Where She Belongs

Happy New Year

It's strange how your life can change so much, yet not really change at all. Once home I did boring, normal things; laundry, order pizza, watch TV. Aiden did things I wouldn't like clean out the fridge and then go grocery shopping to restock it. On the drive back, we decided he would stay until the new year and then he'd be going to pack up his things to make our arrangement a little more permanent. The logical part of my brain was telling me it was too much too soon, but it wasn't like a normal relationship. Most of our kind skip the long term dating plan, there is no high expectations of a fancy dinner after a certain amount of time to get a diamond ring. Never expecting I'd actually find my person, this part was still a bit of a shock.

"So this is what you do with your time?" Aiden sits beside me as I open the freshly delivered pizza box.

"Pretty much. Hannah might drag me out occasionally, or I go into work, but mostly I do stuff from home. It's just been me since I came here, and I know they're pretty much all humans around here, but after the attack I just kind of stopped doing anything. It took me ages to recover and I just fell into this routine." I shrug.

"You can't hide forever."

"Pretty sure I can." I start to eat and offer him some, which was a mistake as he eats more and faster than I do.

"I can cook you know, much better than this stuff." He finally says.

"Guess you really lucked out with me then. I don't cook. I don't clean, there's a lady who comes in and does that once a week though. I don't sort my darks from my lights either so be prepared for a few pink t-shirts if I'm doing the washing."

This makes him laugh. "I'll remember that."

We settle in easier than I expected us to, even after he forced me to go for a walk at sunset with him. I only agreed after he promised it was just a walk and not some attempt at making me run as he had an odd obsession with doing, and it had stopped raining. Apparently fresh air was good for you, so I gave it a go. I also never expected to be one of those people who walk close together, holding hands and something told me, he didn't either.

The next day I had an email to go into work and also a few messages from Hannah begging me to go to her New Years Eve party. She was determined that we go, not accepting no for an answer. Considering how the last party I went to with her ended, I was pretty sure she'd have to deal with it. Then again David hadn't been around for any of his friendly chats yet - if he would even come back I wasn't sure. Aiden's presence was probably keeping him away too, but it wasn't as though I wanted to see him anyway.

Did he know I knew?

It was nearly ten when I went into the meeting, much too early for my liking but considering this job paid my bills it wasn't as though this was an invitation I could refuse.

"Well that was pointless." Hannah complained as we met up afterwards. "So, how was your christmas?"

"Oh great. Family. Food. Presents. What more could you want?"

"More details than that. So you and Aiden are, good?"

"We are very good." I can't help but smile at that and not sharing the reality of how my christmas was, I kept up a tiny lie. "It was a very merry christmas."

"So you two are coming tomorrow night?"

"I don't know-"

"Please! Gwen said she was going to come too before she went back home." She added.

"She did?" She hadn't told me about that.

"Yeah. Really, you need to keep up on our group chat." She laughs. "Come on, I'll shout you a coffee."