Say Yes

17

Aarons POV:

   I took the mug of tea off the nightstand while Stella slept. I kissed her on the forehead then went to the kitchen. "How is she?". I poured what was left of the tea down the drain, then placed the mug in the sink. "She's sleeping" I sigh as I turn to face my mother. "I see the way you look at her. Just don't kill yourself trying to protect her 24/7". I shook my head at her. "I'll kill myself for her ten times over". She chuckled and shook her head, "You never did listen to me."

   My jaw clenched and I gripped the sink behind me. She sighed, "You have your fathers temper".  I nearly threw something at her. "Don't ever fucking compare me to that man again!" Fear flashed in her eyes and she took a step back. "Do you talk to Stella like that?". A chuckle escaped my lips, "No because she talks to me like a genuine person and not someone who thinks I'm the reason their excuse of a husband died!". She went wide eyes and her mouth slightly opened. 

   "What's with the yelling?" My eyes shot to Stella who was rubbing her eye and my stomach sank at the sight of her. "Oh nothing just my son being the way he is." Stella frowned at my mom and let out a breath. "Theres nothing wrong with the way he is so I'd appreciate it if you stopped talking to and about him with so much resentment and stop being passive aggressive and condescending". My mom looked at her with furrowed brows and I felt myself smiling at her. "I will not have this disrespect in my own home." Stella shrugged, " And I wont have this disrespect towards my boyfriend in his own home".

   I walked to Stella grabbing her hand and leading her out of the kitchen. "Thank you for sticking up for me" I kissed her temple. She tiredly smiled up at me and I frowned. "You need more sleep my love" She sighed, "Mhm...Can you lay with me?" Pain flashed in her eyes and I felt a knot in my stomach. "Of course baby". We both went to the bedroom and crawled under the sheets. She laid her head on m chest and I watched as her head slowly rose with each breath I took. I played with her hair as she lets out a sigh.

   "Do you believe in an afterlife?" Her voice came out soft and sweet. "Hm, I believe in something. I wouldn't call it 'heaven', but I do think when we die our souls stay here and roam around, so I guess I do yeah." She hummed as she drew circles on my exposed stomach where my shirt lifted. "What do you think?". She took a moment before answering. "Well...I honestly don't know. I just feel like life is just trial and error, learning lesson after lesson till you finally get it right....Then you're dead and that's that." I pondered what she just said because it quite honestly took me back. "Damn...Thats one way to put it".

   She let out a genuine laugh that I didn't want to end. "Mickeys handling all of the funeral arrangements for me" She whispered out. "It doesn't feel real, you know? I feel like if I called her she'd answer the phone". I kiss the top of her head while rubbing her back. "Yeah I do know". It was quiet for a few seconds before she some again. "Can I ask you something?" I let out a small chuckle, "Always". She took a second before she asked "Why do you get so tense around Mickey?"

   I wasn't expecting that. I think she took the hint by me not answering and she sat up off of me. "I wont look at either of you any differently, but you both are very important to me and I just want some insight." I nodded at her and also sat up leaning my back against the headboard. "Well I was instructed to get Mickey to sell to us, when we were a few weeks in of dealing one of our shipments were stolen and when we went to go meet up, we were raided by cops. Mickey stole the shipment back after he got the money the called the cops on us. He played dirty" She frowned and looked away. "I'm sorry he did that"

   I turned her head making her look at me and I shot her a smile, "You don't need to apologize my love".  She tried to smile back, but couldn't hold it long. "You want to get something to eat?" She shook her head no and started fiddling with her fingers. "You have to eat something baby" I grabbed her hand so she could stop messing with them. "We can go to a diner or restaurant". She frowned and looked down, "I'm not hungry" Her voice back to a whisper. "What about a smoothie?" She looked up as she was thinking then nodded her head.