“Emme?” someone repeats and the door to the closet creaks as I look up, panicked.
And here is the face I most want to see – steel grey eyes, dark hair, muscular build. Those lips, saying my name like it’s the most important thing in the world.
But there are two people with that face, two people with that voice.
And right now, I don’t want Aiden. I want Blane. Only Blane.
“Oh, Emme,” Aiden sighs, making his way to where I’m slumped on the floor. He sits down next to me and cradles me in his arms as I sob pathetically. “You have to stop getting so upset over the smallest things,” he says softly, stroking my hair.
“I know,” I whimper. “But it’s … it’s my birthday.”
We were always together on our birthday. Had birthday cake, celebrated. This is the first year Blane missed it, and even though we’ve been growing distant for years, it still hurts like hell.
“It’s okay,” Aiden comforts me. I look up at him gratefully, thankful for having him at least. He’s always there to make me feel better, always making up for his brother’s absence.
But this time, the Blane shaped hole in my heart just won’t go away.
“Here,” Aiden says with a mysterious smile. He products a bottle of vodka from God knows where and I stare at him with surprise.
“I’m nineteen, remember?” I ask him, raising my eyebrows.
“Whatever,” Aiden says. “Better you have your first drink with me than someone else. I’ll take care of you, you know that, right Emme?”
I nod, because I trust him – always.
He opens the bottle and we proceed to get mind-blowingly drunk right there, on the floor of my closet. I forget all about Blane – or at least pretend to – and have a blast pretending to be sober when we return to the party, greeting guests and ignoring my mother and stepfather’s worried glances.
Aiden’s next to me the whole time. Like he always is.
I have a great birthday.
When it starts getting late, we hear a car honking in the driveaway, and moments later, the front door flies open and in comes the guest of honor – Blane himself.
My heart hitches in my chest and pummels to the ground when I see a brunette draped over his arm.
It’s not the one from the garage all those years ago.
It’s a new model, complete with fake tits that make me insanely jealous and angry at the same time.
“Where’s the birthday girl?” Blane asks with a wide smile and I step forward as everyone looks on happily, some people even clapping, glad he showed up.
It’s only when he comes closer that I smell his breath – and it reeks of booze. Blane stares at me, hard. Doesn’t offer a birthday kiss, not even a friendly hug. Instead, he thrusts a box in my hands and I inspect it while he moves away.
It’s all torn and the edges are coming apart, but it means so fucking much, because he remembered. He didn’t forget about me. He’s here, and he cares.
I smile widely at him and Blane smirks, holding the brunette close.
“Open it,” he encourages me.
And just for a moment, I forget he’s late, forget he’s clutching another woman close, forget he’s probably drunk out of his mind. I let myself be blissfully happy.
As soon as I open the box, I realize my mistake.
“What have you got there, honey?” my mother asks and steps closer.
I’m in too much shock to respond or hide what’s in the box.
My mother pulls out a bottle of tequila and an enormous purple dildo.
“Thought you might want to have some fun,” Blane smirks. “Didn’t think you’d get laid anytime soon, so I got you a little toy. And the booze is for drinking your pain away, little sis.”
His voice cuts into my heart and I whimper again.
This is different than the alcohol I shared with Aiden.
This isn’t meant to comfort me.
All he wants is to hurt me.
The room is silent as my heart breaks again, and when my stepfather throws Blane out, I’m already numb. I only let myself cry that night in Aiden’s arms, which is always where I end up.
Chapter 7
Our days pass. Not slowly and not fast either. But they go by, and sometime later I realize both Aiden and I are stuck in the house.
We don’t go out.
Not even to grab lunch or see a movie. We just stay inside, ordering takeout, playing games, pretending like everything’s okay and this is our own little haven in the midst of all the madness.
&
nbsp; It’s a week or so later after the faceoff and I’ve finally had enough.
One morning, I get ready and purposefully wait until midday, which is when Aiden drags himself down the stairs and sits to breakfast/lunch, his eyes bleary.
“Why are you so dressed up?” he asks with his mouth full of Lucky Charms.
“I’m going to work,” I say with a purpose, and give him a smile that is way stronger than my will to actually do something. “I haven’t been to the office in weeks. It’s time.”
Aiden just stares at me as he chews his food, and finally, he sets his spoon down. “I wish I could go somewhere, too.”
His words surprise me.
“But you can paint,” I offer. Aiden’s always been artistic, and he’s been painting and drawing for as long as I’ve known him. He’s quite secretive about his art, but from what I’ve seen, he’s incredibly talented.
“Don’t feel like it,” he shrugs.
We sit in companionable silence when I have an amazing idea.
“You could always work at the firm,” I say hesitantly. The reason I’m a little unsure is because I’ve offered both Aiden and Blane jobs before, and they both shut me down immediately.
There’s a long, strained silence, but finally, Aiden looks up at me.
“Doing what?” he asks.
I contemplate my answer, but I suddenly have another moment of brilliance. “We’re actually going through some changes,” I say quickly, trying to get the subject out as soon as possible. “You know, trying to bring the company to this century.”
Aiden cocks his head to the side.
It’s so awkward talking to him about this – after all, his father helped my Mom build the firm. But it has to be done, we can’t tiptoe around the subject forever.
“We’re designign a new logo, a new image for the brand, that kind of stuff, you know?” I explain and Aiden nods thoughtfully. “We could definitely use someone as artistic with you to help us with that.”
I neglect to mention our whole creative department, and when Aiden’s eyes light up for the first time in weeks, I know I’ve done the right thing.