Aaron is in college, so you'd think high school bullies are long gone. But they followed him even when he went to a different state. The things they do to him are cruel and nearly unbelievable, and he's unable to stop them. Will it ever stop?
The an...
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I wake up to the sound of people moving downstairs.
The weight of a person, who turns out to be Aiden, crushes me. I frown and try to squirm away, but he's just too heavy and too tightly wrapped around me.
His head lifts. I can tell I just woke him up, because his hair is unusually messy and the crinkles of tiredness around his eyes. He blinks for a second.
"Are you okay?" I whisper, smiling softly as I lock my fingers through his hair. He mumbles something and hides his face in my neck. Wow, he's being so . . . can I call it sensitive? He's at least less stoic.
Another sigh into my neck. "Why are you asking me?"
I give a little shrug. Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I've never woken up in your bed. Or because I've never seen you like this, with all your walls down. Oh, wait! Maybe because you've stopped hiding your feelings?
"Are you okay?" he whispers, ignoring my question. I scoff. If he doesn't answer, neither do I have to. "Who knows."
He lifts his head and cocks an eyebrow. Something dangerous swirls in his eyes, making me gulp. "U-um, yeah, I'm fine."
Not answering him would be a horrible mistake. He gives me a little smile and picks me up, placing me on his hip. I'm small enough to fit, which I would've hated had it not been so ridiculously comfortable.
"My friends seem to be downstairs. Are you ready for the interviews?" he mutters, brushing my hair out of my eyes. I frown and look up at his gorgeous face, even if marked by exhaustion.
Interviews? Friends?
I give up on trying to understand and nestle my face in his neck, my arms around him. I'm safe here, and I never want to leave.
He kisses my temple, cradles my head in one hand. "My friends of the FBI. You know I work there, right? Well, I called them yesterday and they're here to ask you about the incident. For legal purposes, of course. We're arresting those two sons of a bitch in under 48 hours. Don't you worry."
The feeling of building panic has my body trembling in his arms. I don't want to talk about yesterday. I don't want them to arrest Silas and Ezra. I don't want anyone to blow this out of proportion.
"Hey, baby, no," he whispers. "Don't get upset. They're here to help you. Just like me. Just like Micah, and Ada, and Sebastian. Only without the fucking."
His attempt for a joke doesn't help. I feel my insides cringe at everything I could say horrible wrong. At everything I could make embarrassing or awkward.
He lies me on the bed. I'm trembling, making it hard for him to get a good grip on me. "Pl-please don't make me go through it again," I whisper.
It's too fresh. Too soon. Too traumatizing.
Aiden kneels next to the bed, brushing his fingers over my cheek without any intentions. Just . . . to let me know he's here, by my side. "I'm not. I'm simply trying to help you. How will you ever live in peace if they aren't locked behind bars?"
I sob. "I-I don't know, but they'll know I sent them to jail. Please, Aiden, you have to understand," I beg him. I grab his arm, desperate for some understand.
He nods, but the determined gaze in his eyes doesn't disappear. He'll still make me go downstairs, I can feel it. "Please, Aiden."
"I know, I understand. But sometimes you have to go through hard things to be rewarded, okay? And fuck, I know you've been through the hardest things on this planet. But I'm here with you, okay, baby? I'm here for all of it, and I'll carry you away at any time. But you have to try."
Except that I'm tired of trying. I've always tried. I've tried to be the best son for my parents, but it wasn't enough. I've tried to be a friend for Ezra and Silas, but it wasn't enough. I've tried. I'm just never enough.
He seems to catch up with my mind and tucks me close again. I gasp for breath against his chest. What if he may be here now, but realizes I'm not enough again?
"Promise me you'll be here forever," I ask him. "Promise me I'm not some experiment of you four, and that you'll tell me if you get tired of me. Don't dump me with abuse. Not you. Please."
His hands tighten on the small of my back. I can feel his rings through my hoodie, but it's more of a soothing sting. It's a promise he's still here, even after all I've brought with me.
"God, you amaze me," he mutters against my skin. "How you think? Aaron, baby, I'm here. I'll always be here. Right here. If that's what you want, I'll be by your side forever."
I nod, breathless. I'll hold him to his promise.
"But right now, we're going downstairs. We're telling my friends every single detail, so those fuckers will never get free. Never." I nod, hugging him even closer. I like that idea.
He hums and picks me up, right on the space of his hip again. "Don't be nervous," he tells me. "These are all good friends of mine. They may be big man, but they're all softies on the inside. Don't be surprised when they start crying at the sight of you."
I let out a small laugh. He opens the door to the living room, and fucking hell. At least ten men with the size of three times Aiden fill up the space. I see lots of technical stuff and weapons.
Ada is between all of them, seeming not the slightest bit intimidated. Seb is playing chess with one of them. And then there's Micah, playing with the weapons under supervision of what looks like the leader.
I shrink in Aiden's arms when all eyes snap to me. "Eh . . . hi? I think?"
Aiden smirks at me. His hand squeezes my thigh reassuringly, making his veins pop. And I realize, after that, this might be my death cause. Too much Aiden hotness.
The leader, who snatches the gun out of a pouting Micah's hands, takes four steps forward to me. Well, us, but that's besides the point. "Hello, Aaron. Am I pronouncing your name right?"
I nod, amazed. I never thought these brutal-seeming men would speak so gentle. "Yes. And you are?"
He smiles. So do my boyfriends and girlfriend. I just shrug. It doesn't feel wrong to interact with these people like myself. They seem cool.
"I am officer Di Luka. A friend of Aiden's, and head of some small part of the FBI." He winks. Actually winks, as if that wasn't the biggest lie ever.
Just when I smile and open my mouth to shoot something back, the mood in the room darkens. The sound of the front door shutting closed—not slamming, but merely too calm to be normal—sounds, and then the room darkens even more.
"Ah, my guests are here," officer Di Luka grins and steps back, just like everyone else. I look through the crowd and see three faintly familiar, but gorgeous men.
Aiden's mouth falls open. "You fuckers! What are you doing here?"
I recognize the three men standing around a woman, like protecting her against every danger in the world. They grin wickedly, the glint in his eyes comparable to Aiden's when he's bent over a very tied-up me in the playroom.
"What? We can't come help to protect our son's weak spot?"
