Neptune

Chapter 59 | The Guest

C A S S I E

My thoughts have only been filled with Luke and Aiden since they left. I cry myself to sleep, thinking about how I must have hurt them with my words, especially Aiden.

He's just a child, and he doesn't deserve it at all.

I didn't mean anything that I said. I didn't know that Aiden was listening. I said my words out of anger, because I was so angry at Luke.

It's hard to trust Luke knowing he has hidden many things from me. I thought that I knew him, but I don't.

None of his actions in the past make sense to me, to the point that I question everything Jude said.

Thinking about Luke breaks my heart into a million pieces, but remembering Aiden's face when he left is even worse.

My heart can't take it. It thumps hard, restless, and my head hurts, just like when I had the accident in the swimming pool.

When I wake up in the morning, I'm still lying alone on the bed.

My throat still hurts, and my head still pulses with sharp pain. I wince, touching it.

Aiden. Aiden. Aiden.

I said that having Luke and him in my life was a mistake. How is he going to forgive me?

Tears roll down my cheek again. My eyes are swollen from crying all night.

Aiden. Does he hate me now?

My sobs break again. I can't bear that thought. I miss him. I miss him so much. I want to hold him, to tell him that I didn't mean what I said, that having him in my life was never a mistake.

My head feels like it's being hit with a powerful force, and I wince again, my hand shaking as I touch it.

What is wrong with my head? I should have listened to Luke when he told me to have the doctor check it. I thought that it was just a normal headache, but it seems like I was wrong.

It hurts like hell, and I realize that it happens every time my mind is thinking hard about Aiden. The last time was when he was drowning in the swimming pool.

Aiden.

I wipe my tears away and sit up. When I look down at myself, I realize that I'm still wearing yesterday's gown.

Sighing, I get up from the bed and walk toward the bathroom.

*

After freshening myself up, the first room I check is Aiden's. I slide the door open. It's empty.

My heart breaks all over again, and I burst into tears. The room only reminds me of him.

Usually, Aiden would smile widely every time I visited his room—he was so happy every time he saw me. His eyes would twinkle every time I read him exciting stories before bed.

He told me that he was grateful to have me in his life. He'd already loved me when we met for the first time.

But what have I done to him?

"Aiden," I rasp, gripping my chest due to the pain that I can't bear. "I'm sorry." My eyes squeeze shut, more tears falling from them.

*

I stand at the back patio next to the living room, staring at the gerbera daisies planted in the garden. Even though everything around me, everything about this house, is beautiful, it means nothing without the people I love.