Page 10 of Waggs

Chapter 4

Willow woke without a headache and felt more rested than she had in months. Rolling over, she found her stomach was much more settled too. Sitting up, she realised she was wearing a large man’s shirt, and as she bent her head to the collar and sniffed, she knew it was Aiden’s. His clean, manly scent, so achingly familiar, made her heart race.

Snippets of memory came back, and she realised she’d not only crashed his friend’s wedding but had thrown up all over him too. Then she’d passed out and left her son for him to care for without any thought if he might have plans or things to do. Not that she could help being sick but coming here had been her decision.

Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she realised it was dark outside, and a glance at the clock told her it was after seven pm already, but she honestly didn’t know what day it was. Her growling stomach made her get up, and after steadying herself, she went to find the bathroom. Using the toilet, she washed her hands, noticing the tiny boy’s toothbrush beside the adult one, a new one still in its wrapper, and a feeling of longing hit her in the chest.

Such an innocent thing but one that spoke of the loneliness she felt in her soul. Unwrapping the spare brush, she went to town on her teeth, getting rid of the fur on her tongue before she glanced in the mirror and saw her hair was a disgusting, greasy mess. She needed a shower, but first, she needed to check on her son.

Moving down the hall, glad that the shirt fell to her mid-thigh and covered most everything, she smiled when she heard laughing. Poking her head into the door, she stopped to watch Aiden and AJ sitting on the sofa, eating popcorn, wearing sweatpants and t-shirts, although AJ had a Superman cape over his. Both were laughing at something on the TV, and as she observed, her heart beat faster, and an ache formed in her belly that had nothing to do with a bug and everything to do with grief and regret.

AJ was so much like Aaron, but that meant he was also like Aiden. In a lot of ways, he was more like Aiden, having his calmer temper. Seeing them like that, she realised how much they had both missed out on. She wasn’t the only one who missed Aiden; she knew his parents did too, she saw them every weekend and not a visit went by without her seeing the sadness in his mom’s eyes.

She wanted to rail at Aiden, to tell him he was selfish for leaving them as he had, but she knew it was self-preservation. He was running from the pain, from the remorse of what they’d done after Aaron was laid in the ground, what they continued to do every year, compounding that mistake. Every year she said she wasn’t going to do it, to fall into the arms of a man she loved, to erase the grief of another man she’d loved and would always love. Yet, every year when he knocked on her door, she answered knowing where it would lead.

She wondered if Aiden knew how she felt about him. Sometimes she thought he did, that maybe he returned her fucked up feelings but then the next day he was gone, leaving her with regrets and heartache.

Deciding she needed to stop acting like a lovesick fool and get back to being a mom, she stepped into the room. Aiden’s head snapped up to her face before dropping to her legs and making her blush at the heat she saw in his eyes. He quickly hid it and stood, moving to her; the television still had AJ engrossed.

He made it to her and took her arm, guiding her to a seat at the same time AJ finally noticed her.

“Mommy!”

He ran toward her and threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her neck and a rush of love swept through her for her son who’d saved her more times than he’d ever know. She held on tight as she kissed his hair and he pulled back to look at her, his small hand stroking her face.

“Are you better now, Mommy?”

“Yes, AJ, I feel a lot better now, thank you.”

He looked at her with a solemn, serious expression. “It’s okay now, Mommy. Uncle Aiden is going to look after us, he promised.”

Willow looked up at Aiden who was watching them both from where he sat on the arm of the chair behind her. “Is that so?”

Aiden nodded. “Absolutely, and maybe we should start by getting Mom some food and showing her where her new clothes are?”

AJ glanced back at the movie he was watching, and she grinned. “Why don’t you finish your movie and Uncle Aiden can show me.”

“Okay.”

AJ was gone in a flash, back to a world of superheroes saving the day. If only it were that simple in real life. She’d got herself in a dangerous mess, and she had no idea how to get out of it, but she’d known Aiden would, which was why she’d gone to him.

He stood and held out his hand for her. “Come on, let me show you your stuff and then we can talk.” He walked back to the room she’d been in and only then did she see all the bags in the corner. Not only that, she noticed all of Aiden’s things. It was his bed she’d spent the last however many days sleeping in while she was sick.

“Is this your room?” She sat on the bed feeling guilty, and he sat beside her, his closeness making her want to lean into him and absorb his strength.

“Yes, I thought you’d be more comfortable in here as the bed is bigger.”

His shoulder rubbed against her shoulder, and she gave in to the need to touch him and rested her head against his arm. He immediately moved away, and she felt foolish until he lifted his arm and pulled her into his embrace. Willow had experienced sexy, passionate, demanding Aiden over the last few years, and she loved it, but she’d missed this side of him. Her friend, the man she knew she could turn to and lean on. Yet, this felt different from before because the undercurrent of sexual tension was out in the open this time.

“I missed this.”

He stiffened slightly but then relaxed. “Me too, Wills.”

They sat like that for a minute or two, not really knowing who needed it more or what they would do or where they would go from here.

Aiden let go and stood, and she noticed the erection he couldn’t hide in his sweatpants. He looked down, heat flooding his cheeks. “Ignore him. He’s an asshole with no manners.”

Willow laughed but ignoring it when she knew the pleasure it could bring her was difficult. Yet, now wasn’t the time or the place, if indeed there was ever a time and place to sleep with your dead fiancé’s brother. “I should take a shower.”