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Aiden’s face turned sore at her words. He pulled away from her and started to get up from the bed. As he was putting on his clothes, Aurora berated herself, why couldn’t she have let it be? Enjoy a few more minutes of peace and feeling wanted? But in heart, she knew she was right. She was also scared that Aiden was just bored and lonely, away from his hustle bustle of a life in New York, which is why he had made a move on her last night.
He got up quietly and headed towards the door. Aurora sat up in bed, her eyes following him across the room. She wanted to say something but she was just too confused. She didn’t know what to say.
“You can leave before Aunt Katie wakes up and finds out about this,” Aiden said, giving her a final glance before he walked out of the room. Aurora felt insulted. This should have never happened, her and Aiden. It just didn’t work.
It took her about 10 minutes to find her clothes and put them on. She smoothed down her hair in the mirror in Aiden’s room so her dad wouldn’t suspect anything. When she went downstairs, Aiden was nowhere to be seen. The door to Aunt Katie’s room was closed indicating she was still sleeping.
She left knowing she wouldn’t get to see Aiden. He was going to ignore her from now on. She had a feeling.
Chapter 6
She had been right. Aiden ignored her for the next two weeks. When she had reached home that day after the storm, her dad was sleeping on the couch. She found out when he woke up that he fell asleep early on the couch. He didn’t even know she didn’t come home that night. That was a huge relief for her.
Aiden came over to her place a few times in the next two weeks, but it was always when she was at work. She knew he was mad at her, but she couldn’t figure out why. She had been right, questioning their future. He hadn’t had a solid response for her either so what was he angry about? She would be lying if she said that it didn’t bother her. She felt such a strong pull towards Aiden and something inside her ached to see him again.
He had whirled into her boring life and in a matter of weeks, made her feel as if she could experience the most amazing things. She wondered what it would be like if they could actually live together in New York. It might even be nice, if he wasn’t so volatile all the time.
Aurora tried to shake these thoughts from her mind and focused on working on her articles. She sent out quite a few applications, this time hoping there would be good news. Trisha had already left and the office seemed lonely without her. Now she didn’t have anyone to share her job struggles with. Aurora took her occasional walks to the beach, but she didn’t run into Aiden. She had a feeling he was avoiding the beach as well, so he wouldn’t run into her. It hurt her a little, but she tried not to think about it too much.
When she got home from work that day, Ethan was making dinner. He was leaving for New York the following day. It had been good to have him around, making the house less lonely. He and dad would be up late watching football and drinking beers. Occasionally, all of them would play board games and discuss world news. That was what it had always been like since her mom had passed away. Being the only girl in the house, she was forced to partake in conversations that revolved around the economy and football. She didn’t remember the last time she had sat down with a bunch of women and gossiped.
“I’m making pasta tonight. Your favorite,” Ethan beamed as she entered the kitchen. He was wearing an apron that was splattered with a red sauce.
“Are you making it or wearing it?” Aurora laughed, placing her bag and laptop on the kitchen counter. Ethan laughed along.
“It will taste good. I promise you.”
Aurora busied herself with setting the table while she chatted with Ethan about her day and his flight schedule.
“Oh, set an extra plate for Aiden. I invited him too,” Ethan said, stirring the pasta pot. Aurora froze mid-action.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked, eyeing her. He had a look of confusion on his face.
“Oh, nothing. I’ll set an extra plate for him. Is he leaving tomorrow too?” She asked, acting nonchalant, trying to mask her feelings. She didn’t want to face him, especially not in front of her brother.
“No, he’s leaving next week. He has to make arrangements for a nurse for his aunt and he can’t seem to find one that won’t ditch.” Ethan told her.
“Will she be able to manage alone?”
“They’ll have to figure something out. He’s been away from work for weeks now. He owns a company. Things will fall apart if he doesn’t go back.”
Aurora didn’t reply, lost in thought. So he was leaving his aunt who couldn’t even walk because his job was more important? She couldn’t stomach that, but then again she didn’t know what his job was really like. She didn’t know much about him. She felt really sorry for Aunt Katie, living alone in that house for years. Aiden seemed to be her only family and he couldn’t stay with her either.
The bell rang, jolting her from her thoughts.
“Can you take out the pasta in the dish? I’ll get the door,” Ethan said, taking off his apron. Aurora nodded and he left to open the door.
Her heart was already starting to beat fast. She didn’t know how she was supposed to behave now. Were they supposed to ignore each other? She didn’t want to make it awkward in front of Ethan. She was setting the pasta dish on the table when Ethan and Aiden walked into the kitchen, followed by her dad.
“Hey,” Aiden said to her. He was talking to her?
He was wearing a dark blue shirt that really complimented his eyes and hair. She found herself going back to that night, remembering what it had felt like when he had held her, kissed her, made love to her.
Her cheeks started to burn, and she turned away towards the place settings.
“Hi.” She managed to respond in a meek tone.
That was it. They didn’t talk or look at each other for the whole duration of the dinner. She didn’t take part in the conversation, focusing on her pasta which was, actually good. She couldn’t help but steal a glance at him when she was refilling water but he wasn’t looking at her. Feeling a little dejected, she excused herself from dinner early. She had to complete a piece for the local magazine anyway. It was only when she was leaving the kitchen, she thought she could feel his eyes on her back. But she couldn’t be sure since she didn’t turn around.
