Stalker

Chapter 29- Guilty

Maria

I was wrecked. I couldn't get over the guilt I felt because of Jackson's death.

I cried on the way home from school, the look on Aiden's face telling me that it was killing him. But I couldn't help it, not after seeing Jackson's mom. I ripped that family apart, she had no one.

"Sweetheart."

Aiden's voice was soft as he held me against his body, the two of us curled up on the couch in my living room. We were still in our school clothes, Aiden letting me cry for about 10 minutes now without saying a word.

"I'm okay." I said, sitting up. I wiped my tears, sure that I looked crazy. I looked at Aiden with my hands in my lap, his hand rubbing my thigh. "I just felt really really sad."

"It's not your fault." Aiden said, a sad expression on his face. I knew he felt guilty too, but he hid it for me. One of us had to be strong.

"But it is. He- he was horrible but no one deserves to die before they even get a chance to live." I was holding back tears, my bottom lip trembling as my throat began to tighten. "He made a mistake, he had his whole life ahead of him."

"And we both know how that would have gone." Aiden sighed, running a hand through his curls. "Baby you know he would've ended up just like his dad. If anything you saved a lot of people."

"We don't know that. He wanted to help us." I was angry now, angry that Aiden would say that. As if that made killing a teenage boy okay.

"Probably because he felt guilty. Probably because he ruined your family."

Aiden's words hung in the air as I stared at him.

"What?"

And then Aiden's expression changed, quickly sitting up as he grabbed my hands in his. His expression was very serious his lips pressed together as if he was trying to find the right words.

"What did Marco tell you about how your parents died?"

I pulled my hands away, brows pressed together in anger. "Aiden what the-"

"What did he tell you?" Aiden asked again, voice overpowering mine. He didn't grab me or touch me again, simply sitting across from me with his hands in his lap.

"He told me they died in a car accident. My dad was driving drunk on the way home from the casino and they crashed." My voice didn't sound like my own as tears welled up in my eyes, my parents death never being a pleasant topic. "I don't want to do this right now."

"You have to stop beating yourself up." Aiden insisted, sighing softly. "Please let me tell you what really happened."

I sat there in silence as Aiden began to speak, tears in my eyes while he explained what actually happened that night.

My parents were the owners of a billion dollar company, and Daniel wanted to become a partner. My dad declined. So Daniel started his own company, one that was never successful because of my parent's company taking all the possible investors. So Daniel knew the only way to take down the company would be to wipe out those behind it. So he hired someone to crash a car into my parent's car, thinking me and Marco were in there with them. When my parents company didn't dissapear, Daniel assumed someone was still running it and came after me and Marco.

"He tried to kill you, he killed your parents. I know that wasn't Jackson's fault but that family is fucked up Maria. We saved more lives than we took." Aiden said, rubbing my hand.

"So you're saying Marco is running a billion dollar company?" I asked, unable to wrap my head around the idea that we're secretly rich. "What?"

Aiden nodded. "Yes, he took over the company when your parents passed. He didn't want you to be raised spoiled or become a target before you could handle yourself."

"This is insane." I shook my head, looking down at my lap. "This is beyond messed up."

"I know." Aiden sighed. "I wanted him to tell you, I always did."

"A person deserves to know how their parents died and not be lied to." I was angry, how could Marco keep that from me so easily? Forget guilt, I was pissed. "Is there anything else he's keeping from me?"

"Not that I know of, but Maria you can't tell him I told you. Give him time. Please."

"Why? He's been lying to me for three years."

"To protect you." Aiden said, squeezing my hand. "He was looking out for you. He hired me to protect you because he knew he wasn't around enough. He loves you more than anything and you need to understand that."

"I'll murder you if you ever lie to me." I warned, Aiden cracking a smile.

"You're so hot when you're violent." Aiden pulled me quickly into his lap, wrapping his arms around my middle as my arms found their way around his neck. "But you could never."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"You love me too much." Aiden shrugged, glancing down at my lips before meeting my eyes. "You can't resist me."

I ducked my head down, my lips almost touching Aiden's. "Wanna bet?"

"Not fair." He whispered, and I knew the closeness was killing him. Especially with me in his lap. "Maria-"

"Look who can't resist who." I smiled then, Aiden closing the gap with a noise of irritation.

My head was still filled with thoughts about my parents, about Daniel. But now I was angry, Daniel had taken my parents lives and ruined mine, and I was finally ready to step into the lifestyle that was laid out before me.

A/N: i'm sorry for the shorter chapter! I've been crazy busy recently but I plan on writing more as my life calms down :)