REMINISCENT

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Do I Remember? (FINAL EDIT)

Aiden's POV
I felt so many emotions crashing over me at once. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. I wanted to hate Ashley—hate her for the twisted game she played, for stabbing my heart a thousand times over. It felt like being gutted by someone I trusted, someone I considered a friend.

This is the person I spent most of my time with, for God's sake. I'd thought she was finally coming out of her shell this year, that maybe she was healing from whatever darkness kept her distant. Now I can't help but wonder—was this all fake? Was there something wrong with her? Some part of me even questioned if she was okay mentally.

But no matter how many reasons I gave myself to hate her, I couldn't. I just... couldn't.

"Fuuuuuck!" I screamed, slamming my palms against the steering wheel. The sound of my own voice startled me—I hardly ever raised my voice, let alone cursed out loud. My chest heaved as I gripped the leather wheel, knuckles white.

I'd been driving aimlessly for hours, trying to clear my head, but all I could think about was her. Everything she said. Everything I didn't understand. And the one thing that kept looping in my mind, louder than anything else—Do you remember?

I dragged a hand through my hair, frustration coiling in my gut.

"You have an incoming call from Mom," my virtual assistant chimed. "Should I answer or ignore?"

I exhaled sharply. "Answer. Put it on speaker."

Almost instantly, my mom's warm but tired voice filled the car.
"Aiden, are you sleeping out? Alicia wants you to tuck her in." I could hear her trying to shush my little sister in the background.

"Aiden, come home! You promised to tuck me in!" Alicia's tiny voice squealed through the line—I could picture her grabbing the phone with those small hands of hers.

A pang of guilt stabbed through me. "Alright, I'm on my way."

The line clicked off with a quick, relieved okay.

The drive home was short, though my head still buzzed with unanswered questions. When I stepped inside, I stopped in my tracks.

There, in the middle of the foyer, sat Alicia. She looked so small in her pink piggy onesie, legs crossed, eyes fixed on the chandelier above as she softly sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

When the door shut behind me, she snapped her head around. Her entire face lit up like Christmas morning, and before I could even blink, she was up and sprinting towards me.

I caught her mid-run, lifting her into a hug, breathing in the sweet, sugary scent clinging to her hair. I kissed the top of her head, smoothing down the wild tufts sticking out of her almost-perfect pigtails.

"Mmm... you smell like candy," I teased, tickling her gently.

She squealed and wriggled in my arms. "Nooo... that's cupcake, silly!"

"Cupcake?" I chuckled, swinging her onto my back as I headed for the stairs.

"Yesss," she giggled, gripping my shoulders like I was her personal pony.

"Why cupcakes?" I questioned amused

"Because I felt cup-cakey" she said simply

"And why do you smell all... cup-cakey?" I asked, balancing her with one hand so I could push her bedroom door open.

"'Cause Mama gave me cupcakes after supper," she explained between yawns, "and I wanted to smell like them, so I used my cupcake soap."

I laughed softly. "Cup-cakey soap, huh?"