Missed Calls From Love

21: Recovering From The Fall Is Hard

"I can't believe this shit," I muttered to myself as I tended to Aiden's wounds.

We were in his house at God knows what time, and I was still recovering from the shock. If it weren't for the cuts and bruises on Aiden's face, I wouldn't have been sure that what went down tonight really happened.

After I got Aiden to calm down, I drove him home. As for David, one of his teammates had to drive him to the hospital. His face was all bruised up and I'm pretty sure he needed some stitches. He was barely conscious when they took him out of the house.

I shook my head, and whispered "I'm so sorry." I continued to clean Aiden's wounds even though there wasn't much left to do.

Aiden smiled at me and gently grabbed my wrist. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'd take a punch for you any day."

I snorted, mainly to keep tears from falling out of my eyes. "Then you're a very stupid boy."

He looked at me solemnly. "You know what happened tonight wasn't your fault, right?"

I turned away from him. If only you knew the truth.

Sensing that I didn't believe him, he cupped my cheek with his palm and turned me so I faced him again. "I'm serious. How could you have possibly known that David was going to be at that party drunk out of his mind?"

I got a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Guilt. It can be a nasty thing.

I have to tell him the truth.

I took his hands off of my face. "I did know he was going to be at that party," I almost whispered.

"What?" His face twisted in confusion.

I looked down again. Sighing, I readied myself. He's going to hate me when I'm done.

"Okay, hear me out. When I said we could have our first date, it was 99.9% because I really really wanted to spend the night with you. However, .1% of the reason was because I was concerned about David. You see, ever since I broke up with him, he's been partying non stop and acting recklessly. I was scared that he was leading himself down a dark path. And just because we're not together doesn't mean I can't care, right? Anyway, I always planned on going to the party, just to check up on him. But I didn't want to go alone. I wanted to be with someone who made me feel safe and never fails to make me happy. I also wanted someone who was strong enough to take him home should he not be able to do it himself. I know I shouldn't have used you like that and I know you probably hate me right now but I truly am sorry. I really care about you and I don't want to lose you Aiden."

I took a deep breath, regaining my energy after such a long speech. I dared myself to look up.

His face was blank, and I couldn't read any emotion. I had no idea what was going on in his head. He stayed silent for a few minutes, and I watched him in anticipation of what he might say.

Finally, he exhaled. "So...you used me?" His face still hid all emotions.

"For the party. But the rest of the date was real, I swear. I would've never agreed to the date if I didn't really like you."

I was met with silence again.

"Well, none of that matters now. I would still take a punch for you any day my cupcake," he said, clenching his jaw. I still couldn't decipher how he was feeling, so I didn't really know how to process what was happening.

Suddenly, he got up and started to walk away. Before I knew it, I was up as well and chasing after him. I grabbed him by his shoulder to stop him, and urged him to turn around.