As I was saying all those things about her, I realized that I couldn’t wait to go home and see her again. I was excited to see Aubry, and I felt like an idiot because of it. I wasn’t supposed to like the girl, but I couldn’t deny the pull that I felt towards her though. I knew that was nothing but trouble.
***
We left later that Thursday. I felt relieved when we got onto the plane. Yes, I missed my grandparents, but they emotionally-drained me to no end. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be more than “little Jeremy” to them.
That was the thing, I was nothing like him.
I would definitely say that the ride home was much better than the ride going there. It wasn’t full of anxiety and dread, just anticipation.
I was ready to go back home. I refused to acknowledge that it was because of Aubry. Instead, I kept telling myself that it was because of the new Call of Duty game that Tommy had finally gotten.
Nope, definitely nothing to do with Aubry.
When we got home, I wish I could have said that the emotional few days had been wiped off, and it was like nothing ever happened. However, that was not the case. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at any of my family in the face.
That night with my dad was my fault. Although my mother blamed herself, and while I’m sure everyone in the family blamed themselves in some way, shape, or form, the truth was, there were many places to put the blame.
I blamed myself for causing a fight between my parents, my mom blamed herself for getting so mad and telling him to leave, we blamed my dad for leaving and resorting to that, and we all blamed the dealer for being there to supply him with his addiction.
There were so many variables, and still, my father died.
“You are such a douchebag,” Bri said from behind me.
I stopped in my tracks at her words. I was completely confused as to what I did. However, it was no surprise. I never did anything right.
“Did you even hear Mom just now when she was talking to you?”
I tilted my head in confusion. I didn’t even know that she was talking to me.
“Of course, you didn’t. All you care about is your own damn self. You didn’t say one word to any of your family on the way home, you didn’t come down all day on Wednesday to see your grandparents who missed you so much, and let’s not even get into the fact that you don’t even let me acknowledge you at school. You are just a selfish prick!” she yelled angrily at me.
Truthfully, she was right. I couldn’t even argue back at her because she was so right. I was just a prick; it should have been me to die, not my dad. People needed my dad; no one needed me.
I breathed out a heavy breath as she was still justifiably berating me. I couldn’t take it though, it might have been the truth, but that didn’t mean that I wanted to hear about it.
I quickly grabbed my jacket and made my way out the door. I didn’t know where I was going, but I wasn’t going to stay there and be reminded of all my past mistakes.
Hell, all my current mistakes too. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I was done with it all.
She was right, Briana was always right about me. I was a selfish dick that cared about no one but myself—that was what my actions dictated at least. Actions speak louder than words, right?
If I was any type of good man, I would’ve known what was going to happen. I would’ve saved her; I would have saved Bri. I was not a good man though, and I practically hand delivered my little sister into the hands of a disguised beast.
I would never be like my father, a good man with good intentions, only to be stopped by a disease. That was part of the reason why I hated looking so much like him. I was nothing like him. No, I was a bad man with clouded judgements. I was still alive; I probably would live to be super old because that was how messed up the world was. That’s how the world works; the good dies and the bad keeps living.
I was startled out of my hurtful walk when I heard my phone ding. It had been well over an hour since I had begun my little expedition.
When I got my phone out of my pocket, there were a few texts and a few missed calls.
Tommy: Where are you? I thought we were going to play COD?
Brandon: We’re starting without you.
Mom: Aiden, where are you? I don’t mind you leaving, but you need to tell me where you are and that you’re not dead on the street somewhere.
I texted my mom back quickly. I apologized that I hadn’t told her and made up an excuse. I let her know that I was going to be crashing with Tom that night, so she shouldn’t expect me home. In fact, I had no intentions of going to Tommy’s. I loved my cousin and best friend, but they’d be way too much for me at that moment.
I looked around slowly and took in the scene around me. It was a park. Not just any park, but the only park my dad had ever brought me to. It was as if my subconscious mind wanted to twist the knife a little more.
I sighed and slowly walked further into the quiet and empty park. I looked from the swings, to the jungle gym, and to the tetherball pole that no longer had a ball at the end. So many good memories were made there, then dad left the first time.
I hadn’t been there since I was four and a half. That was when my mom kicked my dad out for the first time due to his addiction. After that, my mom had to start working double and triple just to keep us afloat. No one had any time to take me to the park anymore. By the time my dad got sober and came back, I was twelve and was more into video games and boxing rather than playing on playsets.
I sighed and walked towards the swings, the swings were always my favorite. As I was walking over there, I came up behind a bench. On the bench was someone balled up with their face tucked into their legs tightly, then I heard the sniffles and the quiet sobbing.
Whoever it was must had been hurting. I didn’t know if it was physical or emotional, but they were hurting badly.
Against my better judgment, mostly because I didn’t usually get involved in that kind of thing, I walked around the bench silently. I took in the person’s appearance and couldn’t see any visible wounds. Due to her bent-up position and hood covering mostly everything—except for the long brown hair sticking out of it—the only thing that I could see was a pretty small girl.
More sobs wracked through her body as she sniffled, and I felt so bad for her. Her sobs were full of agony and sadness, I just wanted to reach out and hug her.
“Um, excuse me miss, are you okay?” I asked hesitantly.
The girl immediately stopped sobbing. A long awkward minute passed as the girl still had her head down. I thought about leaving her alone, but I couldn’t do that in good conscience. Finally, the girl looked up, knocking my breath out of my chest.
“Aubry?” I was surprised that it was her. Her brilliant green eyes were staring into mine as they were lit up by the few streetlights that were around. Tears were spilling down her cheeks rapidly.
“Are you okay?” I asked, bending down to her level so I could see her face more clearly.
She simply nodded and cleared her throat shifting in her seat. “Did someone hurt you?” I asked. She didn’t say anything to my question. However, her tears started to slow down, thankfully.
Finally, she opened her mouth and asked in a hoarse voice, “Do you want to sit with me?”
The question caught me off guard, and before I could actually take a moment to think about it, I nodded. She scooted over, and I took the spot next to her.
We didn’t say anything for a long while as a comfortable silence enveloped us. She stared up at the night sky, looking amazed by it.
I, however, couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She had no makeup on, and I could clearly see the now-healing bruises all over her face. Her eyes were slightly swollen and red rimmed, the cut on her cheek was scabbed, and her nose looked normal. She was gorgeous, and it pained me to think that. Sitting next to her was very calming. I could tell I had the same effect on her as well, her whole demeanor was more relaxed.
“So, shi
tty Thanksgiving huh?” I asked, wanting to hear her voice. God, I’m such a creep.
She snorted loudly, making me chuckle. “You have absolutely no idea,” she stated while shaking her head. “What about you? Obviously, you aren’t walking around an abandoned park because you just like to.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, just some shit I’m going through, I guess.”
“Are you okay Aiden?” she asked suddenly. It was a question that I didn’t know if I have ever actually been asked and felt the need to tell the truth about.
I thought for a moment and shrugged. “Do I really have a choice to not be?”
She half-smiled. “I guess not.”
We went back into a comfortable silence. Being near Aubry was nice, I didn’t have to pretend to be happy or try to be sexy. I was just me and she was just her. It was easy and natural.
She began to sag and lean towards me unconsciously.
“Aiden?” she asked me as her voice sounded groggy. “Are we friends?”
I thought it over for a second; not sure of the answer. I wanted to say “no,” but I couldn’t deny the obvious. She was who I had spent most of my time with and talked to the most. I did like her, though I convinced myself that it was strictly platonically. Plus, I really wanted to get to know her more.
I finally answered her, “Um yes, Aubry. I think we are.”
Her head drooped on my shoulder, and she yawned quietly. “I’ve never had a friend before,” she stated, snuggling closer to me. I knew that she would have been embarrassed, had she not been almost all the way asleep.
I didn’t say anything, and within a few minutes, Aubry’s eyes were closed and her breathing was even. She was dead asleep.
Her skin was cold, and she was starting to shiver slightly. All she had on were sweatpants and her light hoodie. I took off my leather jacket and draped it around her. I slid her down into my lap, trying to make her more comfortable. Though I knew that the bench wasn’t going to be very good, no matter how hard I tried.
As I did that, I studied her bruised face a little bit more. Something about her made me want to fiercely protect her, and from that moment on, I would do everything in my power to protect the girl.
Chapter Fourteen
Now That We’re Friends
Aubry
I woke up to a warmth I had never woken up to before. The hard bench wasn’t the thing underneath my head like I had expected; it was warm and soft. I still hadn’t opened my eyes; I wanted to let the warmth and softness sink in a little bit longer. I didn’t want to deal with anything yet.
Suddenly, the memories of the previous night flashed through my head. Abruptly, my eyes shot open. However, I was slightly blinded by the sun’s light as the day began. The sun rose over the horizon which indicated that it was still quite early in the morning. I was surprised as that meant I had gotten the most sleep that I didn’t have in such a long time. I almost felt refreshed . . . almost.
I turned towards Aiden and took in his appearance and position. I was laid across his lap, and his arm was thrown around my waist protectively. The top half of his body was laid to his right and twisted awkwardly. He didn’t look comfortable at all.
His hair was messy and out of place. The thin layer of dew on his skin made him look like he was glowing, and the fact that he didn’t have his jacket on made him look cold due to the chilly weather.
I soon realized that the weight on me and the warmth were due to his big jacket being draped across me. I quickly sat up and pulled the jacket off of me. My sudden movements must have jolted him awake because his eyes shot open, and he sat up abruptly, instinctively looking around for danger.
I held his jacket out towards him when he finally got his bearings back from suddenly waking up.
“Sorry for waking you . . .” I sputtered out hastily, embarrassed.
He gave a half-smile and shook his head at me. “It’s not a problem. We probably should have woken up anyways. It’s almost time to go to the gym.” He paused and cleared his throat. “You keep it, I’m not very cold. You need it more than I do . . .” He gestured at my shivering. “Just give it to me at the gym later.”
He got up and stretched as he fished his phone out of his pocket.
“Dang, it’s seven-fifteen already!” He sighed and glanced at me. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you at the gym at eight, yeah?”
I stayed in my place and nodded my answer to him.
“Great.” He then walked off leaving me to my thoughts on the bench.
I stayed on the bench for a while, thinking about the surprising turn of events the night before. I was pretty baffled, especially since he had been so against me being his friend in the first place, perhaps he felt the same pull that I had.
After a few more minutes of thinking, I finally got up and started walking to the gym. I was still kind of dazed. It was a quiet morning in town with not too many people on the streets. It was making me uncomfortable as I began thinking of what happened last time I was on a not so busy street. I quickened my pace accordingly and made it to the gym before everyone else, just like usual.
Tommy showed up shortly and unlocked the door to let me in. As soon as the doors were unlocked, more people began filing into the gym. I made my way back to the trainer’s room to ice my ribs and wait on Aiden.
Just as I was beginning to take off Aiden’s jacket, the door opened. Brandon, Tommy, Aiden, and a girl I recognized as Sofia walked in. The girl was cradling her hand as if it was about to fall off. I didn’t know the girl, but the way she was looking at me reminded me of Bridget. Aiden simply gave her a bag of ice and dismissed her easily.
“Shouldn’t I maybe stay in here? Let my hand rest a little bit?” she whined; Aiden looked at her hand once more.
“Nah, it looks like you barely hit it. You’ll be fine in a few minutes,” he said, motioning towards the door.
She turned to me and sneered when Aiden dismissed her. She then walked out of the door defeatedly. I couldn’t help but smile triumphantly at her for being a bitch.
I took Aiden’s jacket all the way off once she closed the door. I could feel that everyone in the room had their eyes on me. I suddenly felt conscious due to their stares as I turned my back to them.
“What?” I asked shortly while looking around.
“So now we know who you ditched us for last night,” Brandon said with a sly grin. “If you wanted to get laid, you could have just told us, and we would’ve understood,” he added with a shrug.
I turned towards them, not completely understanding what they were talking about.
“Brandon, it’s none of your business,” Aiden stated quickly, giving him a stern look and an eye roll.
“So Aubry, how was it?” Brandon asked with a goofy smile and wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“W-What?” I asked as he put his arm playfully around me.
“Brandon, shut up!” Aiden yelled at him, pushing his arm off of me with a huff. “Aubry and I didn’t sleep together. Now, that’s enough.”
I shifted uncomfortably. Brandon didn’t look like he believed him, so I chimed in, “Um, we actually ran into each other while walking after a particularly bad night for both of us, ya know . . . shitty Thanksgiving and all. Then we both just came and worked out together for a bit. When we were done, Aiden lent me his jacket because I forgot my big one at home in the haste of escaping my crazy family. That’s pretty much it, nothing else is going on between us.”
Aiden looked at Brandon with an I-told-you-so look and nodded at me. “Yeah, that’s it. Nothing scandalous or anything. I swear, B. You’re better than a female about gossip.”
We all laughed along with his words, even B, though, he did seem to catch the noticeable difference in mine and Aiden’s interactions.
Aiden was a lot nicer that day. Though he was still abrupt and uncouth, he was respectful and more patient. He was still a very good teacher though.
He explained the game plan for meeting with Trey, the U
nderground’s owner, the next day. It was supposed to be just a simple meeting with him introducing me to him, so he would schedule the fight for the next week. The man seemed pretty volatile. However, I needed to know what I was up against, so I was glad that he wasn’t sugarcoating it.
Once I was loose and ready, Aiden called us ready for the sparring match.
I walked up to the mats and did a quick once-over of the men who were standing before me. I was both nervous and excited at the prospect of fighting the large men. I felt nervous because all of them were pretty much giant and scary-looking. However, Daniel was at least twice their size for each of them, so I wasn’t too intimidated by them. I was excited because I believed that I could beat them; I wanted to. I knew that I could. They were elite, but I was desperate. I believed that my desperation could beat their bulk.
As soon as Aiden explained that I was going to be their opponent, they laughed. That irritated me, and I let myself get angry at their dismissal. I was better when I was angry.
The first one stepped forward and scoffed. “This is who I’m fighting?” he asked.
Aiden nodded and backed off the mats. “Fight!” he yelled with a smirk.
However, the boy was still looking around making fun of me. With him distracted, I quickly went towards him and nailed him right in the jaw. His head snapped to the side, and I punched again before he could get his bearings back. He stumbled back, and I kicked out, making him gasp when I came into contact with his stomach.
With the air knocked out of him, he tried to punch out to me, but I weaved to the side due to his slow and sloppy punch. Once I weaved, I punched again. Though he dodged it, I turned and sent a powerful kick right to his chest. He fell and clutched at his chest for air. He didn’t get back up as he tried to breathe.
I smirked in triumph.
That was pretty much how the other two fights went. However, the fourth one—my last one—was long and grueling. We were pretty much evenly matched but in completely different ways. He was big and strong, while I was small and quick which gave me the advantage. He eventually got worn out by me, and I was able to lay one ending punch to his mouth, making him fall to the ground and pant in defeat.
Fighting For Life Page 13
