Aiden? Aiden. Why do I know that name? I don’t, do I? Back home, and in my room, I ran his name over and over again in my head. My thoughts, however, had a mind of their own, and soon enough it was his face I was remembering. There was just something about him. His eyes, piercing and intense, had almost a childlike innocence to them. While his brows, always raised, seemed a continuous challenge to me. I was sure that if I had seen him before, I’d know, wouldn’t I?
A sudden buzz in my pocket brought me back to reality. “Oh?” I breathed, realizing that is was my phone ringing. Before I could answer it, though; it stopped. The words ‘one new voicemail’ flashed on my screen, but I didn’t recognize the call number.
“… and you said you’d be there. No call, no text message, not even a drop by saying you couldn’t stay.” Maci’s voice carried through my house before she’d even gotten up the stairs. She was miffed, that much was obvious. I let her ramble, waiting for her to walk through my bedroom door. “….and don’t think I didn’t see you go off with that guy. He could have killed you, Aubrey. Why didn’t you say anything? Aubrey, are you listening to me? Hello, where is your head? Aubrey?”
“So, do you just have a fascination with the sound of your voice, or are you trying to scare off everyone else on the block?”
Her glare was venomous, the phrase if looks could kill… flashed in my mind. I met her stare with a scowl of my own, she didn’t have a prayer. Within seconds her face dissolved into a classic Maci pout, her eyes glistening with interest. I raised my brows in question, smirking both at her face and the questionable resemblance my expression had to Aiden’s from earlier this afternoon.
“I do want an explanation for your no- show at practice today. You said you’d be there.” If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was almost upset, but years of falling for that same tone told me that she was just trying to guilt me for information. And I could only guess the subject she wanted it on.
“Sorry Mace, I got… distracted.” I let the word linger, allowing her to come to her own conclusions on that. “How’d practice go?” I added, changing the subject as a mischievous look flashed in her eyes.
“The same way all first day auditions go. You’ve got serious work on your hands this year, Aubs, believe me when I say, they need a lot of work.”
I stifled a groan, inwardly cringing as I thought forward to the stress that captaining a dance team would bring on.
“And don’t even think I’m letting you off so easily. I still want to hear about the guy. I mean, earlier you deemed him a total no body, then you blow off your team to… to what?”
“I was checking him out for you, since you practically hurled yourself at him this morning.” I accused.
“I did no such thing,” Maci huffed. “I just…” I shot her a look. “I mean…can you blame me! He’s gorgeous.”
She did have a point. With the whole cryptic, secretive dark guy act he portrayed, he was kind of hot. I thought back to our meeting earlier. His vague responses, coupled with his insisting that I knew him. Oh well, I guess you can’t have it all. But still… “He’s okay,” I managed to squeak out, a beat longer than my normal quip would have taken.
“It’s more than okay,” Maci snapped, like I had insulted her personally. “He’s hard-edged, it’s…” she hesitated, “sexy.”
“He’s frustrating,” I huffed. “It’s not even remotely attractive. It’s annoying.”
“Why are you so defensive?”
“Why are you so enthralled with him? You’ve been down this road before, Mace, remember where that got you? Look at yourself! ”
Maci recoiled, dropping her eyes to her hands, her voice reducing to nothing more than a whisper “I, I…I’ve gotta go.” She rushed, grabbing up her dance bag that I didn’t know even realize she’d dropped, tears forming in her eyes. Instantly, I regretted my words.
“Maci, wait,” I called, but she was already out the door. “That wasn’t your fault,” I whispered after her.
Great, here comes another sleepless night, I thought to myself. The impact of my outburst finally hit me; realizing exactly what I said, I debated going after her to really apologize. There’s no point, my mind answered my wordless question. The damage has already been done. “I know,” I answered. With a silent tear rolling down my face, my eyes flickered towards my nightstand. I knew, this time, that I deserved punishment; and, with a sigh of acceptance, I went hunting for the journal.
