The Best Man

Chapter 17 - Aiden

I listen hard but can't hear anything behind the door. Fuck, maybe she didn't come home. I'm racking my brain trying to think where else would she run to, but I know this woman. I know her kitchen is her safe place. I know that's where she can think. I can hear my voice, thick with pain, as I lean my head against the door.

".. I'm so sorry... I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry I pushed you so fucking hard tonight.... Fuck, Maddy, I know how scared you are... Please baby just open the door.."

Why the hell did I fucking push her to tell me what I fucking knew she wasn't ready to say. If I didn't push so fucking hard, she might not have run. I'm a fucking idiot. I turn and let my back fall against the door as I slide down to the floor.

".. I'll stay here all night if I have to."

And I mean it.

I'll sit here, sleep here, order fucking food to be delivered here. There's not much that would move me from her doorstep.

What a fucking mess I've made. None of this is her fault. I know how hard it was for her to take that leap and trust me. If I had just told her and not bolted that night none of this would have fucking happened. I mean I left her on the fucking sidewalk for christ's sake. I was so worried that something would happen to April or Bella that I didn't stop to think.

I've never seen her like that before. So angry, so betrayed, and when she finally let me speak, the flick in her eyes as she realised that she had it wrong, was somehow even worse to watch. I went from unbelievably hurting her, to making her feel humiliated, and then forcing out how she really feels about me in the space of a few minutes. Or felt. Fuck, it better not be felt.

My head drops into my hands and I remember Maddy yelling at me about trying to call me. Pulling my phone out, I turn it on and wait for it to stop having a fit from all the missed calls and messages.

Holy fuck, I had no fucking idea.

I've been running around with Bella, the police and lawyers, I've barely even looked at my phone, not to mention the three year old that apparently fucking turned it off. I fall into bed at night, and out within seconds, amazed at the amount of energy a three year old can possess.

My breathing becomes laboured as I listen to the voicemails. I can hear the panic and fear in her voice as she fails at sounding upbeat. I abandoned her when she needed me the most. My chest feels like it's in a vice being crushed.

I stand up, about to break the fucking door down when I see Nora standing at the top of the stairs.

I have no idea how long she's been there. She blinks at me and looks down at her phone clutched in her hand.

"Aiden?... What's going on?"

There's not much that would move me from Maddy's doorstep, except the woman standing in front of me. My fist pounds on Maddy's door again.

"Seriously Maddy? You have got to be kidding me."

My hands clench into fists before I flex them out again. She knows I'm not going to go toe to toe with her sister out here in the hall. Nora is watching me closely.

"Aiden, I think you need to go.."

She lowers her voice and her eyes flick to Maddy's door before back to me, as she steps towards me.

".. I don't know what's going on, or what happened, but you need to go and let me handle it."

That's the last thing I want to do. I don't want to leave her when she needs me, not again. I have to physically force myself to step back from Maddy's door. Nora's right. Maddy's called Nora for a reason, and this is it.