Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Twenty-Two

I posted chapters 22-23 so make sure you read them in order!!!

The pounding noise didn't ease in the slightest as I climbed out of bed and tiptoes down the hallway. Reaching the kitchen, I turned and saw Gavin tiptoeing after me. The banging on the door had woken him up, too. Through the sheer curtains on our windows, I could see a dark silhouette standing out our doorstep. My brother quietly grabbed a knife from a kitchen drawer and started easing his way to the front door. "Stay there," he mouthed to me. "Don't move." I nodded in return and watched my brother slowly unlock the front door and then quickly swing it open.

Immediately, we both sighed in relief, when we saw that it was just Aria. My brother quickly lowered his knife and stepped to the side, silently inviting her inside. She was dressed in her pajamas, which made sense since it was after midnight. She didn't have any makeup on and her long red hair was thrown up into a floppy bun. Her big green eyes were red and filled with tears that were streaming down her cheeks. For a short moment, we just stared at each other.

"Well, I'm going to leave you two to it, then," my brother said, obviously not knowing what to do with a crying teenage girl.

Once he had disappeared into his room, I opened my arms and Aria raced into my embrace. As soon as I hugged her, she started crying harder until it turned into a sob. I just stared at the front door that was still open as her tears soaked the shoulder of my fleece pajamas. "Do you want to talk about it?" I whispered softly after a while.

She nodded and pulled away, wiping the tears out of her eyes as I closed and locked the front door. Grabbing her hand, I led her to my bedroom, where she dropped on my unmade bed and cuddled against my pillow, before swaddling herself in my duvet. I grabbed an extra pillow and hugged it, sitting on the end of my own bed, waiting for my friend to start her story. "What happened?" I asked her.

She closed her eyes tightly, before wiping them again. "Holden and I had a huge fight," she told me, choking on her tears. "Kason told Holden that I said I loved Kason when I was drunk, which I don't even remember saying, but even if I d-did, I d-didn't mean it! Kason is like a brother to me," she cried. A small relief settled my stomach when she said she didn't like Kason, which confused me.

I smiled sadly at her. "You did tell Kason you love him," I informed her. "I heard you say it. But we know that you love Holden more than anything. We know Kason is a brother to you."

She inhaled a deep shaky breath, taking in that what she was told is true. "I don't love Kason," she insisted. "I love Holden."

I nodded and placed a comforting hand on her leg covered with my blanket. "I know. We all do."

"Holden doesn't." She seemed to be in a daze as more tears streamed down her cheeks. "He thinks I'm in love with Kason instead of him."

I spent over an hour, calming Aria down. I didn't tend to be a person who could easily comfort someone, but something that I did worked because soon, her mind was somewhat eased. I figured she wanted some time to her own thoughts, so I told her she could sleep in my room and I would sleep on the couch. She didn't bother arguing or even speaking up, instead, she let me stand from my bed. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand before I moved to leave. Right before I closed the bedroom door behind me, I didn't miss the tear that escaped her eye.

I had to make sure they worked everything out.

Walking down the hallway, I dialed Holden's number. He answered after the first ring. "Hello?"