Only I Know

Chapter 4: Hello, New York!

     "Dad?" I said, as I stood in the hallway of my home. He ignored me, and started to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?" I asked, scared. I slowly started to walk closer, but I stopped as I was a few steps away from the door. Not by choice, but like there was something blocking my way. "Dad, please don't leave me!" I cried. When his hand touched the door handle, wooden planks boarded up the door, so he couldn't leave. I wiped away my tears, knowing that he can't go. Then, he opened the door. Dad opened the door like it was nothing; like there was nothing blocking it. "Wait!" I shouted. Dad stopped in the middle of the doorway. "Don't leave me alone, please. I'm just a kid. I need a dad. I need you." I said, with tears going down my face, but hoping that what I said will make him stay. Dad walked out of the house and (without him touching the door) the door slammed shut on its own. When it closed, every picture frame and window broke. Glass was everywhere. I covered my face as it happened and when it stopped, I looked around at all of the broken pieces. I dropped down to my knees, with my hands hitting against the floor, and started to cry.
        "Y/N?" I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes to Aidan gently shaking my shoulder. "You've been asleep for eight hours, are you okay?" He asked, as he looked at me concerned. "Yeah, I'm just a heavy sleeper." I said, as I sat up. "What's this?" I asked, as I looked at the tray (that was open from the seat) right in front of me. "When you were asleep, I ordered you some orange juice, and a fruit cup." He said. I took my right airpod out of my ear, and set it on the tray (which Aidan then took away, and put it back in the case). "Thank you." I said, as I smiled at him. "No problem." He replied. "By the way, I love the art you did on this." Aidan said, as he held up my air pods case. I painted a red rose on it, but had the background black, with white spots on it. I painted it when I was thirteen.
        "Thanks," I said, as I put a strawberry in my mouth, "If you want, I could paint on your case?" I offered. "Really?" He said, shocked. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind." I told him. Aidan smiled at himself as he said, "Okay, thanks." "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in about twenty-five minutes." The pilot said. "Finally!" I said. "You were asleep for almost the whole flight." Aidan said, laughing a little. "Yeah, but I still wanna get off." I said, as I started to put my trash together. "So what's the plan?" I asked, with my voice going into a whisper. Aidan leaned in closer to my left ear and whispered back, "I'll tell you when we get into the hotel." The way his breath hit against my neck felt nice. I started to get butterflies. No, I'm not falling for him, but it just felt nice.
        I slowly nodded my head in response, as he pulled his head away from me. I then went onto my phone, and started to look through it. There was no reason, but it was quiet again. "I'm gonna be right back." Aidan said, as he unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of his seat. He walked to the back, and I was left alone in the seat. Not even two seconds after he left, some random man (who looked to be in his late twenties) came and sat next to me. "Um, may I help you?" I said, as I leaned my body to the right. "Just trying to keep you company. You're really beautiful." I started to feel unsafe at this moment. The man started to slowly put his hand up closer to me, as it slid on my left thigh. I stopped his hand before it went any further, and said, "Don't touch me." "Oh, calm down," he started to say, "you're fine with-" "She told you to stop touching her." A voice said. The man turned his head to where he was facing the aisle. He was facing Aidan.
        "Realx, kid." The man said, as he got up from the seat. When he stood in front of Aidan, Aidan was obviously shorter. "Tell your little bitch to calm down." I heard him whisper to Aidan. Aidan's relaxed hands, both, quickly folded into a fist. In a quick second, Aidan threw his fist at the man's face, making the man almost lose his balance. A flight attendant came rushing over, as the man was about to hit Aidan. She grabbed the man by his left arm, and forced him to sit back down in his seat. "I'm so sorry about that. Don't worry, though, we are about to land." She said with a warm smile. I was surprised that she didn't get mad at Aidan. Then again, Aidan was defending me. "Are you okay?" He asked, as his dark green eyes looked into my brown eyes. "Yeah. I mean, he touched me, but I'm okay." I said. Aidan looked at me, and then his eyes landed on his shoes.
        "Well, we're about to land, so let me see your trash." He said. I didn't stop to think for a second; I listened to him the first time and gave him my trash. He put them in a little pile, and waited for this other flight attendant to walk by with a trash bag. We went right back to not talking, and, for some reason, I felt like Aidan was mad at me. "Aidan?" I started to say, "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." He said. Aidan sounded annoyed. I decided to leave him alone, until he started to talk to me. A flight attendant, with brown hair, started to come close to Aidan with the trash bag. Aidan set the trash in there, but didn't give her back a smile, when she was smiling at him. I knew something was wrong. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing very soon." The pilot announced. After he did, the seatbelt signal went on, and those who didn't have them on, started to click them over their waist.
        I took my air pods case, and put them back in my duffle bag. I set my back against the seat, and started to mess with my hands. "Why do you do that?" Aidan asked, as he looked at my hands and then up at me. "Uh, I don't know. I kind of just do it." I told him, as I continued to do it. As I was sitting in my seat, I could feel (and tell) that the plane was slowly moving down. The wheels then hit the concrete, and continued to drive forward, as it took a few turns. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, you may grab your belongings and exit the plane one row at a time. Thank you for flying Delta Airlines." The pilot said. Aidan and I unbuckled our seatbelts, and got our bags together. We stood where we were for a while, until it was our turn to leave. Aidan took the first step out, and I started to follow him. I kept my eyes ahead of me, as I walked.
        Once we exited the plane, Aidan pulled out a black cotton mask, and a black hoodie. He was holding onto those items, until our feet touched the ground, which was surrounded by different gift shops. "Put these on." Aidan said, as he handed them to me. "Why?" I asked, as I set my bag down, and took the stuff out of his hands. "Just do it, Y/N." He responded as he put his mask on, and threw his hood over his head. I threw the hoodie on, and put the mask over my mouth. Aidan walked closer to me and put the hood on for me. "Grab your bag." I listened to him, and picked it back up. Without a word, he started to walk. I followed him, confused on where the hell we were going. I then realized that he was following the guy that sat next to me on the plane. What the hell are you up to now? I said in my head.
        Aidan caught up to the man, grabbed him by the back of his neck collar, and threw him into a supply closet. The man was on the ground, holding the back of his head. Aidan opened up his backpack and pulled out black gloves. He slipped them on, and then threw me a pair; I put them on as well. "What the hell?!" The guy yelled. "Okay, I'm gonna need you to shut the fuck up." Aidan said, as he pulled out the gun from his waistband. I looked at him and then at the man. Aidan walked closer to the man, and turned the man's head to the left with the gun. "That tattoo," Aidan said (the tattoo was of a rottweiler), "Who do you work for?" "Like I'm gonna tell you." The guy responded, as he turned his head back to face Aidan. "I wouldn't be acting like a dick, right now, if I were you." Aidan said, as he gave a little smirk, and tilted his head, a little bit, to the left. "Okay, okay. I work for Andrew." "Last name." Aidan said. "Gallagher. Andrew Gallagher." His dad. I thought to myself. "Y/N, grab his bag." Aidan instructed. I set my bag down, and walked closer to the man. I made eye contact with him for a quick second, and then grabbed his dark, navy blue backpack. "Go through it." Aidan ordered.
     I kneeled down, and unzipped the bag. In there was a file and a map. I pulled them out and, first, opened the file. "Nice to meet you, Mattia." I said, as I showed Aidan the file. Aidan took a look at it, and then looked back at Mattia. "What does Andrew want you to do?" He asked, as I closed the file, and started to open up the folded map. "He wanted me to kill some kid named Aidan." I looked at Mattia and then at Aidan. Although half of his face was covered, I could see by his eyes that he was more than just hurt. "Great, now my dad wants me dead." I heard Aidan whisper to himself. Mattia heard what he said too, because he then said, "Wait, you're Aidan?" Aidan didn't respond, and he lost eye contact with Mattia. I looked at Aidan, even though he didn't look at me, and placed my hand on his right shoulder. Mattia then kicked Aidan (with both of his feet) in the stomach, making Aidan hit his back against the door and slide down. Aidan lost the grip on his gun.
     Mattia was quick, and he pulled out a gun of his own. I picked up my right leg, and kicked his hand hard enough to make him drop it. I then quickly grabbed the knife, out of Aidan's shoe, went up to Mattia, and pushed it into his stomach. I was making eye contact with him as I did so. His mouth opened, and he looked down at the object. I pushed it in further, making his body go weak, as he was slowly losing his balance. I pulled the knife out, and watched his body fall to the ground. I looked at the knife and saw blood on it. I actually killed someone. I think the worst part about it was that I felt no guilt; I was somewhat happy about it, and that really bothered me. I then set the knife on one of the shelves, as I kneeled down next to Aidan. "Are you okay?" I asked, as I looked at where his hands were. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where the hell did you learn that?" He grunted, as he slowly got back up. "I've watched a lot of shows." I said, as I took the knife, that I set down, and held it in my hand as I went through Aidan's bag. "What the hell are you doing?" I ignored his question as I kept looking through.
     I pulled out a cloth, and wiped the blood off. "Thanks for the help, by the way." Aidan said, as I put the cloth away and zipped up the bag. "That's why you brought me right?" I said, as I pulled down my mask, and put it under my chin. I stood back up, and handed Aidan his knife. He slipped it back in his shoe, and took off his mask; I did the same as well. We both took off our hoodies and put them in his bag. "Hold on." Aidan said as we were about to walk out. He saw a blue blanket on the top shelf and covered Mattia's body. "Shit, the gloves." I said, as I was about to take them off. "Leave them on, or else your fingerprints are gonna be on the door handle." Aidan told me. I left them on, and turned the door knob. I looked left and right, and then Aidan and I quickly left the room, and no one saw us.
     As we were walking, we took off our gloves, and then Aidan shoved them in his backpack. "Wanna steal a car?" He asked, as he smiled at me. "Really?" I asked, confused but (for some reason) excited at the same time. "Yeah, I'll distract them, and you can go to the back and grab a pair of keys." Aidan whispered in my left ear, as he pulled my arm so I could be closer to him. I smiled as I nodded my head. Aidan walked ahead of me, and walked up the counter, with a huge sign that said Rentals. "Working alone?" I heard Aidan ask, as I walked by. "Yeah, just me, but how may I help you?" The guy asked. "Well, I have a question on which car I should pick out." Aidan said. "Oh, well, follow me right this way." The guy said, as he left the back counter, and took Aidan to look at pamphlets. I snuck behind the back counter and started to look at the keys. I grabbed a random one, as I heard them walking back. I put it in my pocket, and quickly left, acting like I was never there.
     "So, what car are you interested in?" The guy asked. "Oh, well-" Aidan stopped talking, and took his phone out of his pocket. "Damn. Sorry to have wasted your time, but my friend just texted and offered me a ride." Aidan lied. "No, worries. Have a good day!" The man said cheerfully. Aidan started walking towards the doors and I followed. "Well?" He said. I swung the keys a little in my right hand. "Neat. Let's go." He said, after I threw the keys to him. He pressed the unlock button, and then we saw a car's headlights turn on. We walked over, and we were in awe at what he saw. "Holy shit! A 2021 Audi R8!" I said excitedly. "You know what type of car this is?" Aidan asked, surprised. "Yes! This is my dream car!" I said happily, as I looked at the beautiful black vehicle. "Well, let's go!" Aidan said, as he unlocked the car. We both opened our sides of the door, and sat on the seats. I took Aidans bag from him, and placed it in front of me, along with my duffle bag. I was so fascinated by the car.
     "She sure is beautiful." Aidan said, as he was feeling the steering wheel. "To the hotel!" He said. Aidan started the car, and then we drove off. When we started to drive, we didn't realize that we had to show someone our ticket (for proof that we rented the car). "Fuck." Aidan and I both said, unplanned. We pulled up, Aidan rolled down the window, and then the lady said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go inside, I'll be right back!" She said, before she started running. "Wow, I didn't even have to kill her." Aidan laughed. He got out of the car, walked in the booth, and then let us through. He hopped back in the car, and then we left. Aidan pulled out his phone, and typed on it. "Here." He said, as he handed me his phone. "Pick any song." He said. I opened up Spotify and pressed on the search bar it had on top. I tapped my right index finger against the phone, trying to think.
     When I finally thought of one, I searched it up and found the song. I had it ready, but then  I left the app and opened up his settings (to connect to the car). Once I did connect it, I opened Spotify back up and started to play the song. I turned up the radio, so we could hear it more. "Oh, I love Shawn." Aidan said, as he looked at the radio and then back at the street. I chose, I Know What You Did Last Summer, by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Aidan started to sing along, and damn did this kid have a singing voice. I was blocking out the actual people (not on purpose) singing and was only listening to Aidan sing. His voice was so calming; I swear I almost fell asleep. "Y/N?" Aidan said. I blinked a few times before saying, "What?" "The song's over." He said with a smile. "Oh." I said, feeling embarrassed. I decided to play another Shawn Mendes song. The next song I chose was In My Blood. I really enjoyed Aidan singing. Although I was dozing off, I remembered to check back in when the song was over. "Here, let me pick, because I want to hear you sing." Aidan said, as he took his phone back.
     "Um, I don't know if I'm a good singer." I said, truthfully. "I think you'll sing just fine." He assured me, as the song Señorita (another collaboration of Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello) started to play on the radio. We took turns singing different parts of the song, and he started to smile at me when I started to sing. Honestly, I didn't think that I sang that well, but apparently to Aidan, I did. When I started to sing the lyric, "You say we're just friends, but friends don't know the way you taste," and Aidan and I looked at each other, I was looking down at his lips. Admiring how soft they looked, and what it would feel like to have my lips on his. The next lyric I started to sing was, "Ooh, when your lips undress me, hooked on your tongue. Ooh, love, you kiss is deadly, don't stop." As I was singing along to that, I noticed that Aidan was looking down at my lips, and I was hoping that he was thinking the same thing that I did. Aidan looked ahead again, and pulled into the parking lot at the hotel. "We're here." He said, as he stopped the car. My thought of Aidan, and hopefully his thought of me, went away when we got out of the car.