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“Consider me educated, madam.” With a cheeky wink, he fills our plates.
We settle on the couch and start watching the movie. Totally cheesy, as expected, but I feel the pull of old, comforting memories from my childhood.
“My dad and I used to love watching these kinds of movies together. My sister would watch with us sometimes, but that was a thing he and I mostly shared. She likes the action, for sure, but wasn’t into the corny stuff my dad and I were.” I don’t know why I feel the need to share this with Aiden. Maybe so he can know me better, or maybe sitting here eating pizza and watching movies is making me remember better, easier times.
“My mum and sister hated these kinds of movies. They subjected me to all the romance movies growing up. Made me have a complex, to be honest. Who could possibly live up to those expectations, ya know?” He gives a clipped nod, like the idea offends him. I can’t help the laugh that escapes me at his assessment of lovey-dovey movies. Good to know he isn’t a romantic. Not that it matters, of course.
“They just never held my attention long enough, but I don’t think they set the standard for romance, at least not in my experience.” Which has been limited, to say the least. Some guys I dated could have used a romantic movie or two.
“How is it having your mom and sister living back in England with you here? Do they come visit much or do you mostly go there?”
He has a faraway look in his eye and shakes his head.
“Mum has been out here maybe twice in the last few years. My sister passed away when I was stationed overseas,” Aiden answers.
My head rears back. Well, apparently, we have more in common than just our taste in movies. No one told me about his sister. It makes me wonder if he ever talks about her to anyone.
“Sorry, I guess that was a heavy bomb to drop during movie and pizza night.” He moves like he’s going to get off the couch and I put my hand on his thigh to stop him.
“No, Aiden. I wasn’t thinking that at all. We have that in common. That’s what I was thinking. My sister is still alive, but we lost my dad when I was in high school. It was a life-changing blow we all still deal with in our own ways. It just surprised me, is all. No one told me. It’s a pretty depressing thing to have in common, huh?” I shrug my shoulders and look down, thinking the last thing I would want is to have someone walk on eggshells when they find out my dad passed away. I won’t act like that with Aiden.
“Tell me about your sister. What was it like being the older brother?” I ask, relaxing back into the couch, hopefully conveying to him that I want to know as much as he wants to tell me.
He lets out a long breath and leans back, a soft smile moving across his face.
“Grace was a beautiful girl. It was actually a bit of a challenge when she got older, and I had to beat the boys away.”
I laugh. Yeah, I could imagine him doing that. I’d seen his protective side when he parked himself outside my hospital room right after the kidnapping, or when he would drive by to check on my sister and I when we got home.
“But growing up, we were always in each other’s corner. My mum had to work a lot when we were young. Our dad bailed out about a year after she was born. I guess being a family man got boring or some such shite. Anyway, we had this old granny type who lived next door and would watch us while Mum was at work. Grace loved her and I liked that she let us have all the sweets we wanted.” He grins at the memory.
“When we got a little older, she became ill and moved away to live with her daughter. It devastated Grace. One more person leaving, ya know? By that point, I was old enough to watch out for Grace while my mum worked. It was fine when she was younger, but when she got to be a teenager, she didn’t want to listen to anyone. She was gorgeous with blond curly hair and a wide smile. Wanted to be everyone’s friend, even the rougher kids. Thought they just needed someone to care about them, too. It didn’t matter when I told her they were bad news. I was just the overprotective older brother in her eyes. The more I tried to steer her away from that crowd, the more she defended them. We would have row after row about it until finally she stopped arguing with me and started sneaking out to meet up with one of the girl’s older brother. He ‘loved’ her, and she thought he was just misunderstood.” Aiden’s eyes get darker and darker the further he goes into his memories.
“The bloke was into selling pills and coke. Started using his own product too, from what I was told. She loved him so much, and in her mind, she had to follow him to hell to be with him. Grace went from smiling all the time, full of life and compassion, to dull and lifeless in less than a year. No matter how many times my mum and I tried to reason with her or lock her up or beg and plead for her to get help and leave his sorry arse, she held firm, always saying she was fine when it was clear she was anything but.” My heart is aching at the devastation in his voice.
Aiden takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, overcome by his memories. I want to stop him from talking about it. I see it’s causing him pain, but he needs this, this exorcism of sorts.
“He left her as a lookout to make some deal in a dingy area known for being the place to go to get anything you want. Apparently, hours passed, and he didn’t come out. Grace knocked on the door looking for him and when she was let into the apartment, she found him passed out with a needle in his arm. She didn’t know it at the time, but he was dead. The guy he was making the deal with tried to get Grace to come into his room and try the same shit. She turned and bolted, not slowing down until she made it home. She locked herself in her room and wouldn’t talk to either of us. The next day, they found him in the park. Obviously, they dumped his body there. Another person leaving Grace. I, for one, wasn’t sad about it. That probably makes me sound like an arsehole, huh?” Aiden looks at me with pained eyes as he lets out a sad chuckle, the story obviously taking its toll on him.
“Not at all. That guy was heading down a scary path and taking your sister with him. I don’t blame you for finding relief in him not being around. You can’t save everyone,” I tell him.
He nods his head slightly, the pain in his eyes tearing me up inside. “Grace turned around after that. She cleaned up and started staying home. Started trying to reconnect as a family. Even got a job at a little bookstore. She was getting good marks in school and started hanging out with a few nice girls she worked with.
“About that time, I decided I wanted to join the military. I didn’t have much direction and figured it would be a way to get out of my mum’s hair while being able to send money home, so she didn’t have to work so much. Not that our mum ever complained. She loved us with everything and supported my decision, even though she was sad to have me leaving. I figured with Grace doing so well, it was safe to go.” Aiden stops his story again, and I know where this is heading. It’s the only place for it to go, but I wish he didn’t have to say this part. I wish it didn’t happen to him.
“I got a call from my commanding officer one morning after coming back from a mission. My mum had gotten ahold of him and told him my sister was dead. I couldn’t believe it. I thought there had been an accident. She was doing so well. I never thought she started using again. When I called my mum, she told me these nice girls Grace was hanging out with wanted to live on the wild side for a night. They went to a party where Grace ran into some of her old crowd. One thing led to another, and Grace decided to party with them. I still don’t know why. Why would she do that after everything she had gone through and after everything she accomplished?” He looks at me with concern in his eyes and runs a thumb under my eye. It comes away wet, and I realize I started crying. Looking into his eyes, I give him a sad smile.
“I’m sorry. This is your story and here I am crying. I just hate that you and your mom had to go through something like that. It’s not fair to lose a sister like that. Or lose anyone you love.” I shut my eyes and shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts and tears.
“No, it’s not,” He agrees. “And it isn’t fair to lose your dad when you’re in high school, either. Losing someone that young is never fair or right.”
I realize my hand is still on his thigh when he covers it with his own.
“I’m sorry you lost your dad. Mine never cared to stick around. I can only imagine how tough that was on you.” He gives my hand a small squeeze.
“It was awful,” I reply. “He died in a car accident right before my sister was supposed to go away to college. One minute we’re getting ready for her to leave the house and the next he’s gone, so she had to stay. He was the one who got me, ya know? Not saying Kasey and my mom didn’t, but I was his little girl. After me, he and my mom decided not to have more kids. I guess she had a tough pregnancy with me. Had to be on bed rest and all that. They didn’t want to risk it again, so they stopped with me. My dad never got his boy, but he didn’t care. Kasey was already into all the girly shit, so he got to mold me.” I laugh at the thought. My dad never tried to make me into a tomboy, but the fact I would rather have been watching silly action movies and reading comics didn’t upset him in the least.
“We bonded a lot over all the ‘boy’ things my mom and Kasey weren’t interested in. He knew I liked to march to the beat of my own drum, and he never tried to dissuade me. After he died, I had two mothers, Kasey and my mom. It became about keeping it together for me and keeping me on the ‘right path’. Whatever that means. My mom and sister just have their way of seeing life and I have mine. My dad got that. They mean well, but sometimes I feel stifled by their way of doing things. To them there’s a right way and a wrong way. A lot of times I’m doing things the ‘wrong way,’” I emphasize with air quotes. “So sometimes I just have to check out for a minute and not talk to them.”
