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The next few days passed by in a bit of a blur.
The only solid moments featured Aidan. The boy I was meant to hate.
But I didn’t hate him. Not one bit, and I couldn’t pretend that I did any longer.
He took care of me. He made sure I ate and bathed. He picked out my clothes when I couldn’t find the energy to put an outfit together. He read to me when the memories of my parents got too painful. I didn’t doubt that he would breathe for me if I’d needed him to.
And I was completely in love with him.
These feelings for Aidan had not come completely out of left field. I guessed I’d always seen him differently than just my best friend’s brother, but I’d had to push it down. I’d had to deny it. I’d had to hate him to protect my heart because he could never be mine.
Subconsciously, every fallen star had a wish with his name attached to it.
Secretly, every floating dandelion clock took whispered words of longing to the skies.
But I couldn’t be in love with my best friend’s brother… it was one hundred thousand percent against girl code. I think dating her ex would be more forgivable than dating her brother.
But fighting those feelings while I was battling to make it through a day without having a breakdown was too much, so I’d completely given into it. Luckily, Brianna had hardly left her room in days, so she would have no clue that her brother was spending every night in my room, holding me while I slept.
That was it… he just held me, although a few times I’d woken to something hard pressed in my back, but I was pretty sure that happened to every guy when they slept and it meant nothing.
Right?
I was still nervous when I knocked on her door on the week anniversary oftheevent. If she found out about me and Aidan, if there evenwasa me and Aidan, she’d hate me.
“Leave me alone,” a voice that sounded like it had been gargling nails came from inside.
“Bree, it’s Cait,” I called gently. Molly and Quinn were still missing, but everyone knew what that meant. If they’d still been alive, the Italians would have demanded a ransom by now, and it had been silent on that front.
Cullen had made a move on the Italian territory. Molly and Quinn were payback. My parents had just been caught in the middle. Aidan had filled me in on everything.
There was silence on the other side of the door.
“Bree?” I tried again and listened at the door for any sign she would let me in.
Nothing.
A stab of annoyance lanced my gut. She wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone… my entire family had been taken from me. She still had a father who loved her and brother who would look after her. What did I have?
Heat flooded my eyes as the waves of seemingly never ending tears started up again. The feeling of loneliness was brutal. It echoed around inside me, bouncing off of my bones and my organs, reminding me constantly that there wasn’t a person in this world that cared where I was or what I was doing.
No one except Aidan, a small voice interjected.
But how long would that last?
We’d raised the white flags for now, but that wouldn’t be forever… would it? That was if he even stayed in my life.
CPS would show up again soon, and when they did, who knows where I would end up.
Far away from this house, that was for sure.
I sniffed back my tears and turned away from Brianna’s door. If she didn’t want to see me, that was fine. To be honest, I didn’t exactly want to see her either.
Suddenly, from downstairs, I heard a fist banging on the front door. The sound seemed to ricochet through the house like a bullet in a drum. It was so quiet around here these days.
I wandered down the hall to the balcony in time to see one of the maids open the door. Inside stepped two men. One dressed in a tan overcoat, the other wore a suit and thick woolen jacket over the top. They both showed their badges to the maid, and my heart sunk.
The cops.
