One Plus One

Chapter 10 - Truth

The letters on my window smudge as rain splatters against the glass. I let out a nervous breath, and with shaky steps, I grab my phone, and dial Aidan's number. He picks up on the second ring, answering with a happy 'hello.'
"Aidan." I cry, breathless.
"What's wrong?" He says through the phone, sounding worried.
"Someone wrote on my window." I say, tears running down my cheeks.
"What did it say?" He asks, fury in his tone. Confusion sweeps over me, but I answer him anyway.
"To give you up." I whisper, feeling invaded. Who the hell would write that on my window?
"Are you ok?" Aidan asks through the phone.
"Yeah." I say, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I'll see you on Monday." I say, hanging up before he could answer. I lie my phone on my bedside table, and crawl into my bed, huddling up into a small ball.
Multiple beeps light up the screen on my phone, and I roll over to see about five unread messages from Aidan.
Anna, call me back.
Anna, reply.
Please.
I need to know that you're ok.
Do you want me to drive to your house?
ANNA.
I will drive over to your house if you don't reply within the next twenty seconds.
I laugh madly at his worry, and text back.
Hi.
I imagine his face when I reply, fuming.
Don't 'hi' me Anna. Are you okay?
Sighing, I text back, annoyed.
Yes.
Waiting for a minute or two without getting a reply, I turn my phone off, and pull the blankets over my head.

Thoughts swarm my brain, panicking me. Darkness swallows me up after long enough, and drags me away to a land filled with monsters and death.

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I wake up the next morning at 11am, partially forgetting about the message on my window. But, when I look out my black smudged window, the memories come flying right back to me.
I shiver, making my way to the kitchen. After doing a happy dance when I see a packet of pancake mixture, I grab out a pan, and start cooking. Multi-tasking, I Bluetooth my phone to my speaker, remembering it as a present from one of my old friends. Scrolling through Spotify, I shuffle the 'Classical Songs', playlist, and continue cooking.

A sudden ring on the doorbell interrupts me from my Living Room dancing. I grumpily turn my music off, not thinking for a second that I was still wearing my tank top and pyjama shorts. I open the door to see Aidan smiling weakly. He chuckles when he sees my pyjamas. I raise my eyebrows, and wrinkle my nose when I see he has brought over math books.
"Hey. Ready to tutor me?" He asks, grinning.
"Not really." I reply, beginning to shut the door on him. Damn I was moody today.
A strong force pulls the door back open, and Aidan walks inside.
"Whatcha cookin'?" He asks, sitting down on one of the chairs.
"Pancakes. Raspberry and white chocolate." I reply quietly, flipping the first batch of pancakes.
"Sounds good. So, first math question." Aidan begins, working out a trigonometry equation. I get out two plates and turn the music back on. I catch Aidan singing along to the current song.
Damn his voice is hot.

No, you did not just think that Anna.
I tell myself, scowling as I put the first batch of pancakes onto our plates. Aidan looks up from his math book and grins at me.
His grin's hot too.

Stop it Anna!
I think to myself, focusing on his maths instead of his face. I smile to myself as I tell him that he got that equation right.
"That was a year 12 equation, so if you keep working, you'll get an A+." I say, chewing on a pancake. Aidan picks up one of his pancakes and eats it, occasionally glancing at me. He swallows his mouthful, and grins.
"Good pancakes." He says, going back to the second maths equation.
I recognise the song playing, and start to sing, even though I was tone-deaf, and had a terrible voice. Aidan smirks at me singing, but I don't stop.

I finish cooking the last batch of pancakes. Putting the final pancakes onto our plates, I sit down, and let go of a big breath.
Aidan had gotten all of his equations right so far, even after only being tutored for two weeks. I figure that he must work a lot at home, because we had rarely done tutoring in the past two weeks.
"Hey, I guess it's two weeks since I started at your school." I say to Aidan, looking as he concentrates on his equation.
"A week since I made you be my girlfriend." Aidan blurts out. I nod, unsure what to say.
"Three weeks left of you being my girlfriend." Aidan says, looking dull.
"Yep." I reply bluntly, chewing on my final pancake.
"Are you ok?" Aidan asks me. I sit there, struggling for words.
"Anna, I've got something to tell you." Aidan suddenly says, crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair. I nod, worried about what he was going to ask.
"Some people are after you." He tells me firmly. My throat dries up, and I struggle for words.
"Why?" I ask in a whisper, knowing the answer.
"They want you to give me up." Aidan replies, not looking me in the eye. I sigh, and open my mouth.
"Who?" I say, at a loss for speech.
"Some guys from the high school around the corner. Waterway High." Aidan tells me. I intake each word he says.
Guys from another school are out to get me because I won't give Aidan up.
I hold back my tears, and swallow.
It doesn't add up though. Why do they not want me with Aidan?
"Why do they care if I'm with you or not?" I say, partly to myself.
"Because Monica's barbies all have boyfriends at Waterway High. And because Monica doesn't like you being with me, none of the Waterway High' guys do either." Aidan tells me truthfully, sitting motionless on his chair.
A thought in the back of mind made me restless. I wasn't going to do it.

"Aidan?" I ask after a moment.
"Yes?" He replies calmly.
"What will happen if they get me?" I ask, scared of his answer.
"Hell knows." He mutters, putting his head on his hands.
I think of the cruel things that the high school boys would do to me if they found me alone. I shiver.
"I'm not going to leave you." Aidan tells me with a nod of his head. I look into his eyes and smile.
"Promise?" I say as he smirks.
"Seal it with a kiss?" He asks, grinning.
I reach over the table and punch his arm lightly, and lean back in my seat.
"Well, I'm gonna get going." Aidan says picking up his books. "Thanks for the pancakes." He says, walking to the front door. I follow him, and open the door for him. He takes a step closer to me, and gives me a quick kiss on the lips.
"I promise." He says to me, and runs down to his car. My lips tingle as I walk inside, still shocked from the fact that people were after me. I exhale a breath, and shut the door behind me.

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A/N:

Hey everyone, I hope ur all enjoying the Christmas holidays! I am so happy to be getting more reads and followers!
Thank you for reading my book. Please, comment, vote and share!

Jennifer