It's You

Chapter Twenty Three

The moment we got outside, he asked if he could borrow my car. I said yes, and then he drove it to his parents' house, dropped me off, promised to come back for me, and then he left.

Ali was there when I got there, along with her parents. They kept asking me what happened, and I told them exactly what I knew, which was nothing.

Now it's well past eleven and Declan is sleeping in Peter's arms, Camilla is awake, constantly checking her phone, and I keep sitting down and getting up to look out the window. Ali is scrolling through her phone and randomly looking up every time she hears the smallest noise.

"Has he done anything like this before?" I ask suddenly.

"No," Camilla shakes her head. "Never."

"I have a really bad feeling," Ali admits. "I'm scared."

Ali is the type of person who never gets scared. She will drive perfectly calm in pouring rain and black ice, get into a car accident and just keep driving after she hits a pole. She once stood outside to watch a  tornado when we were kids. Camilla came outside to drag her into the house. The last time I remember seeing her be scared was the day Aiden left for the Navy. She came to me after she went to drop him off at the base. She was crying and she said she was scared that he was going to die.

So for her to be scared makes me want to be terrified.

I shake my head to myself and reach for my phone when I hear the front door shut, followed by footsteps.

Everyone stands up, except for Peter.

Aiden walks into the living room wearing black cargo pants and a grey t-shirt. He sets a duffle bag on the ground.

A woman walks in after him. She has vibrant blue eyes and straight brown hair. She looks like she's been crying.

"Alexandra, meet Emily. Em, this is my fiancé, Alex."

"Hi." Emily sniffles and waves.

"Hey..." I wave back.

"I'm leaving town for a little while." Aiden says calmly. "But I'll be back."

He seems completely calm, but there's an edge to his body language that I don't understand.

He looks determined.

"Where are you going?" Ali asks.

"Why?" Peter inquires.

"I need answers, Aiden." Camilla orders.

I look at Aiden for a long time, my mind working quickly as I take in the urgency of the phone call, the way he said "negative" earlier instead of just "no", and the girl, Emily, who has been crying.

"You're going back to Libya." I say quietly, immediately wrapping my arms around myself.

His eyes hold mine for a few seconds, but he doesn't say anything.

He doesn't have to.

"I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not." He says immediately, shaking his head. "No. Over my dead body."

Aiden has never once, not in my entire life, just told me no before.

"You can't tell me what to do-"

"You're not coming." He says. "You are going to stay with Emily. You guys are going to support each other through this, no matter what happens."

No matter what happens.

"Why?" I ask.

He rubs his eyebrow for a moment, and then he sighs.