He's Back

47 - Rose-colored glasses

"I'm so sorry I was late, problems at home" he muttered, but I shrugged it off. "No worries, I completely understand" I replied, trying to calm my leg from shaking under the table. 

An awkward silence fell upon us, one that was cut off by the waitor. He took Axel's order and left. I spoke first. "I think we should address the elephant in the room, there's no reason to try and avoid it" I said, and he nodded. I put my hands on the table to help get a hold of my thoughts. I already knew everything, I just needed to make sure he wouldn't be able to tell. 

"What's your name?" I asked him. "Bryan Whithers" he replied and I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Why did Aiden call you Axel yesterday?" I questioned, taking a sip of my coffee. "It's my middle name. My brother always called me by that name, that's why I stopped using it" he explained.

I kept myself from laughing at his made-up sappy story, and instead put on an act of sympathy. "What happened to him?" I asked, pretending to be interested in the story. "He was murdered" he replied, looking away. I put my hand in his. "I'm so sorry" I said, and this time I meant it. His brother wasn't dead, but he had spent all this time thinking that he was. 

"I know it's a tough topic for you, but did you find out who killed him?" I asked, and he nodded. "Aiden" he said, and I let go of his hands, pretending to be shocked. "That's impossible. I've known Aiden since he was a little kid, he wouldn't hurt a fly" I defended him, trying to understand his perceptive of the situation. 

"Trust me, I know Aiden well, there are parts of himself he hasn't shown you" he said, giving me the chance to jump to another question. "How did you two meet?" I asked him, taking another sip of my coffee, noticing he was constantly playing with the straw in his, but never drank out of it. 

"My brother was really close with him, they were both caught up in the same lifestyle. Somewhere along the way, we became friends until he betrayed both of us- him and that girl he's screwing" he said, through gritted teeth. 

Bingo. 

"Lindsay?" I questioned. "You know her?" he asked, frowning. I nodded. "I've had my share of encounters with her, all bad" I said, shaking my head. "What's the deal with her, anyway?" I asked, hoping he would share at least something with me.

"Why are you asking?" he tried to play it cool, but I sensed he was getting suspicious. "If I knew more about Lindsay, maybe I'd be able to understand Aiden, and the type of guy he really is." I said, and that made his eyes light up. 

"I'll tell you, but whatever you hear stays between us" he said and I nodded. "Of course" I reassured him, hearing the police sirens in the back of my head. Oh, the irony. He opened his mouth, but I cut him off, an idea popping in my head. "Ι'm so sorry, it's my mum, I have to reply" I said, pretending I got a text. "No worries, Eve, take your time" he smiled at me and I ignored his use of a nickname he had definitely no right to be using. 

I unlocked my phone, pretending to be typing, while I opened my recording app and pressed record. Carefully, I placed the phone next to me, under the table. Thankfully, it wasn't visible. 

"You were saying?" I went back to our conversation. "Lindsay and he go back a long way. I never understood how they ended up together, I thought he was supposed to be hiding from her and suddenly boom they're living together" he shook his head. "Her father was leading a gang, he was the most well-known dealer of the underworld, or so my brother told me. When he died, Lindsay took over the whole thing, and Aiden became her right hand" 

He paused, as I pretended to be confused. "Go on." I urged him. "She made sure she'd keep her hands clean, always sending others to do all the dirt for her. That meant a lot of people died, or ended up in jail or with a stained criminal record" he explained, and my mind went to Cole. "That's horrible! So she never got caught?" I asked.