I knew there was no truth to his words, but it didn’t stop the painful reminder that crashed into me like a punch to the heart. “That’s not why we broke up—”
“I’m not giving up on my relationship, alright?” He shook his head in disbelief and then huffed a laugh. “Why would I let you go anyway? You’d run off to Daddy and have me arrested.”
I shook my head and lied. "I wouldn’t if you let us go without harm—”
“Bullshit!” He moved to close the gap between us. Kira cried out for him to stop, and I pressed myself into the back of the sofa, waiting for a strike that never came.
Aiden paused, his glare suddenly on the drawn curtains.
None of us made a sound as we all heard it through the thin walls, the low rumble of an engine, slowly increasing in volume before it cut off outside the house.
Hope swelled in my chest and goosebumps raised my skin.
“Dean,” I whispered.
“Shit,” Aiden hissed, face pale. He began to pace again before he crossed to the lounge room window and peeked through the curtain. “Shit-shit-shit.”
It wasn’t meant to be Dean. He didn’t know it wasn’t meant to be him when I accidentally tapped his name instead of Dad's number. But he came anyway with no idea what he was walking into.
Kira quickly joined me on the sofa, and I took her hand. Gently squeezing it while we watched Aiden panic. It didn’t take him long to figure out how Dean knew to come to the house, and he ground his jaw, moving away from the curtain to stand over me.
“You make one fucking sound and it’s over,” he warned, lifting the gun for emphasis. “I’ll shoot him on the doorstep if I have to.”
I wanted to tell him he didn’t have the backbone to go through with it but held my tongue. Just like how I was pushing down the nagging urge to run for the door or scream for help. Agitating fate wasn’t a good idea when it had a loaded gun.
The wait for that knock was excruciating. My breath was unsteady, and my heart skipped every second beat as I counted down the seconds before Dean arrived at the door.
Aiden edged closer to it, tucking the gun into the back of his jeans. He silently reminded us a second time to stay quiet as he re-tied the bun on his head to tidy his appearance.
Boots scuffed in the broken glass on the porch before four firm knocks were drummed into the door. Aiden waited several seconds, taking a breath to compose himself before he pulled the door open just enough for him to look out, blocking the rest of the house from view with his body.
“Dean? What-what are you doing here, man?” Aiden smoothed a hand over his head. Faked a smile. “You look rough.”
Dean disregarded the last comment, cutting straight to the point. “Is Lily here? She said she needed a ride home.”
I didn't realize how much I missed the sound of his voice.
Kira squeezed my hand in reassurance.
Aiden chuckled. “Wait. Didn’t you guys break up like a week ago?”
“Yeah. Is she here?” His voice was a little sharper this time.
“No. You just missed her.” The faux disappointment from Aiden made my skin crawl.
“Where’d she go?”
Aiden forced another smile and leaned against the door frame. “Girls night with Kira.”
“Do you know where they went?” Dean drawled with a subtle impatience.
With my left hand still holding onto Kira’s, my other itched to reach for my phone again.
“Not at all,” Aiden laughed nervously. “Why is it so important? You aren’t together anymore.”
“She asked for a ride home,” he said pointedly.
“Well, she’s not here, so...” Aiden shrugged.
