Bloodline [h.s.]

thirty-two.

"I don't feel it till it hurts sometimes
So go on baby hurt me tonight"

* * *

BRIDGET GALLAGHER

Aiden flinched. He literally flinched away from me. He couldn't get away fast enough. I let him have his space and cleaned up the mess in the foyer until I heard what sounded like earthquake from only his room.

After my knocks were met with no answer, I walked through the unlocked door. His nightstand was knocked over on its side. My feet followed the sound of running water in the bathroom. The shower, bath, and the sink were all on as if he was trying to cover something up. Shards of something broken poked at my soles as I stepped onto the cold marble floor of the bathroom. In front of me was a shattered mirror. I shut of the sink and shower. The stop of the water cleared my ears of the noise, pulling my attention to Aiden, who was sat on the edge of the bathtub.

His temple still bled from earlier. He probably needed his injuries checked out by a doctor, but I knew he wouldn't agree to that. A fresh line of cherry on his already bruised knuckles confirmed he had punched the mirror.

"Why did you... what happened?" I asked.

"I need you to go. I need a minute." He said through his teeth as he suppressed the chemical reaction threatening to combust at any moment.

"I'm not leaving you alone like this." I replied softly.

Tiptoeing around the debris of his outburst, I stepped closer to him and reached for his hand. I could continue to be angry at him later.

"Then, I'll leave." He snatched his hand away. He stood up to leave the bathroom, but I stepped in front of him.

"Just talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

"Why? You aren't my girlfriend, right now. You shouldn't want anything to do with me. I did terrible things to you and your family." He seethed looking down at me with a dark demeanour.

"Why?! Because I... because I care about you! That doesn't go away because I'm mad or hurt." I snapped.

Fidgeting of his fingers gave away his forced anger as he loomed over me, "I swear to god, Bee, if you don't leave—"

"You will what? Glare at me to death? I'm not afraid of you." I scoffed.

This wasn't entirely true. Seeing him nearly beat Kai halfway to death scared me to the core. The cracking of his fist breaking his nose made me sick. However, I wasn't afraid of him hurting me. I was afraid of the violence and what else he was capable of that I had yet to see.

I walked passed him to sit on the bed. He was trying so hard to push me away. I probably should have let him. He wanted to scare me into leaving him alone, but no matter how angry he got, I knew he wouldn't hurt me. After witnessing Kai in action today, it was clear how much he didn't allow him to feel all this time. He's been swallowing every emotion he's experienced since they met. Now, it was bursting through the seams he had sewn so tightly for much too long. I wasn't going to leave him to deal with all of this alone when it was so clear he didn't know how to handle it.

"Bridget—" he stopped. His face fell pale as he retreated to the bathroom.

Heaving for air with the force of someone vomiting on their hands and knees, his trembling hands frantically gripped his own neck before punching the mirror again, shattering an unbroken area. He clawed at his throat again desperately gasping for the oxygen that his brain didn't believe was there.