RAIN DANCE

Seven

“Maybe I should plan something.” Heather said as we sat for lunch in the cafeteria at lunch on Friday.
“It’s just a one month anniversary.” I pointed out.
“I know, but I’m so in love.” Heather said with a stupid smile on her face. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Trust me, Chris does.” Chuck said looking at me “I, thank Heavens, don’t.”
“That’s what you say now.” Heather said softly.
“Oh, please! Tell me you’re not pitying me.” Chuck said angrily.
“She didn’t mean it that way.” I interjected. Chuck was sensitive when it came to being judged.
“I just meant when you’re in love you can’t help loving it.” Heather said another smile spreading on her face. Chuck rolled her eyes. I just smiled; the little I said would save me a lot of trouble.
“So, Chris what do you think? Just a gift?” Heather persisted.
“I don’t know, Heather. I’m the wrong person to ask.” I said softly. I wasn’t fully in support of her relationship but I’d be polite enough to smile when she talked about it.
“Just wait for him to make the move before you set yourself up for disappointment.” Tessa said biting into her apple. She had been quietly sitting at the table scribbling in her book.
“I agree.” I said. Heather shot a glance at me. Clearly, I’d put my foot in it but I had no idea how.
“I thought you had no opinion?” Heather snapped. “Anyway, here he comes. Just drop it.”
Matt and Luke took their seats and the atmosphere that was threatening to turn icy suddenly thawed out. The boys talked about sports and were trying to convince me to stay in the hockey team but nothing they said convinced me. I just humoured them and took in all their suggestions. When lunch was done we split up and went to our last classes of the day.
When I got home our bedroom was a mess. Clothes were all over the place. Lizzy was not so hard to find. She was the cause of the mess from inside the wardrobe. I walked in slowly. The mess meant one thing; Lizzy had a date.
“Who is it?” I asked as I dropped my bag on the bed.
“Tyler. Hot like you won’t believe.” She shouted from the wardrobe. “He called me just this morning.”
“Tyler? From yesterday? The guy we met outside the restaurant?”
I hadn’t paid much attention to him but I’d seen him checking out Lizzy from across the restaurant. Lizzy hadn’t seemed to pay much attention either so I was shocked when she gave him her number before Jason came to pick us up.
“Yep. He was delicious, wasn’t he?” Lizzy said dreamily.
“Definitely was.” I concurred “So, what are you guys going to do?”
“I don’t know yet. I still have to figure out what to wear.” She said picking up her short skirt. She frowned and threw it aside.
“So much effort for a guy you just met.” I pointed out.
“I haven’t been on a proper date.” She said analysing her blue sequined top. “Who knows, I might meet Mr Right.”
“You mean, Tyler might be Mr Right?” I corrected her.
“No, I mean. I might meet him while I’m out tonight with Tyler.” She said as she sat down and sighed. “Why do we have so many useless clothes?”
“Why don’t you wear your black jeans with the new golden heels and that white top with the cute little waist coat?” I said as I started picking up the clothes that had littered the floor.
“That is a great idea!” she jumped up. “Now if only I could remember where I threw the waist coat...”
“I found it.” I said as I handed it to her. “Now, I need to find something for me to wear.”
“You could wear a sack for all Aidan cares. The guy is crazy about you.” she said with a hint of jealousy. “It took him like forever to say good bye yesterday when we went to the restaurant.”
Aidan had finished his shift just as we walked in and despite my pleading glances he had left me with Lizzy. I wasn’t complaining but I just wanted him there with us. Obviously, because I love him I couldn’t bear the thought of torturing him with our girl-talk. He had managed to make it back on time to say goodbye before Jason came to pick us up. That was the time Lizzy was left undefended and Tyler had moved in for his kill. Aidan stood with me in his arms by the edge of the pavement. He looked at me like the rest of the world didn’t exist. People walked past and stared, I only noticed because I can never miss a jealous stare.
“You’re exaggerating.” I said as I picked up my favourite navy blue dress.
“That’s a great choice. Wear it with those stunning red pumps and you’ll knock him dead.” Lizzy said ignoring my modest statement.
We had supper at the usual time. Mum had made dad’s favourite dish. Dad’s favourite dish varied from season to season. Mum managed to keep up with his madness. Lizzy was more interested in planning our eighteen birthday. It always fascinated me how we shared the same birthday; November twelfth. Lizzy wanted a car. I wanted a party. She wasn’t getting a car and my chances of getting a party were close to zero. So the discussion was pretty much one sided with mum insisting we do something more mature. Neither I nor Lizzy knew what she meant.
By the time dinner was over and we had cleared the table and done the dishes, Lizzy and I were so eager to leave. Aidan kept calling every few minutes to find out where I was. I found that so sweet and Lizzy found it annoying. We got to the drop off point where Jason would leave us and Aidan would pick me up. Tyler was already there. He looked really cute and Lizzy acted like she didn’t notice. Aidan smiled as I walked towards him. I all but jumped into his arms and he kissed me on my cheek.
“You look amazing.” He whispered as he let me go. He looked at Lizzy and smiled; that subtle difference that made me feel amazing. “Hi, Lizzy.”
“Aidan, you ought to be proud of yourself.” Lizzy said with a smile. My eyes flew from Aidan’s face to Lizzy. “The poor girl’s every second word is your name.”
“Lizzy, I thought you wouldn’t embarrass me tonight!” I protested.
“Just telling the truth.” She said as she turned to leave with her date. Aidan and I were left standing on the busy pavement. We could have been standing in the middle of a World War and I wouldn’t have noticed. His eyes burned to my soul and wanted so badly to kiss him.
“So, what is this special date?” I asked with a smile on my face. It had become a permanent fixture on my face whenever he was around.
“It’s at our place.” He said as he took my hand and led the way.
“Okay.” I said and followed behind. “How was your day?”
“Long.” He said looking at me. “Did I mention you look stunning?”
“Mine was even longer.” I said as I hid behind his arm. Why did he have to make me feel like a jewel? I just couldn’t think of how I had managed to be so lucky.
We fell into a conversation about Lizzy. I was telling him all the things that made Lizzy what she is. He listened and laughed with me. I’d never imagined I was that good a storyteller.
His pace dropped as we got nearer to our place. Everything he did at that point seemed to be in slow motion. Or maybe that is how I recall it because I made sure I remembered everything well. What was waiting when I arrived was beyond my imagination. Instead of a simple meal I was surprised to find our place dimly lit with candles. The room looked unbelievable. The tables were cleared off to leave one table in the middle. It was breath-taking.
“So beautiful,” I whispered. I wanted to scream but I feared he’d take it the wrong way.
“Yes, you are.” He said as he slipped his hands around my waist. His touch burned through my clothes and I felt safe in his arms.
“You’re insane.” I said as I tried to taking photos with my mind.
“Take a seat.” He said, pushing me towards the table. He pulled out the chair for me to sit.
“What’s the special occasion?” I asked. He placed a finger lightly on my lips and smiled.
“Patience. I’ll tell you after desert.” He said as he kissed my lips and went to the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned with two bowls. “You are going to be the first to taste our amazing ice cream special. I had my chef whip this up for you.”
“I’m honoured.” I said as I took a spoonful. It tasted like Heaven. It was unexplainable. No words could do justice to how the ice cream tasted. I ate maybe a bit too fast but I just didn’t have the strength to control my need for the next spoon. Aidan just watched me with a smile on his face. Before I knew it, my bowl was empty.
“Do you want more? You can have mine?” Aidan said pushing his bowl towards me.
“No, I can’t take another spoon. I’ll puke.” I said leaning back in my chair. “This is the best ice cream ever!”
“I told you he was great.” Aidan boasted. I nodded and let out a small giggle.
“So, the special occasion was the ice cream?” I asked. I had to speak or else I’d be lost in his eyes.
“No, the ice cream was to soften the blow.” He said as he stood up and came to kneel in front of me. “I think it’s time you know the whole truth about me and how it affects you. I feel it’s important because I have fallen in love with you.”
“Aidan…” I began but he put his finger on my lips to silence me. He had to stop doing that because every time he put his finger on my lips I just wanted to giggle like an idiot.
“Before you say anything, you need to hear everything.” He took my hand and led me to the long couch. I sat down and looked in his eyes.
“You aren’t a werewolf or vampire, are you? Because I have to say, that would be a huge turn on.” I said with a smile on my face. Aidan didn’t even smile at my lame joke.
“I need you to be serious, just for a second.” He said as he played with my hands in his hands.
“You’re scaring me.” I said as I freed my hand and touched his face. “Nothing can change the way I feel about you.”
“Hold that thought.” He said. I leaned in to kiss him but he turned away from me. “Just listen before I lose my nerve.”
I nodded. I was beginning to worry. Was he breaking up with me? Did he have a reason too? Maybe I talked too much! The questions ran through my mind and it took all my strength to focus as he started to talk to me.
“I was abandoned when I was a baby.” He began “Shuffled from foster home to foster home until I was ten. Then I was adopted by Andrew. He had a son called Adam. We clicked; me and Adam. Andrew had other plans for us. Adam and I were trained to be thieves and cons. We started with small stuff and then the older we got the bigger jobs we got.” He paused. “Adam was a great guy but he wanted more out of life. He wanted a simple life. He wanted out but Andrew wouldn’t let him. Adam became depressed. He was took drugs. His mood and behaviour became erratic. Then, he became suicidal. But Andrew just kept forcing him to work.
“A few years ago, Adam and I got a job. We were supposed to pick up some files from a safe. Easy job. But Adam stepped out to take care of the security when he came back he had a girl. I knew he’d been having one of those days so I knew that this would end badly. He wanted to rape her and when I told him not to, he wanted to kill her.” He stopped talking and kept looking into my eyes. The blood had stopped flowing in my veins and I had stopped breathing. I don’t know at what point I’d figured out that the story he was saying was mine. I started shaking my head as a sign to get him to stop talking.
“Ay is for Aidan.” I whispered as I stood up. He let go of my hands. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t be here. It was all too much. This was bigger than my worst nightmare. I couldn’t fix this no one could fix this to make sure Aidan and I stayed together. Why was I still paying for a mistake that I’d made years before?!
“I wanted to tell you sooner. I wanted to let you know. But when I saw you every Thursday in the restaurant I convinced myself that I could pretend nothing else connected us.” He said but I was too stunned to listen.
“You shoot your brother.” I said slowly as I started pacing. Pacing was better than running away which was what I really wanted to do.
“He was going to kill you. I had no choice.” Aidan said as he came to where I was trying to degrade with my pacing.
“I’m sorry.” I said as I grabbed my purse and dodged past him.
“Chris, please wait.” Aidan said trying to hold my hand.
“Please, let me go.” I looked into his eyes. He looked almost as sad as I felt. Slowly, his grip loosened and I pulled my hand free. I stumbled out into the road. As I stuttered blindly in the street, I could hear Aidan following behind me. This time he didn’t find the need to be inconspicuous, I knew he would leave only when he knew I was safe. I pulled out my phone intending to call Jason. Before it could ring the phone was pulled out of my hand.
“You have to listen to me. I’m sorry I never told you.” Aidan said pulling me to a stop. He held me by my shoulders and I had nowhere to look except into his eyes.
“I can’t do this to you. I’m the reason your brother is dead. I’m the reason you had to kill him!” I screamed as the tears rolled down my cheek. “How can you stand seeing me?”
“Chris, I love my brother but you have to understand that he was sick. He was going to kill you.” Aidan said “The fear in your eyes that night was over whelming. He didn’t see that. He was a great guy. If I didn’t stop him, he was going to do something stupid and regret it.” I started shaking my head trying to block out what he was saying. “I would do the same thing I did if that night was repeated right now.”
“I’m sorry.” I sobbed. I fell into his arms. He held me tight and let me cry. I was so broken that he had to carry me back to his place to give me a chance to pull myself together. It felt like a sin being in his arms and feeling his love for me radiating through him. How could anyone have such a heart? It puzzled me more as he wiped the tears off my face.
We were sitting on his bedroom floor. My eyes were red and swollen. I rested my head on his shoulder as he fed me ice cream to calm me down.
“Tell me about him.” I said. My voice was hoarse. I had to clear my throat a few times before I continued. “Tell me about Adam. Just the good stuff.”
“Where do I start?” Aidan said, obviously relieved that I was willing to talk. “Adam was great. He was hilarious. Funniest bastard to walk the earth. He was smart too. For my birthday he would do the craziest of things. One time, for my birthday he stole this bike that I wanted. Shop owner didn’t notice it was gone until four months later.”
“Sounds like quite the character.” I said as I sat up.
“Yeah. He was.” Aidan said softly.
“Do you ever regret it?” Aidan knew what I meant.
“No. I miss him every day. I love him with all my heart. But what I did that day was the biggest decision of my life. I cannot change it. I wouldn’t change it.” He said as he held my face in his hands. I tried to smile but it felt too painful. Just then my phone began to vibrate.
“I love you.” Aidan added. It felt like a slap on my face. Why was he doing this to me?
“I have to get that. It’s probably Lizzy. We have to go home.” I said was I slipped out of his warm hands.
I told Lizzy to come pick me up a couple of blocks away from Aidan’s place. Quietly, we walked out into the street.
“Thank you for telling me.” I said as I buried my face into his arm. I took a deep breath of  his scent and held it internally.
“You took it better than I expected. Thought you’d have a stroke.” He said with a soft laugh.
“Almost did. But what you did was the best gift ever. I get to let go off that night. Of course, I’ll be jumpy as far as strange, armed men are concerned but I don’t have unnecessary anger anymore.” I explained. He stopped and hugged me. I sunk into his warm embrace and let the world disappear. My phone began to vibrate in my purse.
“It’s Lizzy.” He said.
“I have to go.” I said as I pulled him tighter into my small arms. He kissed me and reluctantly let me go. I walked to the car while he stood, as always, watching me leave. I stopped at the door and looked at him. He waved and I smiled at him. The night ended. A new and deeper level of bonding with Aidan was opened and without any vacillation I stepped in.
The Monday that followed that weekend wasn’t so blue for me. It was like I was walking on sunshine. I wasn’t the only one; Luke and Heather were inseparable. I would have joined in the complaints made by everyone else if I wasn’t so starry eyed myself. Aidan and I had spent the whole weekend on the phone.
“Here’s your yoghurt, Heather.” Luke said with a smile. Chuck rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Somebody hand me a bag to puke in.” Chuck said sarcastically.
“Luke, dude, you’re beyond help.” Matt complained. “How long are you going to keep this up?”
“Keep what up?” Luke asked briefly taking his eyes off Heather. It reminded me of how Aidan looked at me.
“Leave him alone.” Heather said quietly.
“Yes, please do.” I added. I was beginning to feel pity for the couple.
“Love sick pups are so annoying.” Tessa said shaking her head. I just looked at my phone trying as hard as could to stay out of the line of fire. I had sent Aidan a message first thing in the morning but he hadn’t replied. He was probably still asleep, I reasoned. I slid my phone in my pocket and wondered if I had felt it vibrate so I yanked it out and looked at the dead screen. Obviously, it was all in my mind but I checked my received messages to make sure I hadn’t missed it.
“I agree,” the words strung out of my mouth. “Love-sick pups suck!”
“How’s your relationship going?” Chuck asked. I didn’t look up. I was trying to shake off the feeling of disappointment that was threatening to overpower me.
I shrugged in response.
“You don’t have to say anything, Lizzy already told me.” Chuck said smugly.
“No, she didn’t!” I screamed in horror. But I knew Lizzy hadn’t told her more than necessary. There was no way Lizzy would tell Chuck that I’d fallen in love with one of the men who’d haunted me for years. Chuck nodded.
“Then again, I had a feeling she would.” I said in surrender. If anything, my denial would keep Chuck on my case.
I got up and collected my books. Lunch break was over. I dragged my unwilling body for classes. I was going absolutely insane, regularly checking my phone to see if Aidan had replied but with each disappointing result my heart grew heavier. I walked into the library, my mind in another universe, and took a seat in one of the cubicles. I didn’t bother to open a book as I continued to stare of into space.
“Hi Chris.” a voice said from behind me. I reluctantly slipped back into reality, the reality which meant no reply from Aidan, a reality I wanted no part of.
“Dylan,” I said trying to sound more enthusiastic. “Hi!”
“Are you okay?” he asked. There it was again, the mind reading thing that Dylan did so well.
“Yeah,” I replied opening the first book my hands touched.  “What’s up?”
“Nothing really,” He said, obviously not convinced. “I don’t know what you’re doing right now but I’m going to do a little bit of Math. Do you want to join me?” I didn’t respond, wishing I could take back the day I’d told him I needed help with my Math. “You know, it’ll be nice to help you when I’m actually doing Math.”
“Err,” I said as I slowly exhaled. I wasn’t the best company at the moment but maybe that’s what I needed to get my mind off obsessing over Aidan. “Sure. Where are you sitting?”
“One of the small tables at the back. Right over there.” He pointed beyond the shelves and I knew exactly where he was talking about.
“I’ll be right over.” I said closing the book I’d opened when he had arrived. He just smiled and walked away. I rubbed my face and closed my eyes. What was happening to me? I opened my eyes slowly and got up.
Dylan was already working on something when I arrived. He piled up some books to make room for me to join him. I sat down and opened my note pad. I could feel his eyes on me as I flipped through my text book to the page he was on. He was dying to know what was eating me up but I wouldn’t tell him. He would be happy to know how Aidan was hurting me. Dylan hadn’t said anything but I could read in between the lines.
“Shall we?” he asked. I nodded and forced a smile on my face. He let out a small laugh which meant I hadn’t done a good job. Luckily, Dylan said nothing about my mood or the fact that I kept checking my phone every two seconds.
This turned out to be a good idea. Dylan was an awesome teacher. In the hour that followed he managed to teach me simpler methods for the Maths I knew, helped me understand the Math I couldn’t get and he even gave me a preview of the Math we were going to do in the next topic. I was even able to laugh, genuinely, by the time we packed up and left the library.
“Thank you so much.” I said as I checked my phone again.
“You’re welcome but now it’s time for you to pay up.” He said looking at me. I caught his stare from the corner of my eye as I put my phone in my pocket.
“Nothing’s for free, is it?” I asked with a chuckle. “Okay, I’ll give you anything. I’ll even put my sister on the table.”
“You have a sister?” Dylan asked in shock. We weren’t the best of friends but I expected him to pay a bit more attention when I spoke. Surely, I mentioned Lizzy before.
“Yeah, Lizzy. She started home school just before you came here.” I said slowly hoping to jog his memory. He still had the stupid blank expression on his face so I gave up.
“Okay. I don’t want your sister. I need to go somewhere to drop off a package from my mum. It’s not that far from here. I was wondering if you would come with me.”
“Hmmm,” I deliberated. Dylan eyes pleaded with me but I was really anxious to see Aidan.
“It’s really not that far. I’ll buy you ice cream and help you solve your dilemma.” He said with a smile.
“What dilemma?” I frowned at him.
“Your phone issues.” He said pointing at the pocket my hand was resting on. Just then I felt it vibrate. My heart leapt and I fumbled to retrieve it. I opened the new message and my heart fell to the floor when I realised it was from Lizzy. She wanted to know what time I’d be home because she was going shopping with mum.
Going shopping with mum. Come home early so that we go together if you want.
I almost put the phone back into my pocket without replying.
Go ahead. I’ll be a bit late today. Have fun. See you when you get back. I typed.
“Ice cream sounds like a good idea.” I said looking up at Dylan. I knew I’d be a wet blanket if I went shopping with Lizzy and mum, rather spend time with Dylan. He had managed to lift my mood in a few minutes.
“Great. What’s going on with your phone?” he asked as we strolled out of the school yard.
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
“It’s got something to do with a guy?” He continued.
“Kind of… Okay, yes.” I surrendered to his inquisition.
“He hasn’t called when he said he would?” He went on.
“Not exactly. We’ve been hanging out for the past few weeks. We were on the phone yesterday the whole day and today… nothing. It’s like he’s vanished.” I explained.
“How would you rate these dates?” He questioned.
“Excuse me?” I asked in astonishment.
“I’m trying to help you figure out why he hasn’t called.” Dylan said defensively.
Before I knew it, I’d told Dylan about the whole situation, excluding the minor details like how Aidan was a thief. I even bored him with the details of the dates. Everything was out there; the way we met (when he didn’t have a mask), the first date, the ice cream parlour Aidan had built, his bed. By the time we sat down for yoghurt after the delivery Dylan was up to speed with my drama. Dylan listened with no hint of judgement on his face and in his responses. I looked at him with great curiosity as to what his diagnosis would be.
“It’s a good thing you’re here having yoghurt with me.” He said with a smile.
“Why?” I asked with a smile.
“Because you’d have probably driven yourself insane or done something stupid.” He said curtly.
“Something stupid?” I repeated.
I really wanted to go past the restaurant where Aidan worked after school to see if he’d come in. I’d have just looked in through the window; not even said a word to him. But I knew I wouldn’t resist so I’d probably end up confronting him. That wasn’t stupid, right?
“Yes, stupid. Like the idea that popped into your head when I mentioned stupid ideas.” He said with a smile.
“Whatever!” I said shoving a spoonful of yoghurt into my mouth.
“You don’t want to do anything rush. He might be nursing his sick mum for all you know.” The thought of that filled me with guilt. Not the sick mum part but Dylan had a good point. Something could have happened to Aidan. But wasn’t that good enough reason for me to want to be there for him more? My mind was definitely on a mission to drive me mad.
“I guess. It’s been less than a day.” I spoke softly and thoughtfully.
“What do you like about this guy? I mean you barely know him.” Dylan finally said after a while.
“I know him tonnes. I just don’t know him the way you’d understand.” I said defensively. But Dylan shot a displeased look at me. “Let’s just say, I know him plenty enough.”
“Is that like code for something?” Dylan said with a laugh. I didn’t even want to imagine what Dylan was thinking.
“I can’t explain further. I have a feeling you don’t want to understand, anyway.” I said looking blankly at my yoghurt.
“I think you’re falling for this guy too soon. He might not be the love of your life. Maybe you’ll miss out on that love while you blindly hold on to this guy.” Dylan said. I looked up to see him watching me. He flashed a quick smile. “You’re ready to go?”
“Yeah.” I said pushing the cup away from me.
Jason was waiting for me outside in the parking lot of the shopping area. Dylan opened the door for me and said good bye. Jason didn’t seem to mind Dylan as much as he minded Aidan. I would have asked him what his problem was but I decided against it. I looked at my phone the whole way home. Just as Jason pulled into the driveway I sent a message to Aidan.
Hi, hope you had a great day. Can I see you tomorrow after school? I can swing by the restaurant if you want.
The message was gone when I started wishing I hadn’t sent it. But it was gone. I had double anxiety waiting for him to reply. At first I was angry at him for not replying but my anger disappeared and was replaced by sadness. This sadness was so profound I didn’t know what to do with it. Mum and Lizzy weren’t home so I sat in my room and plugged my ears with loud Rock music. I tried to drown the questions about Aidan that rang in my head with the music. In the beginning it didn’t work but after a while I started singing along to the songs I loved. The sadness didn’t go away but it became bearable.
Mum and Lizzy got home an hour after I had. I helped them bring in the groceries and mum started working on supper. She was surprised when I offered to help. I was rarely found in the kitchen yet alone to help with the cooking.
Lizzy went to our room to work on her homework. I volunteered to wash and cut the vegetables.
“How was school?” Mum asked when she realised how preoccupied I was.
“Great.” I said washing the carrots longer and harder than necessary.
“Sweetie, I think that carrot is clean now.” Mum said from the stove.
“Oh, right.” I said with a smile as I put it in the bowl.
“He’s not worth it.” Mum said as she stirred her pot.
“What?” I said. I was entering a dangerous zone with mum and I wanted to be awake for it.
“The guy you’re obsessing over.” She said casually.
“I don’t want to talk about it hence my being here instead of upstairs with Dr. Phil.” I said chopping the vegetables that I’d washed.
“Are you taking a gap year next year?” mum asked without protest to my evasive tone.
“Probably. Depends on a lot of things. I’ll see year end.” I said placing the knife into the sink. Mum thanked me as I dragged myself out of the kitchen.
I avoided Lizzy as much as possible that night, taking long and frequent visits to the bathroom when I felt cornered. Lizzy knew me too well and I knew myself well enough to know that I’d end up telling Lizzy everything if I got half a chance. What I didn’t know was what I’d tell Lizzy. I was so free with Lizzy that I’d confess things about myself that I wouldn’t admit to myself.
After supper I found myself trapped with Lizzy in our room.
“I know you’re hoping I don’t ask,” Lizzy began “so I’m giving you this chance to come clean before I ask.”
“He hasn’t called or texted me the whole day.” I said as I shook my phone.
“What!? It’s been a whole day, not a word from him?” Lizzy said sarcastically.
“No, seriously. I’m worried.” I tried to explain but nothing I could come up with made sense to how I felt.
“He’s a professional thief, who can take very good care of himself. Why are you worried?” Lizzy reminded me. Sometimes I thought she brought up his past just to see if I’d tired of him and dump him.
“I just hate this.” I mumbled.
“Talking about him being a thief;” Lizzy said as she slipped into her blankets “are you sure you want to be involved with a man who steals, to say the least, for a living.”
“He used to. It wasn’t much of a choice.” I said defensively “And who knows, this could die into nothing.”
“Umhuh.” Lizzy didn’t sound convinced. I groaned.
“Shut up! Read your stupid MacBeth.” I shouted.
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with no new message from Aidan. It wasn’t hard to fall asleep. I sleep when I’m stressed so there wasn’t much time wasted before I was in dreamland. Aidan was there waiting for me.
“Hi,” I said expecting a hug but he stood a distance away from me with his arms folded across his chest.
“Hi.” There was something strange about the way he was looking at me. There was no love, no need, no care…
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. I was getting angry but it’s okay. You’re here now.” I said confusion flooding my mind. I started talking about anything could think of but he didn’t answer. I posed questions and they just hung in the air. He didn’t seem to be listening. “Aidan, are you listening to me? Why aren’t you answering?”
“I would, if you gave me time to talk.” He said after what felt like forever. I looked at him more perplexed than before.
I took a hesitant step towards him. My eyes met his but it was as though he wasn’t looking at me; like he couldn’t see me. The distance between us became smaller and smaller. I could feel my body fill with relief but as I stretched my hand out to touch him he was gone. There was no sign that he had been there right in front of me. I looked around frantically hoping to see him or anything.
That was when my eyes popped open.
The darkness in our bedroom stung my eyes because my dream was so clear and colourful. I reached for my phone. There was still no message from Aidan. That took me to a new level of sadness that I thought wasn’t possible. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness of reality I noticed that it was getting lighter outside. The time registered on my phone was close to half past five. I had just a little over thirty minutes till mum would come and wake me up. I sunk back into my bed and covered my head. This was going to be one of those days I already hated.