Dangerous Game

21 - The devil on my shoulder was like,"what the hell are you doing, man?"

Aurora
As soon as I stepped through my front door, I froze. Sitting on the couch was a guy I hadn't seen in the past month. Meeting my gaze, he stood up, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He has changed in the past month, that's for sure, but it wasn't that noticeable. His hair was a bit longer, but from what I could tell, he hadn't changed much.

It has been a month, Aurora, not a year.

I crossed my arms over my chest, preparing  myself for a speech.

"Look, Aurora," he began, but the sound of a door being opened cut him off.

"Hey, Carter, I brought you some food," Adrian came in, with Chickfila in his hands, and a smile on his lips. His gaze fell on Aspen, and his smile immediately faltered. "Who invited you?"

"Technically, I still live here," Aspen replied.

"And, technically, I can knock you out again."

I glared at him, snatching the food from his hands. He chuckled, mumbling a half-hearted apology under his breath. "Okay, Aspen, you have until I finish this sandwich to explain yourself, or rather your presence in this house."

"Well, I checked myself into rehab after I hit you."

I almost choked. "What?"

"I checked myself into rehab, Aurora. I felt really bad about what I did to you. Let me rephrase that. I felt like complete shit about what I did to you. I just came over to tell you that I haven't drank a single ounce of alcohol. I haven't smoked a single substance in the past month. I worked my ass off to sober myself up. I'm really, really fucking sorry for hitting you."

I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe.

"Are you serious?" Adrian blinked at him. "You haven't drank an ounce of alcohol in the past month." I think he was impressed, but you can never tell with Adrian. He has a way of concealing his emotions.

With a grin, he nodded. "Yes, I'm serious. After I had laid a hand on her, I drank all of the alcohol I could find, but when I woke up with the worst hangover I've ever endured, I knew I needed to stop. Ever since I was fifteen, I've spent all of my money on shit that'd kill me. Every since penny. I guess, in a way, punching my sister was a wake up call. The devil on my shoulder was like,"what the hell are you doing, man?" And the truth is, I had no idea what I was doing."

Adrian and I just listened to his story, without inputting our own opinions. The story hurt like hell to hear, but I didn't interrupt him. I just let him talk.

"If we're being honest, man, I knew that the path I was heading down would result in a lifetime behind bars or death. I was addicted to that shit. Eventually, I'd probably end up like one of those bums on the street, selling cocaine in order to pay the rent. I didn't want that, though. I want to raise a family one day, and I can't do that from the other side of the jail cell. You see, Aurora, I met someone in rehab, and I'm really hoping to spend the rest of my life with them. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true."

"That's wonderful, Aspen," I exclaimed. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"That's just it, Aurora, I'm gay."

I stared at him. I wasn't disgusted, not at all. I was just shocked to hear this news. I had no clue that he preferred guys. Like I know where he's coming from, though, seeing as there's a certain Italian hottie that captured my interest, but I'm definitely surprised.

"Okay, who's the lucky guy then?"

He smiled. "His name is Easton. I'm thinking about inviting him to Thanksgiving. That is, of course, if I'm still invited."

"Of course you can come, Aspen, and so can your boyfriend."

I notice that Adrian has been remarkably quiet, but I'm not sure why. Knowing Adrian, it's weird that he hasn't gave his opinion in the matter at hand in ten minutes. He's never this quiet.

"Thanks, Aurora. I'll call him." Aspen says before he leaves the room.

As soon as Aspen leaves the room, I turn to Adrian, with raised eyebrows. "What's bothering you?" He plays with his fingers, which I've learned, from observation, he only does when he's nervous. I find the action cute, but he'd kill me if I told him. Well, he wouldn't actually kill me. He cares about me too much for that.

"Nothing. I'm fine, Carter," he whispers. His icy blue eyes make it their life mission to avoid contact with mine. His voice cracks a little.

"You're not fine," I say, firmly.

"Fine," he growls. "You just forgave him after what he did to you." I don't even have to ask to know he's referring to Aspen. This conversation was bound to include him, after all, because Adrian despises him so much.

"Baby, I..." I try to say, but I can't find the words to illustrate my point. But, honestly, what are the right words?

"Don't even start, Carter. I get that he's your brother, and all that shit, but he punched you. How can you just forgive him for that? He hurt you."

"I punched you," I reply. "But you forgave me."

"That's different," he attempts to defend himself.

But I'm not having it. He can't flip the reverse card on me like this is a game of fucking Uno. This is real life.

"How is it different, Adrian?" I whisper-yell at him. "How exactly am I any fucking different than he is?"

"He's your brother," he replies. "We're not related."

"Really, Adrian? I thought this was some incest relationship. Sorry, I'm kinda stupid."

"Aurora," he hisses through gritted teeth.

"What?" I glare at him. "Why do you even care so much, anyway? He never punched you. We all know he'd be on the ground, covered in blood, if he did."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Aurora?! Why do I care so much? I'll tell you why I care so damn much. Because I care about you. Because your touch drives me crazy. Because you take my breath away. Because I fucking love you, baby. Okay? I love you." My mouth falls open, in shock, and I blink at him. He just said that he loves me.

He said that he loves me!

So, y'all, what's your favorite part of this chapter? Sadly, we only have a few chapters left in this book, for those of you that care, but I'll be publishing new books.

Even though I've fallen in love with Adrian and Aurora, I'll love these characters just as much, and I hope you do, too. Oh, and if you haven't read my message board, I am going to write a One Shot book solely for Dangerous Game. I may do them for my future books, as well. Anyway, see y'all in the next chapter. ♡️🙃😁♡️