Purgatory (bxb)

Chapter 29

"I see the night, it's coming for me, to take you away, it's here as a thief. And I know that I'm scared, and from down on my knees, I'm asking relief, from what if you don't?"
---

"Hey, Nick? Can I come over?"

I frown at the clock on the wall that reads 8pm.

"Don't you need your beauty sleep?"

Aiden scoffs over the phone.

"I'm already beautiful," his voice turns serious, "so can I?"

I sigh and nod, before realising that he can't see it. "Yeah, sure."

"I'll be there in, like, twenty minutes!" He chirps, and from the multitude of voices in the background I guess he's at the pack house.

A single beep sounds as he hangs up.

---

"Nicky! Nicky Nicky Nicky!"

The doorbell rings three more times and I groan as I run down to the door and open it, trying to catch my breath.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Aiden pouts at me, dramatically rubbing his hands together before rubbing at his arms.

"It's cold out here."

I roll my eyes.

---

"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask when we're seated comfortably on my bed, Aiden staring around the room like he hasn't seen it over a hundred times already.

He looks at me hesitantly, the way a child looks when he's about to confess a mistake. He doesn't stop playing with his hands or fidgeting on the bed, and it makes me uneasy to see him out of his comfort zone.

"It's about Sylvia," he finally murmurs, barely loud enough to be audible. This time, he finds a sudden interest in my bedsheets.

I raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to carry on and he sighs.

"I love her, Nick. I do. But I can't help feeling guilty because I know what her dad did to you and believe me - I hate him for everything he's done to both you and Chris, but I can't help feeling attracted to her," he pauses in his ramble, turning to face me, "I mean- I understand if you don't like her, I'll try to stay away from her-"

"Aiden-" I try to interrupt, but he continues.

"I mean, family always comes first, right? You're my brother and you'll always come first. I'll reject her if I have to, she won't feel the pain as much because she's human-"

"Aiden!"

He jolts in his seat, blinking at me with wide eyes and I sigh, trying to compose myself. I startled myself with my own scream.

"Look, I don't mind. Sure, Leo is a shitty person and I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him, but Sylvia is a different matter altogether. Besides, I'd never object to anything that makes you happy."

He looks back down to where he plays with his hands, and I think his nervousness is starting to affect me as I start fidgeting too.

"You don't hate her?" He asks, his voice quiet and I shake my head.

"I envy her more than anything. She has a complete family, a dorky mate with the mentality of a child," Aiden scoffs at that, "and she loves freely. I'm not going to hate her because she's Leo's daughter. It's not her fault."

I briefly wonder, if Leo had stayed, would I be like her - naive, open, and innocent? Would I wear my heart on my sleeve, look up to Leo as a father figure, would I be happy?