Kristal Anderson
I was frozen in place. Staring at him as his words echoed in my ears.
I was met with nothing but silence. He wouldn't even meet my eyes, keeping them off to the side. Regret was written all over his face. "What did you just say?"
All he did was shake his head, still refusing to meet my gaze. The world around us was blending together, making me feel dizzy but I did my best to hold it together, planting my feet firm on the ground.
"Don't," The strangest feeling had overtaken me, I didn't know if I wanted to throw up or cry or scream or crawl into a deep dark where the truth would never find me. Or maybe I wanted to do all those things at once. "Don't try to pretend like you didn't say anything, I heard you. Say it. . . I need you to say that again," I needed to hear that again, I needed the confirmation that my ears weren't playing tricks on me.
He finally found the courage to meet my gaze, he shook his head once again, "Forget I said anything; for your sake and mine," He made an effort to leave but I spoke again.
"Uncle Greg, who killed her?" Those words came out with a bit of struggle, the words felt stuck to my throat refusing to make it up to my lips. Just as I uttered them, something clicked in my brain. Uncle Greg left very soon after my mom died and he was never seen again, like he was running away from something or someone. What reason he might have had to kill her, I didn't know but sometimes people didn't need a reason to kill, they just did. "... You, it was you wasn't it? You killed–"
He took a quick abrupt step in my direction, "What? No, of course not," He said sounding genuinely perplexed that I'd think that.
"But you left soon after her death a-and now you're telling me that my father didn't kill her–"
"I didn't leave by choice,"
I scoffed shaking my head not really sure what to do with myself, the information that I was receiving was too much for me to handle. My heart ached as it screamed for me to stop while I was ahead because deep down it knew that finding out the truth would be far too painful. "I don't understand, this. . .this doesn't make any sense. Why would you leave then?"
"Because I was threatened,"
"By who?"
Instead of answering me, he averted his gaze once again and in that very moment I wanted to scream. So very loudly to let loose some of the frustration I felt because of this whole situation. I physically couldn't handle being kept in the dark for much longer, in that very moment I felt like a clueless puppet living a life that wasn't fully theirs.
His eyes roamed our surroundings as he spoke, "This isn't the place to be talking about this and I don't-"
"I don't care! I don't care if anyone hears, I just want the truth!" My patience was running thin and it was clear that he was trying to find an excuse to stop talking.
He took a deep breath before he spoke, "Jenna, she. . . advised me to leave after I found out the truth,"
Another piece of information that felt like a punch to the gut. "Aunt Jenna threatened you?" That sounded just as ridiculous coming from my mouth as it did coming from his. He nodded, confirming the information. I let out a humourless chuckle, "And why would she do that? Do you know how broken she was when you left? I watched her with my own two eyes when she cried her eyes out the day you left," It was then that I realized just how much I was betraying Aunt Jenna by giving this man my time of day, the man who left her with so little explanation. "You know what, I think you're lying to me, this is probably some type of sick joke to you-"
"Jenna isn't the angel she makes herself out to be and I know that my words probably mean nothing to you right now but know that I mean it when I say Jenna is not a good person,"
I crossed my arms over my chest, "Oh and you are?" I scoffed, "Give me a break," I turned to leave refusing to listen to anymore of what he had to say. All the lies that he was spewing. Aiden stood in the spot where I'd left him, his arms crossed staring right at Uncle Greg and I, seeming like he was ready for combat. When our gaze met he visibly relaxed and he brought his arms back down.
I took two steps in his direction but Uncle Greg spoke again, "Jenna knows the murderer, I heard them talking on the phone once and they seemed. . . friendly," I whipped my head back in his direction so fast I was surprised it didn't snap, my eyes bulging out of my head. I held his gaze and it took everything in me not to crumble right there and then because the look in his eyes was unmistakable. There was not an ounce of an indicator that he was lying. He sounded so sure of himself.
That felt like more than just a punch to the gut, that felt like someone brutally extracted my gut and was repeatedly stepping on it with all their might. I held his gaze a little longer, he could probably tell that he had gotten me, that I had found no way to rebuttal.
Whipping my head back in Aiden's direction, I began to move but it felt like I was trying to walk in a hamster wheel going a hundred miles an hour. My vision was going in and out of focus and my legs felt like they were being swarmed by quicksand with every step I took. I did my best to focus on the man ahead of me, a man that I could've sworn was just a few feet away but now it felt like he was a football field away.
I screamed at myself over and over again telling myself that I needed to get to him, I just needed to get to him. I refused to break down in front of Uncle Greg. But the tears and the beginnings of a panic attack were bubbling up inside threatening to spill at any moment.
Just get to him.
I could feel the unsteadiness in my feet like they were nearly giving out. I was hyperventilating and losing all sensation in my legs. The moment I started stumbling over my own feet, I knew that I would be on the ground any minute. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion from that point; the way my eyes focused in on Aiden and the look of concerned laced in his features, the way I reached out but I was met with nothing but air because my arm wasn't quite long enough to reach him. So I accepted my faith, but before my body met the ground, an arm wrapped itself around my waist catching me just in time. I was about to free myself from said arm because I just assumed that it belonged to Uncle Greg and the last thing I wanted was for him to touch me in that moment.
"Fuck, what happened?" Until I heard his voice, Aiden had caught me. How the hell did he get to me so fast? His voice was all the confirmation I needed, I held onto his leather jacket for dear life and buried my face in his chest taking in that scent that only he had.
"Please," Was all I mustered and most people probably wouldn't understand what I meant but he did. He always did. He always knew when I needed out. I was being carried bridal style away from the noise, away from everyone, away from Uncle Greg.
I kept my arms around his neck, my face buried in his chest as the noise became fainter. When I heard him pushing a door open with his foot and shutting it I got the confirmation that we were in his dressing room. The soft material of the couch in his dressing room welcomed me as he set me down on it. He came down to his knees in front of me so that he could be at eye level with me.
His gloved hands came in contact with my cheeks bringing my attention to his face. "Hey I'm here okay, I'm right here with you," He leaned forward and planted a light kiss on my forehead and that was all I needed to let the waterworks flow.
"Aiden h-he didn't. . . " I struggled to get the words out.
He moved his thumb across my cheeks giving his head a small shake, "You don't have to tell me anything right now baby, I just want to make sure you're okay," This man. He didn't rush me, he held me in his arms until I was ready to speak and when I was, he listened and he held me tighter.
"Do you think he's lying to me?" I asked breaking the silence that had spread between us. He moved up to the couch and I was straddling him with my head in his chest. He was stroking my hair seeming deep in thought.
"For the sake of everyone involved, I hope he is,"
"I don't want to believe it, I refuse," I shook my head against his chest.
I felt him land a slow gentle kiss on the top of my head, "I know Darlin, the implications that come with what he said are too cruel to even think about,"
My head moved in a slow nod, "Now, I don't know what to do with myself or this information,"
"You investigate, Darlin, you dig until you find out the truth,"
I leaned back from my position to look at him, "What if I don't wanna find out the truth anymore? What if I can't handle it? What if I find out the truth and I realize that life was better when I was kept in the dark, then what? Cause it'll be too late too late to go back,"
He took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips, giving my knuckles a soft kiss, "What if it's the exact opposite? What if finding out the truth makes you feel freer? More connected with the people of your past, more at peace with yourself because you don't have to ever question the life you're living? Sure, it might be hard in the beginning, coming to terms with everything but that's what I'm here for baby, I'm here to get you through it,"
I looked at him and smiled. That was all I could do. "Do you promise to always be like this with me?"
"Like what?"
"True and genuine and loving and caring and- just promise me you won't ever make me feel like this, our relationship, was anything but real. Promise me that this is the only version there will ever be of us, I don't. . . I don't wanna be kept in the dark about anything ever again,"
He stared at me taking in my words before he finally nodded, "I promise, Darlin,"
Leaning in with a smile on my face I took his lips in mine but just as soon as the kiss started, my phone rang. Aiden groaned wrapping an arm around my waist refusing to pull back but with a playful slap to his chest and a giggle I managed to pull away and reach for my phone.
My blood ran cold when I saw the name on the screen.
Aunt Jenna.
"Are you gonna take it?"
"I have to, what if something happened?" She didn't usually call me this late unless she needed something or she wasn't well. "Hello?"
"Hello dear, hope I'm not waking you," Hearing her voice now made the most uneasy feeling rise in the pit of my stomach.
But I swallowed it all back and did my best to control myself, I didn't even know if what he said was true yet. "O-oh no, I'm still up um reading, do you need anything,"
"Oh, you're reading? In your room?"
I furrowed my brows in confusion, "Y-yeah. . .in my room,"
"Weird, I'm sitting on your bed right now and you're nowhere to be found,"
Thank you so much for coming along on another chapter loves.
Sorry for the long wait.