Blood Money - The Sequel

•12•

There's a knock on the door, interrupting our movie. Sam pauses it and gets up, walking over to open the door.
"Hey where's Aria?" I hear.
I look over to the door and see Tom walking in, holding an overnight bag in his hand.
"How'd you find me?" I ask.
"You're not that slick" he shakes his head. "Brought you some stuff"
He sets the bag down for me, full of my things.
"Thank you." I say.
"When are you coming home?" He asks, sitting next to me, Sam and Harry taking this moment to step out and let us talk.
"I don't know.. it's just weird between us now" I say.
"It doesn't have to be" he says.
"But it is. I'm just.. I'm not like you guys. I can't just sit there and experience death every day. It's exhausting having to worry about everyone I come in contact with because if they make one wrong move, they're dead. I don't want death to follow me like that."
"It was my fault" he says, trying to get the blame off Harrison, but it's not just about last night anymore.
"I think it would be best if I stay here a couple days. Let myself feel some normalcy for a bit.. is that okay?"
He sighs, running his hand through his hair anxiously.
"Whatever you need." He nods.
"Promise I'll be back." I say.
"Good, cause I can't secretly eat ice cream at 2am with anyone else" he says and I laugh.
_____
"Morning" I greet my little brothers, pouring a cup of coffee.
"Sam's making breakfast" Harry says. "Get ready to be blown away"
I've had dinner with Sam several times, but have yet to be blessed by his breakfast food. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I love having a chef in the family.
Haz hasn't tried to text me or reach out to me in any way, which is really unexpected. Maybe he realizes I need some time to myself.
"Boys can you watch Tessa today?" I hear and turn to face the front door, seeing Nikki walk in, Tessa running in from behind her.
"Yeah" Sam nods.
"Hey Tess" I smile, leaning down to pet the dog.
"Hello Aria, you're here early" Nikki smiles, hugging me.
"Stayed the night" I shrug.
"Everything okay?" She asks.
Man she's good at knowing when somethings up. I swear this woman knows everything.
"Haz is a dickhead" Harry says and I roll my eyes.
"Oh no what'd he do?" Nikki asks.
"It's not like that" I shake my head. "He didn't do anything"
"Let's go talk yeah?" She questions.
I nod, I could use another woman to talk to. We walk out onto the back patio, sitting outside in the crisp morning air.
"I know exactly what's going on. I get it" she says.
"You do?" I ask.
"You could call them mobsters, you could call them protective, but at the end of the day they kill. They hurt. They can ruin people's lives." She says. "Don't get me wrong, I loved my husband. And I love Tom. But this life isn't ideal. That's why I didn't keep you, i didn't want you to grow up around all of this"
Woah.. she really does get it.
"I can't even have friends, cause I'll be terrified that they'll screw up and get killed. I can't go to school without accidentally pulling my gun on someone. Everything's just messy. The one comfort I have is my relationship and now that's gotten just as messy.." I explain.
I sigh, sitting back in my seat. I love Haz. I love him with everything in me.. but how much of myself can I loose in the process of loving him? Is being with him worth loosing myself?
"Take some time away for yourself. No ones going anywhere. He will be there when you've taken a breath and had some time to think." She says.
"You're right" I nod.
I'm so use to being independent. Since I was 17 I had to be on my own. Ever since they killed my mum I've become too dependent. Too reliant on everyone else to make me feel okay.
I need to learn how to be okay on my own. I can't seek out peace from chaos. I need to find my own peace. A break is exactly what I need, to grow and heal from the trauma Jack Barrett put me through.
"I have to go, but you call me if you need anything at all okay?" She says.
"Yes, thank you" I smile, hugging her goodbye.
I go back inside, sitting down to have breakfast with the boys which is absolutely amazing, better than the food the chefs at Toms make. Sam truly is a magician in the kitchen. I sneak Tess a few bites, quickly becoming her favorite person ever.
After eating we play some games, watch Tv and they attempt to get me to play football outside with them. I gladly said no, not wanting to go out into the cold winter air with them. Instead I sat inside, iced tea in hand, scrolling through Instagram like the social media obsessed girl I am.
My heart speeds a bit when I see I got a text from Haz. I hesitantly click on it.
Haz: Hi love, I just wanted to let you know I have a last minuet deal in Liverpool, and I'll be gone for two days. My phones always on if you need to reach me. Hope you are well. I love you.
I read the text over a couple times, typing a few different responses before deleting them. I don't know what to say, or if I should even say anything. Maybe it'd be best to take these next two days to just see how I feel about the situation. To give myself some time to feel normal.
Aria: We'll talk when you get back. Love you.