My Boyfriend's Best Friend

Chapter Sixteen

Rylie

“Bye, Mum!” I called, slamming the door to Mum’s Mitsubishi Pajero shut. I never really understood why she had a big 4x4 when she despised all things outdoorsy and our family consisted of just me and her most of the time.

“Rylie!” she shouted back. Groaning, I halted mid-step and spun around to face her instead of Aidan’s house. Please don’t go into the ‘make sure you’re being safe’ talk again, I inwardly pleaded. Mum knew I was responsible with these sorts of things yet for some reason she decided today was as good as any day to lecture me one more time about it. Sometimes I regret telling her about my time with Aidan but I have to admit, I liked being close to her. It made up for the absence of my dad - not that I was bitter about it; it just sucked sometimes.

“Yes?” I asked, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. I was so ready to make up with Aidan and every moment I spent with my mum was a moment with Aidan wasted.

“I’ll pick you up at ten thirty.” It was the only reason Mum had let me go to Aidan’s on a school night. We had agreed that she would pick me up and drop me off so I wouldn’t spend all night there; something I’ve done in the past.

I quickly checked my phone. It was just before seven so that gave me and Aidan three and a half hours together.

“Okay, bye,” I said, jogging up the stairs to Aidan’s house. I heard the car drive off and I smiled. Finally. The porch light had flicked on the moment we arrived and the few steps to Aidan’s door were well lit. I stroked the brass lion door knocker before opening the door and making my way inside. I’d been to Aidan’s house so many times over the past three years that it was basically my house too. Aidan’s mum, Lisa, had given me a key and I even had a drawer in Aidan’s room with some of my stuff.

“Hello?” I called out as I entered the hallway. Despite knowing every nook and cranny in the house, I was still in awe at the beauty of the place. The inside had marble floors and smooth columns that added a Roman feeling to the place as well as displayed the wealth of the Kingston-Martini’s. It was sparsely decorated by an interior designer yet it somehow felt like a home and not part of some design collection. There were personal touches such as baby photos of Aidan and Dave and Lisa’s wedding photos but they only added to the splendour of the place. I stopped by a small table and picked up a photo of Aidan when he was about two. I smiled as I looked at him in his red Thomas the Tank Engine T-shirt and nappy. Even then, he was adorable with his huge smile that lit up the room and that twinkle in his brown eyes.

I put the photo down and moved from the open hallway towards the kitchen which was the hub of the house. Finding it empty, I checked the schedule on the stainless steel fridge that displayed Dave and Lisa’s work times. I quickly skimmed over today’s timetable. Dave was working late at his restaurant and Lisa had a meeting at eight. That meant that Aidan and I had the house to ourselves.

Grinning, I walked out and wandered up the staircase to his room, trailing my hand along the wooden banister.

“Aidan,” I called softly as I entered the short hallway. The décor up here was different to the rooms downstairs and had a touch of modern masculinity. The light wasn’t on so I doubted Aidan was up here but it was his usual hang out place. I flicked it on and proceeded to poke my head into each of the three rooms and found them all to be as dark and empty as the next. I paused by his bedroom and dropped my purse on his bed. I had a quick look in his walk in robe and bathroom to see if he was in there but he wasn’t. Slightly perturbed, I was about to head back downstairs to search the lower rooms when something outside the window caught my eye. I wandered over to the window and saw Aidan lying on a pool recliner in the pool.