"Who just came in?" I asked nervously, glancing at the door.
"My dad," Aidan said grimly.
"Your dad," I repeated. "Oh, okay...is that a bad thing?" I asked, measuring the tense look on his face.
"Just stay here," He commanded, completely ignoring my question. "I'm serious. Don't leave the room until I come back in to get you, okay?"
"Okay," I nodded.
He gave me a look. "Demi."
"I said okay!"
What exactly did he want? A blood oath?
I was pretty annoyed at the fact that he obviously didn't seem to trust my word. Although, I suppose I couldn't really blame him. I had broken the first rule he gave me when we walked into the house.
"Do want me to pinkie swear?" I asked sarcastically in response to his wary look.
Aidan held out his pinkie expectantly.
"I was kidding."
"Come on," he said, waving his hand around. "I don't have all day."
I rolled my eyes and wrapped my pinkie around his own. "I promise not to leave this room until you come and get me."
"Thank you," he flashed me a smile and dropped his hand. "You know, I usually handle my deals with spit shakes."
I wrinkled my nose in disgust and leaned away. "Ew," I blanched. "That is disgusting."
"I'll be right back."
Before I could respond he was out the door, closing it shut behind him.
I stood up and draped my bag over my shoulder. I walked up to the door and opened it quietly. Carefully, I poked my head out so I was able to hear the voices from downstairs clearly.
Technically, I wasn't breaking my pinkie swear. Aidan told me not to leave the room. He never said anything about eavesdropping.
"....the hell are you doing here?" The man's voice from earlier boomed. "Shouldn't you be in school? Are you ditching? You know I don't like those damn phone calls from your school."
"We had a half day today," Aidan's quieter voice lied.
Silence settled around the house. A silence that stretched on for so long I had begun to wonder if they had moved to a different room that wasn't in my hearing range. Then, Aidan's dad spoke again.
"Alright," he said. "You better not be lying though, boy. You know what happens to liars in this house."
I assumed Aidan mumbled something inaudible under his breath because his dad's voice grew sharp.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Aidan said.
"Nothing....?"
"Nothing, sir," Aidan corrected himself putting as much venom as he possibly could in that one word.
Silence fell again, and all I heard was faint shuffling coming from the first floor.
"You better tell that kid to clean all her shit up when she comes home," Aidan's dad warned. "I'm not responsible for what happens to her if she doesn't."
"That kid. You mean your kid?" Aidan snapped angrily. "Although, I suppose it's not surprising you don't want to be responsible for her. When do you take responsibility for anything, let alone your kids? All you are is a pathetic alcoholic who can't even-"
I jumped a foot in the air when I heard glass breaking and loud cursing. My pulse picked up speed, and I became increasingly nervous with the situation going on downstairs.
"That mouth of yours is always putting you in sticky situations," Aidan's dad said in a flat voice. "It's time you learn to respect your superiors."
"The day you get any type of respect from me is the day Hell freezes over," Aidan retorted.
Multiple of things followed Aidan's statement. More glass was shattered, foul language was thrown around, groaning ensued, and a door slammed.
I had just about decided to go downstairs to see what was going on, so I could make sure Aidan was okay. I honestly didn't care what promise he had made me make. Everything I had heard unfold downstairs had successfully made me a nervous wreck. Especially the glass breaking.
I was pulling open the door when Aidan burst into the room. I gasped at the sight of him.
"Oh my god," I said loudly.
I took in the gash just under the bone of his eye. Blood was dripping down his face. There was enough blood sliding down his face to make me woozy.
"Aidan, your ey-"
He swiftly grabbed my hand and the book bag he had dropped earlier simultaneously and dragged me out of the room and down the stairs.
I practically had to run to keep with his long strides as we made our way out the door. I noticed a broken bottle of what looked to be alcohol on the carpet by one of the couches as well as shards of glass littering the floor before I was pushed out.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
I hit Aidan's arm, trying to get him to slow down so he could explain to me what exactly happened, but he continued ignoring me as we rushed up to hi bike.
He slung Briella's book bag over his shoulder, climbing on and handed me my helmet.
"Get on," he commanded.
"No," I took a step back. "Not until you tell me what happened. There was yelling and glass breaking and then you come back to me with a cut under your eye. Did your dad-"
"It's fine," he insisted, cutting off my rambling. "Just get on, so we can get out of here."
I stared at him in disbelief. Was he really attempting to brush this off?
"Demi," he snapped. He gave me a look that indicted he wasn't in the mood to bicker with me.
"Fine," I stuck the helmet on my head. "But we have to stop at my house, so we can attempt to fix your eye."
"My eye is fine."
"It is gushing blood."
"And?"
"Aidan."
"Okay," he sighed with resignation. "If it'll make you get on."
"It will," I climbed on the back. "Maybe I should drive. Are you feeling dizzy? Sick? Is the world spinning?"
"Demi," I could practically feel his eyes rolling. "Me dazed and operating this vehicle would still be less dangerous than you one hundred percent functioning and operating it."
I opened my mouth to retort angrily, but was abruptly cut off by the roar of the engine. I wrapped my arms around his waist and scowled sourly as he took off.
We reached my house not even five minutes later. I hopped off the bike and handed him the helmet.
"I'm going to buy a second helmet," I told him, watching him climb off. "You really shouldn't ride without one. It's-"
"Dangerous," Aidan gave me a tired look. "So you've said every time you're on this motorcycle."
"Well, I'm just concerned," I turned away and headed towards the house. "Excuse me."
I heard Aidan chuckle behind me which I pointedly ignored.
I climbed up the steps of my front porch and pulled my set of keys from my bag. Unlocking it, I pushed the front door open and stepped in.
"Take your shoes off," I kicked the flats I was wearing off and pushed them to the side. "My mom examines the carpet to make sure there are no footprints. She's a little bit of a freak."
Aidan stepped in behind me and nodded, taking off his own. "Are your parents home?"
"Nope," I set my bag down near the pile of shoes. "They work."
"What do they do?"
"Mom's a nurse, and Dad is a computer tech person thingy," I shrugged. "I don't know. It's boring," I grabbed Aidan's hand and pulled him up the steps. "Let's go to my room."
"You move fast," Aidan said.
I could practically sense the smirk on his face.
I pinched the palm of his hand and smiled in satisfaction when he made a sound indicating pain.
"Ow," he mumbled. "Cut your nails."
"I find they come in handy," I entered my bedroom and pointed to the bed. "Sit."
"Woof," he said, taking a seat."
"Funny."
I walked to my bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit from behind the mirror. I washed my hands throughly before walking back out.
"Okay, so I guess I'll just clean it up as best I can," I shuffled through the stuff. "I don't know whether or not you'll need stitches-"
"You are not going anywhere near my face with a needle," Aidan cut me off sharply.
I looked up to see him staring at me like I had lost my mind.
"I will have you know that I took first aid in Girl Scouts in, like, the fourth grade," I walked over and sat next to him on my bed. "I got a badge for it."
"That makes me feel a whole lot better," he said sarcastically. "I mean, a Girl Scouts badge is basically equivalent to a medical degree."
"The sarcasm really isn't necessary," I pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "And I wasn't planning on stitching you up. I was going to suggest a hospital, if it's needed."
"It's fine," he watched me pull out a cotton ball from a plastic bag. "I barely feel it."
I dab some of the strong smelling liquid on one of the balls. "You don't have to act all manly and brave about it. You can tell me if it hurts."
"It doesn't hurt."
I pressed the cotton ball against the cut under his eyes causing him to curse loudly and jump up.
"Ow," he glared at me.
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from laughing. "I'm sorry."
"You look it."
"I should have warned you I was going to do that," I admitted.
"A warning would have been nice," he said with a surly look on his face.
"Oh, don't be a baby. I have to clean it," I motioned him over. "Come on. The quicker we get this done, the less time you're in pain."
Aidan, reluctantly, sat back down.
"Okay," he nodded. "Go ahead. Attempt to be gentle."
"I'm gentle by nature," I assured him and carefully dabbed the cut under his eye.
He winced once or twice, but for the most part stayed very still while I used the cotton ball to siphon up all the blood on his face. I focused on what I was doing instead of the fact that he was staring at me quite intently.
"Why did your dad do this?" I asked, breaking the silence.
Aidan shrugged nonchalantly. "He got mad."
"Does he get mad a lot?"
"Yeah. He gets mad a lot."
I chewed the inside of my cheek anxiously. My stomach began to churn at what Aidan was basically insinuating.
"How long has he been....having these anger issues?"
"You don't need to worry about it," he said, averting his eyes.
"I don't need to worry about it?" I tossed the cotton ball into the trash bin and picked up another one to get rid of any remaining traces of blood on his face. "I'm cleaning up the blood he drew."
"I'm used to it," he said, as if that was suppose to reassure me.
"And that makes it okay?" I demanded, getting angry at how detached and emotionless he was acting towards the situation. "That is absolutely insane, do you know that?You shouldn't have to be used to to your dad physically abusing you."
"Well, those are the cards I was dealt," he snapped, his eyes flashing as he glared at me. "Why don't you mind your own business?"
"If you want me to mind my own business why did you tell me?" I shot back.
He was silent for a bit before shrugging. He carefully searched my eyes as he mumbled, "I don't know."
We both fell into the quiet.
I threw the cotton into the trash after I completed my task and began to apply some antibiotic to the cut. Thankfully, it wasn't deep enough to call for stitches.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I overstepped. The situation is just...worrisome to say the least."
Aidan nodded.
"Does he, um," I put the cap back on the ointment and picked up an appropriate sized bandaid. "Does he go after Briella?"
"Physically? No," his face grew hard. "And if he did he wouldn't be breathing for very long."
I nodded, some relief washing over me. It was hard enough envisioning Aidan being beat up, never mind the sweet little girl I had found myself growing very fond of.
"You should tell someone," I suggested, tearing off the wrapping protecting the bandaid.
"That's not gonna happen," he said firmly.
"Why not?" I cried, frustrated. "This can't keep going on!"
"No," he repeated. "Child services will remove us from the house, and they'll put us in foster care. There's a very good chance I may never see Briella again," he shook. "No, that's not an option. I'm not taking that risk. The second I turn eighteen, I'm out and I'm taking my sister with me."
"When do you turn eighteen?"
"April 27th."
"That's a really long time," I frowned.
Anything could happen by the time the months had come and gone leading up to that date.
"I've had to deal with him for about seventeen years," he smiled humorlessly. "Seven months will fly by."
I shrugged, staring at my cast.
"You can't tell anybody, you know that right?"
I pressed my lips together, mulling it all over. If I did what Aidan was asking of me and kept my mouth shut, I would basically be responsible for whatever fatal thing might occur in that house.
"Demi," he said sharply, forcing my chin up so I was staring into his dark eyes. "Promise me you won't tell anyone."
"Aidan," I pushed his hand away, shaking my head. "I don't know if I-"
"Demi, please," he said, his voice breaking from the desperation that had begun to overtake it. "I'll lose Briella if officials get involved, and that's something I won't be able to handle. I've already lost my mom, I can't lose my sister."
And that was all it took.
"Ugh," I shot him an accusing look. "You don't play fair."
"One of my finer qualities."
"I won't tell anyone," I sighed. "I promise. Your secret is safe with me."
Aidan smiled at me appreciatively. "Thank you. Don't worry yourself about it. Everything will turn out fine."
I hoped it would, and I suppose that's all I could do. I could hope Aidan was right and that everything would work in his favor.
Unfortunately, hope was something that wasn't a grantee. It was shifty, and a great deal of the time I found it was nowhere to be seen when it was needed the most.
I placed the bandage on the cut, and without thinking I automatically kissed the injury.
Aidan immediately froze as my eyes widened when my brain caught up to the action it had caused my body to carry out.
I leaned back, blushing furiously. If the ground was to split in half and swallow me whole no complaint would leave my mouth.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry," I stared at my bed sheets, completely mortified. "I- um....that's a habit I have. A really bad habit," I coughed. "I, uh, I tend to kiss people's injuries whenever I stick a bandaid on them."
"I mean, I'm not complaining."
I looked up to see Aidan smiling at me in amusement which only caused me to blush even more.
"You blush a lot," he noted.
"Yeah, well..."
I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out of my back pocket quickly. I read the message on the lit up screen. It was from Derek.
Derek is the hottest man to walk the Earth: U never got back to me.... Are we on Friday nite?
"Derek is the hottest man to walk the Earth," Aidan read.
I quickly moved the phone so it was out of his line of sight. I hated it when people read my text messages. I personally thought it was the most annoying thing a person could do.
"He put that in there," I shook my head, unlocking me phone.
"Ah," he nodded.
I was completely unsure of what I was suppose to say to him. I truly didn't want to hurt his feelings, which I would without a doubt do if I turned him down, but if I take him up on his offer it would only be because of what Kenzie had told me to do.
All he would be was a stepping stone to help me get to Aidan's heart, but as bad as that sounded it's not like he would ever find out that's what I was doing. It's not like would tell him that. Plus, I could use the date as an opportunity to let him know I really didn't feel anything romantic towards him.
"Am I allowed to ask what's going on Friday night?" Aidan asked, interrupting my train of thoughts.
"Umm," I shrugged. "He just asked me to go on a date him."
"Oh."
"Mhmm."
I stared at the screen practically hearing Kenzie screaming in my ear to carry out her "foolproof" plan.
"You gonna go?"
I looked up to see Aidan watching me. Waiting for my answer.
"Actually," I looked back down at my screen and began typing. "Yeah, I think I'll give it a shot. Who knows, he might be the one."
I could sense Kenzie's spirit doing chart wheels and back flips while Majesty's just gave me a disappointed look.
Demi: We're on. xx
~~~~~
Okay soooo a LOT happened in this chapter....
Aidan and his dad got in a mini "brawl".
Aidan admits to Demi his dad has been an abusive prick his whole life.
Demi swears to keep what goes on in the Benson household a secret.
Demi follows Kenzie's advice and agrees to go on a date with Derek, and makes sure Aidan is well aware.
Craziness, craziness, and more craziness.
I want to know what everyone's thoughts are. What do you think about Aidan's abuse and Demi accepting the date to "play" with his head?
Comment. Vote. Share.
I love you!
Thank you for being amazing,
Jess xxx
P.S: I've reached 100 followers AND this story has reached 15,000 reads and 776 votes. I'm a very very happy girl :)