The door slamming open for the second time tonight has me startling.
I look up with wide eyes from Aaron, who's clinging to my stomach, sprawled out on my lap—it's sweet torture, really—to see Ada, Micah and Aiden looking slightly panicked in my doorway.
I grumble, sinking back into my pillows. "Christ, I thought the house was on fire. Leave me alone, it's only . . ." My voice fades away as I realize it's already 7. Huh. I could've sworn Aaron just got here.
"Aaron is gone!" Ada panics, grabbing her face. "He's not in his room, not downstairs, not anywhere in the house! Did he leave? You've been awake all night, right? Why didn't you stop him!"
And she's on the brink of crying. I open my mouth because, hello, he's right here under the sheets. Only, Aiden shoots me a death glare and pulls Ada to his chest.
Micah seems to be freaking out too, but he's way too full of himself to admit it. I can notice it in the tremble of his hands, though.
"Guys—" "I'm gonna search in the garden," Aiden states, trying to untangle Ada from him. I frown, not understanding why I don't get to explain things.
"Guys—" "Idiot," Micah adds. I cock an eyebrow, shutting my mouth. You know what, I tried. And I'm not gonna help them after insulting me.
The two men leave, letting Ada to be alone, sobbing. I give her a small smile. "Come here. I'm sure they'll find him." She nods, trying to wipe away her tears. "I just—I thought everything was okay," she whispers.
She joins me on the bed. I hug her sideways and wait until she realizes Aaron has been here the whole time. And she does, with a gasp. "Bastard!" she accuses me.
I laugh, silently, because I don't want to wake him. "Hey, not my fault I get cut off every time I try to tell them." She lets out a soft chuckle, starting to play with Aaron's hair.
"He had a nightmare," I explain, "and seemed really freaked out, which is why I invited him here. I don't sleep anyway." She nods.
I know she understands my insomnia. I rarely sleep and when I do, it's not longer than a few hours a night.
Aaron whimpers and clutches tighter to me. I grin. "And in the meanwhile, he's gotten obsessed with sleeping on me." The boy clearly agrees with that, curling up against me.
"We have to leave by nine. Wake him up at seven thirty, at last, okay?" she whispers. I nod. Even though I'd love to stay in all day, Aaron would hate to miss school.
She gets up, just when Aiden returns with a cautious face. He winces a little at the sight of Ada. "Ididn'tfindhim," he mumbles quickly, scratching the back of his head. I smirk, leaning back. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?"
"I didn't find him," he repeats, glaring daggers at me. "But I promise I'll have him back in thirty minutes. I'll call my friends of the FBI and—" "Nope, not in the cottages," Micah adds, just now coming back.
Me and Ada share a look. I plan on dragging this out, maybe with a few more fake tears from Ada or— "why don't all of you just shut up?" Aaron grumbles, shifting until he's higher on my chest. I smile, wrapping my arms around his lower back.
"You sure you want to leave the spot you've been in for the past four hours?" I ask, more letting the other two know than asking him. Luckily, the boy is already half asleep again, just mttering an answer which is not comprehensible.
"Asshole," Micah scoffs, flipping me the bird before walking off. I grin. Aiden ignores me, his paleness retrieving. "Come on, Ada, I want to ask you something," he nudges her.
They walk away, leaving me alone for twenty minutes until I can wake up Aaron. Meh. I want to wake him up now.
So I start patting his side, until he's squirming and trying to get away. "You're such an annoying child," he sighs, opening his eyes and placing his chin on my chest to look up at me. I grab his hips, cock an eyebrow and lower him onto mine.
"Does that feel like a child to you?"
His eyes widen before he flushes red again. "N-no— Christ, Seb, I just woke up," he groans, snuggling higher again. I chuckle.
"We've got twenty minutes before we have to get up. I want to know more about your nightmare," I change the subject because clearly, his head will explode from too much blood.
He immediately lowers his head on my chest again. "It was just a memory," he whispers softly. I kiss his hair. "Will you tell me about it?"
A deep sigh leaves his mouth, but he starts telling me about his horrible senior year of high school, how his dad kicked him out of the house and how he was all alone to survive.
He shrugs. "I was kind of homeless for the rest of the year, until I graduated and went to college. Not the college I wanted, though. Ezra and Silas lived in Michigan with their mom, where my parents live, but their dad runs the college in Ohio. Hence why they're here."
I kiss his nose this time. "I'm not interested in those two shitfaces. I'm interested in how you came here if you could have stayed in Michigan."
He averts his eyes. "They weren't—aren't—done toying around with me, so they convinced their dad to give me a scholarship." He swallows. "Obviously, I didn't want to go, but my dad had told the college I did want to give the scholarship away, so I didn't have a choice."
Oh my sweet poor baby.
I hug him tighter. "Your dad sounds horrible." Fuck, who am I to talk? My dad kills people.
He shrugs again. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that. My sister, though! I love her. She's two years younger than me, but just as mature." He grins up at me. "Which is, of course, not very."
I squeeze his waist. "Of course."
"I hope I can see her again. I haven't seen her in four years, and I kind of miss her," he mumbles, taking his phone out of his hoodie. I hadn't noticed he took it with him. It must have been uncomfortable to sleep with, right?
"Look," he tells me, and I can't help but curiously watch his screen. It's upside down, but I manage. "This is my mom's Instagram. That's my sister, right there, on that pic. And that one. And—basically every pic," he nervously mutters.
It hits me. He's hurt they cut him out, and it hurts him even more to see how happy they are with Nina.
*Michigan
*proud mom of one ❤
What in the world. They just act like Aaron doesn't fucking exist!
I tuck him tighter. I'm gonna give him all the love and affection he missed these past years—and who knows, before that—because he just deserves it.
When I catch Nina's full name, something occurs to me. Christina Bright. Economy class, first year, third class on Tuesday.
I got this.