I've got a 'draft' in Aiden's POV of the day of the biology intake test before camp, before he and Marley met officially.
If it's something that you'd be interested in reading, leave a comment or a vote and I'll work on getting it into a publishable chapter.
I hope you like him as much as I do, enough to want to learn more about who he is! I promise you won't be bored ;)
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⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️
This chapter is going to be another that's hard to read. Just a heads up.
if you need to know more before reading, feel free to send me a message and I'd be happy to detail what to expect :)
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"He'll kill you," Marley breathed out shakily, watching him twirl the garbage bag with her shirt inside, around in his finger, "Do you understand? He'll kill you."
Beside him, Trish was leaned against the wall, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder nonchalantly.
Jordan was still taking his time to look over her, but she was too stunned to even cover herself up, "Matthews? I'm not afraid of him."
Her breathing hitched at his words, "Please. You can wait in here while I shower and leave after we do. I won't tell Aiden about the ditch. Nobody has to know."
His dark eyes twinkled, "You're more scared than we are, Marley."
He began to approach her slowly, and she scampered back against the wall, feeling tears building up behind her eyes, "You're a father now, Jordan. You need to stop this-"
"That's why I'm here." he cut her off quickly, and Marley's eyes found Trish's across the room.
For a second, they locked gazes but Trish was quickly looking away and picking her nails stoically. It was stinging, brutal betrayal.
Jordan took another step. She shrunk in on herself, her heart pounding in her ears, "Please. Please don't."
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling dirty everywhere when the back of his knuckles brushed against her cheek, "I'm asking for a favour, Marley. Elena looks up to you. She values your opinion. I want to use that to get what I want."
Her eyes flew open and his hand disappeared, dropping at his side but he still remained a step away from her. His head cocked sideways, eyes trailing down her frame again.
She kept her lips pressed together, biting the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't cry.
"I'm guessing he hasn't even seen you like this before. Right?"
She felt her pulse begin to simmer with rage, "You're a terrible person, Jordan. And this will catch up to you. Please don't make me scream for Aiden. I will."
He raised his eyebrow, and faster than she could blink his hand was slamming over her mouth and squeezing tightly. She shrieked into his hand, her palms coming up to shove at his chest as he bent to level their gazes while she thrashed and squirmed, tears streaming down her cheeks and soaking his hand.
"Convince Elena to get an abortion. If you scream after I let you go I'll fucking bash your head in-"
She opened her mouth into his hand, and bit as hard as she possibly could. She tasted blood and sweat as he jerked his hand away, and she used the chance to knee him in the crotch to slow him further.
She didn't waste a second.
This wasn't about negotiation anymore. This was survival. If she didn't scream now, he'd probably cover her mouth again and do worse.
She screamed at the top of her lungs, dashing for the entrance of the shower room on shaky legs as Jordan growled from behind her.
She was a sobbing mess as she screamed again, watching Aiden slam the shower door open, nearly off its hinges, and run to her side, taking in her state quickly. He cupped her cheeks and scanned her over with wild eyes, "Marley! What's wrong? What is it-"
"Jordan. Jordan. He-he-Jordan," she cried, watching through blurry hazel eyes as he finally seemed to understand.
He dropped his hands, his fists balling and unadulterated fury taking over as he stormed right past her. Marley turned to see Jordan was already standing at the end of the hallway, his sleeves rolled up as if he had any chance against an angry, protective Aiden.
"I've seen more of her than you have, Matthews-"
"What did I tell you would happen if you laid a hand on my girl?!" Aiden's shout was steel as he slammed a balled fist into Jordan's face, sending out a splatter of blood.
Marley was shaking so violently her teeth were chattering, still feeling him everywhere as Aiden tackled him to the ground.
"She's a hot-"
"You're fucking dead!" He roared, cutting Jordan's words off with another violent hit as they brawled on the ground.
Jordan was fighting back, managing to dodge but Aiden was unfazed, pummelling him anywhere he could expertly and with no mercy.
"What's going-Marley?!"
She jumped, her tears still streaming down her cheeks when she watched Conner burst inside, "I heard your scream three minutes away! What are-" his eyes fell to her chest, before he was quickly looking down the hall at the fight.
"Did he...Jordan?"
She nodded her head, sobbing as she hugged herself and fought so hard to breathe.
"Fuck. Fuck," he growled, storming past her to the fight while Jay also burst in, taking in the scene with wide eyes.
"Cover her up and get her outside!" Conner ordered Jay over his shoulder as he sprinted towards Aiden and Jordan.
Marley was shaking and crying as she felt Jay's councillor jacket slip over her shoulders, "Marley? Let's go. Let's go outside. Come on."
She was so out of it that she didn't protest, not wanting to hear what was happening anymore, or be in the same room as Jordan again. Jay had to hold her upright as she cried, her entire face soaked with tears and snot.
"Who can I call?" Jay asked desperately as she curled up against the wall, her chin on her knees and her arms around her legs, her eyes squeezed shut as she continued to cry.
"G-Gabby," she choked out, "Please. I need Gabby," she pleaded, "Bryan. Bryan too. Please."
"Hey, hey I'll call them, okay? Bryan is your emergency contact, right?"
She nodded her head, "P-please don't let him near me. Please. Please. Please take him away, Jay. Please."
He knelt in front of her, scanning over her face and seeing something that made his eyes light up with anger, "There's fucking fingerprint marks on your mouth, Marley. He's not going anywhere near you again."
She put her forehead in her hands and continued to cry, not able to stop herself. She was hyperventilating now, her nails digging into her calves as he stood and she heard his voice murmuring into his phone.
Nobody had come out of the girls bathroom. Not Trish. Not Aiden. Not Conner. Not Jor-
No one.
She lost track of time, still struggling to breathe as footsteps raced down the trail.
"Marley! Oh my god!" Gabby skidded in front of her, clumsily grabbing her in her arms and putting her head in her shoulder.
"Jordan?" Leo's cold voice could he heard next as he addressed Jay.
"We don't know to what extent-"
"Who fucking cares to what goddamn extent?! This better not touch anyone but that fucker."
Marley was shaking and sobbing as Gabby rubbed a shaky hand down her back, saying 'shh' soothingly. More footsteps echoed around the clearing, but Jay was quickly speaking up.
"Everybody out of here, now! Out of sight, out of the clearing. Either at school or back to your cabins!"
"He-he-he-Why did he do this to me?" Marley sobbed, soaking Gabby's shirt with mud and tears, "I told him nobody would have to know if he just let me go. Wh-Why did he have-have-"
"Because he's an awful person, Mar," Gabby's voice was shaky and broken as she cried too, "He's a terrible person and he's going to rot in hell."
Marley felt her lunch beginning to find its way up her throat. After a few more seconds, she scrambled out of Gabby's hold, barely managing to turn away from her before she was throwing up everything in her stomach on the gravel.
Gabby's hand was rubbing her back as she heaved, stumbling so her back was against the cool wall. She didn't even know how to feel, how to move.
How to breathe.
"Aiden. Aiden. Aiden. Please, Aiden. I need him, please," she choked out to Gabby, blinking at her through blurred hazel eyes.
He's the only one that has ever made her feel safe.
Gabby let her go to turn to Jay, just as the girls bathroom door was slamming open for the millionth time that day. Marley's knees nearly gave out at laying eyes on Aiden, as wild as he was when he was with his father.
His knuckles were red and bloody as he searched, "Wh-Where the fuck is she?!"
She let out another sob which alerted him of her place on the side of the wall, "Aiden," she gasped, "please don't-don't-let-let-him-hurt me anymore."
He strode right over to her with reddened blue eyes, instantly taking her into his arms.
They fell to the gravel together, Aiden engulfing her in his hold, lips pressed against the top of her head as she shook and cried, hands balling up fistfuls of his shirt.
"I'm so damn sorry, spitfire," he choked into her hair, his voice broken, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
"It's not-it's not your-your fault. I should-should-should've screamed earlier. Be-befor-but I was scar-"
"Shh. Shh. It's okay. Calm down. Deep breaths for me, okay? You're safe now. I've got you, Marley. Deep breaths," he soothed with a shaky voice.
"Take her out of here." Jay approached but Aiden was quickly curling himself around her protectively.
"They're coming out and she shouldn't see that. Here," Jay slid something out of his pocket, a key, "that's for the councillors cabin. Single shower with a locked door. First aid kits, blankets, and a kitchen. Nobody's in there. Take all the time you need. Go."
Aiden hesitated for a second before taking the key, "All night."
Jay pursed his lips, nodding as he looked down at Marley, "All night."
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Aiden carried her back as her hysterics ceased the more the distance between her and J-him grew. Her clothes and bag in his hand.
They made it to a cabin that was identical to the girls and boys cabin, just on a smaller scale, Aiden struggling to unlock the door but refusing to let her go. He only set her down so he could properly lock the door, twisting the deadbolt in place as she glanced around the room.
It was a mashup of a common room and a bedroom, the kitchen and living room on the right side and the bunk beds on the left. It was neat and had a nice fireplace, a matching kitchen to the kids cabins but that looked much more used by the food and utensils on the counter.
"Come on, lets get you cleaned up," Aiden coaxed gently, scooping her back up again and walking them to the door in the corner of the room.
He set her down on the granite counter between the two sinks, shrugging off his jacket and turning for the shower. The water began to spray from the rain head and he closed the curtain again while she watched his every move, feeling like seeing him was the anchor in her storm.
For a second, he paused, his back to her. She watched him lift his bruised and bloodied hands into a prayer motion over his nose, standing still.
Her heart broke in her chest as he stopped breathing for a few seconds before he was dropping his hands, turning around and approaching her with a small, inauthentic smile that she knew was only to comfort her.
He cupped her cheeks gently and locked eyes with her, "I'll be right outside the do-"
She shot out for his arm, her heart beginning to race in panic, "Don't leave! Please don't leave!"
He was quickly taking her in his arms, holding her again as the tears began to spill over further.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you. I'm right here. I'll stay right here," he croaked, holding a hand on the back of her head to keep her secured in his hold.
His hands were shaking just like hers.
"Don't leave," she pleaded, "I don't feel safe without you."
"Never again, my Marley," he promised gruffly with his chin on her head, "Never again."
He leaned his hip against the counter, turned to face the door with his arms crossed while she showered. She kept the curtain open, eyes on his figure to sooth her panic at her current vulnerability, while she washed away the dirt and grime coating her skin, face, and hair.
It took a while, and a lot of steaming hot water to scrub at her skin until she felt clean. But he didn't move, didn't complain.
Marley flicked the switch to cut off the water, hearing his footsteps approach until his hand was slipping beyond the curtain with her towel.
She grabbed it from him, feeling emotional now for a different reason, "Thank you."
"God Marley. Don't thank me," he whispered, his voice still broken as she wrapped the towel around herself, rubbing the dampness off her skin.
When she pulled back the curtain, he had returned to his place with his back turned, the pile of her clothes placed neatly on the counter closest to her. She watched him only because of the reassurance that he was there, not that she thought he'd turn around.
He never would. He'd never hurt her. Ever.
She dropped her towel once she was dressed in the sweatpants and Aiden's sweater, "I love you," she whispered.
His arms dropped but he didn't turn, "Are you-"
"Yes."
He spun around at the speed of light, reaching for her as soon as he could and crushing her in his arms again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek against his chest and hugging him just as tightly.
What had happened to Marley should've been a deafening crack, a shatter into her soul. But Aiden, he had protected her from falling apart.
In his arms, it has always been impossible to feel anything but whole, anything but absolutely okay, despite a world which seems determined to convince her otherwise.
Marley couldn't say how long they stood there, hugging in the middle of the bathroom. She had lost all concept of time in his arms. All concept of anything else but him.
His breathing was choppy and uneven, his nose buried into her hair on her shoulder, "I love you. I'm so sorry, spitfire. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," she whispered.
"What hap-happened? Why was he-why the fuck was he there?"
The pieces came together in that moment. Everything. Her body went numb.
"He pushed me into the ditch. And he waited for me in the showers. He knew. He knew."
Aiden held her tighter, "W-you said you fell, Marley. Not that you were pushed."
He pulled away to cup her cheeks again, while she kept her arms around his neck and her eyes glued to his chest.
"I didn't want any trouble. I thought it was just some silly joke-"
"Any harm coming to you is no fucking joke to me. He fucking shoved you into a goddamn ditch so you would need to sh-fuck."
"He-he wanted me to convince Elena to get an abortion. Aiden-he-I tried so hard to warn him away. I told him he could wait while I showered and we would leave and-"
"Marley."
She exhaled shakily, locking eyes with his but he wasn't looking in hers anymore. He was removing his right hand and gently touching the space around her mouth with the tips of his fingers, his blue eyes so red as he burned inside.
Marley covered his hand with her own as he traced the redness around her mouth, "H-he didn't...Aiden he didn't...I want you to know that he didn't...not like that. He was just trying to scare me. That's all."
He choked out, in relief or more pain Marley couldn't tell.
His eyes were still locked on the finger marks, and hers fell to his mangled hands. In more ways than one, they had both come out of this equally damaged.
She quickly pulled away and took his hands in hers, twisting them around and wincing, "We have to bandage these."
He didn't protest as she let his hands go to walk to the bathroom closet, where he had found her towel. On the top shelf was a first aid kit, which she grabbed while standing on her tip toes.
Turning back around, Marley saw he was leaned against the counter, his arms crossed as he stared at the wall with an unreadable expression, his mind everywhere else.
When she grabbed his right hand, he allowed her to move it to press his palm against the granite counter. Against the clean surface, his knuckles looked even worse. She stopped herself from asking what happened after she was escorted out.
She didn't want to know.
Aiden watched her face as she tucked her damp hair behind her ears, and began to use the tools from the first aid kit to clean and bandage his hands. Even with the antiseptic she was very hesitant to use, he didn't flinch once.
It was quiet between them, the only sound being the dripping from the shower head and their deep breathing - and the cogs she could hear turning in Aiden's head. He was thinking hard about something, and she let him, wrapping his hands with the cloth bandages with meticulous gentleness.
As Marley cleaned up the garbage she used in taking care of his hands, Aiden finally leaned off the counter. She paused and turned to face him, his blue eyes intense and penetrating.
"I'm going to Brown," he said finally, "I'm going to Brown University."
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