“Rook isn’t going to calm down now,” Regan said. “He’s been all over me lately about being careful and not going out alone. I assume this has to do with the Anderson guy that someone asked him about. I don’t get why that’s so scary though.”
“They threatened us girls, specifically,” I said. “Even Aiden went a little crazy with the guy they had there.”
A chill ran down my spine, remembering the first time Aiden went crazy like that. It rarely happened. In my entire time of knowing Aiden, he only truly lost his cool a few times. The first time was burned into my mind—it might be one of the first times I really knew I was falling for Aiden. The memory hit me so hard I leaned back.
I was sitting on the couch of our first apartment. My boyfriend was next to me, the scent of beer and cigarettes filling my nose, but my younger self thought the older man next to me was intense and passionate in a romantic way. I didn’t see the danger of it then, but Rook had. It was the first time Aiden had started to annoy me with how much he was suddenly around. It was the first time I had the apartment to myself, though, Rook and Aiden both having to go to work.
I pressed closer, thinking it was playful until his grip tightened. My push met resistance, and the twist of his lips made my stomach churn. Like a rabbit being watched by a predator, I froze, not knowing what to do to make him stop when he seemed to be enjoying himself.
The door had slammed open, Aiden filling the doorway. My eyeswent wide, my heart nearly stopping in my chest as embarrassment had filled me. I was never honest with myself if it was embarrassment at being caught in general or being caught frozen in something I didn’t want to be a part of.
Aiden had yelled, his deep voice filling the apartment like nothing I had ever heard before. It was full of rage and shock and I ducked my head, trying to shrink back into the couch. Aiden didn’t say another word as my boyfriend started yelling about leaving us alone, but with one more look to me, Aiden had stalked forward, ripping him off the couch and off me. Aiden’s fist shot forward, smashing into his jaw again and again, each strike rattling teeth and bone. My boyfriend had tried to run but Aiden grabbed him, dragging him out the door himself.
Hours went by before I could move. The door slammed open again, Aiden standing there still in a rage. His fists bloody, his chest dirty. He took three large steps toward me, grabbing my arms to look me over.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I said. “You stopped him in time.”
With a sharp nod he let me go. “I’m going to shower. Pick a movie and I’ll order food.”
He hadn’t said another word for hours, but sat close to me on the couch, shared a blanket with me, glancing over once in a while to make sure I wasn’t crying, I assume.
He was quiet, and strong, and safe.
Regan’s phone rang, pulling me from my memory. She grinned when she looked at it, already letting me know who it was.
I stared out the front window again, still lost in that day six years before.
From that day on, Aiden had always been my safe place.
My safe person.
Because no matter how horribly I acted, no matter what terrible situation I had myself in, he was safe. He might lecture me, but he didn’t judge me. And I knew no matter what was happening, he was going to shield me from harm.
Maybe he was a bodyguard. Rook picked the right person—but it felt like more for me. Two sides of the same coin: he was my safety, and I was his chaos. You could love safety. But could someone like Aiden love chaos?
“Hello?” Regan asked, still grinning as she brought the phone to her ear.
The way she and my brother were some of the most vicious people but seemed to trip over their own damn feet about each other was beyond me. It didn’t seem possible to be so cruel and violent, but such a sappy mess for each other.
“All right, we’ll wait out front,” she said, pausing as Rook responded. Her eyes darted to me and I froze. “Oh, yeah, I’ll tell her.”
After a few more seconds of smiling and sappy words, she clicked off, her face going serious again.
“Aiden isn’t coming, so he said you’ll have to ride with Mason.”
“Perfect.” My heart sank. I knew I had pushed it a bit with Aiden last night—even if we had fun, it was all based on me forcing him to go out with me for the blackmail. If he was blowing off Hero’s birthday to stay away from me, he had to be sick of me. “When will they be here?”
The knife twisted. The hurt turned into a thread of anger and I pulled on it.
If he was really going to blow me off after I tried to be nice, itfelt like we’d taken one step forward only for him to stomp it out again.
I pulled out my phone, pulling up my text conversation with Aiden.
Evie:Coward.
I hit send, not caring if he didn’t understand the meaning.
