Some people wait their whole lives to find the perfect friend.
But not Isabella Washington.
She knew she'd be best friends with Aiden Cunningham the moment she set eyes on him. But staying friends through school is easy. It's what comes after that c...
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"What made him act this way?" Aiden asked Isabella as they laid on the couch, holding each other.
He had been there for an hour and she couldn't thank him enough for not leaving after everything.
She sighed, feeling the truth slip through her lips. "Do you remember the day we watched The Notebook?"
He scoffed. "How can I forget? I lost my brain cells with that torture on."
She laughed through her nose, remembering how much he complained until she got him to shut up twenty minutes into the movie.
"Anyway, Matthew texted me and told me I had to come to his house."
Aiden hummed, waiting for her to continue.
"When I got there, he wasn't acting like himself. He was horrible to me. Then I realized he was drunk—I saw a beer bottle with drugs on his coffee table."
"Drugs?" Aiden asked, his eyes wide.
She nodded. "He was just saying horrible things to me and then I yelled at him for drinking and the drugs. Out of nowhere . . . he slapped me."
She remembered the stinging pain—the first hit that started the whole thing.
She felt Aiden's grip tighten around her body. She looked up at him, seeing him get angry.
"I blame myself for this." She laid her head on Aiden's chest, tracing her finger in random patterns on his shirt.
"Why do you blame yourself?"
"If I hadn't met Matthew, none of this would have happened, and everything would be normal right now." She sighed. "You were right about me acting differently when you and I had that fight. He told me if I didn't convince you to never talk to me again, he would hurt you. He knew I would tell you everything."
It felt so good to let everything out. Not hiding it made things so much easier.
Aiden took a deep breath, taking in the news. He held her hand that was playing with his shirt. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in the first place."
Confused, Isabella said, "You did nothing wrong."
"I thought he was a good guy and I made you go out with him."
She could feel his heartbeat pumping in her head. He shouldn't feel one pang of guilt about any of this; it had been Isabella's decision. She picked up Aiden's hand that was caressing hers and played with his fingers.
"You didn't know him. He hid who he really was from us," she assured him. "We thought he was a great guy, but he showed his true colors. Well, he showed his true colors to me." She laced her fingers in his, making their hands come to one.
Holding his hand, his touch soft and gentle, made her temperature rise. She didn't want to let go of this sensation he had created in her. She wanted to stay in his arms forever and never let him go.
"But I should have suspected something was wrong with him." Aiden sighed. "If I had known more about what he did, everything would've been different."
"I know." She lifted her head to meet his gaze.
"I can't believe he put his hands on you." He sounded disgusted as his hand traveled to her cheek where Matthew's handiwork was still visible. He caressed it delicately, not wanting to hurt her. "You deserve better than this."
Isabella thought she lost Aiden for good after their fight, but he came back. He was still there after all the suffering she had dealt with over the past two months. "I can't believe you're back."
Aiden's kind eyes looked into hers before he sat up on the couch. "I knew our talk two months ago was a setup or something. It just wasn't you. But some of the things you said did hurt me."
She lowered her head as she let go of his hand. She felt ashamed, knowing she had hurt him. "I'm so sorry I said those awful things to you. I just wanted you to be safe, not hurt you." She stood up and walked behind the couch, leaning on it.
Aiden got up from the couch, standing in front of her. "There's nothing we can do about our fight. The important thing is that I'm here for you now. I'll help you get through this, but you're going to have to tell the police about Matthew."
Instantly, she panicked. Did he not listen to what I said about not telling anyone?
"You can't hide this forever, Bella. You're not going to stay with him until he kills you, and if you keep this quiet, I'm going to have to report it myself. Like what I should've done in the first place," he stated firmly.
Isabella's phone beeped before she could respond, and she took it out of her back pocket, seeing a text message from Matthew.
MATTHEW
I'm comin over in a bit so u better be in the house when I get there
Isabella's breath hitched. She had to get Aiden out of the house now. She slid the phone back into her pocket and glanced at him as he looked at her, confused.
"Is that him?"
"Yes, you need to go." She grabbed his arm, tugging him to the door.
"What, why?" He pulled his arm back from Isabella's hold, fixing his sleeve.
"I'm trying to protect you. He's on his way over and if he sees you, he's going to know I told you everything, and he will hurt you," she said frantically.
Aiden's eyes were turning dark as he listened to her.
"Please, Aiden, I'm begging you. Go."
His face relaxed, looking at her pleading eyes. "Fine. But if he does anything to you, you call me immediately," he demanded, and Isabella nodded. "Okay. Come here." He brought his arms out, and she walked into them without hesitation. It was a habit she would never get tired of. He closed his arms around her, and she took in their embrace.
She missed his hugs—his warm, gentle hugs. Every time she was in his arms, she felt safe and wanted. It was like his arms were protecting her from danger. She wished he could protect her now.
"I love you," he said on top of her head.
"I love you too." She clenched her hands to the back of his shirt.
Aiden pulled away and said, "Please be careful."
"I will."
He gave her one last look of desperation before he strolled to the front door and left the house, leaving Isabella alone.
Aiden had to trust her on how she was handling this, no matter how hard it was. She sat on the couch, waiting for Matthew to return. As she waited, she thought about what Aiden would do if he saw Matthew again. He now saw him as a completely different person; he thought he was a nice guy, but now he knew him as a liar who had betrayed their friendship and abused his best friend.
At least Aiden was gone so he wouldn't have to see Matthew or get into a fight with him.
