A hand wrapped around his arm, and its pressure pulled him out from the world of drowning words and crashing questions. He gasped, and he stared into eyes of calming blue.
Aiden was still tutoring Brendan and Christina with Javier.
Brendan’s hand remained softly cupped around his arm, but he moved it away when Aiden turned to acknowledge him. “We were talking to you,” Brendan finally said. He peered over. “You seemed out of it.”
“I’m…sorry,” Aiden mumbled and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He shivered at the angry blowing of the air conditioning. His back ached against the hard surface of the chair. “I dozed off.”
“All right, I’m going to say it.”
He looked up in surprise toward Christina, who swiveled her chair around to face him. Her arms crossed and pressed against her chest, and she uncrossed her legs to scoot closer to him. “What your family is doing to you is wrong, and you shouldn’t take it. We all think that.”
Aiden scooted backward. “My family’s not doing anything to me.”
“Then why were you crying the other night about wanting to be a teacher? You’re already in college to become a teacher. And I’m guessing whatever job they’re forcing to work in is not that.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Aiden murmured.
“Look, I know you’re going to say it has to do with family and the role you fulfill for them and how it’s a cultural thing, but Javier’s family is like that, too. He’s talked to me about the pressure he feels from his parents and even his grandparents, but I know that his family doesn’t treat him the way yours do. Javier, talk to him.”
I’m tired.
Aiden turned his face, grey from sleep deprivation, over to look at Javier.
Javier sat with fidgeting hands, sagging shoulders, and a jittery leg. However, his eyes remained steady, and he nodded at Christina’s words. “I wouldn’t have said it like Christina, but I don’t disagree. I get feeling like you can’t talk back or argue with what your parents want. Hell, my dad still struggles with my grandmother on that. But still…” Javier’s leg stopped jittering. He placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Just because you feel an obligation to your family’s wishes does not mean they get to trample over yours. Stop working. Tell them you quit. You’re falling asleep in an uncomfortable chair—and upright, mind you.”
“That’s not why!” Aiden snapped. He slammed his hand on the table. “You don’t understand, and I can’t explain it, so please, stop talking about this.”
Javier and Christina flinched. He watched with horror as their faces fell. He bowed his head and covered his eyes. Words of apology bubbled out from his lips, incoherent, and he tried to curl up to hide his fury, but couldn’t in that tiny, hard chair. He twitched, itching to scratch his own face and pull out his own hair.Maybe I will,he goaded himself. One of his hands grasped his head.Maybe I will.
“Guys, that’s enough.” Brendan stood up, slipped his fingers underneath Aiden’s, and lowered his hand down from his head. “We should go. It’s late. You two go back. I’ll walk with Aiden.”
Heart fluttering from its broken pieces, Aiden gazed upon Brendan with wide eyes. He grasped tightly to Brendan’s hand, pointedly turning his head away.
Awkward silence filled the room, save for the sound of backpacks rustling. A pair of feet left first, and another pair followed, before stopping at the door. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Christina said and left.
“You agree with them, don’t you?” Aiden croaked. He continued to latch onto Brendan.
A beat of silence. “I don’t really know anything, and it’s definitely not my place to say anything. All I do know is that you’re tired, and you don’t look well. I do think you should take better care of yourself,” Brendan said.
“There are things I have to do.”
“You can’t do those things if you’re not well. I’m…not trying to intrude. So let me know if I’ve overstepped.” Brendan took a breath. “I’m just saying—we care about you. We want to see you happy, and you don’t seem to be. Right now, at least. But if you don’t want to talk about it, we just won’t talk about it.”
Aiden curled his fingers tighter, trying to draw Brendan’s warmth into his own shivering body.Don’t be weak. He closed his eyes to hold back tears. Unable to muster the strength to stand, he whispered, “Can we just stay here for a few more minutes? Before I go back home?”
“Mmm.” Brendan sat back down beside him, but purposefully moved his chair away. His fingers remained curled around Aiden’s, gently, but stayed loose enough for Aiden to withdraw his hand if he chose to do so.
Beyond thankful, Aiden stayed an arm’s length apart from Brendan, took a deep breath, and rested his head on the table. The two sat in silence, entwining their fingers in the passing peace.
Chapter Nine
“This whatyouwant! Everything’s always about you!”
Aiden stopped short of the front door at Zhu Zhu’s screaming. His stomach grinded. Disdainful eyes, a razor-edged voice, and a body boiling with impatience waited for him inside.But I can’t stay outside forever…
He forced the door open, stepping inside to see Zhu Zhu’s tear-streaked face. She threw a decorative vase onto the ground. The porcelain crashed into pieces, and scattered, joining the torn pages of an artbook.
He closed the door, shutting it louder than he hoped, and the three abruptly stopped to stare at him. Zhu Zhu’s hair stuck out in chaos, and mascara streamed down her face. She wiped her eyes, glared daggers at her mother, and stormed up the stairs. Aiden stepped aside in time as she shoved past him. Her bedroom door slammed so hard that Aiden’s heart jumped to his throat at the expected impact.
