Aiden ✔️ NOW PUBLISHED!

26

♥️

Pain. The overwhelming agony you feel when you lose someone you love is unbearable, unthinkable. No words can express the emotions you go through when your heart is ripped from your chest and stepped on when a life is cut too short.

Pain, they say... It gets better with time. Thank God I won't have to find out.

Thank God, Aiden is okay.

I look at him on the hospital bed, connected to beeping machines. Their rhythmic tones banging inside my head as I wait for him to wake up. Needles sunk into his skin and a bandage that covers his entire chest.

As he wakes, the first words that come out of his full lips are "Did they touch you?"

I laugh, I know I shouldn't, but my heart is filled with so much joy. A weight of fear has been lifted from my chest for a man I've only known a short while.

"No," I say as I make my way from the cold chair to the side of his bed, I twine my fingers through his black hair.

"Don't lie." He croaks as he sits up and I gently guide him back onto the bed. His head lifts up to see the bandage on his chest, he ignores it. "Please, just tell me."

I was hoping he wouldn't have asked this, I wanted to save myself the embarrassment.

"They didn't... Me and your sister - we're kind of in sync." I gesture to my stomach. He looks at me confused; great I'll have to fully explain.

"When she came over to pick me up that morning." I'm not ready to tell him he's been unconscious for three days, massive blood loss and damage to his head will do that to you. "I had started my period, so had she..." I blushed and he smiled, throwing his hand up and rolling it, gesturing for me to continue. "We... we both had tampons in. Still intact." I put my hands in front of me.

"Thank God." He says as he grabs my body from the side of the hospital bed and lays me across his chest. I spring up quickly "Are you crazy!" I scream as I check his bandage. "I could have squished you and opened your stitches!"

He rolls his eyes dramatically. "Oh, baby. You couldn't squish a fly. Please come here." He begs with his eyes and I carefully lay my head on his chest, Aiden continues to twirl my hair in his fingers.

********

The doctors came in and explained what had happened and how lucky he was to be alive. Aiden wasn't too surprised when he learned the news of losing three days. The bullet had sunk into his chest but luckily it came out the other side. He passed out from blood loss. When he fell onto the concrete, he hit his head, they stitched it up. He looked so broken, I wanted to wrap his massive frame in my small arms and hold him together. Thankfully he will be discharged in a few days once they watch the swelling in his brain.

*******

"We need to talk about what's going on though," I say. Feigning a calm face, I heard the men inside the warehouse. I know Aiden is doing some shady business, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this type of life. I trust him, but is this what I want? No, it couldn't be that serious, Aiden's a good guy. It's all probably a misunderstanding.

He rubs one long hand down his face before speaking. "I know, Em." He sighs. "It's a long story... maybe when we get home?" My heart flutters at the way he said 'home'.

Which reminds me, "So, I went 'home' to change and found all of mine and Ashley's stuff in your living room?" I question him, wondering how any of this came to pass.

A half-smile creeps up his face. "You're going to kill me." He says and I nod my head in agreement, what did he do? "You know, the rental was in Ashley's name. I kind of took her paperwork and broke her contract." He says, his voice getting quieter. "You what?" I shoot up from his chest and glare down at him. But I can't be mad at him, he looks so broken.

He shrugs. "You lived in a shithole, Em. I wasn't going to allow it."

"I think that was my decision." I point out.

He shakes his head "No, you would never do that to your mom. I know you're both going broke, it was only a matter of time." His eyes plead with me for understanding and I take a deep breath.

"Where were you moving us?"

"Well, I had this whole plan." He laughs a humorless laugh. "I had some houses for you both to look at with a realtor once you finished shopping that day... you just never got the chance." He looks down.

I pick his face up. "Okay, so now explain why we never got the chance." I can't be upset with him about the house thing, it isn't just me living there... it's his sister too. When he's less bandaged, I'll talk to him about it.

"I made a bad business choice." He says, his voice gruff and thick as he continues.

"I was in college, building a business from scratch. How do you think I got all of this at such a young age? Not from following the rules." A small, deep laugh escapes his perfect lips.

He twirls my hair in his long fingers as I sit next to him on the bed, my fears becoming a reality. Who is he? "I am an investor, I didn't lie about that." He says.

"When I was in college, I met with the CEO of a large investment company. He saw that I could hold my own. So, he offered me a proposition. Take on the 'criminal' clients. Mafia, organized crime, that sort of thing." He speaks so nonchalantly about all of this.

"Why?" I asks.

Another shrug "I just wanted to be something Em. I had a piece of shit father, who was no help in my life. I did everything on my own. I had no privileges, I needed to be something more so I thought, why not?" He looks at me, his eyes piercing through mine. "I didn't have anything to lose... until you."

My voice is trembling "Will they come after you again?"

He shakes his head, "No, I'm hiring security detail for you and Ash. I'm also moving our stuff to another location. Don't worry it will still have pretty views." He smiles at me and I fake a smile in return.

"I don't want this life anymore. What kind of castle do I have if the foundation is cracked and the throne is made of glass with nowhere for you to sit?" His words warm me inside, but I can't shake the fear that courses through my veins. I'm still in shock from being kidnapped and I am so terrified it will happen again. I've seen too much loss in my life.

After checking with the doctor about five times to make sure he would be okay and rubbing my hands through his tousled hair while he slept, I hesitantly crept out of the room and looked back at his sleeping frame only once before tearing my eyes away and disappearing from his life.

♥️

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