Dishonoured 🌿 Book 2.5

Responsibilities

The thoughts Aidan fell asleep to were sweet and content, and in stark contrast to the dreams that followed. More distorted corpses, this time scattered within perfectly normal settings in which no one seemed to notice them. Exorbitant gore streaked walls, decks, grass, rocks, and no one paid it any mind.

For a long time, Aidan didn't exactly where he was or why he was awake, just that something had been horribly wrong a moment ago. Familiarity returned, and he sank onto his back as he caught his breath.

Nightmares weren't new to him, but they weren't this intense most times. He would wake at all hours with a general sense of dread, though at what was often unclear. Sometimes he was glad to have forgotten his dreams that gave him that feeling, and others he wanted nothing more than to know what had bothered him so. This one was not one of the latter. He wanted nothing more than the peaceful ignorance he had taken for granted.

Aidan didn't really have anything planned for the day, not that that meant much. Most of his obligations came up last minute, especially when it came to the pack. So when his phone rang over breakfast, long before the sun, it was neither surprising nor welcome just then. He answered nonetheless after showing Cain the call display.

"Good morning! How are you?" Eli's raised voice over the rush of waves on the shore was startling in the near silence of his kitchen.

"Well, thanks. Yourself?"

"Well enough, but a bit put out." He laughed the way one does when presented with something unexpected. "I was actually wondering if I could take you up on that offer to visit? See, John's gone and gotten himself on bed rest for a couple of weeks and I'm already bored out of my skull."

Aidan's eyebrows rose, and he shrugged at Cain. "Sure, of course. When did that happen?"

He hummed distantly. "About two hours ago."

Aidan chuckled. "Not one for sitting around, are you?"

"No, and the daft bastard won't let me take the boat out without him." He sighed as a particularly large wave crashed in the background. "Right, well in that case, I can be there by the end of the day if that's all right."

"Sure, but if you're staying for the full two weeks or so, you should know we have to fly to Northwest Territories for a sort of reunion. You're welcome to join us, I know Chase has things he's been itching to discuss with you."

He hummed again; the sea was growing fainter, traffic joining the din. "I may. I'm not exactly eager to meet him."

"I understand." All too well.

Across from him, Cain smirked, glancing up from his phone with a knowing look in his eye.

"Right, well, I'll pack up some things and start running. Can you send me the town name, maybe a few land marks to keep my eyes open for?"

"Of course. Pack warm, it's a cold winter this year."

They signed off, and Aidan sighed, leaning on his elbow on the counter as he reached for his coffee. Another thing to think about, just what he needed. At least if he brought Eli along, it would get Chase off his back about Egypt.

"What's on your mind?"

"Just a bit of dread at having to be constantly on while he's here, you know?"

"Do you not like him?"

"It's not that, Eli is all right." Aidan shrugged to buy some time as he sought words for what he was thinking. "It's work, essentially, more than a social visit."

"I'm sure that won't last. You'll adjust the same way you do to any new job."

"You're probably right." He wasn't sure he believed it, but he wanted to.