While making something to eat, Casey began to wonder how Aaron could ever be in her life again. After all she'd done to convince herself that it was his fault, here he was again, acting as though she'd broken their friendship.
"So how are your dad and mine such good friends?" she asked, making sure that she was a foot away from Aaron at all times, although it was difficult considering that he was a physical person.
"After my mom and dad divorced, our dads suddenly had a lot in common," Aaron explained. Casey turned towards him in shock.
"Your parents go divorced?" she questioned. "When?" She seemed genuinely concerned about this matter, which surprised Aaron. He didn't think that Casey had cared so much about his family.
"Just a few months after you moved," he explained. He watched her face fall, again taken aback at how much Casey really had changed. He'd changed her, taken away her innocence. Of course, Aaron wasn't thinking of himself, more of Max, the boy who'd torn Casey's heart out.
"Any particular reason?" Casey inquired. For some reason, this struck a cord in Aaron, a cord that he'd promised himself he would touch.
"Does anyone have any particular reason for doing things?" he snapped. "What about the guy who killed himself?" Once the words had left his mouth, he regretted it completely. He watched Casey shrivel away where she stood, the glaze coming to cover her eyes. "Casey, I-"
"It was because of me," she stated blandly, as though the words were said without feeling.
"Casey, I told you it's not your fault," Aaron insisted, trying to bring his Casey back. His Casey? Now he was becoming possessive of her again, just like he'd been when they were younger. Casey didn't respond to this. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I just…I'm not exactly over the divorce, you know?" She nodded her head, still keeping her eyes to the ground. "Truth is, the whole divorce was over a stupid baby." Casey looked up at him.
"Baby?" He could almost hear Casey saying it, but she didn't. She didn't have to, her eyes said it all.
"Mom figured that in just a few years, I'd be off to college, and she wanted another baby. You know, being a stay-at-home-mom with no kid to wait for sort of defeats the purpose. So anyway, Mom wanted to have another, but Dad thought that I was plenty, and one college bill would set them back enough." Even though telling Casey this information wasn't exactly making him feel better, at least Casey was still looking at him.
"So it was all over that?" she questioned, her voice wavering. He smiled slightly, happy that she'd said something.
"Yep." Aaron let out a sigh. "Figures, though. Mom had nothing else she could do with her life but have kids, and she happened to be married to a man that said one is enough."
"Do you…Do you ever see her?" Casey asked hesitantly. By now, they'd make their way out to the living room with their food, sitting on opposite ends of the couch.
"Every once in a while." Aaron could feel the silence growing between them, and noticed Casey tensing up. "So what about you and your dad?" Casey's head shot up from her plate at the mention of her father. "How often did you see each other when you lived with the…" He'd already forgotten her mother's new last name.
"Venturis," she finished. "Only once or twice. You know, things were…hard for him." He watched Casey's eyes go back to her plate. "He was busy and couldn't get away. Work's always been really demanding for him, but he came out when he could."
"Casey, you don't need to convince me," Aaron assured her. "I know your dad loves you." He said this simply to make Casey feel a little bit better. It was obvious that she was trying to protect her perfect image of her father despite the fact that he hadn't, not couldn't have, been there for her. However, his attempts ended in Casey feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Geez, Case, you blush so easily." He was right, Casey's cheeks were bright pink, becoming redder when she'd found out that he noticed it. "Makes you miss the old times, right?" Her eyes turned cold to him. He knew she was thinking of that night, but he surprised her when she replied differently.
"Yeah," she stated, eyes on her barely eaten food. "Yeah, it does." However, Aaron didn't know that Casey had thought to that moment, she'd always think to that moment. But, today, she thought that maybe she'd be able to forget, maybe even forgive, what he'd done. He seemed to actually care about her, but she refused to let herself trust him, he'd done wrong, and he could never redeem himself.