Chapter 34 - Aiden
When I get to Ethan’s house, I bang on the door until he answers. I barge in past him and pace back and forth in the living room until he clears his throat.
“You all right, Aiden?”
“No! I’m not all right. That fucking hotel is driving me insane.” Maddy being mad at me is driving me insane. “They’ve stopped construction because of that petition that Bill started. I don't know, I feel like it’s temporary.”
Ethan nods and I flop down onto his sofa. I let all the air out of my lungs as Ethan sits across from me and studies my face. He rests his elbows on his knees and tents his fingers under his chin.
“What’s changed?”
I stare at him and shake my head. “I just… The McCoys… The site.”
Ethan nods his head up and down and frowns. “You look like shit.”
I look up towards him and see the grin playing on his lips. “Thanks,” I say. Ethan shrugs and leans back in his chair.
“You didn’t answer my question. What’s changed?”
I know that Ethan won’t let this go. Where Dominic is too quiet, Ethan is always talking things out. He can smell a lie a mile away. I take a deep breath.
“Maddy,” I say simply. “She left.”
“Ahh,” Ethan says. “The girl.”
“She’s not just a girl,” I say. I feel my heart squeeze and I think of the look in her eyes this morning. She looked so hurt, and it was all my fault. “I can’t explain it, Ethan. I know that she works for the hotel, but she cares. She cares about it all. She cares about Lang Creek. She found out about the petition and got into shit at work and thinks I was hiding it from her.”
“Were you?” I frown, staring at Ethan. He shrugs again. “Were you hiding it from her?”
“No! I mean, I signed it, but I didn’t think it would come to anything. Petitions are bullshit! They never change anything!”
“Right. Except this time it did.”
“For now, yeah.” I sigh again and rub my temples. “I can’t stand the thought of the McCoys squeezing out more money from this town, but when I think of Maddy…” My voice trails off and I stare at the carpet between us. Ethan stays still, waiting for me to continue. “I care about her, Ethan. Like, really care about her.”
I finally look my brother in the eye and he lifts an eyebrow. “Love?”
“No!” I blurt out. “I mean, I don’t know. Fuck, man…” I sigh. Ethan chuckles.
“Look, I can’t help you with her. But once this place is built, do you think she would stick around? You said yourself she’s a successful engineer. What life is there for her here? She’s here for one reason, and it’s that fucking hotel.” He pauses, and we stare at each other for a moment. I nod slowly and he continues. “When the hotel is done, when it’s all over, she’s going to leave, Aiden.” He almost whispers the last part and I drop my head into my hands.
“I know,” I say. My chest feels like it’s being squeezed by a huge hand and I can hardly make my voice louder than a whisper. “I know.”
“I’m sorry, Aiden. I’m sure she’s nice. But look around you.”
His eyebrows are drawn together and I see real concern in his eyes. What he’s saying hurts, but it only hurts because it rings true. I take a deep breath and push myself up so I’m standing.
“I’m going out of town for a few days,” I say, making a snap decision. “I need some time to think.”
“Where will you go?”
“Don’t know. Wolf Mountain, maybe. Somewhere with no cell phone towers, no hotels and no women.”
Ethan grins. He nods his chin once and reaches his hand towards me. I grab it and he pulls me in for a hug.
“Take care of yourself, Aiden,” he says. His voice is muffled in my shoulder and I nod.
“Yeah,” I say. We pull apart and he puts his hand on my shoulder. He looks me in the eye and for a moment I see my father’s eyes in his. In a way, he’s the one who’s most like our dad. He’s reasonable, level-headed, business-minded. He can talk to people and they like him.
He grins at me and I see my father’s smile. I smile back and shake my head.
“You remember when Dad took us camping down the river and you got stuck in that tree?”
Ethan laughs. “Got stuck in the tree! More like got tricked into going up there. If I remember correctly it was you and Dominic who lifted me up there.”
“You cried for he whole day and wouldn’t talk to us for a week,” I laugh.
“You guys were assholes,” he says. “But I guess not much has changed.
I grin, and he claps me on the shoulder. “If I can survive growing up with you guys as brothers, you can survive this.”
“I’ll see you in a couple days,” I say. He nods, and I see something in his eyes. They spark, and then there’s a darkness behind them. It’s gone in an instant, and we nod at each other again.
When I get into my dad’s old truck, he’s standing at his door waving me off. I watch him in the rear-view mirror as he turns back inside and closes his door, and it feels like the end of something.
I don’t know what it’s the end of, or what’s going to happen, but it feels significant. I turn the truck onto the main road and head north. I’m going to drive until I find somewhere to stop, then I’m going to set up my tent and stay out there for a few days. I’m going to figure this whole thing out. Maddy, the McCoys, the hotel – I’ll figure it out. I just need time to think. I need to feel the mountains and hear the birds and breathe the clean air that I grew up in. I just need a bit of time, and then I’ll know what to do.