The Silence | ✔️

40. I

Over the next few days, Aiden did a lot of sleeping. We all spent a lot of time with him too. But it wasn't long before Imani returned to her usual self. Distant and indifferent. She was kind, sweet and brought a lot of supplies to the hospital. Coffee, sandwiches, the occasional muffin with either blueberries or chocolate chips. But there were no more hugs or hand holding and she came in once a day for a few hours instead of spending the entire night. That was what I did. Zoerina returned home, I assumed. She packed a few things for me and I hadn't left the hospital in three days.

Aiden and I talked. We avoided the big topics. Such as Hunapo. We did talk about Tammy and Ritz though. He apologised for keeping that truth from me. But I understood the motivation behind not wanting to tell me. When the nurses couldn't feed Aiden, I did. He couldn't sit up. It was too painful. So I had to spoon feed him his meals. Which I had no issue with. I cleaned him with hot cloths and soap. I shaved his face for him. I did whatever he needed.

Sometimes he would complain about being so useless. But I wouldn't hear him.

On the fourth day, I needed some more clean clothes. Maddie had offered to take them home and wash them. But I decided to go to the apartment and have a decent shower. Maddie was on shift when I left. It made me feel better to know that she was caring for him. Zoerina had informed us that Ritz had been caught. The police had contacted and said that he was found in the hospital in intensive care. She was questioned as a suspect for the sheer fact that she had motive. But Brian and Kyle provided her with an alibi, no questions asked. Plus there was a lack of evidence.

Aiden had a feeling that they probably wouldn't go too hard into the investigation and would write it off as a drug dispute.

When I walked into the apartment on Friday afternoon with a bag full of clothes and the two duffles that I'd had with me, one from the impromptu trip to Tampa and the other from Zoerina packing clothes for the hospital, I expected some sort of crime scene. Which was ridiculous because it had been almost a week since Aiden was shot. The kitchen wasn't bloodied how Imani had described. The floors were their usual glistening white. The countertop was clear of dishes. The living room sofa didn't have a cushion out of place.

Despite what had happened when I was here last, it still felt like coming home. A sense of ease washed over me. There was no discomfort or need to leave because I could no longer see myself living here. I had been concerned that perhaps I would feel off when I came back. But this is where I belonged. This was where Aiden lived. Like it had been at Mom and Dads, I could see him in every square inch of the apartment. But the difference was knowing that I could go to him and be with him and kiss him. That was the biggest relief of all.

When I walked into our bedroom, I saw Evin curled up on the bed. Her head lifted when I heaved my arm full of belongings onto the dresser and I quietly squealed as I jostled towards her. She watched me with confusion for a moment. Her small head tilted to the side and her ears lifted as she watched me sit beside her. But then she stood up and her excitement began to grow as she wagged her tail, sniffed, huffed and licked my face when I bundled her up.

"I missed you," I giggled as she turned in circles in my lap, loving the chin scratches and ear rubs. She was so sweet and adorable. I'd missed her more than I thought I could considering we'd had one afternoon to get to know each other. "Sorry I had to dash out cutie. But it won't happen again. I hope."

We spent a while having cuddles, pats and scratches but when she started to settle again, I popped her back onto the comforter and stood up. She had other plans though. She trotted around after me while I did the washing. Each time I picked a handful of clothes off the floor, she sat down and made a bed of what was left. She did that about three times until there were no clothes left. And while I was showering, she sat outside of the glass door and cleaned herself. It seemed that we washed together now too.