“What are you doing?” I croaked as gazed up at Aiden through crusty, half-closed eyes while the scent of hot bagels filled my nostrils.
“Breakfast.” Aiden said with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he dropped a brown paper bag right next to my head.
Sighing, I pushed myself off and rubbed at my eyes ferociously in an attempt to wake up. I was aching all over and sleep had stuck it’s tendrils into me, refusing to let go. By the light that flooded under the door of the shed, however, I was sure I’d been solidly knocked all night long.
However when I opened the brown paper bag that Aiden left for me, I couldn’t help but break out into a wide grin.
“Spinach Parmesan?” I turned to Aiden and he smiled back at me.
“What? You haven’t been gone that long.”
I rolled my eyes at him, thinking of all the morning bagel runs we’d gone through for the gang. During the weekends one of us would always go down to a bagel place a couple blocks away from our hideout called Bagelz World. Each and every time I’d get Spinach Parmesan – even he smell of the bagel in my hand brought back of host of memories that overwhelmed me with nostalgia for the gang.
Aiden said I hadn’t been gone that long, but the smell of the bagel had me disagreeing. I’d been gone way too long.
However, things had changed in the meantime. I accidently gulped down a mouthful of bagel that was way too big, thinking about Aiden last night.
I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea that he might actually be serious. That he could actually care about me, in a way that was more romantic than friendly.
And even more confusing was the way I felt about it.
True, I’d always thought Aiden was attractive. I always looked up to him as a strong, supportive figure in my life – true he was an unconventional authority figure, but still, aside from Caden he was the guy I was closest to in the gang.
Yet, could I imagine myself actually with him?
I bit my lip. And what about Jack? I couldn’t just forget about him. Even now my heart ached not knowing what he was doing or where he was. As I drifted to sleep last night in the sleeping bag Aiden had left me, my mind was swimming not only with thoughts of Aiden’s kiss, but also of Jack and how different I felt kissing him.
With Aiden, it was like the realization of some long-buried dream. It was familiar, yet oddly exciting and new. Fresh. Yet with Jack I felt like I was on fire, nerve endings burning with all the sensations.
What would Jack say if he knew about Aiden? I blanched at the thought, imagining him trying to beat Aiden to a pulp.
Now, that would be an interesting fight….
“You’re quiet.” Aiden placed a hand on my shoulder, making me jump.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled as my heart restarted.
“Are you okay?” Aiden frowned. “I didn’t want to put any pressure on you. I mean, you just got back.”
“No, it’s not that,” I protested, feeling myself blush, “It’s just that, Aiden, a lot of things have changed…”
“There’s someone else, isn’t there?” Aiden asked, his voice and eyes hard. Even in his sentimental frame of mind, Aiden could turn cold and discerning at a second’s notice.
I squirmed.
“Kind of…”
“I see,” Aiden frowned, clicking his tongue.
He was pissed. Crap.
“Well, I can wait.” Aiden affirmed.
“Aiden…don’t.”
“No, Ally,” Aiden’s eyes softened as he gripped my chin. “I couldn’t expect you to stay at a standstill either. It’d be so hypocritical considering how much has changed…”
His eyes went off into a distant place again.
I frowned, wondering what had changed that he hadn’t told me about yet.
“Is there something you want to tell me? About the gang?”
Aiden looked up again, and we locked gazes.
The air in the room grew instantly tense and hot as I waited for him to speak.
“Yes.”
He said at last before breaking his gaze.
“Well?” I prompted, placing a hand on his chest comfortingly.
Instantly he put a hand over mind, keeping it there next to his heart.
“So much has happened and I just don’t know how to say it. I feel like you’re going to hate me and I don’t want that –especially not now. I need my wingman- now more than ever.”
“You know I’ll always be here to help when it comes to the Players.” I confirmed, frowning. It had to be pretty bad with Aiden if he was stalling. He was never one to avoid giving out bad news.
“It’s just you have to understand that when I do things, I have to think about everyone’s best interests. Like I said yesterday, my family means the world to me. Even if it kills me to do something, I’m at the mercy of the Players. Remember that.”
“Okay…”
“See the thing is the Widow’s are insane. They’ve been hunting us down for months, trying to kill and incorporate us into their organization. They operate by trying to steal the success of smaller gangs and using it to their own advantage.”
I nodded at Aiden for him to continue.
“Well things got bad quickly. These Widows are deadly. And when I say deadly, I mean killer deadly.”
“I know,” I muttered under my breath, thinking of Berkeley.
“Wait what? You have experience with them?”
“Didn’t Caden tell you? There was a spy of theirs at my school. He posed as the psychologist Mr. Berkeley…”
“They had a spy on you? Did he try and kidnap you?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Those bastards.”
“Yeah, but it’s whatever- they certainly can’t use me as bait now.”
“Bait?”
“Yeah…to bring you guys out of hiding to hurt you? Isn’t that what they wanted…?” Aiden was now uncomfortably squirming his mouth pressed into a hard line.
“Not exactly, Al. Like I said you have to trust me. You have to trust me not to let you get hurt.”
“Wait,” My voice hardened as I stood up and backed away from Aiden. “You’re saying they didn’t want me as fucking bait…Then I'm guessing that means they just wanted me to fucking do their deals. This makes so much more sense, now. All this was all some crappy elaborate scheme to turn me in, wasn’t it? You know what, you’re despicable. Even pretending to say you loved me. I never would have pegged you as the one to turn traitor, Aiden.”
“Ally,” Aiden held up his hands in defense, “I promise you, I’m not lying to you now and I wasn’t lying to you last night. I want you to be with me and I want you to let me show you that I love you. I just need you to trust me in this. If I turn you in, everyone will be saved. And, I’ll make sure they don’t lay a bad finger on you. I just need you to-“
“No.” I turned away from him and quickly fumbled with the door of the shed, forcing it open with a loud pop.
“Ally,” Aiden protested with a strong grip on my arm, pulling me back into the shed so I slammed right into his hard chest. He laid a finger on my cheek with his other hand. “Ally, just let me explain-“
“Sure,” I mumbled softly, wiping the anger I felt raging inside of me off my face.
Aiden softened a bit, his muscles un-tensing and I used that opportunity to punch him straight in the face as I simultaneously kneed him in the groin.
I felt a bit of satisfaction when I left him groaning in pain as small drops of blood dripped onto the dirty cement floor of the shack.
Sayonara Asshole.
The air outside was crisp with Winter and I shivered in my t-shirt and jeans.
But I’d have to make do. There was no way in Hell I was turning back to get a jacket.
Assholes. I was surrounded by lying, deceiving son of a bitch assholes who all were suddenly “in love” with me.
Fuck.
I was seething and just wanted to spend my day punching my way through all the members of the male species that walked my way.
THis is pretty short and unedited, but yay for a Happy Finals Posting:DDDDD I wrote this little bit on my trip home today and hopefully you enjoy:)
Thank you so much (as always) for your incredible support! You guys are da best!
Let me know what you think:))))
-BNW<3