Aubry's POV-
I had spent pretty much the whole day at the gym. Tom was keeping an annoyingly close eye on me the whole day. It was sweet, but I felt a little bad for keeping him preoccupied all day long.
I had actually learned a lot about Tommy in that single day. I had learned about his mother's death just after his birth. Then, he told me of father's death; a car wreck... just a couple months after Aiden's dad died. Then, a month later, Bri was attacked. I felt awful for their whole family. One family shouldn't have that many tragedies all at once.
I also learned about how much he hated his stepmom and stepsister. Not that I blamed him, they were both disasters. I'd hate to be stuck with them too.
I enjoyed Tommy's company. He was funny and high energy. He also was honest and never looked at me weird. He spoke to me easily and accepted me... It was a change, for sure.
I was also finally able to get some sleep. Some deep wonderful much needed sleep. It was amazing. I would never take sleep for granted ever again.
I was ashamed to say that I was missing Aiden all day. I was annoyed at myself. I wanted to see him again, and it irrationally bothered me that he hadn't come to see me. I knew that it really was irrational, it was completely ridiculous that I wanted him around so much. I felt completely pathetic.
When Monday came I was hurting. All over, I was hurting. Every time that I breathed, moved, or even just stayed still and held my breath blaring pain washed through me. The only thing that helped was the little pill that Tom had given me the night before for me to take in the morning. It helped... but it wasn't much and didn't last long enough.
When I got to my regular lunch table, I sat down heavily. I was absolutely exhausted. I was hurting and the pill was beginning to wear off. It had been a rough day.
When I had fully sat down and got as comfortable as I could get, a chair was being scraped out in front of me. I looked up, surprised. Nobody ever sat with me. Briana was standing behind the chair with an apprehensive look on her face.
"You don't mind if I sit with you, right?" She asked cautiously. Almost in a scared manner.
I shook my head slowly and moved my backpack to the side slightly. I was surprised as hell. I mean, I knew that we had bonded, but I didn't realize that she had liked me enough to sit with me. I thought it was more so that I was at the right place at the right time, and she was vulnerable.
"Have you always had this lunch period?" I asked.
I could feel eyes on us, but I tried to just focus on Bri. I tried not to let the eyes bother me, but I was not very good with attention. Although, it was a bit easier to ignore the stares of the high schoolers because I had absolutely no interest in what anyone else thought.
She smiled slightly and nodded while looking down.
I knew that she felt the looks too.
"Yeah... I've always sat right over there." She pointed behind me.
"Ah, that explains why I've never seen you..." I said quietly.
I watched her pull out her lunch and wanted to cry. I shouldn't have been all that hungry; Tom had treated me to lunch the day before... But watching her pull out food in front of me activated a primal part in my brain that instantly triggered hunger pains. I was suddenly very jealous of the girl across from me who was eating a simple sandwich.
"Well if it isn't ugly and uglier! You make such a cute couple!" A boy from a group of semi-popular kids said while walking up to the table.
Briana's face fell quickly. I just rolled my eyes. I couldn't really relate to any of that too much because I always flew so far under the radar that I never got bullied. I was so invisible that I didn't even exist to most of the people in my high school. That sounded a little sad if I thought of it that way...
"How does it feel to finally meet someone that's even uglier than you?" A short girl asked, though I wasn't sure who the question was directed at.
I opened my mouth to defend Bri and to tell them to go away, but a voice from behind me spoke first. "Don't you dare talk about my little sister like that," the deep voice that I've come to know and like said.
Everyone stiffened at his commanding voice. "Y-your sister?" Someone asked fearfully.
I was so proud that he was standing up for her. I smiled widely as he came and stood on the opposite side of the table from the mean kids.
"Yes, my sister. Aiden Clark, Briana Clark.... Make sense?" He snarled. "I don't want to ever hear another word said to or about my sister ever again. Understand?" Aiden paused waiting for someone to answer.
No one said a word, they all just stood around looking at each other in horror.
"UNDERSTAND?!" He repeated much louder.
"Yes," everyone murmured and dispersed at his threatening glare. He was very effective.
Aiden and Brandon both looked at the two us, "are you okay Bri?" Aiden asked leaning towards his little sister with soft eyes.
"Yes Aiden, thanks." Briana said smiling up at her brother.
She was really happy; it made me happy to see her so happy... for a second, at least.
"Do y'all want sit with us? Both of you?" Brandon asked nicely.
"No." I denied instantly. I knew that some of the kids that had just insulted me were sitting over there, and not to mention Bridget. I was fine in my own little world at my own little table. "I mean no thanks. I'm fine right here." I corrected trying not to sound too rude, but that was just who I was as a person. I had never been taught social niceties or anything of the sort. "Bri, you go ahead if you want. Don't feel obliged to sit with me."
"I'm sitting with Aubry, thanks though." She said simply.
The boys nodded and headed off to their usual table. Although, they looked put off and confused as they sat with their regular group.
"You know that you don't have to sit with me right? I mean most people want to sit with your brother and them. I won't be mad or offended." I said following her gaze to the table.
She shook her head quickly. "Oh no... I'm sitting with my friend. Besides, all of them are fake and insult me on the daily. So, I'm good."
There was a long pause between us. As she ate and I just stared off into space trying to force myself to breathe normally.
"Aubry... thanks for whatever you said to Aiden, I appreciate it. He's like a new person, almost. He's acting like my brother again."
I nodded and diverted my attention feeling awkward at her thanks. I wasn't good with gratitude since I had never really experienced it before.
"He likes you, you know? He just doesn't understand it yet, he's never seriously liked anyone before."
I shifted awkwardly in my seat and flinched because of my ribs. I was also not good with feelings. I never had time for those before, except fear and hatred. I had those pretty mastered.
Bri wasn't put off by my quietness, nor was she bothering me. She made me feel comfortable. We were kindred spirits and we both knew it.
Suddenly, the chair was being pulled out beside me and Aiden sat down in it. I gave him a questioning glance as he looked at me thoroughly. I knew he was trying to see if I was okay...
"Here, I forgot to give this to you due to all the idiots that were bothering y'all," Aiden whispered in my ear and discreetly handed me a pill and slid a bottle of water to me.
"Oh, thank you!" I said with relief as I felt myself relax a little bit. I breathed a sigh of relief. I could have kissed him right then. I took the pill and hoped that it would work fast... I needed some relief.
"Y'all are just too cute." Briana cooed from across the table.
Aiden rolled his eyes at her and got up making a quick exit from the cafeteria. I watched him walk away, and was completely confused at myself when I found myself wanting him to stay.
Briana and I continued to talk for a while. It was mostly about the holiday coming up and her family's traditions. It was just a few more days before winter break was officially kicking off. Everyone was excited about the two weeks off from school. I was too... except for the temperature that was steadily declining. We lived towards the south, so it didn't get too too cold until after Christmas... but that didn't mean that it still didn't kick my butt when looking for a warm spot to stay in.
Briana made me feel nice. She made me feel almost normal. It was nice to have a friend and someone to talk to. I felt like I went through almost all of my day silent, but thanks to Bri, I finally got a little human interaction other than fighting.
The bell rang and we both got up. She was up rather quickly, but I had to go very slowly due to my ribs. With no warning, she suddenly hugged me tightly. It made me want to scream. However, it also made me want to cry, but not out of pain... I couldn't quite identify the feelings that I was experiencing in that moment.
"Thank you Aubry, for everything. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel hopeful. You really are a good friend." Briana said quickly after the hug and walked off to her class.
"Me too." I whispered after I finally got my bearings back "Me too..."
----
It was past nine PM and everyone was gone from the gym. Only Aiden, Tommy, and I were left.
"Okay guys, you should call it quits. You're going to wear yourself out, Aubry." Tommy gave me a stern look as he was getting ready to head out. "I can see that you're already hurting, so stop for tonight and ice down. You're going to push yourself over the edge." I rolled my eyes at him, though I knew he was right.
"Aiden..." Tom said with a look. I knew that he was basically saying to take control. Tommy walked out of the gym after that.
I sighed... I knew that needed to stop, but I also needed to practice. I had a fight that coming up weekend and I couldn't even make a fist with my dominate hand. I needed a whole hell of a lot more training if I even stood a chance.
"Five more minutes," Aiden said wiping sweat off of his forehead. "I'm serious Aub, only five. Tom is right, you're going to kill yourself if you keep it up."
I beat the bag quicker and harder as he called out the combos. I felt myself struggling to breathe he called it quits. They were right... I needed to chill. I had no chill, though.
"Amazing work today..." Aiden told me as he got the ice for my ribs. "Seriously, we completely changed your punch up today, and you caught right on. You always seem to surprise me, Aubry."
I felt pride in myself as he complimented me.
It was quiet for a moment between us as we both just sat there consumed by our thoughts.
"So, I suppose we need to get a schedule down for the holidays coming up..." Aiden said with a nod. "The underground is shutdown from Christmas Eve until the day after New Year's day. Christmas and New year's are both on Thursday this year so it looks like it will only be one weekend." I nodded in understanding. "When and how often do you want to train? Obviously we are not going to train on Christmas Eve and Christmas, and the same with New year's. All other days are up to you."
"Well, you know me... I want to train as often as possible. How about weekend hours for every day besides the days that you just specified?"
He furrowed his eyebrows for a minute and nodded. "Okay. If you you're sure."
I nodded vigorously. I needed practice. I needed to train. I needed to get better!
There was A long pause. "What are you doing for the holidays anyways?"
The question caught me off guard, a large lump formed in my throat. My dad was a drug addict who kicked me out of my house, my mom killed herself, and I hadn't talked to my sister in years... what was I supposed to do?
I paused for a few minutes. I truly didn't want to lie to him... "Honestly, nothing probably. My dad isn't going to be home and my sister never comes down for Christmas. Um, so yeah, nothing." I said shrugging. Technically none of that was lying, just omitting a few facts.
"Nothing? Really?... Well, I suppose your dad is working?" He said it in more of a statement than a question form, so I just shrugged in response. "Well you're welcome to come to our house. In the morning we open presents and eat my mom's famous French toast bake. Then my whole family gets together and basically have a whole feast."
He saw my look of disgust at the words 'whole family.' His whole family was not fun... just his immediate family seemed to like me and vice versa.
"Don't worry about the two bitches... My mom firmly put them in their places after Pawpaw's Birthday. She had no idea how mean they were to Bri, she went into full momma bear mode on them. It was actually quite comical." I giggled along with him. "But yeah, I would love it if you came for Christmas, Aubry. Besides, Cece has been asking and asking about you. She won't shut up about you!" He said putting his hand on mine and looking me in the eye.
I nodded and diverted my eyes from his. The feeling I got when I looked into them made me slightly uncomfortable. It was deep in the pit of my stomach, and I had never gotten a feeling like that before. It was pleasant, but also scary. I didn't know how to feel about the situation.
The room was silent and I was slowly drifting off to sleep. I felt Aiden trying to shake me awake, but the pain pill had already dragged me under the state of consciousness. I couldn't have woken up even if I wanted to. Besides, I definitely didn't want to.
"Goodnight Aubry..."
A/n-
I AM SO SORRY! I'm so sorry this took so long! I had really bad writer's block and this was basically a filler chapter so I couldn't get it right. I'm still not too happy with it, but it'll have to do! I love y'all! Vote, comment and share please! Y'all are the best!
-KAF
P.S.- I was sent the song on the side and I thought that it went with the chapter nicely!