Told you chapter 4 will be out very very soon! Here's some cheesy, fluffy goodness for y'all, you deserve it.
Enjoy!
-Blink
Before I knew it, it was already morning. I let my imagination wander off all night, having fake arguments with Tannen, Jordi, Aiden… and my dad. I don't remember if I slept, and I can't recall even waking up. I walked out of Jordi's apartment and went to the park. I sat down on a bench and probably dazed off again. There were families out having picnics, or walking their dogs. Guess people are taking advantage of the perfect fall weather before it gets too cold and starts to snow. Seeing people play catch brought me back to some very fond memories. They hurt now, because I know it'll never be the same, but precious moments are so great because they have an ending.
~~~
4 years ago, I was in the same spot. In the park. Watching people do their family things. It was more populated because it was summer time. It was a year after my dad died so I picked up some hobbies like drawing. Nothing in particular, sometimes I would just scribble things until I figured out what I wanted to draw. Sometimes, I would just sketch what I see. Sometimes the same tree. It was therapeutic and I got pretty good at it. I took a break to look over to a family. A woman and a little girl were setting up a picnic and a guy and a small kid playing catch. I smiled at how happy they seemed. I never had that kind of family, and one day I hoped I would.
I saw more and more families reminding me how alone I was. I remember that feeling so vividly. I started drawing again, forcing my mind to focus on something else. After some time, I got thrown out of my trance when a baseball hit my sketchbook and knocked it out of my hands. It took a bit to process what happened. I stood up to pick up the baseball and looked around to see who was missing it. I recognized the boy from earlier running up to me with his catcher's mitt. That was when I first met Jackson.
"Lost something?" I asked smiling, handing the ball over to him.
"I'm so sorry! My uncle can't throw," He said, and I saw his uncle walking his way up to us. I went over to pick up my sketchbook, but he grabbed it before me and handed it to me. I smiled at his politeness. That's the number one thing I appreciated Jackson for, how polite he was… "Whoa is that Spider-man?!" …and his love for Spider-man.
I looked at my drawing. Dropping the sketchbook must have turned the pages. My favorite things to draw were people – namely super heroes. In the weird point of my life that I was in, I needed to draw superheroes… His uncle finally reached us.
"Uncle Aiden, look, it's Spider-man!" Jackson cheered.
Aiden smiled at me. I remember that first look so well. He had a navy ball cap on somewhat hiding his face, but I could still see how green his eyes were. They drew me in. "I see that! Jackson, did you apologize to her?"
Jackson crossed his arms, "It wasn't my fault!"
I laughed, "Oh, it's okay. But yes he apologized for his uncle's inability to throw," I smirked over to Aiden. He smiled back.
"Can I do anything to make it up to you?" He asked,
I wasn't sure if he was flirting or being nice, but I felt nervous. I made it a point to discretely look at his hand to see if he was married. No ring! "Nah, no harm done, but next time, you may not get off so easy,"
"What's the fee for next time?" He asked,
Oh he's good, "Well I am running out of room…" I said flipping through my sketchbook, "So probably a new one of these,"
"Well that doesn't sound so bad,"
"Mom's calling us back," Jackson said, interrupting what Aiden was about to continue with. I don't want to say Jackson ruined the moment, but there was definitely a lot more room for chit-chat.
We all looked over to see Nicky wave over to the boys, "Yeahhh guess she is. Well, miss, I'm sorry again for inconveniencing you," Aiden said. He and Jackson were walking away, but Aiden still held my gaze for a moment longer,
"Wait!" I called out. I ripped out the Spider-man drawing out of my sketchbook and handed it to Jackson, "You can hang on to that,"
His face lit up, "Whoa! Thanks!" He said holding it up.
"You're welcome," I smiled back at him.
"You sure?" Aiden asked.
"Of course," I laughed, "What other things you like? Maybe I'll have one ready to go just in case we catch each other again," I really hoped that didn't sound too weird.
"You like Star Wars don't you?" Aiden piped up.
"Yeah! I've seen all the movies," Jackson cheered
I made eye contact with Aiden, "Don't worry, he likes the originals more," He said. We laughed.
"Well, good, I'll have a Star Wars drawing ready to go. Just in case," I smiled.
"Jackson! Aiden!" Nicky hollered. I eventually grew to like her, but at that moment, I wanted her to shut up.
"Thanks, again. See ya around," Aiden said and walked off with Jackson. I sat back down and drew for a bit longer. I didn't want to seem desperate, so I left shortly after. I was sure I would see them again soon.
"Hey!" Someone hollered and brought me back to reality. I looked over and saw a guy yelling at his dog barking. I sighed and just watched the scene happen in front of me. What else was I going to do?
"You know, I threw the ball at you on purpose," I looked over to the other side of me and saw Aiden standing there. He didn't smile, but I saw kindness in his eyes anyway.
I didn't know what to say for the longest time. It meant a lot to me that he still remembers how he forced himself into my life, "I know. Just like a boy in kindergarten,"
"I'm sorry about last night. It's been… rough…without her," He said in his usual low voice that I loved so much. I mean… that I felt indifferent towards..
"You don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have said anything. I have a knack for pissing you off," I looked away.
He stepped right in front of me, and lifted my chin up to make me look at him, "I don't hate you, Ripley. Stop thinking I do,"
I lightly grabbed his hand and pushed it away from my chin, "Okay," I responded and tried not to look away again, but I did. I couldn't help it. I felt so nervous around him.
"Let me help you get your stuff from your apartment. Since you're going to be at Jordi's for a while," Aiden changed the subject.
"Did Jordi ask you to do this. Don't worry about it, I don't have that much stuff,"
"He didn't ask. I want to. Plus, I need to make up for being an ass," He smirked.
Even if I didn't have that much other than clothes, I did miss my neighbors. I don't want them to worry about me, but I hoped that they thought of me while I was gone, "I accept" I smiled and stood up.
"Do you need help walking?" He held his hand out getting ready in case I fell over.
"No, just bare with my slow walking," I laughed.
We walked to his car and we drove off to my apartment several blocks away. It was on the outer side of the city and Jordi lived pretty much right in it. I'm not one to be impressed with people's cars or clothes or apartment, but his car made me especially attracted to him… "Did Jordi find anything out for you yet?" He asked making me feel awkward about what I was just thinking about.
"Oh, uhhh. Yeah. This guy used to be someone that worked for someone else that my dad screwed over… except he's using someone else's identity that has been dead for 10 years. So he's trying to get info that my dad took through me, but I don't have any of it or know why he wants it. That's all I really know, I guess."
"We'll find him," Was all he said.
We pulled up to my complex and walked out. I stepped through the gate expecting to see people outside as usual, but no one. I walked up my stairs, Aiden walking behind me, and noticed that my door was open. I stopped and pointed to it. Aiden noticed and pulled out his gun. He pulled me behind him and he headed inside the door. I crept up behind him and walked inside, but stayed by my front door as he checked the bathroom and my room. My apartment… was trashed. Things were knocked over, kitchen was torn apart, and clothes were thrown around. I frowned.
He walked back out from my room, "Clear," He said looking around.
I noticed him looking around the mess, "Excuse the mess," I said sarcastically.
"Guy really wants something, huh?" He typed something into his phone and showed it to me (Careful what you say. Ears everywhere)
I nodded, "Won't find it anywhere by me. Sucks for him. And me. Now I have to clean all this up…" I said, but I started packing things I needed into my backpack.
Aiden was snooping around my stuff and saw a drawer open with a set of picture frames faced down. It was the accordion style set of frames. I just turned my back pretending I wasn't looking. The first picture had my dad and I when I was 18. It was the most recent picture I had of him and it was almost 10 years old. The second picture of course had Lena and Jackson holding up drawings that they did – they used to love drawing with me. The third picture was just Aiden and I. We were looking at each other laughing at something someone said. Nicky sneaked the picture. She thought it was adorable and had it printed out for me. I have to admit, it was a disgustingly cute picture. The fourth picture was a selfie that I took of us, me wearing that stupid navy hat he wore when I first met him, and he had hat hair. I haven't looked at those pictures in a while. They stayed in that drawer for over a year. But I remember exactly what they were.
With my back still turned, "Alright I guess I'm all packed up here," I turned to look to see if he put the pictures away, but he was already walking toward the door. I walked out with him and saw someone in the courtyard, "Winston!" I called out.
He noticed me and frowned, "Now you're just packing up and heading out, huh?" He asked accusingly.
"What? No, I was going to see where Loretta was so I could pay off the rest of my lease," I said.
"That's not funny," He glared at me and tried to get in my face, but Aiden stopped him, "Get your hands off me!" Winston yelled.
"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.
"Your fucking problem became our problem, clearly!" He yelled, "Your boys were looking for you. We said we didn't know and haven't seen you in days, so they took it out on us,"
"Winston, I have no idea what you're talking about. What did they do? Is everyone okay?" I asked concern.
"They shot Loretta! She was trying to protect you and keep them away, and they shot her," He yelled. My eyes widened and my arms fell down at my sides.
"Winston… I-"
"Know what's worse? Look behind you," He called out, tears in his eyes.
I looked behind me. What I saw made me throw my hands up to cover my mouth. Gerald was sitting there on a porch with a bloody bandage over his eye.
"They were threatening Gerald and Loretta still had your back! They stabbed him, and we can't even afford to get him to the hospital. You've killed us!" He yelled.
I walked over to Gerald and stood in front of him starting to cry, "I'm so sorry…" was all I could whisper. He stood up and still hugged my legs. I lost it after that. I dug in my backpack and just threw money on the ground and began to storm out of the complex, covering my face. Aiden was always behind me.
Winston picked up the money and threw it back at me. "Is that what this was for? This money? We don't want your dirty money, you bitch! Never show your face again!"
Aiden was about to go do something about the name-calling, but I just pulled him arm, "Don't." I whispered, my head still down. I cried on my way to the car and when we got to it, I just leaned on the car. I'm sure my outburst sounded dramatic, but I don't care who was standing around, judging. They don't get it. "Aiden, that is what Tannen is capable of. They can break into my home, stab me all they want, but they're not just stopping there. They're going after people who know me. Gerald is an orphan now because of me, maybe without an eye! Loretta was the sweetest woman I have ever met and she's gone. Oh my god…" I could hardly even form words, I was crying so hard.
Aiden pulled me into his arms, trying to make me feel better. He ran his hands through my hair, and as much as I loved/missed that feeling, I couldn't get my mind off of what I just learned. He put his mouth close to my ear, "We need to get out of here," He whispered, "You're not safe out in public and neither are they,"
I pulled myself away from him and rubbed my face. His hand was still slightly on my shoulder, "Okay, let's go," I said and got into the car. We drove off to Jordi's apartment, but Aiden took several roads out of the way just in case someone was watching. I lowered my head on my knees and tried to stop myself from crying. I felt Aiden's hand rubbing my back briefly before focusing more on the road.
Time felt like it was going by slowly, forcing me to take in every detail I saw over and over. Gerald's face… Horrible. I will pay them back for what they did to him. Aiden stopped the car and we got out. He grabbed my backpack for me, and we made our way upstairs to Jordi's apartment. He wasn't home so it was just us. I walked over to the window and let out a sigh. I finally stopped crying, but I was still emotional and my face was red and puffy. I could see my own reflection and I really didn't want Aiden to see my face. Aiden set my bag down on the couch and walked up behind me, but kept his distance.
"I know what you're thinking," I began, "You feel bad because you took me there to experience that. I feel horrible that it happened, but I'm glad that I know what kind of fucking assholes we're dealing with," I tried not to punch the window. He didn't say anything. I didn't want to wait for a response – not like I needed one. I walked to the bathroom to wash my face. I could see my puffy face even more clearly now. I felt bad that I was leaving Aiden out there alone. I was half expecting him to be gone when I walked back out, but even after 10 minutes, he was still there, sitting around on the couch, messing on his phone.
I walked over to him, "Did you want tequila or anything?" I asked quietly. Hard to believe it was still the afternoon. He stood up and walked to the kitchen with me. I reached up to grab a bottle from the cupboard but he reached over me to close the door. I turned around to stand face to face to him. My face turned red. Wonder if he could tell. It was already red from crying.
"Don't let this break you," He said quietly.
I looked into his eyes and glanced over to his lips and immediately looked away, knowing he noticed, "I'm trying," He rubbed my arm lightly, with a small smile. "You know, Aiden, It's kind of weird seeing you so often lately. I'm not used to it," I smirked.
He chuckled, "Sorry to bother you,"
"You're not bothering me. But I already accepted never seeing you again. Then I accepted that I'd possibly only see you once a year. And now you're everywhere. I miss you," I frowned.
"Ripley," He called. I looked up and he cupped his hand over the side of my face, rubbing his thumb over my cheek.
"Oh god, not this again," We both separated after hearing Jordi's voice out of nowhere.
"Hey, Jordi, didn't see ya walk in," I said looking at neither him or Aiden, but at the ground, "We were just –"
"That guy harassed her neighbors to try to get to her," Aiden interrupted me. Thank goodness.
"Why am I not surprised? This guy is sloppy. He's left his traced several times today and I know where we can find him," Jordi explained.
I was ecstatic, "Finally! Are we going after him?" I asked,
"No, you're hiding in here until your leg is fully healed. I'll get him," Jordi commanded.
"That's not fair! I want to go with you," I said.
"Well then we're waiting until your leg fully heals anyway, so do you want to wait?" Jordi seemed annoyed again,
I sighed, "Who knows who he'd get to until then…"
"Do you know anyone else who he could threaten?" Aiden asked.
"No, I guess not. Thanks for reminding me I don't have friends" I said faking offense.
"So then that's settled? We'll wait and tackle him together?" Jordi offered.
"Fine. But can we make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else in the meantime?" I asked.
"It'll be fine. We'll make his life hell until then. And you," Jordi pointed to Aiden, "Don't get comfortable here."
Aiden smirked and let out a chuckle. My face turned red. He pulled out something from his coat and set it on the counter next to me on his way out, "You know where to reach me," He said and walked out. I looked to my right to see the picture frames from my apartment. I picked it up and smiled looking at the pictures of him and I.
"Ugghh I thought that was done. You two are so cheesy," Jordi feigned disgust and walked to the couch and sat down
"I know," I smiled resting my forehead on the frames, just so I could hide how wide my smile was. I probably could've cried if Jordi weren't around to judge me.
D'aww.
