Deliciously Destroyed

30. Grave

Aaron starts sobbing, hard.

I know it's a subdrop, and I know this is normal, but it stills breaks my heart. "Hey. Hey, boy, look at me," I whisper. He cries out, hiding his face in his hands.

Ada shoves me out of the way, crouching down besides the bed where I just was. I scowl at her back. Like, come on, give me a chance, will ya?

Aaron hiccups something at her question, but I just ignore the both of them and walk to the bathroom attached to the playroom. I start running the bath, knowing they'll carry Aaron in any second.

When there's enough water and the temperature is hot enough, I call Micah to say it's ready. I get in first, not wanting Aaron to be all alone in his aftercare.

I still in my movements when I realize what the actually fuck I'm doing. I'm never this thoughtful. I normally always get the fuck away after I'm done, leaving the aftercare for the other three.

But this is Aaron. The small, broken boy I want to be happy all the time.

My thoughts are cut off as they come in, Aaron clinging to Micah's chest, still crying. Oh baby.

I motion to give him to me. Aiden cocks an eyebrow, but one glare from me and he doesn't say a word. While Ada pulls the blanket off Aaron, Micah lowers him in the water, on my lap.

The small boy curls up against my chest, almost choking on his sobs. "Why are you crying, baby?" I ask, rubbing circles on his back. He sniffles. "I-I don't know."

I hide my smile in his hair, placing a soft kiss just above his ear. His shoulders relax. "Then why don't we try to calm down, huh?" He nods, sucking in a deep breath.

"Now, I don't want you to worry, but I'm saying this for you to prepare, okay?" His eyes shut closed tighter. "N-no more, please—I said mango—means stop?—I'm tired—" he rambles, sobbing in between.

I chuckle lowly in his ear. "Aw, baby, no. No more, just like we promised. First of all, yes you called mango, and we're proud of you for doing so. Second, the thing I want you to prepare for is aftermath of hat happened."

He faintly nods. "When you start trembling and your muscles feel painful, try to relax, okay? I'll be here, the others will be here, everything is normal. It's because—"

Aaron starts shaking before I can even explain. He looks up at me with wide, terrified eyes. I cup his face. "Keep breathing, Aaron. This is completely normal. You've just gone through an intense amount of workout, let's call it that, and your body isn't used to it. Try to relax, all of those muscles."

He's shaking in my arms, but the longer I draw circles on his back, the more he slumps against me. Ada leans forward and pecks his forehead. "I'm so proud of you, Aaron. You did so amazing, I wish you knew how happy I am with you."

A smile spreads over the boy's lips. His eyes are closed, but I feel him lighting up on the inside. He stays silent, exhaustion taking him over.

He's stopped shaking, now just resting against me. I trace his lips with my fingers, chasing that joyful smile of him. "Don't fall asleep," I murmur. "I'm gonna put some food in you."

He frowns. "No!"

I cock an eyebrow and look up at the others. Micah is smirking in amusement. "Aaron, I don't care if you don't want food. You'll drink and eat," Aiden remarks.

Aaron huffs and crosses his arms over his chest, which I know took a hell of a lot effort. "I'm tired. I wanna sleep," he comments.

Okay. I think I like sassy Aaron.

I rise from the bath, taking him along with me. He whines a little, but really, there's not much he can do.

Micah dresses him in underwear and a new hoodie, because everyone knows Aaron is in love with Micah's hoodies. I dress up too, then carry him into the kitchen.

Frowning, the boy is now sitting on a chair at the table. And he's not happy. Oh well. He can't have everything he wants.

When I try to feed him, he snaps his lips shut and looks in the other direction. Little shit. So, I try to give him some water first. No success.

"Alright, brat," Aiden grunts and grips Aaron's chin. It's not rough, but hard enough to stop any squirming from the boy's side. "You're gonna eat, or I'm gonna drag you back to the playroom and force your throat so much you can't eat."

Aaron's eyes widen, after which he shrugs. "That's against the rules. You dug your own grave, mister Whitlock," he sweetly adds, seeing Aiden's expression.

I smirk behind my hand. It's nice to see Aiden being put into place, but I also now Aaron is now the one digging his own grave.

"And if you'll excuse me, I'm tired," he follows up, shrugging again. "So I'm going to bed." He attempts to stand up, but Micah pushes him back down. Aaron rolls his eyes at that.

"Fine," he mutters, crossing his arms on the table and resting his head on them, closing his eyes. "I'll sleep here."

For fuck's sake. I catch him by surprise by grabbing his chin again and immediately shoving the strawberries in his mouth. Frowning unhappily, he chews and swallows it. That's one, at least.

I give him a glass of water, filled to the brink. "You're gonna drink that until the last drop," I tell him, voice serious. Because I don't want him to dehydrate, or feel sick tomorrow. He lets out a huff. "Or what?"

Fucking hell. And I thought he was gonna be all sweet and cuddly.

"Or we'll tie you up and let you drink it like that," Ada snaps. Aaron sighs. "Jesus, can't a poor boy ever catch a break? I'm serious, like, why—" I grab the water and put it to his lips while he's talking. Gotcha.

He narrows his eyes at me, but I don't stop until he's drank at least half of the glass. When I retreat, he frowns and takes the glass from me. I smirk when he drink all of it.

"You're still mean," he casually adds after he's done, but I don't care. "Five strawberries and I'll be happy," I pout, knowing that'll have him swooning.

He groans. "Fine. But then all of you join me in bed," he tries to make a deal. Locking eyes with the others, I shrug. It's not like I mind. They're okay with that too, so I smile at Aaron and nod. "Deal."

His eyes light up with joy. "Really? Yay!" I feed him the strawberries, and he even eats a few more. I'm happy with that, until he gives me a pleading look. "Does that mean you're sleeping bare?"

I laugh. "You wish." His sweet smile falls to a disappointed expression, but I ignore it and take him to bed.

The rest joins in the bed, leaving Aaron to be in the middle. The boy sighs contended, falling asleep almost instantly. I smile up in the dark, hearing the breathing of the others even out too.

I must admit, taking care of Aaron isn't even as half as bad as I thought it would be.