Chapter 16 - Aiden
The days meld together and I fall back into my regular routine. I stay on the mountain except when I need to go to work. I drive to the maintenance yard, avoiding Lang Creek and its residents, avoiding the hotel, avoiding Maddy. No one bothers me up here. I’m free to work on the cabin, to work on my cars, my garden, whatever I want.
I don’t have to think about anything except what I’ll be doing today.
Once in a while, when dusk starts to settle and the stars start to come out, my mind drifts to that morning in the community garden. I think of how smooth Maddy’s skin was, and how bright her eyes were when I touched her arm. I think of the way my whole body was set on fire and how I felt alive for the first time in years.
It’s been almost two weeks since that morning, or maybe three, I’ve lost count. I think it’s Friday today. I’m just waking up to see the dew on the grass outside and the sunlight filtering through the trees. I open the front door to the cabin and stretch my arms overhead before frowning as I hear the rumble of a vehicle coming up the road.
The last few times someone’s been up here, it’s always been about that damn hotel and it’s always brought bad news. I pull on a sweater and wait for the car to come into view. I listen hard, trying to recognize the engine. It doesn’t sound like my brother’s truck, or any truck for that matter. It’s a smaller car.
When it finally rounds the bend my brows knit together and I frown. This is worse than the Sheriff, it’s worse than Madeline, it’s worse than anyone else.
It’s Mara McCoy.
She looks at me through the windscreen as she parks the car, and I feel ice flow through my veins as I look at the face that caused me so much pain. She turns off the engine and gets out, closing the door gently and staring at me without saying a word.
We stand there, facing off, for what feels like an eternity. Finally, she takes a step towards me and I speak.
“What do you want?” I bark. She stops and lifts her chin up at me with the familiar defiance that I used to love.
“I came to see you,” she says. Her voice sounds just like it did ten years ago. My chest feels like it’s collapsing and the skin on my face tightens against my bones.
“What do you want,” I repeat. She stares at me for a moment and waves a hand in front of her face. I see the glint of a ring on her finger.
“I’m spending a few weeks in town. I thought I should tell you,” she says. Her voice is terse, but I don’t care. She takes another step towards me before speaking again. “I’m getting married.”
I’ve thought about this moment for ten years. I thought it would hurt. I thought I’d be enraged, or angry. I thought I would care.
But when I look at her, all I see is the past. All I see is the pain that she caused my family and the lack of remorse that somehow stung even more.
“Congratulations,” I growl.
“Aiden…” she says slowly. “The way things ended between us…”
“What,” I interrupt. “Did you come here to apologize? After everything? After ten years? You’re getting married and now you want a clear conscience, is that it?” I bark. “You killed my father, and then your family stole his business from us!”
She stares at me, her eyes hardening before she turns around and opens the door to her car.
“You’re a fucking asshole, you know that? I’m glad you’re up here all alone. No woman should ever have to put up with you.”
The venom in her voice only fuels my anger. “You destroyed my family and then stole everything my father worked for,” I spit. “Get the fuck out of here.”
She opens her mouth to protest and I think I see a tear in her eye, but she turns her head and gets into her car. I don’t wait for her to drive away. I just turn around and head off towards the mountainside. I stomp my feet along the path and let the anger course through my veins.
The gall of her! The fucking nerve, to come up here and announce her marriage! Like I would fucking care! My whole body feels heavier and I push the memories of my father’s accident further down. I can’t think of it, not now. I can’t deal with that pain.
I let the searing anger wash over me like a tidal wave until I’m surrounded by trees. Even the birds have gone quiet, and it’s just me and my anger, stomping through the woods.
She’s the one who wanted to go to the river that day. She’s the one who wanted to walk on the edge, even when the river was swollen with spring snowmelt. She’s the one who stumbled, and she’s the one who my father tried to save.
His death ripped my heart out of my chest. I’ve never felt pain like that before. At least, not until her family betrayed mine and stole everything my father had worked for.
She never loved me. She never wanted to be with me. She just wanted what I had. And now she’s found some other fool to suck completely dry.
I can hardly see. Branches and scratching my face as I crash through the forest. Twigs are breaking under foot as I make my way deeper and deeper into the woods. Finally, I lean against a tree and feel my chest heave up and down as I try to slow my racing heart.
This is why I don’t go into town. This is why I avoid the McCoys. It’s too painful. The past is too hard to face. It seems like everyone has moved on – except for me.
I stand up taller and take a deep breath, looking around to get my bearings. I didn’t even follow a path, I just walked straight into the forest and away from her. I spin around and look up at the sun to orient myself when I hear a noise.
It sounds almost like a woman’s voice. It’s a yell, far in the distance, muffled by the undergrowth and the trees. I frown and for the second time today, listen hard to the distant sound.
I take a few gentle steps towards the sound and hear it more clearly. It’s definitely a woman’s voice. She’s yelling. I walk gently, listening intently and heading in her direction.
All thoughts of Mara McCoy evaporate. All thoughts of my father, of the past, of the pain in my heart disappear as I head towards the sound. As I get closer, alarm bells start ringing inside me. I know that voice. I’ve only heard it a couple times, but it’s been burned in my mind since the town hall meeting two weeks ago.
My footsteps get faster. I’m sure now, it’s her. It’s Maddy, and she’s in trouble.