"I'm home" Aaron silently opens the door and looks around waiting for a response.
There is a heavy silence in the air as he takes off his shoes and slowly walks to his room, acting like even the slightest sound will wake up a beast who is ready to eat him.
"Where were you?" A voice is heard from the living room and Aaron holds his breath for a second before turning around and walking towards the couch.
"I... Uh... After my shift ended I spent some time with my friends"
The man in front of him puts down his newspaper and nods to himself. Aaron just looks at him and waits for a response before he can turn around and go to his room.
"So you made some friends?"
"Well... Yes... I'm trying"
"Are you hungry? I ordered some pizza for dinner. It's kind of cold now but I could heat it if you-"
"No thanks dad"
Ewan, Aaron's dad, nods again and clears his throat before grabbing his newspaper from the table again.
"You can go"
Before he even finishes his phrase, Aaron runs to his room and sighs loudly once the door is closed.
There is a tension between him and his father since his mother left. His father tries his best but Aaron just feels like he can't even face him. After believing in his mom and always taking her side it was kind of a shock when he found out that she was cheating on his father. It was even worse when she just left one day. Not a single letter or call. She just vanished.
He walks to his bed exhausted but stops and bends down looking at the cage right next to his nightstand. The running wheel in the cage stops abruptly and a little creature with black eyes looks up at Aaron. He smiles and opens the cage taking the little creature in his arms and gently sitting on the bed with it in his lap.
Button, Aaron's hedgehog, is the only creature he actually feels like he can open up to without being judged. Whenever he says something, Button just looks at him and either takes a shit or eats his food hungrily. Nothing better than a friend that doesn't say that you are too whiney. Aaron can be too dramatic without even acknowledging it sometimes.
"Don't be jealous that I don't spend as much time with you as I did before...I have new friends now but you're still my number one" He pets Button gently and smiles remembering how much fun he has with Naomi, Leo and Nicholas when he's working.
He's not used to having friends and actually spending time with someone like this. He had a few friends in high school but after going to college they didn't even talked anymore.
His room was always his safe space. Aaron always preferred to stay inside and read instead of going out to parties or just hanging out with other people in general. Even when he had to ask someone for a pen his hands would get sweaty and his eyes would get blurry. He would say the phrase over and over again in his head but when it was time to say something out loud it's like his lips were sewed. He loses his voice and even if he desperately wants to say something, nothing comes out.
Button takes little steps on the bed stopping next to the pillow. Aaron lies down on the bed and takes his phone out, checking the messages he received from the group chat Naomi created last night.
Leo(fucking idiot)
Wait Nicholas... Did u change my nickname?
Annoying ass bitch
No I didn't! I think Naomi did
Smartest person alive
He's lying. He did it. Kill him
Aaron
What did I miss?
Smartest person alive
Nothing much! Welcome to the group chat! Hope you don't change your mind about being our friends after this!
Leo(fucking idiot)
I don't get it... Y is Naomi the smart one?
Annoying ass bitch
Please speak English! I cant understand when you text using riddles
Leo(fucking idiot)
U should be gr8ful that I don't talk using emojis
Annoying ass bitch
Big fucking difference that would make
Smartest person alive
Guys please! You're embarrassing me
Annoying ass bitch
You already embarass yourself before we can
Aaron
I-... SHE NEEDS SOME MILK!
Smartest person alive
Fuck you Nicholas
Leo(fucking idiot)
I feel like I'm watching two kindergarten kids fight
Aaron
I want a dumb nickname too :(
Leo(fucking idiot)
As you wish my liege!
Clown Monkey
I'm not even gonna ask
Aaron puts his phone on his nightstand and looks up at the ceiling with a smile on his face. Button finally finds a place to rest on his chest and curiously sniffs his sweater.
Ewan stands in front of his room wanting to knock on the door, but not having the courage to do so. He wants to talk to Aaron and hang out with him as they used to when the boy was younger. That father-son relationship full of understanding. Since his wife cheated on him he didn't knew how to talk to his son. He doesn't know what to say.
The problem is that Aaron always took his mother's side. They were very close and the boy always choose to spend time with his mother instead of father. Of course it was a big change to stop seeing his mother at all, and not because he doesn't want to, but because he can't. She just ran away. Forgetting about her son and about all the expectations he had from her.
Aaron always saw a role model in Ella, his mother and never even thought that she could do anything bad. She was a quiet person but kind and understanding. Even though she would just sit silently and always tried to hide in the shadows, she had a warmth that called you to her.
Ewan just can't understand what he did wrong that made his wife do something like this. He hates the fact that Aaron has to suffer because of the mistakes that they did.
YOU ARE READING
Pumpkin Spice Mocha
General FictionLeo doesn't need much except a good book and a coffee to relax. He always puts his family and friends first no matter what and he never had trouble getting close to new people. That was until an anxious boy, Aaron, that has trouble opening up, appea...
