The Art of Mending Memories

The Art of Mending Memories 23

The Art of Mending Memories

Chapter 23

The next two days came and went. I aced my math test; Aaron nearly failed his. Maybelle increased her effort, leaving me with the sounds of giggles behind me every day in Biology class.

I guess it was no surprise, then, when Maybelle called my name after Biology on Wednesday. I gritted my teeth and waited for her to catch up/ We were in the parking lot, and I couldn't wait to go home.

Maybelle called my name again. I turned around to see her standing behind me.

"You and Aaron are, like, good friends, right?" Maybelle asked.

"Uh," I started, "not really. No."

"'Cause you guys are, like, together a lot. Like, lunch, and in the hallway, and stuff."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know," I said in a flat voice. "What's your point?"

"Oh," she giggled. "I just wanted to know how much Aaron likes me."

"How much? Are you so sure of the if?"

"Duh. Like, puh-leaze." Maybelle giggled and started twirling her hair with her finger. "It's so obvious. He's always, like, all over me."

"Right." I said, just to say something. "So what's your question?"

"OMG," Maybelle yelled, dropping her hand. "You are, like, totally right, Kaelyn. He's like, obsessed with me!"

I raised my eyebrows in humorous disbelief.

"He must be shy! That's like, why he hasn't asked me out yet. That's so cute!" Maybelle exclaimed. She giggled. "I'll put him at ease."

"Okay," I said, just trying to get her to leave. "That's great. Good luck to you. Hope it works out. I'm gonna go now."

I turned and walked to my car, shaking my head. I was very surprised ̶ humored, but surprised. I laughed at I opened the car door. I couldn't wait to see Aaron's reaction.

ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ

"So what did you learn in school today?" Aunt Jane asked from behind the driving wheel.

I shrugged under my seatbelt. "That it's possible to be so self-centered it's interchangeable with stupidity."

Aunt Jane glanced at me. "It took you 17 years to figure that out? I figured that out when I was five!"

Aunt Jane pulled into a parking space at a restaurant. She hadn't felt like making dinner.

"Well, I certainly learned that self-centeredness is equal to stupidity before I was 17."

I opened the door and stepped out. "I knew you were lying."

She mimicked my actions. "Not lying, just stretching the truth."

"Whatever. Let's go eat. I'm hungry."

ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ

Maybelle had made her move on Aaron the next day. While I had found it humorous, it appeared Aaron felt otherwise.

I was barely arriving home, driving up the driveway, when I noticed a black care behind me. one look at the driver, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

We exited out cars at the same time. I turned around. Aaron stomped up to me, clearly enraged. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"What now?" I demanded.

"What the hell?" He yelled. I took a defensive step back. "Why did you tell Maybelle all that shit?"

"What shit?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Aaron growled. "I am not in love with her. I do not want to date her. I do not constantly think about her. And I do not want to have her in my life!" Every time he said 'not,' his volume increases and hjis voice got more aggressive.

My mouth dropped open and laughter poured out of it. "She said that?" I threw my head back. "I wish I could have been there! what did you say back?"

"It. Is. Not. Funny."

I laughed harder.

"Have you been telling her this shit the whole time?"

I shook my head. "But I kind of wish I had."

Aaron growled. "Why did you tell her it now?"

I laughed a bit more. "I didn't. I just stood by and listened to her arrive at her own conclusions. It's not my fault she's so self-centered."

With a roar, Aaron threw himself at the tree beside me. his fist came in contact with the trunk, sending a powerful wave of momentum up the tree. golden leaves rained down on us.

My body froze and the humor vanished from the atmosphere. Fear blazed through me. I wanted to run; to hide. I couldn't breathe.

Aaron shook with anger, his inner beast awakening. I could tell he wanted to shift. For whatever reason he was holding it in. Aaron made a pained sound. His head leaned against a branch of the tree. Suddenly, his body stilled, as if he reigned in his anger. Still, I was terrified.

Aaron shook his head. "No," he said, his voice pained. "No." He turned around. "No."

I had no idea what he was saying 'no' to. He stumbled toward me. I backed away. Aaron took a few more steps forward before dropping to his knees. His shoulders curled inward. His head fell down. He shoulders trembled.

"Please, Kaelyn. I don't care if you hate me. You can feel about me anyway you want. Just don't," he lifted his head, moisture thickening his eyes, "fear me. Anything but fear." His head fell back down.

I stood, rooted in my spot, watching Aaron. He curled forward, dropping his head in his hands.

"Do you understand what it's like?" He asked. "The one person in the world who should feel safest with me, who I would never hurt, is terrified of me. Terrified that I will attack her, rip her apart, hurt her. I would never do that. I could never do that." Aaron looked up at me, dropping his hands. "Do you understand that?" He yelled, his voice cracking. "Do you understand that I could never hurt you?" His head dropped back down. "I could never...I could never..never.."

I gulped, unsure. I knew the truth of his words. I could almost feel the truth of them. Still, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to leave; I wanted to stay. I wanted to comfort him; I wanted to walk away. Putting my own feelings aside, I pitied the werewolf. Aunt Jane was right: he didn't hurt me all those years ago.

I swallowed my fear and walked towards Aaron's crumpled form. I ran my fingers through his wavy, black hair, allowing the silk strands to caress my hand. After a moment Aaron moved, wrapping his arms around my waist. His head went into my stomach.

"I don't hate you," I told him softly. "I just don't like you that much." He clung to me tighter. "I'm working on it. It's hard for me though, Aaron. you have no idea how terrified I am." A sob broke out from Aaron. "Give me time, Aaron. I can't change overnight." Aaron nodded his head against my stomach, still refusing to let go.

We stayed like that for many minutes. Finally, my stomach growled, calling me inside.

Aaron laughed once. "I'll let you go eat, then." He let go and stood up. His hand came up and the backs of his fingers brushed my cheek. He gave me a weak smile and backed up until he reached his car. Sighing one last time, he got in the car and drove away.

------------------------------- Well, here it is. I hope you all enjoy it. I've noticed that my chapters lately have been getting shorter, and I'm really sorry for that. I dont really know why... Anyway, i was rereading my story, and I realized there are a lot of pieces (small things) that dont really fit. Sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you all! ps, happy late Bastille day!