It helps that this person is Aiden. Now he knows my dark past, just like I know his, and I think we might be stronger for it, closer … not that we’re a couple or anything.
“You’ve been calling me Thea since you found out.”
“Because that’s your name,” he says. “But when you mumble to yourself, you refer to yourself as Amelia, not Thea.”
I ball up a napkin and launch it at his head with a laugh, and he easily deflects it with an effortless wave of his hand.
“Hey, I’m not crazy, okay?”
“Says the girl who talks to herself.”
“Plenty of normal people have conversations with themselves,” I say.
“But they usually talk to themselves in their heads.”
“To-mae-toe, to-mat-oe.”
He hides a smirk from me, knowing he’s won, but then I get serious about his question. “When I move, I get in the mindset that Thea doesn’t exist anymore. I’m Hailey or
Amelia or whatever other name I’m given. That’s the way I was taught to think—it’s safer.”
He puts the last glass down and turns his full attention to me. “Would you prefer it if I called you Amelia?”
Looking at him there, his tall frame taking up space in my kitchen, a sense of comfort flows through me, melting any worries I may have had. I think honestly about his question and about what I want, not about what I think I need to do.
I haven’t been called my real name in so long; it’s nice to be reminded of who I am—of Thea Kennedy. Plus, hearing the way my name sounds in Aiden’s perfect, deep voice, just seems right.
I smile shyly, as if this admission somehow makes me even more vulnerable. “I’d like it if you called me Thea—only when we’re alone, of course. And only if you can manage not to slip up in front of everyone.”
His eyes light up briefly before he masks it, as if I’ve given him the answer he was secretly hoping for, almost like this small act is verification that I trust him with something huge. And clearly I do. I trust Aiden without hesitation, with my life—which is what it quite literally comes down to.
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
“I know.” I get serious again. “Really, Aiden, thank you. For always being there for me. I know I’m a handful sometimes, and I know I’ve caused a lot of drama between us and Kaitlyn and the Silvers. But I do recognize everything you do for me—for everyone—and you never get a thank you. So thank you. For keeping my secret, for being so understanding, for making me not feel so alone—”
He cuts me off when he closes the space between us with two big steps, grabs my face in his hands and forces me to look up at him.
“Don’t thank me for that. I’m here for you. Always.”
My heart hammers in my chest and I’m unable to string together the words needed to make a coherent sentence with him so close, looking at me like I’m all he’s ever needed.
He leans in toward me, his lips close to mine but never quite making it. Because the doorbell rings. And we pull apart.
I scream internally. Great timing everyone. You couldn’t have waited a couple of minutes?
The doorbell rings a couple more times, our friends either freezing their asses off in the cold December air or anxious to see Aiden.
Aiden suddenly seems so far from me. I gesture at the hallway. “I think that’s for you.”
The doorbell rings some more.
“I guess I should get it.” Aiden chuckles and gives me one last look before moving to the door.
He opens it, and he’s instantly tackled by Annalisa, the force catching him off guard and causing him to take a few steps back.
“I knew you didn’t do anything. How dare you scare us like that being all mysterious and brooding and not giving us any answers?” She releases him from her tight hug to scold him. “I mean, seriously? ‘Go home and stop worrying, everyone?’ Do you even know us? Is it ever possible to stop worrying about you?”
If you didn’t know Aiden, you’d think he was annoyed by Annalisa’s scolding, but we can all tell he’s loving her pestering.