All his life, people have neglected, hurt, and abandoned him. What Aiden did was shitty. He lied to me. The thing is, desperation is ugly. I can judge him all I want, but I’ve never had to be in Aiden’s position. All he wanted was a safe life for his sister. To give her the childhood that he never got.
The childhood I got to have because of my mother’s choices.
Desperation makes people do things they normally wouldn’t. Instead of punishing those who put us there, a lot of the times we punish the victims forced to make impossible choices.
I refuse to punish him.
I see the regret and sadness soaking into him. “Aiden?—”
“Leave me alone, please.” He presses his palms to his eyes, trying to sink into the car door. Birds chirp around us, and the sun attempts to break through the trees.
All I see is this beautiful broken boy who’s finding out for the first time in his life what it means to be loved.
“I’m not going to do that.”
“Go bother someone else.” Aiden shakes his head.
“No.”
“I’m finally free. Leave me alone.”
“No.”
“I don’t want this! Leave me alone! I don’t want to be with you. I hate watching your stupid baking shows, and sleeping in bed under your suffocating arms. I hate watching you make a mess of your kitchen while you try recipes. I hate watching the look on your face when you create something new. I especially hate midnight drives and late-night talks.” He swallows.
This stubborn man. “Are you done?” He looks up at me, his eyes ready to spill, and I step into him. Into his space. Slowly I reach out my hands and brace either side of his face, my thumbs smoothing along his cheeks and forcing him to look at me. “Tell me you hate me. Look me in the eyes and tell me all that again.” He tries to shake out of my hold. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t love me, and I’ll leave you alone.”
I wait, my lungs shrinking with every minute that ticks by.
“Leave me alone,” he whispers instead.
“Never.” I press my forehead to his, closing my eyes, my thumbs still smoothing along his cheeks. “I’m never leaving you alone.”
Shock hits me when I feel the pressure of his arms slowly wrap around me. My eyes open the moment his ice wall shatters and cracks into a million pieces. He fits his face into my neck and sobs with his fingers bunched into my jacket.
I don’t know how long we stand there while Aiden gives me all the grief and pain he’s held onto. “I got you.” I kiss the side of his head and hug him back, smoothing my hands along his spine. “You’re not alone, Aiden.”
“I’m so sorry.” The words are muffled in my neck.
“I know you are.” I stroke his hair until he calms down and pulls back. “Let’s go home.”
“What?”
“We’re going home.” I cup his face. “Come on.”
Aiden’s beenquiet the entire drive to my house. I’m thankful the damage wasn’t too bad and I only had to close for that one week while I got everything back in order. Apart from the physical damage Ivan did, I’ll admit that my head’s still a mess. I haven’t let the full weight of everything sink in yet.
“I don’t understand this,” Aiden finally says as he pulls up at my bakery.
Of course he doesn’t. No one’s ever fought for him.
No one’s ever put him first or made him feel wanted.
Instead of answering him, I get out of the car and walk to my door with him trailing behind. When we walk in, I can’t help replaying everything that happened like I have a thousand times since that morning. He told me he thinks he’s in love with me. Only, I know the truth. He loves me very much, even if he struggles to show it.
Aiden loves me quietly.
There are no grand gestures.
