Nathaniel

8

Nate pov

No matter how hard my friends tried, none of them could break my thoughts of the blonde haired angel. They'd offered me drugs and alcohol and I'd declined them all. I'd had enough 'drugs' from squeezing Aidans shoulder. The slightest touch lit a fire within me- stronger than any drug I'd taken.

I sat alone under the golden oak waiting for Aidan. I couldn't wait to see him again. It was all I could think about. I saw him- slightly limping- towards me. His hood was falling off his head but he was quick to pull it back up. It made me wonder what he was trying to hide but I didn't question it. If he wanted to hide, I'd let him hide.
"Hey." I sided up next to him. "I live a short walk away but I can get us a lift if you want. Your choice."
"I'll walk. Thank you."
"All right." We walked in silence until I decided to ask about something quite personal. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but why do you wear a hood? I'm sure you look beautiful."
"I feel more protected when I wear it. And safe but thank you."
"I'm gonna warn you, Rob'll try and ask you to remove your hood but you don't have to if you don't wanna."
"Thanks... who's Rob?"
"He's like my dad. He's not but he's the next best thing."
"So he's your stepdad?"
"You'll see."
...

We barely made it through the front door when Jacob came bounding into my arms, tears in his eyes. I scooped him up from the floor and let him cry into my shoulder. I indicated for Aidan to wait for me in the living room whist I tried to console the upset child.
"I'm scared." Jacob whispered. "Don't leave me. Please."
"I won't. I promise nothin' Rob will do can hurt you. He is trying to help you." The cries subsided before he spoke again.
"I don't want to go back to him Nate. He scares me."
"You won't. I promise." Rob wouldn't let anyone go back somewhere he didn't seem to be safe.
Once Jacob was happy enough to let me go, I wandered into Rob's office to have a quick chat about Jacob and Aidan before heading into the lounge. I found Aidan perched on the edge of the sofa, his  hoodie sleeve rolled up. There were bruises and cuts all over it but I barely got a chance to see before he pulled the sleeve down again.
"Aid? What was that?" He didn't reply. "Are you hurt?" Still no reply.
"Is this your house? It's huge! And was that your brother?"
"I'll explain once we head up to my room."
Up in my room, me and Aidan sat on my bed. I pulled my legs up to my chest before beginning.
"This ain't exactly my home. I do have a home but I can't live there anymore. My mom neglected me since we moved here and only payed attention to me when she thought I was misbehaving -usually ending in violence. Social services and ma dad thought it'd be best for me to live in care. So now I'm here. My brother still lives at home though. She loves him. "
"Is that boy okay?"
"Jacob? Yeah. He should be fine. He only joined us a few days ago so he's very scared."
"How many people live here?"
"It depends but right now there's probably 16 of us. Excluding Rob."
"Must be nice to have a big family."  Aidan mumbled. I noticed under the darkness of his hood that tears were dripping down his cheeks. I pulled him into me. He tried to pull away but eventually relaxed in my arms.
"Hey. Shh. You're okay. I'm okay. Shh. No need to cry. Is this about your arm?" He shook his head.  "I don't want you to cry Aid. Please don't cry."
"I'm sorry for crying." He said, wiping his eyes.
"Don't be sorry. You're safe with me. Always. I need to cry sometimes too."