He's Back

36 - Goldfish

"There you are! Oh, I'm so sorry, am I interrupting something?" We both pulled apart in a fraction of a second, slowly turning to face him. On his face was a smile that could only rival Ted Bundy's but his tone remained... cheerful. 

"Actually, yes. Yes, you are" Bryan spoke first, turning to look at Aiden, cold, hostile looks being exchanged between the both of them. "Oh, really? I'm so incredibly sorry, Bryan" Aiden spat out, irony lacing his words. "Yeah, you should be. You fucking should be, 'cause you've been trying to ruing this all night long." Bryan fought back, a little more aggravated than I expected. 

"Bryan" I put a hand on his forearm, trying to calm him down. It wasn't worth it to spend his energy on Aiden. "This? What's this? You trying to get into her pants, not getting the fucking hint that she's not into you?" Aiden scoffed, teasing him. 

"Aiden!" I spoke, now getting aggravated as well. Even if what he was saying was partially true, he was not in the place to be talking like that. "You're right. You're right, she's not into me. She's into a piece of shit that doesn't appreciate her and acts like a fucking immature middle schooler, 'cause he can't get his head out of his ass" Bryan spoke, taking a step towards Aiden, making me start to panic. Things were escalating and the last thing I would want was for them to start fighting. I knew for a fact someone, if not the both of them would get hurt, and I wouldn't be able to stop them. 

Aiden scoffed, taking a step closer to Bryan. "Who even are you to be talking about me like that. You don't know shit about my relationship with her, so why don't you shut your fucking mouth before I knock your fucking teeth out, huh?" Aiden threatened. I ran to where they were standing, trying to get between them when I saw Bryan shove him back. Before I got the chance to stop them, Aiden had grabbed Bryan by the collar and had thrown him against his car. 

I desperately grabbed onto his shirt, trying to stop the punch that was about to land on Bryan's face. "Aiden! For Pete's sake, stop!" Aiden turned to look at me, reluctantly loosening his grip on Bryan. "Just go inside, I'll be there in a sec" I begged him and he left without another word. 

"Bryan, I'm so sorry, I literally don't know what to say. I'm so sorry, I had no idea he was going to act like this, I don't even know why he came here in the first place-"

"-Why are you letting this go on, Evelyn? I don't get it. Why did you tell him to go wait inside and didn't just tell him to piss the fuck off? He's- he's crazy, unhinged, and you'll go in there with him?" Bryan ignored my apologies to comment on Aiden's behavior. 

I opened my mouth to speak but he started again. "Like is it even safe for you to go back in there with him? What if he-"

"-You don't know him, so please don't make these assumptions about him. I know what it looks like, but he would never touch me like that" I cut him off, a small part of me couldn't believe I was defending him, but I couldn't stand to imagine Aiden getting violent with me. 

"You really like him, don't you? You get all that shit from him, but you're still defending him. " Bryan said, he himself not seeming to have processed what he was saying. "As you said earlier, it's complicated. That's the best answer I can give you right now" I told him, wanting this conversation to end. 

But yet again, I wasn't sure how much I wanted it to end, considering that if it ended, it meant I had to go inside and face Aiden, something I really wasn't looking forward to. "I think it's best if you left, and I'll call you tomorrow" I told him, looking at my shoes awkwardly. "Please do. And if something happens, anything, call me" he said and I nodded. 

We said our goodbyes and quickly he got in the car and left the street. I walked back to my house, footsteps heavy as I knew what was about to go down. I took a deep breath to calm myself, reminding myself that I need to be as strong as possible to do this. I might not feel very confident right now, but I sure need to look it.