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“Hey, guys.” Aiden greets them as they throw on their jackets and shoes.
“Hi,” they say in unison.
“We’ll see you soon,” Aiden says to Mason. Natalia’s reappeared with two Tupperware containers of what I’m assuming are her enchiladas. She shoves one into Aiden’s hand and one into mine.
“I really made too much. Take it for lunch tomorrow.”
I might actually puke.
“Thanks,” Aiden says for the both of us since my throat is dry. “And thanks for watching the twins for me today.”
“Anytime,” she says, her warm smile so like the one I’m used to seeing on Mason. “You really should ask for help more often. I’m happy to do it. And really, Aiden”—she puts a hand on his shoulder and gazes deeply into his eyes—“Stop being so stubborn. You’re welcome to move back in any time you want.”
I can’t take it anymore. “Thanks for the food!” I blurt, running out of the house before anyone can comment on my odd behavior. I had to get out of there before I erupted from her genuine kindness. Aiden and his brothers follow a moment later, and soon we’re all buckled up in the car.
Once we’re on the road, Aiden’s the first to break the silence. “So, boys, how was Mason’s house?”
“Fine,” they say together. They’re sitting in the back, looking out the small windows on opposite sides of the car.
Aiden keeps his tone neutral. “So, is there anything you want to tell me?”
Jason and Jackson look at each other. It’s almost creepy how in unison they are with their twin abilities. They’re making faces at each other.
“Maybe you should wait until I’m not around,” I tell Aiden. Whatever is going on with them might be something they don’t want to admit in front of me.
“I want to tell you something, but Jason says we shouldn’t,” Jackson blurts, earning him an incredulous “Jackson!” from his twin.
They start arguing with each other about telling versus not telling, and Aiden pulls the car over on the shoulder of the road. He engages the parking brake and twists in his seat to look at his brothers.
“Hey!” he calls with authority, and even I stop whatever I was going to say. The twins stop arguing immediately. “Someone tell me what’s going on right now.”
Jason and Jackson glance at each other.
“Boys . . .” Aiden’s looking at them in a way that scares even grown adults.
Jackson opens his mouth but Jason beats him to it. “I’m getting bullied in school!”
“What?” Aiden and Jackson exclaim at the same time, although Jackson’s is more with shock, and Aiden’s with rage.
“Who’s bullying you? What are they saying? When did this start happening? Are they hitting you? Jackson, are you getting bullied too? Why didn’t you want to tell me, Jason?” Aiden fires off question after question, the expression on his face one of barely restrained rage, not at his brothers, but at the bullies.
Have the kids at school found out about Greg? About the twins’ biological father, Andrew? About what people are saying about Aiden online? Children are ruthless and it breaks my heart to run through the possible scenarios of the bullying they’re facing.
Jason’s face pales. “Not long. And no, no one’s hitting me.”
“They hit you, you hit them back harder, got it?” Aiden demands, and Jason’s and Jackson’s heads bob up and down.
I don’t think that’s the same advice a responsible adult would tell them, but I don’t disagree with Aiden, and we would be huge hypocrites if we told them not to fight back.
“What are they saying?” Aiden continues, then looks at Jackson. “Why aren’t you standing up for your brother? What are their names? I’m going to chat with them on Monday. Every one of those kids are already terrified of me, and that was before they pissed me off.”
Jackson’s face lights up bright red, and his twin seems equally flustered.
I put a hand on Aiden’s arm. “You’re scaring them.”
Aiden’s jaw ticks. He forces himself to take a breath. “Sorry. I’m sorry.” His tone is much softer than before. “Why didn’t you want to tell me, Jason?”
Jason finds his words. “Because . . .” He pauses for a beat, two, looks at his twin, who just glares at him, for help. Jason gestures at Aiden and waves his arms in his generic direction. “All this. You marching in is going to make it worse. Yeah, that’s why I didn’t say anything . . . about being bullied.”
Jackson groans and looks out the window again.
Aiden’s eyes narrow at the two of them. “You’re being bullied and expect me not to do anything about it?”
Jason shifts in his seat. “Yes?” He sends me pleading eyes.
“Hey, Aiden, I know it’s not my place, but I think Jason didn’t want to tell you because he wants to sort it out himself. It might make it worse if you storm in and threaten a bunch of kids. Plus, that’s kind of illegal.” It’s definitely illegal.
Jason sits up straighter and nods in agreement, and Jackson continues looking out the window at nothing, probably wishing to be anywhere but here.
Aiden scowls. “I wouldn’t threaten them.”
“Let me handle it, please?” Jason pleads.
Aiden’s jaw works as he thinks it over. After what feels like forever, he exhales. “Fine. But if it gets worse, you tell me. Got it?”
Jason’s head bounces up and down so fast I get dizzy. “Can we just drop it? And we’re going to be late for Franco’s birthday, so . . .” He points to the road a couple of times.
“Are the bullies going to be at the party?”
“No.”
Aiden gives Jason and his brother one last serious look for good measure, then finally turns around and puts the car in gear. His hand is clenched around the stick shift, but he doesn’t say anything else, not even when Jason tries to discreetly shove Jackson, probably as retribution for admitting they were hiding something from Aiden. I don’t blame them; Aiden can be scary. But I’d rather they tell him so we can help if we can. I just hope it gets better before Aiden really decides to do something about it.
Aiden doesn’t say anything else to the twins about what happened in the car, even though I know it’s bothering him. They grab their stuff for Franco’s birthday sleepover while Aiden gets changed for Charlotte’s house, then Aiden drops them off at the party, and we finally arrive at my house.
Mom’s not home, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s with Brian. I send her a text to let her know I’m home but going out again, and store Natalia’s enchiladas in the fridge. I wonder if Brian will come over and recognize the Tupperware and the food inside.
Since Mom’s not here, she can’t say anything about me bringing Aiden up to my room. He’s sitting on my bed, pretending to look interested when I hold up different outfit options. The folder sits on the edge of the bed near him, taunting me. Every once in a while he picks it up to scan it, as if new information will appear, and I figure he’s trying to distract himself from thinking about his brothers. He told me he didn’t want to talk about it when we dropped the twins off, so I let it go. For now.
“Which one, Aiden?’ I ask, ignoring the stupid folder that’s making me feel like everything I’ve ever known was a lie. Does Agent Dylan even care about my safety? Did he even care if I post stuff online? It’s been a year since this all started—are they tired and just want to use me as bait so it’s over with?
“The first dress you showed me.” Aiden gestures noncommittally, then moves the folder out of my view. “Stop thinking about it, at least for tonight. Don’t worry about Luke. What information can he realistically find out from jail?”
I throw the dresses I was holding onto the bed and plop down beside them.
“But what if he does find a way to contact Tony?” I frown, and Aiden puts his hands on my waist and pulls me closer to him.
“He can’t do any research in jail, Thea. And even if he does contact Tony, what are the odds that Tony even wants anything to do with Anna? Isn’t he devoted to hunting you down? You think he’s going to drop all that to reconnect with a kid he didn’t even know he had and probably wants nothing to do with?”
My frown deepens as I study my hands. “I don’t know? Maybe he’d think of Anna as, like, his replacement for Sabrina?”
Aiden’s thumbs move in small circles on my waist. “Okay, how about Anna? I’m almost one hundred percent positive she’d want nothing to do with her biological father if Luke went to her with contact information.”
“I guess. But what if Luke thinks he knows what’s best for her and contacts him anyway?”
Aiden sighs, and it must be a testament to his patience that he doesn’t get frustrated with me being so exasperating.
“And like I said, he’s in jail.”
Realistically, he’s right. But there are way too many possibilities—way too many risks and variables that could go wrong, and I’m not willing to risk it.
“Or,” Aiden continues, “you can always just tell Anna.”
My head snaps up and I all but shove him away from me. “Are you serious?”
He holds up his hands in defense. “Hey, just thinking of all angles. If you tell Anna about Tony she’ll tell Luke to stop looking.”
“I cannot just go around telling everyone about my secret identity!” I throw a pillow at him. “It’s supposed to be a secret, remember?” Even if Agent Dylan apparently wants it not to be.
He catches the pillow as it harmlessly hits his chest and sets it down. “I know. It was just a suggestion. We should consider all options.”
“I can’t tell her that her biological dad’s a psychopath.”
“Why not? My dad’s a psychopath and I’m nothing like him.”
“I know that, and I know she’s nothing like Tony. But her brother’s in jail for murder. If we tell her about how her biological father actually has killed people and is hunting me down, she’s really going to start believing the gossip at school and think that she’s from a . . .”
I drift off, knowing that Aiden knows I mean a “family of killers,” like everyone’s saying.
“So.” I stand up. “That brings us back to the whole what are we going to do about Lukesituation.”
Aiden studies me seriously. “Like I said, he can’t do anything from jail.”
“And we’re working to prove that he’s innocent. If we’re successful, he won’t be there for long.”
“But what if he’s not innocent?”
“Are you saying that we should stop looking?” Annalisa’s destroyed over this, and she’s put all her trust in me to help her out. We really couldn’t do that to her.
Aiden shrugs a single shoulder. “He probably did it, anyway.”
“But we promised Anna we’d help free him.” I promised Annalisa we’d help free him.
Aiden gets off the bed to stand in front of me, his full height forcing me to look up at him. “If they have no intention of relocating you to keep you close to Anna, then the answer seems clear to me. Keep Luke in jail, keep Tony away from you, and keep you here, with me. I don’t care what happens or what promises we have to break, as long as you’re always still here, with me.”
Those words erupt like millions of butterflies in my chest. Is he right about them wanting me to be here because of Annalisa? Can we really be that selfish? Can I really just live happily ever after with Aiden, everyone else be damned?
Annalisa’s broken face pops into my mind. She’s always so strong and fierce and has always had my back, no matter what threats I’ve faced. Can I really sabotage her only chance to reunite with her brother?
“Do you have a better solution than to just let the legal system find him guilty and keep him in there?” Aiden asks, sensing my hesitance.
“I don’t know. What if he is innocent and we could’ve done something about it, like we promised Anna.”
“How about this. We still help look. For all we know, Luke really did it. All the evidence points to him, anyway. But because we care about Anna and want to help her, we can keep looking. If we find evidence that he really didn’t do it, then we’ll figure out what to do when we get there. You might not even be here by then. But if we happen to find something before everyone else, then we can decide what we want to do.”
I don’t answer Aiden right away because I can’t even begin to consider not helping my friend, but what he’s saying holds some weight.
“I’m not saying we condemn an innocent man,” he continues. “I’m saying let’s find out everything we can and take it from there.”
He’s putting a lot of faith in Luke being guilty and us not finding anything to free him. But if we do find something, could we really not tell our friends? Could we really put my fear of Tony and need to stay with Aiden over everything else?
“Did you forget everything I said to you earlier? I am not going to lose you. I watched one man almost shoot you. I’m not going to stand around and let Luke invite another man to come and do the same. Understand?” Aiden wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his strong embrace, and I’m lost for words. We’re technically not doing anything wrong. We might not even find anything. And if we do, we’ll do the right thing.
Probably.
Wrapped in the safety of Aiden’s embrace, I let my mind drift to all the things I need to do before I can live a normal, boring life: find evidence of Luke’s innocence before everyone else, keep Luke from contacting Tony, tell Mason about his dad’s affair with my mom, take down Aiden’s dad, get Kaitlyn and Ryan off my back, and pass calculus.
Simple.
