The Bet That Broke Me ~ Book•1 ✔️ (this book is currently being rewritten)

The Bet That Broke Me: Chapter Twelve

My fingers ran smoothly across the wood railing as I ascended the stairway, that was lined with family photos- all of them of smiling faces. It seemed almost impossible to imagine Aiden as an innocent looking child. I didn't think I could ever picture him looking so carefree and goofy, smiling lopsidedly, but here he was no older than ten years old- the picture staring back at me with bright eyes. Where was this Aiden? What happened to make him so closed off?

It felt foreign to be here. Everything about this place was beautiful and I couldn't help but feel as if I didn't belong. There were family photos placed around the house but as I continued my exploring, I realized none of these people were in sight. The woman with bright blue orbs and loving smile wasn't home to greet me as her son brought me home. The man who looked at his family as if they were everything in the world and more, wasn't here now. And the tall brunette who held her little brother to her side, was no where to be found. And finally, the young Aiden wasn't who he used to be.

"Aiden?" I called after him as he had already reached the end of the hall- completely out of view from me.

"Yeah?"

I was gentle as I spoke, "Where's your family?" Maybe it was out of line for me to ask but I had been hanging out with Aiden for a month now, and I knew nothing about him. I wasn't waiting for him to answer because I knew he wasn't going to.

His back came into view as I reached the end of the long hallway, "It doesn't matter." He was stern but somewhat soft with his words. They weren't harsh and he didn't immediately shut it down. He paused for a moment before he spoke, his shoulda tensing slightly. I had prepared for him to slew a few curse words and tell me to mind my business, but that wasn't the case.

I didn't say anything because there wasn't a need too. He turned to face me as he reach out to his right and tilted a knob, pushing a random room open. Inside, the walls were painted the faintest pink- a white sofa was placed under a large fixed window, a queen bed laid in the center of the left wall, and a white vanity was placed across from where the bed was positioned.

It definitely was a girls room. It was his sisters room. He gave it a hard look before heading for the closet. The room didn't look like it had been occupied in a while. The bed definitely hadn't been slept in, not a crease in the sheets or a single wrinkle on the pillows. He flipped through her closet for a reason I didn't know.

He returned in front of me with a piece of clothing in his hand, "Here." I took the red piece and looked it over. My nose turned pink as I held it up. It was a one piece bathing suit, that looked like it revealed just about every inch of my body. Was it even a one piece? It might as well be invisible. Was I supposed to put this on? I couldn't even imagine wearing this in front of Aiden. I would rather die than experience it. The thought of my fat squeezing out of every angle made me want the vomit.

He didn't try to make me feel better by ignoring my embarrassment. I knew how it made him feel. He was smug and proud of his affect on me. It was a game to him. "I want to go swimming. Change and meet me outback."  He turned his back to me again as he passed me and headed for the steps.

"I'm not wearing this, Aiden."

He kept going.

"Then find something you're comfortable with. Good luck, my sister doesn't like to cover up." I felt uneasy at his words. By the looks of this bathing suit, I believed him. It felt wrong of me to be going through her closet but there wasn't anyway I would go outside in this lingerie. I moved aside the items as I tried find common ground.

Finally, I settled with a black one piece that dipped low on my back and had the longest "V neck" I had ever seen. It wasn't exactly ideal but it wasn't like I had very many choices. I left her room, making sure everything was just like she left it. I traveled carefully down the hall, setting a mission to find the bathroom. When I did, I closed and locked the door behind me- taking a few seconds to look at myself in the mirror: my brown hair was tied up in its usually ponytail, I had very minimal makeup on, just mascara, and I was dressed in my usual attire- over sized sweater and jeans.