CHAPTER 10
Aidan
I was taking all of this: the place, the feelings and for me, the reminders of the war. Seeing where so many men had been killed hit home with me and it wasn’t hard to tell that it affected Elsa as well. I held her hand tightly in mine as I looked over at her to see her staring at me with a wistful smile. “What’s that for?” I asked her as I tried to lighten the mood and get back to a better place for the sake of both of us.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” her soft voice made me feel better as I smiled back and nodded.
“I have always wanted to see this place. To be honest, if I hadn’t stopped in Pennsylvania at all, I don’t think I would’ve ever thought about it.” Aidan was honest. There was a lot about Pennsylvania that had surprised him, and he became aware of people walking towards them, given that they were in a popular tourist spot. I imagined for a moment being alone with Elsa as I squeezed her hand slowly and securely.
I glanced around to see mostly families looking around the area as the wind blew the hot summer air around.
A couple of guys younger than me but older than Elsa walked by as her skirt started to blow up before she managed to brush it down with a shy smile. I heard them whistle at her as she began to smile in their direction but I knew that she didn’t hear the crude suggestion from the man on the right as my eyes narrowed and I dropped her hand with a quick movement.
I stood as they kept walking with quiet chuckles and reached for one blindly before my hand wrapped around his throat. I threw him down to the walkway with one hard shove and stepped forward as I asked him what the fuck he said that to her for. “Leave him alone, man. He was just kidding.” I heard his friend say in fear as I stared down the guy before me. “Let him go.”
“Aidan?” Elsa asked in a hesitant voice as I blinked for a second. I was down on the cement before I knew it, punching the guy in the jaw before his friend was pulling at me as I screamed at him to stop. At that moment, they were both gone, and I rocked on my heels before I stood up and heard Elsa behind me. “Aidan? Are you okay?”
I turned to see the guys running towards the parking lot as she threw her arms around my neck with a nervous giggle. “I'm all right, Elsa. Those guys just said something that wasn’t proper for a lady like yourself.”
“I’ve never seen such a thing,” she told me as something filled her eyes, and she was hugging me tightly. “Where did you learn to fight like that? The boys in my community would never do such a thing for any girl.”
“I just had some training when I was younger,” I assured her as my voice hitched and I pulled her closer to my body. She was all soft and heat, and I hated that she would someday see the evil side of the world away from what she knew. I hated that some man would say something like what he’d mumbled to his friend with a laugh and that she would be touched like a man like that.
I had been that man in the past, and I knew that I didn’t deserve her to be in my arms right now. I didn’t deserve her any more than they did but I knew that I wasn’t going ever to want to let her go.
I wanted to take her back home somewhere deep inside and give her right back to her family, where she would be safe. My breath caught in my throat as I held on tighter to her and tried to regain my composure. “Aidan, are you okay?”
“I just can’t stand men like that.”
“Nothing happened, Aidan. They just whistled at me. That’s never happened to me, you know.” Her voice sounded surprised and delighted, and I found myself smiling into her hair before I kissed the top of her head gently. “Am I pretty?”
“Pretty? You’re beautiful, Elsa,” I assured her as I pulled slowly away and looked down at her. I had been worried that some of the tourists might call the cops when the scuffle happened since I’d been hell bent on killing the guy, but everything seemed to be working out in my favor. “Let’s walk back to the car. We can get that drink that you’ve been wanting.” I knew that I needed something for myself at this point since fury was rushing through my veins as I stared into her innocent face. I knew that I needed to get out of here and find another place before I calmed down and I cupped her face as I looked at her. “Are you sure that you want to be out in this world?”
“I have always wanted to be out in this world, and so far, I haven’t seen anything that scares me enough to go running back. I only see something that makes me want to stay longer.” Elsa told me as my eyes widened and I blinked slowly. She didn’t know that I could be worse for her than anything in this world, and I dropped my hands down before I took hers again and started to walk towards the car.
We seemed to ease back into the jokes and the laughter as we walked and I began to forget all about what had happened. I looked at her giggling at something as I realized that I would not always be here to protect her and that Elsa might be just fine. Maybe she’d find someone to love and protect her the way that she deserved.
I took in her curls that lay messily around her shoulder and blew in the soft wind. I took in the pretty pink dress that clung to her body, a body that deserved all of the whistles in the world but nothing negative from anybody that would hurt her. I took in the way she bounced when she walked, unaware of so much that was happening around her. I wanted to protect her from everything as we walked and talked about all of the little things that she saw around us and on this trip. Elsa was like a child that made me see everything just a little differently for a moment, and I laughed as I realized how much I needed that.
Had I been here with anyone else, I might not enjoy it like I had today.
We continued to walk as the people passed us and we slowly blended back into the crowd as much as a woman like Elsa could do. She didn’t see it, but she was radiant compared to everyone else and color in a black and white world. She was color in my world, one that had been so dark for so long until now.
I just wished that it wasn’t too late.