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You’re a pretty special woman yourself? Real smooth, Aiden, I groaned and buried my face in my hands. What the hell was I going to do? My brain was swirling with confusion. It was not like I could talk to Logan about these feelings I was having. That would just make things weirder. Over the next 20 minutes, I re-read the same four pages several times and still had no idea what was going on in the story.
I was taking dinner out of the oven when Logan came in. The grave look in his eyes made my heart sank. When he said, “We need to talk,” I got worried.
But before he could say another word, Ember walked into the kitchen. The darkness left his eyes, and he gave her a broad smile. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you are still here.”
What did he mean by that? I wondered. Is that what he wanted to tell me? Was he developing feelings for Ember? Had her presence in our home convinced him he would be happier with a woman? Did he want to move out? I tried to calm my paranoia. Whatever it was, he would tell me soon enough. Maybe I was overreacting. It could be something work related. Right?
As we ate, I listened to Ember recount the events of our day for Logan’s benefit. I was grateful she left out the part where we made out in the kitchen. When she finished, I explained that with Ember living with us for the foreseeable future, we would need to make some adjustments to the sleeping arrangements. I watched Logan’s face closely when I said that he could sleep in my room with me. His eyes gave a small flick towards Ember, but he did not object, which I took as a good sign.
After we cleaned up the kitchen, Ember suggested the three of us watch some TV. Logan took his usual place in the recliner, leaving me and Ember to sit at opposite ends of the sofa. Although it was a three cushion couch, the distance between us seemed slight.
The argument began when Logan flipped through the channels and found an episode of Impractical Jokers. “Put something else on,” I said. “You know I hate this show.”
“But Ember and I like it.” He smiled. “Two against one.”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with it? I think it is hilarious,” she innocently asked.
As irrational as it may sound, I felt like I was back in high school being bullied all over again. “Their stunts are dangerous.” I said. “One of those idiots could get badly hurt or worse, if they mess with the wrong person.”
Ember said, “I’m sure they have security people around to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Fuck it,” I said. “Watch whatever you want. I’m going for a walk.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Logan
“What the fuck just happened?” Ember looked up at me, her eyes wide. She was understandably startled and confused by Aiden's outburst.
“It's not your fault. I never know what will trigger him.” But, of course, I knew his reaction had nothing to do with the TV show and everything to do with the incident at the diner the other day. I asked her, “How much has he told you about his past?”
“Nothing. He doesn't really talk about himself.”
“Yeah.” I blew out a long breath, uncertain how much I should share with her. I did not want to betray Aiden's confidence, but thought Ember deserved to know at least part of the story if she was going to be living with us for any length of time.
“Aiden didn't grow up in Riverdell. He moved here in the middle of 8th grade with his mother. They stayed with his aunt. This was her house before she died.”
“Where was his dad?” she asked.
“I will get to that part.” I assured her. “He looked nothing like he does now. He was tall, but painfully skinny. Nothing really stood out about him. He was the kind, us cool kids never gave a second thought. I think he liked that nobody paid attention to him. It let him fly under the radar.”
“I was the same way as a kid,” she said. “Still am, I guess.”
“We lived on the other side of town, in Hathaway Estates, so over the summer I didn't see him at all. Then freshman year, he comes to school dressed in all black, wearing eye-liner and nail polish. Even had a lip ring.”
“No shit? Aiden was a goth?” She smiled. “I can’t even picture it.”
“You haven’t heard the worst part yet. He had bleached his hair and gave himself pink tips.”
“Sounds like he was rebelling against something or someone.” Her voice was full of empathy.
“He was, but I didn’t know it. I was too busy making his life a living hell.”
“You were a bully?” She glared at me.
“I was an asshole.” I wanted to tell her that shame over my own repressed sexuality caused me to lash out at anyone I perceived as being different, but it would have been a lie. The younger me was just a jerk who got off on embarrassing anyone who was different. “When he stopped showing up for school, I may have felt a little bad, like maybe it was my fault. But when I heard he and his mother had moved again, I stopped thinking about it.”
“I don’t think I would have liked the old you.” After a moment, she asked, “So how did he end up back in Riverdell? And if you were so shitty to him, how did the two of you end up together?”
