The Silence | ✔️

19. S

Good morning babe. Sorry. Won't be home until Tuesday. Busy as up here.

I dropped my phone and exhaled a sigh of relief.

Aiden had one of his staff drop it off after it was found in his apartment stairwell last night. It was still working but the screen was cracked. I stared over at the iPhone X box that had come with the delivery. I wasn't even sure where he would have found one of those so late at night. But I smiled and figured that I might as well use it.

I was grateful for the extended weekend that I would have free from walking on eggshells. But it also gave me a chance to think about what I wanted to do. What I wanted was Aiden. But it wasn't that simple. Aiden could take Desmond out of the equation and I was hoping that I'd become accustomed to that idea. But it made my stomach churn to essentially put a hit on someone.

Maddie's couch wasn't that comfortable to sleep on. But I didn't have to spend the night alone in my apartment. As it was, I'd had a restless night. Bad dreams and images of things that I couldn't quite remember now that I was awake. But it still kept me tossing and turning with fear. It had been a long time since a nightmare had left me unsettled in the morning. I often welcomed any kind of oblivion that wasn't my reality.

I laid there for perhaps an hour. My mind resembling something of a mess while I stared at the ceiling. As sick as it was, I thought about the murdered man and tried to contort his visual into something more evil.

The last memory I had of him was his panic stricken expression. Unable to call out for help, terrified for his life. But he raped little girls. There were children out there who had lost their innocence. They would never be able to forget going through that abuse. It would haunt them for the rest of their lives. It was something that you could never truly heal from. And suddenly, I was glad that he was rotting in hell.

Footsteps padded on the carpeted floor and it was soon followed by the sound of Maddie's morning voice. "You awake, Ari?"

I sat up and peered over the back of the couch where she was standing beside the kitchen threshold, tying her dressing robe up. "I'm up," I smiled and smoothed down my disheveled hair.

"Waffles or hash browns and breakfast sausages?"

I stood up and stretched out the aches that came with an uncomfortable sleep. "Uh," I knew that I needed to eat. I felt hungry. But I couldn't imagine trying to stomach food. I was still suffering from a twisted gut. "You choose."

Maddie grinned. "Both it is!"

I folded the blankets that I'd used last night and followed her into the kitchen where she was shuffling around in the fridge, throwing ingredients on to the countertop. "I might start with a coffee," I said through a yawn and wandered towards her kettle. "If that's okay?"

"My castle is your castle," she smiled and handed me the milk. "But this isn't a castle. It's a shit hole."

I laughed and shook my head as I started making a couple of drinks. "I like your place. It's cosy."

"Cosy is code for 'this could be mistaken for a closet'."

"No I mean it," I said, peering over at where she was pouring flour into a bowl. "It's cute! And besides, big flash apartments don't always equal comfort."

The room fell quiet as I stared at the coffee and stirred it with a spoon. I wanted to tell Maddie the truth. She'd been such an incredible friend. I wanted her to know that I trusted her with everything that I had. I turned around with a thumping heart and opened my mouth, only to find that she was watching me with a sad gaze.