Song for chapter thirty one: Nightingale by Demi Lovato

|Skyler|

"What the fuck was that?" I asked again when Aden didn't respond right away. I glanced down at my hands, realizing that they were shaking just the slightest bit. His shirt was soaked from the gasoline, clinging onto his chest and stomach. It took a lot out of me to not stare at his toned body.

He held a sheepish expression as he opened his mouth to say something, but a gentle knock on the door interrupted him. I jumped at the sound, eyes widening as I remembered just a few moments before.

"Stay here," he told me before walking towards the door. He opened it to reveal an old lady standing on the other side, her white hair cut to the top of her shoulders accessorized with a fedora.

"I saw those men come in, I just wanted to check on you to make sure you're alright," she said, glancing into the home and making eye contact with me. I only gave her a small forced smile. "You don't need me to call the police do you?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Aden said quickly, his muscles hard. "We're fine, it was just some friends of my dad."

Lies.

The lady seemed skeptical, raising an eyebrow, but nodded anyway. "Alright, well if you need anything, I'm just next door," she said before walking off as Aden thanked her and shut the door.

"Your dad's friends?" I also raised an eyebrow, mirroring the old lady from before.

Aden sighed, running a hand down his face, "I'll explain later, are you hurt anywhere?"

I shook my head, even though I could feel the large bruise that was beginning to form on my side, where that stupid man had thrown me into the bedpost. He nodded, relieved as he opened the freezer, taking out an ice pack and pressing it to his cheek where the bruise was beginning to bulge.

"You're explaining now," I crossed my arms over my chest expectantly. "I'm pretty sure I just saw something illegal."

"Okay fine, just let me take a shower first. I still smell like gas, and then I'll explain everything," he grunted, throwing the ice pack back into the freezer.

"Okay," Was all I could say as he disappeared from the kitchen and into the bathroom down the hall. Sighing, I headed to the living room to clean up our mess. Mean Girls was still playing, though it was nearing the end, but it just seemed ridiculous now after what just happened.

Honestly what did happen?

If only I could summon Regina George to whoop those men's asses.

I picked up the empty pizza box and the napkins we had laying around before heading back into the kitchen to toss them. Just as I settled back onto the couch again, I heard the shower turn off from the bathroom and a moment later Aden stepped out.

His hair was still wet, messy and with a few strands draped over his forehead. He'd changed into a fresh pair of sweatpants, my eyes widening just slightly when it finally hit me that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Boy, did he have a nice body.

Holy hell, stop being such a pervert. This is serious. I told myself, taking a deep breath.

He sat down next to me on the couch — still without a shirt on — fiddling with the drawstrings on the waistband of his sweatpants. The smell of his shampoo drifted up my nose, bringing me back momentarily to when I'd showered in his bathroom. Of course, the wilder side of my brain didn't exactly want him to put a shirt on. But the more rational part of me that wanted to figure out the issue at hand needed him to put one on in order for me to focus.

"I probably should have told you this before, but I just didn't want you to think of me any differently," he started, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed. I stayed silent so he could continue and we sat in a thick silence for a few moments. "My dad, he's an addict."

I kept my emotions at bay even though I didn't feel that way. Addicted to what?!

"He gambles — like a lot — that's why he's never around," he explained, probably to ease my bulging eyes — the only emotion I must've expressed. "He still has a job and works to pay the bills, that's why I've always just sort of pushed it aside, even though I know I shouldn't."

"Every single time he calls me late at night, it was because he'd lost so much money he couldn't even call a cab to get home," he continued, his voice was strained and I felt a slight clench in my heart.

"Have you ever talked with him about it? Maybe he'd stop or..." I trailed off, sounding helpless.

I hadn't realized how privileged I'd been until now. Even after my dad died, my mom still had me and was an amazing mom, Aunt Claire was a great guardian, and none of my friends had ever had any family issues back in Canada.

"I've tried many times as a kid, each time he'd say he would stop but he never would, so eventually I just gave up," he answered, running a hand over his damp hair. "What happened today wasn't the first time. It happened once before a couple years ago, when I was at soccer practice, those men were demanding their money back that my dad borrowed."

That's why he told me to go to his room. He knew all along who it was outside.

I sat silently when the puzzle pieces began to click in my head and I gulped. "Is... is that why your mom left? Because of your dad?" I cringed at how harsh it came out.

Aden tilted his head in a rigid nod, his eyes still avoiding mine, "Back then, he was worse. He would get drunk and then go to the casinos, and then get blackout drunk. He'd lose everything and one day he freaked, that's how I got this." He motioned to his left cheek, where a faint scar was prominent.

A sinking feeling resonated in my stomach as I stared at it.

"My mom, she just left one day. She met someone new," he avoided my eyes, his shoulder tense and his muscles hard. "My dad tried to get his shit together. He stopped drinking and got a job, but she wouldn't even come back for me." He rubbed his hands over his face roughly, gritting his teeth.

"Aden, I'm so sorry," I found myself saying, even though I knew it was the last thing he wanted to hear. I wrapped my arms over him, using a hand to push his head onto my shoulder.

"She has a new family now. She contacted my dad a few years ago, and she has a daughter," he sounded bitter, though I couldn't see his face. "I'll never understand how she could do this to me."

That was when I noticed the couple of droplets that landed on my shoulder, and I found myself wrapping my arms around him even tighter. As if that could take away the betrayal he was feeling.

"He has a steady job now, but at night he still..." Aden's voice broke.

I ran my hand along his back gently, just as he'd done for me at my lowest point. The sad thing was, I knew how Aden felt. Though there were drastic differences in our situations, the outcome was the same for both of us: going on with life without our mom. Except, I knew that I was luckier in some ways; my mom didn't choose to leave me. He was much younger than I was when his mom left, and he grew up without her. That was enough for me to know that he was ten times braver than I would ever be. He was brave and strong enough to tell me about it.

We stayed that way for a few minutes, until Aden sniffed, pulling himself away from me. Though his eyes were dry, the edges and rims were red. Perhaps he was holding it in, or maybe it'd been so long that he just felt numb.

"How come didn't you tell me about this earlier?" I asked, peering up at him.

"I... I just didn't want you to think differently of me," he finally answered with a sigh, his head hung low as he avoided my eyes. "I lo-really, really like you, and I didn't want you to think I was anything like my dad. And I didn't want you to feel bad for me, cause I've had enough of that from Ryan."

My heart ached from the fact that he could think that of me and himself. But at the same time, didn't I also feel that way about telling him about how my mom died? That he would take pity on me, and look at me like I was some wounded animal.

But not just that, it was the fact that he'd demanded that I hid in his room, or how he'd pulled me behind him in the kitchen when those men were there.

I shook my head, just as I realized that he wasn't looking at me. Instead, I placed my hands on his shoulders, turning him so he would meet my eyes.

"Aden, I don't think any less of you," I watched as his pupils dilated, pushing back the sea of brown and green in his irises. The bruise on his cheek had gotten slightly worse, but it gave him a rugged look that I didn't want to admit that I liked.

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, engulfing him in another hug whether he liked it or not. He placed his arms around my waist, nuzzling his face into my neck as I did the same on his chest. "You will never be alone, you have Ryan, Josh, Nate and Chris, and now have me too."

In that moment I realized that it was the same for me too. I had Aunt Claire, Josie, Esther, Paige and now Aden. All that time I had them, I just refused to confide with them like Doctor Miranda suggested. I couldn't believe how long it took me to figure that out.

Aden pressed a lingering kiss on my forehead, and just like every time before, I melted into the kiss. His hands moved to my waist and I immediately flinched, gritting my teeth as I shied away from him.

He let go of me, eyebrows knitted together in concern, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, way too quickly.

"That was not nothing. You were in pain," he persisted as he grabbed the hem of my shirt. I turned, trying to squirm out of his hold but I was too late. He hiked my shirt up a few inches, just enough to reveal my stomach.

If it weren't for the circumstances, I would've been flustered.

"What the hell?!" Aden scanned over the large bruise on my abdomen. It had gotten way worse than I thought it was. The bruise was large, at least five inches in shades of blue and purple. It was a disgusting sight that I almost cringed at. "That guy did that to you didn't he? What did he do?"

"He grabbed me and threw me onto your bed, I hit the bedpost," I looked down at my hands in my lap, sighing. "It's not a big deal I swear. I didn't know that it looked this bad, and I just didn't want you to worry."

"It is a big deal," Aden snapped, irritated. But his angry expression morphed into a broken one, his tense shoulders drooping. "He did that to you because of me," he added quietly.

No, because of your dad actually.

"No, it's not your fault," Was what I said instead. "You couldn't have done anything anyways."

Aden stayed awfully quiet when he got up from the couch. I watched as he grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, and handed it to me.

"Put it over the bruise," he instructed and I did as he told me to, feeling instant relief from the cool ice pack. "I'm so sorry, I tried to keep you safe," his voice was barely audible, his face contorted with guilt.

"But you did, I'm fine," I insisted.

Before I could interject again and repeat the fact that this had nothing to do with him, his phone rang in his pocket. He took one look at the caller ID, and with a heavy sigh he answered the call.

"That's great dad," he exhaled heavily through his nose, and I could tell he was trying hard not to lash out. I heard a muffled voice over the line and Aden rolled his eyes. "I really don't care what you do, just pay what you owe next time." The voice on the other end sounded apologetic as Aden hung up.

"That was my dad. He's about to pay off those guys that busted in here," Aden explained, running a hand through his hair, ruffling it up so that a few strands stuck out in a mess.

"That's a good thing."

"Yeah but he couldn't have done that an hour ago?" his voice raised in irritation, rolling his eyes. "He's such an asshole."

My phone buzzed in my own pocket and I took it out to see a text from Aunt Claire saying that she wouldn't be back home until past midnight. I frowned to myself, after what had just happened, I wasn't sure I could shut my brain off. Laying in bed for hours on end alone was not appealing whatsoever. It would take me back to two months ago right after my mom's death.

I looked up at Aden, "Can I stay the night?"

He nodded, looking quite relieved himself. "Yeah, hang tight, I'll get you something to change into," he told me as he disappeared into his room, me following close behind.

"I'll be right outside," he grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and a sweatshirt, tossing them to me. I shut the door behind him, quickly throwing on the clothes. His clothes were way too big — no surprise there. His sweatshirt dragged down to my mid thighs, and his basketball shorts way too loose on the waist, but I made do with the drawstrings as best as I could.

I entered the living room again, and Aden's face lit up in amusement as he eyed my clothes. It's not my fault you're fat. I thought to myself as I sat down next to him.

"Don't laugh at me. Your clothes are too big," I felt me cheeks heat up.

"They look better on you than me," he smiled at my warm cheeks. "TV?" he asked me, thankfully directing the attention elsewhere other than my clothes.

I nodded, "Yeah definitely."

He turned it on, lowering the volume before he pulled me on top of him, draping a blanket over us. I rested my head on his chest as I watched the cheesy soap opera play out in front of me, every so often trying not to cringe at the acting. No words were needed between us.

He ran a hand through my hair, every now and then planting a soft kiss onto to the top of my head.

Despite all that happened today with those men, I still managed to feel secure in Aden's arms.

An hour later I could tell from Aden's steady breathing beneath me, I knew he'd fallen asleep. The faint noises from the television slowly lulled me to sleep along with the comfort of Aden as I breathed in his scent. My eyes drooped as I listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Just as I was about to drift off, Aden's voice pierced through my serene mind.

"Pineapple does belong on pizza by the way."

___________________

The loud ringtone from Aden's phone penetrated through my dreamless sleep. I forced open my crusty eyes, my lips twitching up when I noticed Aden under me on the couch. His eyebrows were pressed together as he huffed at the noise. Groaning, I brought my hands to my eyes in a pathetic attempt to rub the sleep away.

Aden sat us up, running a hand through his tousled hair as he fished out his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants.

"Who the hell calls at three in the morning?" he grumbled before his eyes met mine. His lips stretched out into a grin. "Well, besides you of course."

"Hey, you said it was fine," I avoided his eye contact, feeling my cheeks heat.

"I'm only kidding, Clumsy," he chuckled, sliding his thumb over the screen on his phone. His smile immediately faded when he brought it to his ear. A sinking feeling arose in my stomach.

I strained my own ears, desperately trying to make out what the person on the other line was saying, but I could only make out a bunch of muffled mumbles.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know," Aden's voice was hard, as was his expression. An uncomfortable knot twisted in my stomach as he hung up. He shot up abruptly from the couch without another word, leaving it empty and colder without him on it with me.

"Wait! Aden what's wrong?" I stood up with him as he began stalking towards his bedroom.

"Nothing, I'm going to take you home," his tone was nonchalant, and his eyes never met mine, staring straight ahead as he turned into his room. It was still pitch black within his room, his opened window illuminated the room ever so slightly so I could make out the dark figures of his dresser and his bed.

I grabbed ahold of his wrist before tugging hard, spinning him around to face me. "Aden, what is happening."

His eyes softened when at last, he looked at me for a split second, just before his gaze diverted to the floor again.

"Aden," I reached up, placing a hand behind his neck, tilting his head down towards me. His eyes met mine and I was shocked to see them glistening more than usual, reflecting the moonlight from outside his window. His face was contorted into a pained expression that had my heart clenching. "I'm not going to judge, or think of you any differently. Just tell me, what's wrong?" my voice was firm and unwavering.

His eyebrows knitted together as he let out a heavy sigh, clenching his eyes shut. "My dad, he's in the hospital."

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Hey all! Hope you liked this chapter! Do vote, comment and share if you did!

So, what do you all think of Aden's dad, and will he be okay?! Was gambling at all what you expected?

And also, this meme is me after I learned the proper punctuation around a character's dialogue.

~SweetnessInTheSalt