No More

15• His Past

A/N: I'd like to say that I changed Lewis from a cousin to a cousin's friend for obvious reasons in the future.
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My fingers are moving rapidly across the screen of my phone. I crack one knuckle after another as I try to finish all the work that was ruined yesterday. My head is at the side of the bed, leaving my long hair dangling over the edge. A girl cannot sit in a more loathsome position than the one I am in now. Something hard hits my nose which causes blood to run out of it. I stretch backwards in order to retrieve my phone from the ground when I see a figure standing in the corner of the balcony's door.

I flip out of my position with a jump. It's only Aidan and he has already opened the door to let himself in. I wait for him to step inside the room, but he is hesitant.

"Are you going to let me in?" He asks.

"You practically let yourself in. You even opened the door. What's left?" I reply. My ear moves to the vibration of sounds coming from outside of my door. I remember that we are not alone.

"On second thought, I think it will be safer to stay on the balcony for a while. " I lead him outside while closing the curtains behind me. I show him how to get onto the balcony once and he thinks he can do it again. It really is going to be hard to get rid of him. I don't think I want to anymore.

"How did yesterday go? Is the old Gramps cool?" He jokes while poking at my sides slightly. I shudder as I recall the events which took place the day before. It is seemingly hard to keep tears down your throat when you are constantly reminded of the curse that has been descended upon you. I do not utter a word but instead look straight at the tile floor.

He interrupts me as I'm making a rectangular pattern with my fingers. I am trying to forget about anything and everything.

"Come here." He gesticulates with his hand so that I can come closer. I scoot inch by inch slowly until I am right next to him. He puts his arm around my shoulder. I am uncomfortable and I start to wiggle out from under his arm.

"Shh." He takes his finger to the center of my lips, touching them ever so slightly. "It obviously didn't go well," He assures me.

I place my head on his shoulders and I try to relax. My heartbeat calms down as if I'm listening to the sounds of the ocean. It is easier to omit any existing dangers with someone by your side.

"Let me tell you a story. It might help clear your mind," he says while moving my head onto his lap. I am now in a sleeping position. He takes strands of my hair out of my face and I willingly let him. I close my eyes to pretend to sleep as he's sharing his story.

Aidan clears his throat and begins, " A child runs up to hug his mother and his father who he loves very much. They pull him tight and tell him there's no getting rid of us. They lied to him and they told him they would stay with him forever." I feel a tear land on my cheek yet I pretend not to notice. Telling an emotional person not to cry isn't the best notion. I do not want a waterfall coming out from both our eyes.

I glance at him and he smiles in return. His mouth opens enough that I can see his teeth are brilliantly white. This isn't a look of pity, but a resentful demeanor. He takes a strand of my hair and he twirls it around his finger.

"He was raised under a watchful eye. His parents were there through thin and thick. When he used to play with his neighbors to when he got into his first fight, they were there through it all. They said they would never leave him.

At the age of fourteen, they left him. They wanted freedom from years of parenthood so they decided it would be a great idea to go on a second honeymoon." His deep voice at first starts to shake, but he seems to calm down. He looks at me with a fearful eye.

I almost startle him when I ask, "What happened to them if they were always supposed to be right next to him?"

He continues to my question, "On their honeymoon, they wanted to swim inside the ocean even if they were incapable of it. They probably thought they weren't capable of destroying a little boy's heart.

The father took off running into the water and his body was never found.

The mother came back without a husband and the child was left without a father. She was never the same again. Depression took over her life. She wasn't a woman anymore; she was a human with a tag labeled on her. Everything became too much for her.

The child watched her as she went through all these stages. His bright smile withered away and so did his remaining friends. He never felt more alone until one day..." He stops to cough the remaining words.

"The mother... one year later the child went home and she wasn't there with him anymore. He had grown a few inches and he wanted his mother to check his height.

He grabbed the chair that was fallen on the ground. As he pulled the rope from around his mother's neck, he felt all her weight in his arms. She was so light," he is barely able to creak out the last of his words.

I remove my head from his lap to comfort him.

"Was this child you?" I am too afraid to ask.

"No, my friend told me it a few years ago. I thought maybe it would help you forget," he pauses midsentence. This reminds me of all the small things in life that we take for granted.

"Aidan, we all know when we talk about a friend, it is usually about ourselves." I rub the top of his back. This way he will know someone is with him.

"No, I got it from the Internet," he denies before he bursts into tears.

I wrap my arm around him to give him a hug. The tears have been bottled up long enough and I allow myself to release them. We sit there in each other's arms for a few minutes before I back away.

I grab a tissue box from inside to give him. I suddenly have a million questions. I do not hesitate any further.

"Aidan, I'm still here for you. The same way you were there for me. So if, um, where do you live now?" I scratch the back of my head and continue, " It's fine if you don't want to share with me. I completely understand."

He shakes his head in disapproval as he says, "It's alright, Verhan." He wants me to know that it's fine to ask questions.

"Do you remember that barn I stopped you by at?" I nod to his inquiry. "That's my house now," he says shyly.

A million puzzles appear inside my head. There are some about the car breaking down and some about his more personal life. I debate on whether to ask these questions, but I decide to ask him at his peaceful hours.

"You lied!" I shout. I am reminded of the situation and I repeat in a lower voice, "You lied to me. You told me you could drop me off on your way home. Why would you do that for me?"

He knows the answer, but he stays quiet. I could see a tiny hint of blush in his cheeks and I pull my lips together in a smile.

I hear a noise in the back. Aidan's face is full of confusion and I quickly tell him to go.

Before he leaves, I hold into him one last time in a hug. He descends off the ladder and gets into his car a few blocks down. How is it already fixed?

I go inside and I complete my assignment. I think about a life without any parents until I drowse into a night without dreams.