Lights Will Guide You Home

Aiden

"She's gone, hasn't she? " I stormed into the apartment, shoving the key to my Harley deep inside my pocket.

Claire looked up from her laptop. "Yeah, she left like an hour ago." She was scrutinizing my face, probably trying to figure out why I was so mad.

I flung down my leather jacket. I was bloody pissed off. I needed a cold beer.

"Is there any beer in the house?"

"Mhmm," Claire nodded towards the fridge.

I grabbed a bottle, popped it open, banged the refrigerator door shut, and headed to my room.

"Aiden?"

I turned to see Claire put aside her laptop and come up to me.

"I...I don't mean to pry, but did something happen between you and Rae?"

I had a strong urge to snap at her, to ask her to leave me alone but seeing the genuine concern etched on her face, I didn't. I realized I actually wanted to talk to her about it. Claire was the best friend I'd ever had. If there was anyone who could even remotely understand me, it was Claire.

I sighed and sat back on my bed. Claire followed suit and sat next to me.

"I made the biggest mistake ever, Claire."

"What did you do?" She asked, softly.

I looked up at her. She was studying my face, puzzled.

"I told her I loved her."

Her blue eyes widened. "You...wait what? No but...you..." she stuttered.

I went on. "I didn't know what to do, Claire! I know I shouldn't have – I don't think she is ever capable of loving me back. And I figured, well whether I tell her or not, either way I'll lose her. So I was like, what the hell! I'll just do it! And..." I paused, the words killing me as I said them. "Somewhere along that time in Spain I started to believe that she might just be in love with me too." God, I'd been so stupid! "And right now, I want to fucking kick myself for being such an idiot! Why couldn't I have just kept my big fat mouth shut! At least things would have been easier for her! She wouldn't have had to run away from me to Barrington!" I buried my head in my hands. "I'm so damn worried, Claire! What if she does something stupid?!"

I couldn't begin to imagine the thoughts that were in Raelynn's head right now. I had seen how much she hated who she was and I was going stark crazy with anxiety – what if she went after someone again. Even worse, what if she did something to herself? I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her in Barrington.

"Aiden..." Claire looked into my face timidly. She wasn't very used to seeing me worked up – I usually kept my calm. "I can't promise you that Rae will love you back, but I can tell you one thing for sure – you have absolutely no reason to worry. She's only gone to Barrington because she needs time to think." She paused, and then said gently, "You know what I think Aiden? I think Rae really does like you. A lot. She went away like that because that's just the way she is. But honestly, I have never seen her open up to a guy like she did to you. There's some stuff that happened to her in the past and well, she's never really been able to trust guys since then. She always keeps her distance from them. But with you, it was different. She seemed to be perfectly at home with you. I think she trusts you, Aiden." Claire looked into my eyes with a small smile on her face. "Don't worry about her, don't break your heart over it." She leaned over and gave me a hug, whispering softly, "I wouldn't be surprised if she came back to you."

Claire left me feeling pretty confused. My anger had abated. I wasn't cursing myself anymore. I figured Claire had no idea about Raelynn's secret so she couldn't possibly understand that side of her. But she was her best friend. Besides, Claire had a knack for putting herself in other people's shoes and understanding how they feel. So I didn't know whether to trust her or not when she said Raelynn would be okay. I remembered Claire mentioning something about her past. I pondered over that too, figuring that was probably what had triggered Raelynn's dark side.

"Let it go, Aiden." I told myself. She had asked to be left alone, I'd leave her alone. I'd done enough damage already.

If only I could bring myself to stop caringabout her.