The River Speaks

Chapter Thirty Two: The White Book

Chapter Thirty Two: The White Book

I feel bad for showing up at his Mom's house at five in the morning, but everyone always says love makes you do crazy things.

I just never understood it until now.

I walk up the path, clenching my phone and Aiden's phone in each of my hands in the pockets of his jacket.

A light is on in the kitchen.

Maybe his Mom is an early riser.

Anxious. I raise my fist and knock.

After a few seconds, the porch light comes on and his Mom opens the front door.

She pauses slightly, and then she looks shocked.

"Lily? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Is he here?" I whisper.

"Aiden?" She asks. "Sweetie no, I haven't seen him since Thanksgiving. Why? What's wrong?"

"Do you remember that night I was here and I was crying?"

"Yes." She says.

"And you told me that somebody is going to come along and fight for me and I'll wake up and realize I'm done hiding?"

She smiles.

"Aiden?"

I sigh.

"Yes. But the problem is...and please don't kill me, but I may or may not have ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped all over it before I realized that I'm madly in love with him."

She sighs slowly.

"He's probably at home."

"No he's not. I just came from Boston."

"Maybe he's at Reese's house."

"Reese says he hasn't seen him."

"Do you really believe that? What if Aiden doesn't want you to know?"

I hesitate.

"I don't know. I told Reese to tell Aiden that I love him. If he told Aiden that-"

"My boy would have you with him if he thought you loved him." She says calmly.

"Aiden told Reese he was taking a trip."

"So why don't you wait for him to get back?"

I rub my forehead.

"I can't do that."

"You could lose your job."

"Or I could lose Aiden. I pick Aiden."

"Sweetheart, you do know that there is a winter storm coming, right? Their won't be any flights out of any of the airports near us for a couple of days."

I'm trapped.

"Feel free to stay here. Maybe he'll show up for Christmas."

"I wouldn't want to intrude, especially after what I just did to Aiden-"

"Aiden already forgives you." She says. "And honestly, he's not blaming you. He's blaming your ex boyfriend."

"How do you know that?" I ask. "Have you spoken to him? Where is he?"

She gives me a sad smile and squeezes my hands.

"I haven't sweetheart, I just know my son." She heads for the door in her scrubs, "I have to go to work. Make yourself at home. Use Aiden's room."

"Are you sure it's okay I stay here until the storm passes?"

"I'm positive." She smiles.

She walks out and locks the door, and I make my way upstairs.

I shower with the stuff from my suitcase, and then I wander into Aiden's bedroom.

It's dark and I can't find the light switch.

I trip over something and go toppling to the floor, groaning at the feeling of my knee slamming down on the wood.

My hand lands on a wire, so I follow it to it's source, flinching at the pain in my knee.

It leads to something metal and round, up a rod-

I turn the thing and light floods the room.

Sighing, I sit down, rubbing my knee.

What the hell did I trip on?

The room is fairly clean, except for a white book with no writing on the front.

Confused, I reach over and pick it up, flipping open the first page.

Hideaways

Written by: ASH

ASH?

Aiden Sebastian Hunt.

My eyebrows raise slightly and I slowly get up, sitting down on his mattress.

Please do not read without permission.

I flip to the first page anyways, and then slam the book shut.

No. I love him, I'm not going through his stuff.

When, not if, but when I find him, I'll ask him if I can read it.

I set the book on his bedside table and turn off the lamp, unlocking my phone.

I check my bank account and sigh.

Yeah, this is not good.

I have about ten thousand dollars in savings.

If I want to find Aiden, I'm going to have to use some of it.

Do to fulfill my dream of owning my own riding store, or do I want to find Aiden?

Both.

Only, my dream won't feel good without Aiden there, too.

My only problem is, where the hell will I go next? Aiden would never go to California. I know in my heart that he's not there.

I text Reese.

Me: reese do you promise Aiden isn't with you

Reese: he's not here Lily, I swear my whole life on it. He's not with his Mom?

Me: no

Reese: god. You really fucked him up. Well don't bother checking his dads house. Everyone knows he wouldn't go there

Me: I dont know what to do

Reese: hes only going to be gone for like two weeks dude. Just come back to boston

Me: I can't do that

And I can't.

Well I can, technically, but I'm not going to.

Aiden is an amazing person and he's very handsome.

What if some girl sweeps him off of his feet? He started having feelings for me the night he met me.

No. Every ounce of my body burns to have Aiden with me, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that we belong together.

I'm not going to stop looking for him until he gets home.