watching a girl cry, I don't enjoy watching anyone cry, but if they are then I am going to stay and at least try to make them feel better. Just like I used to do with my mom the few times she cried, just like with Lexi when we were kids, and just like right now with Aiden.

I don't know how long she was crying, it felt like hours but it could have only been minutes for all I know. It didn't matter how long it was though, I have a feeling Aiden needs to do this. So I just sat there holding her and let her cry into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry." I whispered into her hair.

She pulled away. "Why?" She asked. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but her face was stained with tears. No doubt my shirt was to.

"For what happened." I said gently wiping the teardrops from her cheeks. "For making you relive it, for making you cry."

"You're not the one who made me cry." She said laughing a little, but not in her usually way, in more of a sad way. "And what happened wasn't your fault"

"I know."I said running myhand through my hair the way I do when I am stressed. I have been doing it a lot the past week. "But still."

Aiden leaned up against the trunk of the large willow tree we were under and I did the same. "Sorry I was yelling at you." She said.

"It's okay, I can see why." I said, picking up her wrist and touching the faint scars. "Sorry I yelled at you."

"It's okay.'' She said smiling slightly. "I can see why."

"Aiden Marisa Barkley." I said humorously. "Are you mocking me?"

Aiden giggled, which was good to hear giving what just happened. "Maybe a little bit." She said. "Sorry I didn't tell you of about any of this, it's just really hard to talk about."

"Yeah I'm sure it is." I said. "So does anyone else know?"

Aiden sighs and says. "Only them." She points to her house. "And the younger ones don't fully know what happened."

I nod. "Everyone was really worried about you." I say.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really.'' I answered.

"I know you're going to tell them." She said. "And it's fine but just leave out all the stuff with my dad, I would rather tell them myself when the time is right."

"Okay." I said. "How did you know I would tell them?"

"Because I know you." She said. "I also know you already told your mom and Salma."

"Oh. Sorry I should have waited for you to tell me it was oka..."

"It's fine I don't mind."

"Okay." I said. We sit in silence for a second. "I can't believe that really happened to you. Toby said it was bad but..."

"Yeah I know."Aiden said. "That isn't the full story though."

"It's not?" I question. There is more to that horrible story.

"Not exactly." Aiden said.

"Are you okay with sharing?" I ask. I know she already told me a lot, but I still would like to know everything that happened.

She took a deep breath and started with the rest of the story. "When my mom died, I was extremely angry with her. I was seven and I was mad that she left me. I had no idea why she did it, because if I did I never would have thought about being mad." She looked off in the distance, clearly remembering parts of her childhood, not the pleasnt parts. "I was the one who found her when she died. It was horrible, the worst moment of my life."