Dear Aiden - Aiden Gallagher fanfic

Chapter Four

Katrina's POV 

Aiden walked me home, holding my cold hand the entire time. He tried to make conversation, and I tried to too, but thanks to my social anxiety and my worries about what's going to go down at home, I could barely say a word.

I saw Ashton's car parked in the driveway, but not my father's. That's half of the wait off my shoulders.

We wen inside and we're welcomed by the sound of Ashton screaming at an Xbox downstairs in the basement. We tip-toed up the stairs to my room where Aiden grabbed band-aids from the bathroom. 

"Can we please make this quick and quiet?" I pleaded.

"No. I need to take care of you and if that means that it make sure some noise, so be it." He took the bandage off my forhead that the nurse put on. "Remember, the nurse says to replace the bandage every four hours, except when you're sleeping. Got it?"

"Thanks Nurse Aiden." I giggled. He laughed and looked down, then his face went pale. He grabbed my arm and forced the sleeve up, looking at my scars and burns.

"They did this to you?" Fire burned in his normally calm eyes and his jaw clenched.

"Only the burns." I sheepishly said. He said nothing, and just wrapped me in a hug. We sat there for a few minutes, cuddling on my bed without a word. That was the best thing about him. We could sit and not talk without it being awkward. 

He always knew when I needed a hug or encouraging words. He just knew.

"Please, please stop hurting yourself."

"I don't know if I can stop."

"Every time you do it, think of you doing it to me. Picture every little detail, but on me, okay? Vision yourself slicing my skin." Tears ran down both of our faces. 

"Thank you Aiden."

"Katrina?!" Uh-oh.

"Aiden, quick, in the closet." I shoved him in the closet and kept it shut with a chair hooked onto the handle.

My father burst into my room with Ashton on his heels.

"Ash here told me you told the school about being siblings."

"I'm sorry, father. It just slipped out, and it was just Luke and Michael." A stinging slap suddenly burned on my cheek.

"Don't lie to me you wretched little disgrace." He seethed, his harsh eyes bearing into mine.

"Sorry, sir." Ashton smirked behind him. They both theft my room, and I let Aiden out.

"Be so quiet." I whispered to him.

"He does that to you?" His hands cupped my face.

"Y-yes, sometimes."

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Do you even know what he'd do to me? Both of them. If I told somebody or the police, I'd be dead. Either Ashton or my father would end me."

"Kat, darling, you have to let someone knowledgeable people soemone know. I'll tell somebody if you don't want to, but this needs to get out there, I-"

"Aiden, no you can't. He'd hurt you too."

"I'll be fine. I swear."

"Kat-" Ashton barged into my room. Aiden and I were in a kind-of weird position. There was hardly any space between us, and his hands were still on the sides of my face, while mine were on his hips.

"Oo dad is going to be so mad!" He started to run off, but I caught his hand.

"Ashton please don't I'll do anything you want."

"Do my homework fo a week and my lips are sealed." He bargained.

"F-Fine." I agreed, letting go of him.

"What did you come in here to tell me?"

"The boys are coming over. They said they wanted to talk to both of us, so, atleast try to look nice." He rolled his eyes and exited my room.

"I want to fuc-"

"Don't swear, Aiden." I reminded him.

"I want to punch him for treating you that way."

"Don't. You can't, okay? He'll come back twice as strong."

"Still." I heard the door open and close with a bang. "Well, my dad's gone."

A few minutes passed and the front door opened and clsoed again.

"Kat, get down here!"

"Can you come down with me?"

"Of course." We went down the stairs to see the three boys sprawled on the couch.

"Uh, hi?" Ashton signaled for us to sit down. 

"So, look, Luke and I talked, and we just want to tell you how sorry we are. We had no idea you were Ash's sister, and we wouldn't have started if we did." Michael said after Aiden and I sat on the couch.

"Well, I-"

"But you would've if she wasn't his sister." Aiden interrupted me.

"Aiden, don't." I whispered to the angry boy with his arm over my shoulders.

"We really are sorry. Will you forgive us?"

"Why should she? You fuc-"

"Don't swear."

"You bullied her for two years. You beat and burned her. You guys-"

"Calm down, okay?" I nudged his side. Michale and Luke looked down with deep regret and sorrow. Ashton, however, had no emotion in his face.

"So, Aiden is right, but I want to forgive you. I just don't know if I can yet."

"Yeah, we completely understand if you can't right now, just know that we do regret everything." Luke looked straight at me when he was talking, and I slid further into Aiden's side under his stare.

"Can we please go now? You've had your little chat."

"Yes, we can go." Michael and Luke both smiled when they got up, but Ashton rolled his eyes.

"What am I gonna do?" I groaned after they left.

"What do you mean?"

"They're gonna be mad at me because I didn't forgive them right away, and now they probably feel guilty because of it." 

"You gotta stop thinking that way. They won't be mad, upset, and certainly not guilty. If they felt guilty about what they did to you then they would've topped a long time ago."

"Still." His arms went around my weak body and he brought me even closer to him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, so so much."