Chapter Five
I had been sitting in the living room since I got home. The teddy bear sat in front of me on the small coffee table, its obsidian eyes and cute little smile staring back at me ominously. My eyes hadn't left it as if I was waiting for it to jump up and attack me.
I didn't know why I brought the toy home. Perhaps I didn't want to explain to Shirley and Barry why I was throwing it away if they caught me. I could have dumped it when I walked home but the event had left a bitter taste in my mouth and a sudden fear of being alone in the dark. I was relieved when Barry offered to drive me home and I had sat in the back of the truck mulling over the note and the bear that sat in my bag like a ticking bomb.
I'll be seeing you soon.
Letting out a sigh, I finally leaned forward on the old couch and grabbed the toy. It's fur was soft between my fingers and in any other situation I would have enjoyed the feeling. Moving to the kitchen, I gave the bear one last disturbed look before dropping it into the bin and working on trying to forget about it.
As the saying goes 'out of sight, out of mind'.
Except it wasn't.
My hands were trembling as I poured myself a glass of water and drank it down greedily to try and chase away how dry my mouth was. The silence in the house pressed in as the darkness sat just outside the window above the sink as if ready to release something evil and grab me the second it could.
The thought of being in the house alone sent my heart plummeting into my stomach as the icy fingers of fear scuttled across my nerves and pressed against my lungs. What if the person who left the bear and note followed me home? What if they already knew where I lived?
For once I was relieved when I heard a familiar growling engine approaching. It grew louder and louder until thin beams of vanilla light flashed across the yard and the old battered truck parked in the drive. I didn't really want to react with Aiden but I felt safe knowing someone was in the house with me.
Just because I knew he would be in the house didn't mean I wanted to see Aiden. His bare upper body with its golden skin and those hypnotic eyes had plagued my thoughts on more than one occasion, fluttering like butterflies around my cranium and distracting me from whatever it was I was doing at the time.
Finishing my water, I set the glass in the sink and went to grab my bag from the living room. However, before I could head for the stairs, the front door opened and Aiden walked in with heavy steps.
I froze like a deer in the headlights, suddenly completely lost on what to do especially when those blue-green eyes landed on me.
Even in the dim light of the upstairs hall light Aiden somehow still looked handsome. His rakish features seemed more pronounced because of the shadows and his white t-shirt stretched over his muscled torso. He looked like someone who had stepped out of a fashion magazine. It was intimidating.
"Oh, hi." I mumbled uselessly when I realised I had been staring, praying the darkness hid my blush which crept across my cheeks and neck.
"Hey Ellie," Aiden replied, shutting the door with a soft click. "I was starting to think you had run away."
"Um, no. Just been busy with school." I shifted uncomfortably.
An uncomfortable silence fell between us or at least, I thought it was uncomfortable. A smile still seemed to ghost Aiden's lips as if he was finding my discomfort amusing.
"Oh by the way, I've got a couple of friends coming over tomorrow night." Aiden finally broke the silence with his smooth baritone. "You're welcome to join us if you want."
More strangers in the house? Was this guy trying to make me die from awkwardness?
"Oh, um… I'm actually working tomorrow." I replied, nibbling my bottom lip for a moment. "I'm going to go to bed now."
Nice going, dork.
Inwardly cringing, I spun on my heel before I could see Aiden's reaction and headed up the stairs, practically throwing myself into my bedroom and slamming the door shut.
Why was I being like this? Sure I always found it difficult to talk to people but even for me this was next level. Every time I saw Aiden my mind would go blank and I would stutter out something stupid or my mouth would just stop working and I'd be left nodding dumbly like an idiot.
Groaning at myself as I sank against the door, I tried to push the embarrassment down before forcing myself to shower and get ready for bed.
The weekend passed uneventfully. True to his word, Aiden did have friends around on Saturday.
I came home from work just after 10pm to find them crowded in the living room laughing and chatting. The door to the back yard was open, allowing late summer air to billow lazily into the house and dance with the music coming from someone's Spotify account on the TV. I thought I could smell cigarette smoke and something stronger amongst the hints of masculine deodorant and humid air.
They seemed oblivious to me and I happily left them to it without so much as a hello, tired from my time at work and wanting to be alone.
At some point they had gone out. The house plunged into darkness and silence and shortly after I fell asleep.
I don't know how many hours later it was when I heard Aiden's old truck growl into the drive. It was still dark out but the air had cooled and crickets still filled the night with their incessant song. Sleep still held me possessively in its arms but in the lazy silence of my room, I could hear Aiden's hushed voice as he spoke with someone. Even from my room I could practically feel the soft growl of his baritone slip over my spine. A woman's voice followed after, light and giggly, stabbing at my mind which darkened when a familiar feeling swept over me.
I was back asleep before I could analyze the whole moment and I forgot all about it until Monday afternoon when I returned from school to find a woman standing in my kitchen in an oversized band t-shirt, bright red underwear peeking out from under the faded hem.
Her hair was the first thing I noticed, thick curls of flame red locks were swept to one side and hung messily around her shoulders. She was tall like a model and slender with porcelain skin and tattoos. She stood barefoot at the counter, her toenails painted black and her long fingers wrapped around a mug I'd bought Liam for his birthday one year.
At first she didn't notice me forcing me to clear my throat awkwardly to get her attention, wanting access to the fridge.
"Oh!" The tall redhead spun to face me, grey eyes wide and petal lips parted in surprise. "Hi there!"
Her voice was familiar.
"Hi." I replied quietly, shifting awkwardly. "Can I get to the fridge?"
"Sure!" She smiled and stepped out of my way, dainty feet dancing over the terracotta tiles to give me space.
My movements were nowhere near as graceful as hers as I shuffled rigidly to the fridge, trying to avoid eye contact. I just needed to grab a can of soda and then I could leave.
"You're Ellie, right?" She spoke up behind me, voice high and light with a child-like lilt to it.
I turned to look at her, a mistake because the moment I made eye contact and nodded, her face split open as a smile spread over her lips to show me pearly white teeth, neat and straight. Her steel eyes lit up and I only noticed now the small steel rings in her left eyebrow and septum.
"I'm Tammy, I went to school with Liam and met Aiden through him."
Liam knew this woman? I wracked my brain trying to remember any of Liam's friends but then I remembered he had also kept his social life and life with me very much so apart. It occured to me now that I never met any of Liam's friends and Liam never spoke about them. This realisation left a bitter taste in my mouth and a tightness in my chest akin to betrayal.
"Oh. Nice to meet you." I finally spoke when I realised I had been staring dumbly at the redheaded intruder.
I wasn't pleased to meet her.
"Likewise! Liam used to talk about you all the time." Tammy gushed, her energy like that of a giddy school girl. "I can see the resemblance."
"Thanks." I think.
Before Tammy could press for more conversation, Aiden appeared in a white vest and jeans, feet bare and hair freshly cut. The unruly golden locks had now been shaped and shortened to expose the nape of his neck. Ocean eyes danced over me before landing on Tammy. Something like annoyance flickered across his features momentarily before it's gone.
"Tammy, could you stop taking my t-shirts?" Aiden's voice was husky and rough like he had been smoking.
"I've done it twice." Tammy rolled her eyes, tiptoeing to press a kiss on Aiden's sharp jawline. "And they look better on me."
A feeling swept over me, faint but unwelcome. It twisted my stomach and I felt an irritating heat flood through my veins. It mimicked the fleeting feeling of Saturday night but is now stronger. Swallowing against the dryness in my throat, I shifted my backpack on my shoulder and completed the task of grabbing a drink.
"I was just talking to Ellie here. It's crazy how much she's grown!"
I frowned at this, glancing at the pair, ignoring the intense look in Aiden's eyes as I swept my eyes to Tammy. "We've met?"
"Oh no but Liam talked about you all the time and had a picture of you and him as his phone screensaver." Tammy explained, seemingly oblivious to my horrified shock. "You remember, don't you Aiden?"
My eyes snapped to the blonde but his eyes weren't on me, instead they were on Tammy, almost glaring like she had offended him. Tammy was oblivious.
"Um well it's nice to meet you Tammy." I stumbled over my words, moving to the door. "I better get on with my homework."
"Sure thing! I'm sure we will see eachother again soon." Tammy smiled that megawatt smile again, pressing herself into Aiden's side.
Aiden said nothing which I was oddly disheartened by. Leaving the pair in the kitchen, I headed up the stairs only to peer back half way up to find Aiden's eyes on me and a look on his face I couldn't decipher.