Aiden [Book Two]

31

Aiden said little after his first therapy session. He simply walked out of the room and crashed into Nathan's arms.

The redhead carried a deep tension and just wanted to go home with his boyfriend.

Meeting the therapist seemed daunting, at first. Aiden figured they would take one look at his notes, the history shared by his parents, school counsellor, and his doctor, and they would just laugh in his face.

They'd say he was overdramatic, high-strung, and needed to get over it.

He was almost afraid to walk into the room and would have refused if it wasn't for Nathan's continued reassurance. The older boy knew his boyfriend just needed to jump the psychological hurdle and, with a little persuasion, he would make the leap.

So he promised to sit right outside the door, acting like a safety net that would catch Aiden the moment he became overwhelmed.

But it wasn't like that. Nathan didn't need to step in to keep his love from slipping into the darkness because it wasn't necessary.

Aiden expected opening up to the therapist to be difficult, just like it initially was with Miss Vance, but strangely, the stories poured out like a waterfall.

The reservoir that held all the agonising memories, compulsive thoughts, and self-doubt overflowed, spilling it in front of a man the teenager met twenty minutes before.

That un-bottling of emotion and history drained his soul, leaving the same despondent but stressed individual who emerged after an intense panic attack.

Nathan felt the overbearing weight when his boyfriend grabbed at his waist, burying his face in his shoulder to hide from the world. Therapy was exhausting and the tiny boy needed to go home.

He needed security.

Chris had waited in the car for the duration of the appointment. The man didn't want to overwhelm his son, but also didn't want to disappear and expect both teens to get home alone after that.

He didn't badger Aiden into talking about the session and just smiled at his little boy, proud of his strength, but knowing the only thing that could help now was sanctuary.

When the pair finally reached home and the bedroom door closed, the petite boy let the tension melt away, locking himself in the healing embrace of his boyfriend to push away the lingering doom.

He didn't want to drop back into the dark mood he carried for weeks, but the headache was already building.

So Nathan pinched the younger boy's sleeve, pulling Aiden into the bathroom and sitting him on the edge of the bath. They hadn't used that method of movement in a while, not since the beginning, when the pair were just friends, trying to navigate their trauma and growing feelings for one another. It was comforting and a little nostalgic.

The orange-haired boy followed the directions, perching and watching as the hot water flowed.

Aiden smiled; he already knew what the older boy was planning. He wanted to repeat the first night after the attack.

The younger boy couldn't feel it back then because he was entrenched in the overwhelming numbness, but now the redhead's heart swelled with pure love as he watched Nathan potter around the bathroom, doing things he knew would make his boyfriend comfortable.

He didn't deserve this attentive, angelic boy.

The brunette was too complex and enchanting for Aiden to comprehend ever. For someone so afraid of human connection when they first met, he had blossomed into this fascinating, warm-hearted boy who just wanted to shower the younger boy with affection constantly.