Chapter Twenty-Five

Aiden

 

My fingers burnt as they gripped around the mug of hot coffee. I watched as the steam floated from the top of the brown liquid. What had I done?

It was my fault that Blake had gotten hurt. If I hadn’t acted the way I had, that weasel Graham wouldn’t have felt the need to defend her, and she wouldn’t have been hit while he tried to swing at me.

“What are you gonna do now?” Luke asked, stretched out on the couch across from me.

He’d come back to the house, to babysit me I was certain. I knew he was worried, just as Liam was, that I’d go back to the bottle, but I’d swore that off until I knew I could handle it.

“I don’t know,” I sighed.

“Work might help keep your mind off of everything,” Luke offered.

“I’d be useless right now. Besides, I have the office manager handling everything,” I replied.

“So, are you going to get divorced?” Luke asked cautiously.

I fought back tears. I didn’t want to get divorced. I loved being married to Blake, even if it was supposed to be fake. It felt real, and I wanted it to be real. But now, I wasn’t sure things would ever go back to the way they were.

Wow. I’d really messed things up this time. Just when I thought I couldn’t make things any worse and felt lucky to have gotten her back into my life, I made things worse. So much worse.

“Is this what love’s supposed to feel like?” I questioned, staring at my friend, who I knew had never been in love himself.

“It’s pretty close to the movies I’ve seen,” he chuckled.

I couldn’t help but laugh with him. The thought of Luke, Mr. Tough Guy, watching romantic comedies always tickled me.

“Well, then I guess I’m really in love then,” I smiled.

“No doubt about that,” Luke grinned.

My doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my seat to head towards it. My heart raced. I wanted to see Blake, and all I could picture was her on the other side of that door.

I flung it open to find my abuela and my mother standing on my porch, my abuela with a scowling face, and my mother with one that looked as if she’d been crying.

“Are you gonna invite us in?” Anna-Marie asked, already moving her way through the threshold.

Luke stood, looking nervous as the two women entered my home. He greeted them, but neither was very friendly. They were fixated on me, their eyes locked tightly with mine, one with a warning scowl, the other with disappointment.

“I hear you’ve been making quite an ass out of yourself,” Anna-Marie scolded.

I had no response.

“He was only defending himself,” Luke interjected, trying to save my name.

“Oh, bullshit. I’m not talking about just the fight outside the diner; I’m talking about everything,” Anna-Marie growled.

I knew she was referring to my fake marriage, and how I’d managed to ruin it.

“I told your mother everything,” Anna-Marie admitted, turning to face the woman who gave me life.

“How could you lie to me, to us?” Liana sobbed, overly dramatic as usual.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly.

“So, where is Blake now?” Anna-Marie asked.

“At her brother’s,” I sighed, moving towards the kitchen to refill my coffee.

“Are you going after her?” Anna-Marie pushed.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t see the point now. Do you want coffee?” I offered to both women.

“That girl’s in love with you, and from the way you’ve been acting a fool, it’s obvious you’re in love with her as well,” Anna-Marie pointed out sternly.

I chuckled. The thought of Blake being in love with me was ridiculous, especially after the way I’d acted.

“No alcohol this time?” Anna-Marie asked, looking around the kitchen.

I shook my head shamefully.

“Good,” she smiled, and then started searching my kitchen cabinets and fridge.

“Aiden, I want you to be happy, but you don’t have to lie to me,” Liana said, gripping my cheeks in her palms.

“I know, Mom,” I agreed remorsefully.

“Do you love this girl?” she questioned.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then you go after her,” she persuaded.

My heart ached from her words.

“I should just give her space,” I groaned.

“Nonsense,” Anna-Marie scolded.

“She doesn’t want to see me. If she does, she knows where I am. Hell, most of her stuff is still here, and she doesn’t even want that right now,” I moaned.

“It’s up to you to change her mind. You need to make a grand gesture, win her back by proving you’re the man she loves,” Liana added, agreeing with my abuela.

Luke sat at the kitchen table beside me as my abuela continued to pull items from the cabinets and fridge.

“What are you doing?” I asked, half-chuckling at the old woman.

“You’re gonna need your strength,” she muttered, pulling out a container of pork chops from the fridge I’d thawed from the freezer.

My mother sat beside me, placing her hand on mine. Her eyes were warm and kind as she smiled in my direction.

“I know this will all work out,” she sighed.

I was glad she was confident. I wasn’t.

“You go wash up for dinner. You need a shower,” Anna-Marie ordered.

I looked towards Luke, who looked confused about what to do.

“Should I go?” he asked, his eyes filled with confusion and hesitation.

“No, you stay. But, I do need you to run to the store,” Anna-Marie instructed, pulling off a piece of paper from the notebook on my kitchen counter.

I watched her scribble ingredients on the paper, and then hand it to Luke.

He smiled, agreed to hurry, and then rushed out.

I knew he was relieved to escape the women, at least for a few moments.

I took my abuela’s advice and headed to the shower to wash up, leaving the women in my kitchen to prepare a meal. A meal that was supposed to give me the strength to win Blake back.

The warm water of the shower soothed my sore muscles. My shoulders ached, and I knew I’d pounded on Graham pretty hard. I hated that Blake saw me like that and wished more than anything I could take it all back.

I slid on a pair of sweatpants and pulled a t-shirt over my head before heading back to the kitchen.

Luke was already back, sitting at the table, talking with the women as they cooked.

“I agree,” I heard him say.

I wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to, or with, but I didn’t get a chance to ask.

“Good, you’re ready,” Liana said, greeting me with a quick hug as I entered the kitchen.

“I’m starving. It smells amazing in here,” I admitted, reaching into the cabinet and pulling down four plates.

I helped the women set the table, placing the pork chops, rice, and beans on pads to keep from burning the wood.

Luke looked excited as he scooped out a portion of each item onto his plate. I was excited too, mainly about the hope that I may actually be able to win Blake back over. I had an idea of what I would do, starting with an apology to Graham, and then, of course, her.

As we sat around the small table, eating, finally leaving the topic of my lies, of my mess ups, and how I’d win Blake back, I felt at ease for the first time in days.

My hand slid across the smooth wood of the table, remembering the night I’d had with Blake there, right on that spot. I’d find a way to win her back. I had to. I loved her.