Invisible

GIRLFRIEND

 “I’VE MISSED THIS PLACE,” Aiden says as we walk through the front door of his house, into the living room. I remember the first day I set foot here, remember the happiness that overwhelmed me.

It’s happening again, especially when Aiden calls Jack.

“What?” Jack whines as he walks down the stairs, into the living room, “All you kids ever do is ask for—”

He hesitates when he looks up at me, smirks.

“Well,” he continues, “Who is this pretty girl you’ve brought home?”

He wraps his arms around me the way a father would when his daughter comes home. I smile as he squeezes me.

“Just me, Jack,” I say. He laughs.

“Just you? That’s bull.” He smiles at me as he pulls away, “How’s my little girl been?”

“Eh, you know. The usual.”

Getting raped, cutting myself, basically binge eating, and then getting raped again. Oh yeah, that’s the usual.

“Really? Then why haven’t we seen you?”

I think about senior year, how hectic it was for me. Of course, I had emotional weight, but even without it…

“Really busy school year. Had a bunch of college level courses… You know.”

“Yeah, but you better make room for us this year. Shouldn’t give up on us.”

He turns toward the stairs. “You staying for dinner tonight?” he continues. I nod.

“Yeah. Ali’s coming?”

“Yep. Just called. She’ll be home soon.”

He walks up the stairs, disappears behind the first door. I look back at Aiden.

“Doesn’t seem like I’ve really missed anything,” I say.

“Yeah,” Aiden says, “You did.”

<><><>

Once I told Aiden about Mark, I asked him to tell me more about his father.

“He must have changed at least a little bit,” I said, “I mean, not like Mark, but you know.”

“Well,” he responded, “he’s still a lawyer.”

“Ha… Yeah, I know… Anything else?”

“Not really. No matter what I come up with, he’s still the same old guy he was when you last saw him.”

I shrugged, kept staring at the picture of us.

“What do you keep staring at?” he asked after a while, looking in the picture’s direction. “That picture of us?”

I nodded as I stood up, walked toward the door.

“Is this the original?” I asked.

“Nope. Ali barely trusts me with this copy, so she’d never give me the original.”

I smiled as I took it from the door, stared at it. “She really doesn’t trust you with this?”

“Joking.”

“Right.”

I stuck the picture back on the wall, and when I turned around, Aiden was standing right in front of me.

“What the hell?” I asked. He moved closer. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t know,” he said, “You hung it crooked.”

“No I didn’t. I hung it better than it was before.” I turned toward it again, stared at it. Well, it was crooked. I straightened it, smirked.

“Well, now it’s better than it was before.” I turned toward him again, and that time he was a bit too close to me, his head leaning in. I didn’t move, not because I was nervous, but because I really didn’t want to move.

He paused right before our lips touched. “Do you actually want this to happen?” he asked, “because I know I’m being a total ass—”

I pressed my lips to his, and it took a moment for him to kiss me back. When I pulled away, I smiled.

“Did that answer your question?” I asked. He laughed.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Good.” He nodded, leaned toward me, kissed me again. I leaned against the door, his hands tracing my spine. I didn’t think much of it, really… At least, not until his hands slipped under my shirt. Then again, I didn’t care about it either.

“Aiden!” Jack called from downstairs. Aiden pulled away from me when he heard footsteps making their way up the stairs. He pulled back, and I opened the door, Jack’s face appearing behind it. He glared at us.

“What’s going on in here?” he asked. I smirked.

“Nothing, Jack,” I said, “Just looking at old pictures. What’s up?”

He stared at us for a moment. “Ali’s downstairs with Blake and Ethan… and groceries. So go help her.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “I’ll be right down.”

Jack backed out of the doorway, walked downstairs.

“Should I help too?” I asked. Aiden shook his head as he started to walk out into the hallway.

“I’d rather surprise her,” he said. “Just wait here.”

I watched him as he disappeared downstairs, the front door opening, plastic bags rattling, Ali’s voice engulfing the room.

“Your girlfriend’s here?!” she exclaimed, “Where is she?

Girlfriend?

I smiled.