“You mean I’m sober and not wearing midriff-baring outfits?” I asked with sarcasm.
Aiden’s face changed slightly at my response. He wasn’t used to replies like that from me.
“Um … yeah. That’s one way to put it,” he said slowly. “I’m so happy that you’re back at school. It’s where you belong. You’re better now? Doing okay?” he asked with genuine concern.
It was the genuine concern that stopped me from laughing coldly like I felt like doing. Was I doing okay? After burying the only family I had left? After witnessing a shooting, after being assaulted the night before?
“Yeah, I’m getting there,” I replied softly, not completely lying.
I may still have that vice threatening to strangle me, the pressure on my chest, the pain in my soul, but I also had Asher. I really had him, and he really wanted me. The thought warmed the ice of my grief.
Aiden smiled warmly at me. “Good,” he proclaimed and paused. “You’re not still with that biker are you? That was just a phase, a response to the turmoil in your life?”
I sat back, pursing my lips at his condescending tone. I knew he meant well, but I couldn’t help being pissed right off at the way he decided to show concern. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt patronized by him, I had come to accept it as part of who he was, before. But now, I felt unable to timidly accept it.
I pushed my hair back in frustration. “Asher is not a phase,” I began tightly, about to launch into an uncharacteristic monolog about what exactly Asher was to me.
I stopped because Aiden’s eyes focused on my forehead and bulged out in horror.
“He did that?” he exclaimed in fury. “Jesus, Lily.”
“Of course he didn’t,” I snapped, letting my hair fall back down. “What, because of something you think you know about what he is, makes you think he’s capable of violence against women?”
Aiden’s face turned icy. “I know he’s capable of violence. I know what his gang gets up to. They’re scum, Lily. The dregs of society. You should not be with the dregs. Your friend no doubt introduced you, those are the kind of people she … entertains,” he spat.
I stared at him, not recognizing whoever just uttered those words. “You should go,” I told him firmly. “I’ve got a lot of studying to do.” I looked down to my books. I had to. Otherwise, I might just reach across the table and strangle him.
Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re dismissing me?”
I glanced at him. “I’m informing you of the fact I’m quite eager to pass this paper, and to do so I need to study, and also not get kicked out of the library for breaking your nose with this textbook,” I said flatly. “Which is exactly what I’ll do if you say another word about my boyfriend or my best friend.”
Aiden gazed at me in amazement. “I’m trying to look out for you, Lily,” he explained.
I raised my brow at him. “Uh-huh. I’m quite capable of doing that. And capable of deciding who should be and should not be in my life,” I said pointedly.
He stared at me in silence for a moment and stood up. “I really wish that were true,” he uttered with disappointment.
I stared at his retreating back, the exchange leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I thought Aiden was my friend. Things had gotten mixed up when we tried to make it more, but I thought he was a decent guy, and I’d missed him. I found myself questioning whether he had ever been a decent guy. Maybe now, I had taken off whatever glasses I’d been looking at the world through before. Maybe now, I was stripped down bare, I saw people for what they were. Or maybe Aiden was just an asshole. I couldn’t ponder it. I had books to bury myself in for the remaining hour I had left before I had to rush home to change and go to work.
I got home expecting to be greeted with a giant bloodstain staring at me. I was surprised when my gaze hit the clean carpet, with a faint ring of pink where Dylan had been shot. Other than that, nothing.
I glared at Bex, who was lounging on the sofa.
“What?” she asked defensively. “It wasn’t me. I listened to your strict instructions and haven’t moved my ass off the sofa,” she informed me. She nodded to the silent man sitting in the armchair across from her. The one who had shocked me for a moment until I spotted his prospect patch and remembered Asher calling earlier today informing me they’d have “someone on us” until they could be sure Dylan wasn’t going to do anything further.
“Stan over here did it, quite impressive really, he could have a career in stain removal if the biker thing doesn’t work out,” she mused with a straight face.