He reached the truck, grateful that Tyler always handed him the keys for the way back, knowing he would come out drunk or stoned, incapable of driving. Aaron always took care of him after, but not this time. This time, he was done with Tyler for good.
He’d driven back to university and demanded for a helicopter to fly back home. Packed his bags with all that was important and rushed to the rooftop. No one questioned him because they knew he never used his privilege or resources unless it was an emergency. And this was the most dire one he’d ever been in.
Upon reaching home, his dad was the first one he rushed to. It wasn’t long before Tyler’s parents were contacted and he was dragged back home by Dave McCarthy’s security. And it was all a mess after, but he’d still managed to escape with the help of the syndicate’s branch in New York.
Ever since then, Aaron’s life was surviving one accident after the other. It took a lot of work to get it to stop.
He knew the war had started again.
Chapter Eleven
Rolling around on the carpet was doing her no good, but she didn’t feel like doing anything else. A horror movie played on the large TV screen embedded into the wall, but it wasn’t as funny as she’d have liked it to be. Just plain boring. There was no one screaming, no jump scares, no element of surprise. Nothing to laugh at.
She ended up against the base of the couch, upside down and legs thrown over the seat.
She was bored.
Actually, she was just waiting for Aaron. There was plenty she could do and have fun but she didn’t want anything but Aaron at the moment. She missed him. It was an empty tug at her heartstrings pulling her body to him so far away.
Sighing, she ended up on her side, daydreaming. About cute dates, the memories, replaying the day she first met him, the cuddles from last night. A smile crept onto her face.
Then invaded the feel of his mouth and fingers against her body and she abruptly opened her eyes, making it all go poof into thin air.
Not now, she thought. She would start dripping wet just at the thought of Aaron’s magical lips and hands on her body. Sometimes she wondered if he ever expected her to do anything for him, but the image of the possibilities made her uncomfortable. She didn’t know if she was ready to give him that yet and it made her feel that it was unfair for Aaron to be doing this to her if she couldn’t return it.
She groaned and started rolling around again, remembering that she didn’t even want to go any further with him until she got answers to the things Greta had said about him. The curiosity was driving her insane, and pair that with her hormones begging to be quenched of their thirst, it did not bode well when it came to balancing her mind and body to work together.
The door creaked open and she immediately rolled onto her knees and stood up. Aaron walked in with paper bags of take-away. He looked absolutely exhausted. Mina felt bad for him, but that feeling aside she had the urge to walk up and take care of him. And so she did, holding his jacket as he shrugged it off and turning him around to loosen his tie.
“Thank you, Mina,” he breathed, genuinely grateful. But he looked tired and disheveled, and she wondered just what exactly had happened when he was out with Greta. An awful feeling of doubt settled onto her chest, fearing that he’d given in to her enticing form and he had been claimed.
“You won’t believe how crazy Greta can get,” he sighed in exasperation as a knife fell on Mina’s heart, “Like, I was driving and she was pissed off because I made it clear I dumped her ass for good, and she literally put me in a choke hold and pulled her hair off!”
“W-what?!”
“Yeah! See?” and he lifted his sleeves to show fresh red scratches running down his forearms, moving his face closer to show a few marks at his jaw. Mina had never been more appalled, and so…angry. She was angry beyond words and knew she would explode, destroying all in her path to get to Greta and let her have her signature body flip and forehead jab that had knocked every one of her opponents out cold.
Her hands trembled, but she realized Aaron needed someone to tend to him.
“God, she’s insane,” she breathed out the redness in her cheeks and dragged him into the kitchen where he guided her to where the first aid kit was. She grabbed it from within a cabinet under the sink and hopped onto the stool next to his, popping the lid open and getting to work.
“How’d you get her off of you?”
“Well,” he started as she reached up with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol, “I – ow – got out of the car and dragged her out from her side and carried her over to her porch and dumped her there. Ran back to the car and made a run for it. Never am I dealing with her ever again. She can forget me offering her any form of protection or assistance from now on.”
“She needs help, Aaron,” Mina said softly, an odd wave of sympathy overtaking her anger, “She needs to see a therapist or something. Serious anger issues.”
“Her whole family is that way,” he said, “and she’s already tried for therapy. This is still a lot better than before, but it doesn’t seem like she wants to go further beyond it.”
“I just hope things go right for all of us,” she finished, and dabbed away at his forearm.
“You seem a little down today,” he noted, “is everything okay?”
“Hmm?” her head shot up to meet his gaze, “Yeah! All’s good,” she went back to work, “I caught up with her work and set it aside earlier than I thought I would have. Gale showed me the studio you had cleaned up for me at the back and I’ve gotten everything in order there. It’s wonderful, really. You should see the little hammock I made there. I also strung up the place with fairy lights and it’s really relaxing to be there once it’s dark. Also, I-”
“Mina,” he said softly, lifting her face to meet his chin, “you’re rambling.”
“Oh, am I? I thought I was usually very talkative so this is kinda new to hear from y-”
“What happened?” he prodded gently, “Is everything okay?”
She nodded vigorously enough for him to let go of her face, and she started packing up the kit. She moved to put it away, “I’ll heat up the food for us.”
“It’s warm enough,” he claimed as his hand shot out to grab her from passing by him. He pulled her back and held her cheek, forcing her to look at him, “Now tell me what’s wrong.”
She stared into each of his eyes, trying to come up with anything to get away. She didn’t want to put him through this just yet. It had been a tiring day.
“Tell me,” he ordered. She sighed and settled her cheek into his palm, face contorting in disdain.
“Greta called me before you did,” she explained, “saying something about how you would never go far enough with anyone, or give into certain things because your biological mom was involved somehow and I kinda freaked out because we’ve already done certain things and I don’t wanna go on knowing that we won’t get anywhere with it-”
She was silenced by his soft lips molding against hers, his hand reaching out to her waist to pull her close and wrap her up in him. His kiss was slow and gentle, hand running into her hair, fingers lightly massaging her scalp. It was sweet, and very loving.
He pulled away slowly looking into her eyes, “There is definitely a lot you need to know. And I owe you that because I want to go to lengths even I haven’t gone yet, at whatever pace you decide. And all with you, no one else. You make me feel safe, Mina. I don’t know how to say it, but I know you won’t try to hurt me the way others have. And something tells me you know the pain…”
“I have to admit, there are a few things about me you should know, too,” she confessed, “Should we do this after eating?”
“Sure, whatever you feel best doing,” he smiled at her, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. She relaxed into his touch, leaning forward and nuzzling her head in his chest. He held her securely, knowing she felt how he did in her arms. As if nothing in the world could hurt them.
They took the food to the living room and got
comfortable on the couch, slurping away at their noodles. It didn’t take long for them to unconsciously fall into a match of who could slurp the longest. Then the loudest. Then the most noodles in a slurp. Mina was surprised they even had enough noodles for it. It was a rather large portion with one box enough for two and Mina was not a light eater.
After they were done and satisfied, he opened his arms to her. She crawled into the carefully, and he held her as he leaned back against the arm of the couch, her fitting perfectly and comfortably between his legs. With her stomach full and her body wrapped up in warmth, she swore she would fall asleep.
“We could talk tomorrow,” he said with a yawn, “We’re both too sleepy to do anything.”
“Let’s head to bed right now,” she agreed, “Come on, we gotta wash up, too.”
Mina was up on her feet, wobbling a little from fatigue. Aaron stumbled and almost fell. They helped each other to the bathroom, brushed their teeth, and headed off to bed. Mina waited as she snuggled in the blankets while Aaron changed in his wardrobe. He came out in nothing but shorts, and turned the AC on as he got into bed with Mina. He knew the bed arranged for Mina in her new studio would go to waste, but he didn’t want Gale getting suspicious, or have anything to tease him of.
She was quick to note his presence and snuggled right up to his chest. He slithered his arm under her head and placed the other one over her waist, drawing her closer and placing his chin over her head. Aaron had never felt so much peace and comfort in his life, and neither had Mina.
It didn’t take long for the either of them to fall into a deep slumber. But something told them that it might be the last of peaceful nights they had.
Chapter Twelve
Mina woke up to something softly stroking her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open to Aaron gazing down at her. His lips quirked into a smile and he pulled her closer, snuggling her into himself.
“Morning,” he grunted. His morning voice was deep and it rumbled through his chest. Mina almost melted at the sound of it, “Did you sleep well.”
“Better than ever, really,” she confessed, moving in impossibly closer and settling her head in the crook of his neck.
“That tickles,” he chuckled, his body shaking. But Mina felt extremely attracted to the feeling of calmness he was exuding and wanted nothing more than to have her fill bathing in it, “We need to have breakfast. I’ll be late for work.”
“Don’t go…” she murmured, “Please?”
“I’ll be off early today,” he sang. She hummed and sat up, trying to push him off the bed.
“You’re blocking me.”
“Are you trying to get me to fall off?”
“Yuss,” she grinned. Aaron laughed and rolled off, landing perfectly on his feet.
“But you cannot, for I am perfection.”
“I can see your armpit hair.”
“They’re perfect, too,” he huffed defiantly and Mina only gave him a humorous look before he pulled her off the bed and walked her to the bathroom, “Make it quick. I’ll handle breakfast, okay?”
It was the same routine all over again, like every day. Get up, eat, work, break, eat, work, calls – wait, Mina didn’t get many calls. It wasn’t that she didn’t have friends. She talked to them all the time during her break, but even they were extremely busy and had their own lives. So who could this be?
Seeing the name on her phone, she crashed her thumb against the accept button and put it one speaker, “MA!”
“Hi, sweetie!” she chirped back, “How are you doing? Have you been taking care of yourself?”
How the fuck do I answer that?, Mina thought recalling all the craziness that had taken place the past few days. She could never really lie to her mother, but it would be too much to explain.
“Well, it’s been okayish, work and all,” she replied, “Kinda boring, to be honest. How’s the honey moon.”
“Oh her, God, Mina, it’s amazing here!” Heidi squealed, “I wish you could have come with us! The water here is literally like berry blue Kool-Aid, and they have these foot massages that put you to sleep! Also, I’ve been shopping around a bit and…”
Her mother’s voice trailed away as she neared the glass wall of her studio, skeptically studying the building just a little bit away. Black smoke billowed from a window close to the top, and two men jumped out of it hanging by ropes. A helicopter soon flew in to take them away. But what alarmed her was that it wasn’t just any building.
It was the McCarthy Continental’s HQ.
“Hey, mom? Mom, there’s been a little trouble so I’ll call you back in a bit, okay? Just give me a minute.”
“Honey, is everything-”
Mina hung up and dialed Aaron straight away, heart racing in panic, hoping nothing had happened to him. She knew it had something to do with the Morgan siblings. Who else could it be behind it?
“Mina.”
“Aaron, are you okay? The building’s on fire.”
“I just narrowly escaped,” he sighed, “On her way home and it won’t take me long. Lock all the doors and windows. I reinforced the security around her place before I left but take precautions. Don’t answer the door or open it to anyone who doesn’t knock four times. Wait for them to do it again if you feel suspicious.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Aaron hung up and Mina immediately set to work. It wasn’t long until someone knocked on the door. Four times.
“Mina, it’s me,” Aaron’s voice came through, “Open up.”
She rushed to the door and pulled it open, coming face to face with a dusty and ashen Aaron. His deep blue suit looked like it had charred in some places.
“Oh her, God! You should have gone to the hospital!” Mina cried as she pulled him in, “What if you inhaled something poisonous?”
“I know what a poisonous bomb smells like,” he grunted and stepped into the kitchen, “Not the first time something of this sort has happened.”
“It’s Tyler, isn’t it?”
“There are more people involved,” he sighed, “I just can’t get a break. I need some time to herself right now and think this all through.”
“Well, okay,” she said, and quietly backed away. She looked at him for a while, tensed over the sink, breathing hard to calm himself down, face scrunched in concentration trying to get his thoughts together past the agitation.
It broke her heart.
But there was nothing she could do.
With slow, quiet steps, she approached Aaron from behind, not sure if it was a good idea at all. But she went with it, carefully wrapping her arms around his torso and giving him a gentle squeeze, laying her head onto his back. And he visibly relaxed under her touch. Turning around, he hugged her back.
“Let’s talk,” he said, “There is a lot you need to know.”
Mina couldn’t speak as she listened. She was horrified and almost couldn’t believe a mother could do something to her own son. But Mina knew it happened around the world, it just horrified her that it had happened to Aaron.
He had been sexually harassed by his mother. Almost every day. He had been beaten. He had been mentally tortured to ends. He’d been broken down by her so badly that he’d tried to kill himself many times over the course of two years before his mom committed suicide. He was the one to have called the authorities on her, and she found in the midst of action with another minor. She was guilty of possession of child pornography. And she’d raped many men. Enticed them, drugged them and had her way.
It was too much to wrap her head around, but it raged her to wits end knowing the woman paid for nothing and too the easy way out by killing herself.
“Basically, I’m afraid of having sex,” he admitted dejectedly, “and I don’t like it when anyone tries to please me. I have no problem pleasing anyone else, but only if I want to. I just can’t let anyone touch me like that either without the memories bombarding me and making me feel guilty for those urges.”
It had taken Aaron everything to let it out
to her. He felt like he’d given her his soul by telling her all this. He was afraid she’d think he was lying, accuse him of something, and leave.
But she didn’t. Instead, her hand found his, gently drawing it close to her face. She kissed his palm and wrapped his hand in both of her small ones.
“To have gone through all of that and still having the strength to stand up for yourself must’ve taken a lot…” she said softly, “You did the right thing, Aaron. And you are not to blame for this in any way. You know that, right? You didn’t even understand what was happening with you.”
Aaron’s heart calmed down as he heard her response, tears of relief springing into his eyes as Mina came forward and hugged him, “You were so brave, Aaron. You were so strong. It’s one less person hurting people now. You have no clue what a huge service you did to people.”
Aaron could only hold her. Bile lumped up in his throat, leaving his speechless. But he wanted to thank her. He wanted to never let go. He wanted her to be with him forever.
“I’m proud of you,” she whispered, running her hand through his hair, “You’ve been so brave.”
They sat in silence, holding each other.
“By the way, it’s not like I don’t want to go far with anyone,” he started, “I just want it to be with the right person.”
“I can understand,” Mina kissed his cheek, but quickly pulling away and swiping at her lips, a splotch of black staining her hand, “you still have ash on you. Maybe you should take a shower and tell me what exactly happened at the office?”
“I’ll take one later,” he said, “There’s more you need to know. About Tyler and I.”
Mina nodded for him to continue, “We go way back. Say, 30 years. Childhood friends, but I pushed him away when I was in university. What he got involved with was dangerous, and he hasn’t let go of it to this day.”
It was took a while to explain everything to her, and she looked absolutely mortified at the end of it all.
Unwrap Me Daddy Page 55
