My Purgatory Hell

Chapter 27

"The human spirit lives on creativity and dies in conformity and routine."
― Vilayat Inayat Khan

Although Aaron had altered his hobbies over the years, he still had a semblance of the same routine he had years ago. Slowly and groggily, Aaron sat up and stretched. Rubbing his eyes, he took a peak at the alarm clock. He slowly made his way to his feet and went to his closet, running a hand through his hair.

Taking a few moments of deciding what to wear, Aaron dug out a T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts. Giving him privacy, I turned around as Aaron changed into his athletic wear. I only turned  back around when I heard the door open. I followed behind Aaron as he made his way down the stairs and out the door. Once he was on the cemented path leading to his house, Aaron started his run. I followed behind, and it was effortless for me to keep up due to my situation. He took his usual path around the suburbs that I've seen him on in previous runs.

I remember watching him run long ago, before I recognized my feelings for Corwin. Aaron was my number one crush, but I'd buried it deep in my psyche, hoping to banish it when Hayley declared her feelings for him. He took the same exact path as he did now.

Reaching the walkway to his house after his cardio exercise, Aaron slowed to a brisk walk. Immediately after passing through the door, Aaron headed straight for the kitchen, where he got out a bowl and threw together some oatmeal. Bringing the steaming bowl to the table, Aaron pulled out his phone and checked his messages.

I sat across from him and nestled my chin between my hands. Idly, I watched him finish off his oatmeal.

Aaron took a shower next, and I waited patiently outside the bathroom door. I looked up at the ceiling, thinking how weird it was for me to be following him around like a little puppy without his knowing. Part of me felt like a weird stalker  My thoughts took me back to the park years ago and how we were always together. The laughing, the teasing, the playing--no stress or complications to hash out.

The door creaked open, breaking my train of thought. Aaron ran a hand through his thick, damp hair as he passed me. A towel was draped around his hips, and my eyes lingered a little too long at his exposed torso. I pulled my eyes away from Aaron.

Aaron dressed himself and went to his desk and started writing with a pen on a pad of paper. I approached him from behind and peered over his shoulder. However, I couldn't make out the words Aaron was writing. After a while of standing behind Aaron, I felt like this was a violation of his privacy and eventually retreated to sit on his bed. I watched him write for an hour or two, but he was mesmerizing to watch. His eyes were focused on the journal before him, but occasionally he'd look up out the window. I was frozen in awe as I observed him hover over the piece of paper. He was always notorious for writing, even when we were younger. It was a blessing that he hasn't lost that through these years.

Idly, I revisited why we fell apart to the point of no longer talking. Well, in a way we were never really together. However, we stopped hanging out at the park. He went his way and I went my way with Hayley. The boys and his siblings began doing their own thing as well. We grew distant to the point of looking at each other in the hallway but not uttering a word.

After a while, Aaron got out of his chair and went to pick up his guitar. He sat back down before his journal and started to strum some chords. The sound of the guitar filled the room, and it was beautiful. I don't recall ever listening to him play the guitar, so it must have been one of the hobbies he picked up after we grew distant. After a few beats of strumming, Aaron started to sing. That's when I heard my name. I froze, listening to the words he belted out. The song was about our friendship, me as a person, and my death. The song was a triple whammy all rolled into one and to hear the sorrow was a sucker punch to the gut. I didn't realize I was still this important to him after all these years of not talking and passing with barely a glance in the other's direction. I closed my eyes as he played on, and I let the music overwhelm me.