Finding Home in Redemption

Chapter Twenty

!!Content/possible trigger warning!!

I just wanted to give a warning: This is where drugs do come into the story pretty strongly. If this is a trigger for you, I would urge you to not go further in the story. I do want to say, this is labeled as a HEA story, so I can promise characters will resolve all issues that come up in the story. 

Thank you all for reading so far. Thank you to those who choose to stop the story here, and thank you to those who continue reading. 

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Aaron

"Bentley?" I heard a woman's voice call out behind us and Bentley turned to look. I watched the worlds most beautiful smile turn into shock and then pain.

"No, no, no. This cannot be happening," she only spoke loud enough for me to hear.

"What's wrong?" I turned to look behind us and didn't notice anyone trying to get her attention before I looked back at her. "Who is it?"

"Bentley!" The woman yelled out again, and that time when I turned, I looked at a face I hadn't seen since I was a child.

Amelia Duncan hadn't changed one bit in all this time. Her blonde hair was so perfectly styled that not a hair was out of place. She looked like she was on her way to a fancy dinner.

There were too many people in front of her in the line she was in so she turned and took off, trying to cut through another line. For some reason, this piece of my past was trying to get to the woman holding my hand.

I felt Bentley start to pull me out of the store and I didn't try to stop her. I could hear her voice in the background of my thoughts, but I was too concerned with the wind tunnel that seemed to be sounding in my ears. Before I could stop what was happening, I was thrown back in time by my memory to a night that forever changed my life. A time when I went by Brennan, not Aaron.

Fifteen years old

"Come on Brennan! We've got to go!" I heard Will yelling from the living room. I grabbed my giant coat and pulled it on, running through the house.

"Can I drive tonight, Will?" I asked, hoping he'd forget I was only fifteen and let me.

"Listen," he said, pulling my jacket open and shoving the little bags into my hidden pocket. "If we weren't crunched for time, I'd be okay with you driving tonight. Even though you're only fifteen." He zipped the pocket and then zipped up my coat. Ruffling my hair, he smiled down at me, and I felt on top of the world.

We climbed into his dad's truck and pulled onto the main road. I remember thinking how creepy the town seemed. There were houses with windows blacked out and stoplights that didn't always work. There wasn't a single street light on, despite it being almost eleven at night. The January snow was pouring down on us, making us that much later. I could tell Will was nervous about the time and every glance I made toward the speedometer made my stomach twist in a knot. He was going way too fast; even if it hadn't been snowing, I would have been scared.

One minute I was watching Will as he chewed his fingernails and the next I heard him let out a string of curses before he slammed his foot on the break. I could feel that we were still moving at a speed that was far too fast and the truck started to spin. I had a moment where I was able to glance out the windshield, and I watched the driver's side of the small car catch the corner of the front end of the truck. My head slammed into the window, and everything went black.