Aiden Harper

Inquiring minds want to know

Aiden

After having coffee with Eden and unloading, I took her home. Eden entered her apartment as I entered mine, and I found Diego lounging on the couch, looking at his phone.

Diego peered over his phone at me. "Where have you been?"

I closed the apartment door, tossed my keys into a bowl, and plopped into a chair. "Eden and I were having coffee while unloading."

Diego closed out his phone, tossed it aside, and sat up. "Unloading about what?"

"Eden told me about her ex, sister, and parents. The situation is so fucked up."

"No shit. Mia is a piece of work." Diego shook his head in disbelief. "Eden's parents are even worse. How do you believe one kid over the other?"

"Beats the hell out of me." I shrugged.

"What else did you two unload?"

"I told Eden about Claire."

Diego's brows shot up to his hairline. "Really?"

I nodded. "I bit Eden's head off the last time we talked. She didn't deserve it."

"No kidding."

I arched my brow.

"Aiden, Eden is a nice girl who deserves someone who respects her. Her ex sure in the hell didn't when he slept with her sister. Five years! Eden dated that assjacker for five years, only to come home and find him screwing her sister in their bed. If it weren't for Marissa and her folks, Eden wouldn't have anywhere to go."

I rubbed my chin and thought about Diego's words. While my family wanted to help me, Eden didn't have many people to help her. I refused help, and she welcomed it. Maybe it's time to help her and myself.

******
Eden

I walked into the apartment to find we had furniture. "Wow, that was quick."

"My parents didn't want us sitting on the floor, so Dad paid extra for same-day delivery," Marissa said.

"Remind me to thank your parents." I set my purse on a table by the door.

"Where did you run off to? I was expecting to see you here when I came home."

"I ran into Aiden while arguing with my mom through text message before blocking her. He took me for coffee so we could talk." I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a wine glass, and poured a half glass of wine.

"Talk about what?"

"We discussed our issues, which is odd to discuss with a stranger."

"It's not like you've never met Aiden."

"I met Aiden at a party where he left to chase after his girlfriend after she accused him of cheating on her."

"Okay, so your initial meeting didn't go well. But honestly, Diego mentioned Aiden was getting tired of his girlfriend's accusations. They even discussed Aiden ending things with his girlfriend."

"Shouldn't Aiden have discussed his intentions with his girlfriend before it escalated?"

"You would think so, but no. Aiden has too big of a heart to hurt someone. It's the main reason he stayed with his girlfriend."

I leaned against the counter and sipped my wine. "I don't think staying with someone because you don't want to hurt them is a good idea. It'll only hurt them more when they find out the truth. I would rather a guy end things if he isn't happy instead of lying to me."

"Are we talking about Aiden or Wayne?"

"Both."

Marissa pursed her lips and nodded in response.