Nobody But You

Chapter Three: Powerless

*EDITED*

"HELP! Aidan! Help!" I wake up in darkness, covered in sweat, as the accident plays over and over in my mind. The flames licked at my skin and the weight of the bike crushing my legs felt too real.

Wiggling my toes, I make sure it really was a dream.

A year ago, I couldn't wiggle my toes.

The bathroom door swings open, and a shirtless Ace barges into the room. He's wearing my brother's sweats, and they're too small for his long legs. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Go back to bed."

He looks confused. "You were screaming. I heard you scream for help."

"The thunder scared me." He shakes his head, and I hope he doesn't question me anymore. He doesn't need to know anything about me. We're just two strangers trapped in a house, waiting out a hurricane. There's no need to share any past stories.

There's no need to get to know each other.

Most importantly, there's no need to be upset about the fact that I'm not his type. I don't want to fall in love again. I don't want to be with someone who reminds me of Aidan. I don't need to be with another person who loves a bike more than a person.

"Whatever you say, princess." He backs out the room and closes the door. I hear him stumble back to bed, stubbing his toe on the wall. He curses, and then everything goes silent.

I'm left to my thoughts and memories. Some memories, I wish I could erase, but more than that, I wish they would stop haunting me.

Aidan was perfect.

He had the curliest brown locks that my fingers used to get lost in. His skin was tan from spending hours in the sun working on his bike. His eyes were like pools of honey that shone every time he looked at me and his bike.

He wasn't a stereotypical biker. He didn't wear those god-awful boots and black jeans. No, he wore protective gear. He did everything he was supposed to. He wore the best helmet money could buy, and the fireproof jacket, pants, and shoes. He looked ridiculous, but he was safe. He bought me a matching suit, so we looked ridiculous together.

But it didn't save him. It didn't save us.

I closed my eyes, seeing the accident happen in slow motion. Why did he have to race that guy? Why did he have to die? Why did I survive?

These questions have burned in my mind for so long. For two years, I'd questioned myself every day. For two years, I've wished I would've died along with him.

His smiling face fills my mind, and it's all I can see.

***

When I wake up, the sun is streaming into my room and it's hot. I'm sweating again. Something is wrong.

Getting out of bed quickly, I race out of my room to check the thermostat. It's eighty degrees. We've lost power.

Going into Ryan's room, I find that Ace has the covers over his head, and the pants he was wearing last night have been discarded near the bed. He's breathing deeply.

"Wake up!" I throw a pillow at what I imagine to be his head.

"Go away."

"We've lost power."

"Shit." He sticks his head out of the covers. This morning, his eyes are darker than I've ever seen them. "You sure?" His voice is thick with sleep, in the sexy kind of way, melting my heart with the two words.