✓ | WELCOME TO DEADTOWN → original

ten

AIDEN O'CONNER WAS KNOWN AS THE OUTCAST OF EDGEWATER HIGH, BUT NOT BECAUSE HE WAS WEIRD OR TROUBLE, LIKE ANY OTHER PERSON WOULD BE. Aiden had learned a long time ago not to trust people- because if you did, you were bound to get hurt. That was what had happened with his parents, and now look what their relationship was. Locking him in his room for hours at a time and verbal abuse from both his parents' directions were common things at the O'Conner household, and was exactly why Aiden tried to spend as much time away from them as possible.

He was glad that the two had left for another vacation. If they were here, they would most definitely blame him for what was going on in the town and he would be the one covering up bruises, not Kayden. It wasn't like that all the time, though. Only when they were drunk or wasted. He just tried to ignore it.

Aiden hadn't come close to trusting anyone until he saw what had happened to Kayden in the parking lot that Monday morning. And through her, he had met the rest of his now unlikely group of friends. For the first time, he felt if he needed any of them for anything, they would immediately respond. It was a good feeling, and it made him happy. But Kayden was different. He felt a connection with her that he had never felt with anyone before. He didn't know what exactly this was, and it hurt too much to think about- especially now when he knew she was with Kyle Becker.

Yes, Aiden O'Conner was a loner. But one of the things Aiden O'Conner wasn't was stupid.

So when he received a text message from her as he was driving to pick up Casey and Holland- and forty-five minutes before he was going to be at Kyle Becker's own doorstep- he knew it was complete and total bullshit.

He pressed his lips together, squinting at the screen before him. In her letter, she had told him he would be checking her phone. Which meant there was no way she had sent him this text. He knew her- or at least he hoped he did- and this was not her.

He pulled up to Holland's driveway, as she had told him not to come to Casey's because of his dad's towering drunkeness and rage built on top of everything, and the two of them crashed out the front door.

Holland grabbed onto Casey's hand to keep from falling, and it was comical to see them sliding on the frost that had seemed to form in minutes that afternoon. Gone were the days of shorts and tshirts, and Aiden noticed with interest that Holland was wearing the sweatshirt Casey had been wearing the day before.

As they slipped and slid towards his car, he grinned, opening the door for the two of them. The squashed into the backseat, shaking the water droplets off their clothes.

"How's it going, O'Conner?" Casey punched him in the shoulder. "Ready to get wasted?"

Aiden shook his head. "Designated driver, stupid. Someone's gotta cover for you all so you don't become the dumbasses who died not from murder, but from drunk driving."

"Aww," Holland leaned around the driver's seat and kissed him on the cheek. "Christ, Aiden, you're like our guardian angel."

"Woah!" Casey said, shielding his eyes. "PDA, Hols. Disgusting."

"Relax," Holland rolled her eyes and sat back as Aiden turned onto Kyle's street. "Everyone knows he's head over heels for Kayden anyway."

"What?" A redness had creeped up Aiden's neck. "Bullshit."

"Oh, whatever," Holland said matter-of-factly. "I saw the way you looked at her at Becker's party Tuesday. You don't look at just anyone like that. Besides, she needs you."

Aiden shook his head. "She can handle herself."

Holland shared a glance with Casey, and then looked back at Aiden. Her voice became softer. "You know that's not true."