out of the woods x hotchniss

eight

the fact that we're almost halfway with both of my books is absolutely insane to me. it feels like i've been back writing for 10 minutes😭

happy readings and stay safe besties! -salem🤍

TW: heavy amounts of swearing, fighting, betrayal
word count: 3765

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Aaron: "When no one you know tells the truth, you learn to see under the surface." Cassandra Clare.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Aaron woke up with a jolt as he heard the rather loud tapping of the glass.

"Hey, you owe me twenty bucks, kid," an older man in the front seat said. Aaron furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around the car that he was in. It was a taxi that smelled like a combination of urine and cheap perfume. "Well? Are you going to pay me or what?"

Aaron patted his body down for his wallet and grabbed a twenty before handing it to the man up front. The younger man was still very confused as he stepped out of the taxi. He turned back and looked at the man.

"Any chance you can tell me where I came from?" Aaron asked as he hunched over and squinted his eyes. The sun was too bright for his sensitive eyes at the moment.

"A blonde young lady threw you in here. Lived in Georgetown," he said and nodded his head as he tried to remember the exact address that he was picked up from. Aaron sighed softly as he shut his eyes. He knew exactly who he was talking about.

Haley Fucking Brooke.

"Thanks," Aaron said as he shut the door and made his way into his apartment building. The young man stumbled his way up to his apartment as best as he could. He was regretting accepting all those free pity drinks from the bar right about now. Especially since he couldn't remember why he was at Haley's apartment.

Aaron shook off his jacket and tossed his shoes anywhere before he started to undress himself. The young man made his way to the kitchen, grabbing himself a glass of water. It was like he was lost in the desert for days without water, he was that dehydrated.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"God," Aaron mumbled as he placed his hand against his ear to drown out the loud ringing. It went on for a couple of seconds longer before finally stopping. He leaned back against the counter ready to listen to the voicemail he'd most likely receive.

"This voicemail box is now full. Please try again later."

Oh, this couldn't be good.

Aaron immediately made his way over to the phone and checked the machine.

"Hey, it's Emily again. God, this is like the fiftieth time I'm calling you and you aren't answering. I just need to make sure you're okay. Please call me back."

"Hey, where are you? I'm starting to get really worried. I hope you didn't take what my mother said to heart. She's just a bitch, you know this."

"I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry that I froze and didn't say anything. But, honestly, what did you want me to say? Just please call me back so we can talk."

"Aaron I'm tired of this. Call me back, please. I'm really worried about you."

The young man buried his hands into his face as he heard Emily's voice ring out over, and over, and over again on the machine, emptying his voicemail box along the way. It was getting too much for him that he slowly sank himself onto the floor. He shut his eyes as he rocked himself back and forth. Aaron was starting to freak himself out.