Flaw (The Flaw Series) (23 page)

He’s drunk and none of this is making much sense. I walk him into his room and tuck him in, leaving a bottle of water on his night table for when he wakes up needing it. “Sleep Aidan, tomorrow we’ll finish talking about this. I’ll be here when you wake up. I won’t let you go through this alone anymore.”

His eyes close tight, too tight for him to be asleep. “Becca, I can’t go through stuff like this again.”

“I know.” I climb into his bed and wrap my arms around him. The noisy, uneven breaths he lets out tear up my insides. The pain he’s going through is inconceivable. This is what I wanted to protect him from and I failed. I lie next to him, rubbing my fingernails over his hair in the soothing little scratches I know he enjoys until his breathing evens out and I’m sure he’s asleep. I stay with him a little bit longer before going into the kitchen and turning off the coffee pot. Before I leave I dump the leftover whiskey down the drain and rinse the bottle out before going back to my place.

Josh is waiting for me, leaning against the counter in my kitchen. He stands up and walks over to me. “Did you know about all this?” I ask him and he nods his head solemnly.

“I only just found out. I figured he would tell you himself when he was ready.”

We sit down on the couch. I pull my knees up to my chest and rest my chin on top. “I should have been there for him. I knew something like this was going to happen.”

Josh shakes his head. “Jordyn puts a lot of pressure on herself to be perfect. She made a mistake, a huge one, said some real horrible things. But trust me when I tell you she is devastated. She loves him and she’s trying everything she can to talk with him and work things out, but he just won’t let her.”

“They were actually married?”

“Vegas,” Josh says, answering the when and where before I even ask.

“I’m sure there was no prenup in Vegas. She probably realized when she got home and panicked, wanting a way out,” I say bitterly, a part of me wondering if money played a part in all this.

“Money had nothing to do with it. He’s the one who had the papers drawn up to annul the marriage. He’s the one who enforced it. She didn’t want to sign it. Like I said, she’s devastated. She loves him.”

“What do I say when I talk to him tomorrow?”

“I would try and get him to talk with her.”

“He’s been through so much in his life. I don’t want to see him hurt anymore.”

“They’re in love,” Josh declares.

“Love, pfft. Even if that’s true,
love
, sometimes that isn’t enough.”

“Really? Because I think it’s everything.” Josh leans his head back on the couch.

I stay quiet, wondering if that’s really true.

“Becca, what Aidan said before,” he swings his finger, pointing from me to him. “This is gonna work out.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Before Aidan said ‘when this doesn’t work out’ and I want you to know, it is. I love you. I want you to trust me.” His hand moves down my back, pulling me in. The inviting musky scent of his aftershave tickles my nose. I swing my legs around to straddle him, bringing my lips to his.

“I love you, too,” I say, tugging two fistfuls of his thick gray hair. So far Josh hasn’t given me any reason not to trust him. Aidan’s other comment from before creeps back in my mind. If we’re building trust I should probably clear that up.

“The other thing Aidan said, ya know.” I look down and play with the belt on my robe. “About the ‘friendly hand job,’ um, that was before you and me and…”

“No.” Josh shudders. “That is something we never ever need to discuss.”

“It was nothing, just…”

“Nope. We never need to discuss it.”

Jordyn

The last thing I remember is being rushed into the emergency room at the children’s hospital. Appendicitis. Looking back, I should have known. The warning signs were obvious. I ignored the pain I was experiencing for two days. They did the surgery right away and the doctor who just left my room said I should be fine to go home in the morning. I lift up the hospital gown, pulling back the bandage to examine my new incision. Ironically, I’ll have a scar in the place where I wanted Aidan to tattoo me on the night we met.

There’s a knock at the door and my mom walks in, carrying an enormous mixed bouquet of flowers: roses, tulips, lilies, all of them white.

“Hey, sweetheart, how are you feeling?” she asks, sitting on the edge of my bed.

“I feel fine, Mom.”

“You scared us. We weren’t sure what was going on at first but the doctor said it was okay, the appendix hadn’t ruptured or anything.”

“I know, I should have realized what was causing the pain, but I’ve just been so crazed lately and caught up in things that I guess I just missed the signs. I blamed the pain on a broken heart.” I try to smile but swallow instead.

My mother hands me the bouquet. “Here, these will make you feel better.”

“This was silly, Mom. I’m going home in the morning. I didn’t need a big bouquet of flowers.” I lay them down in the bed beside me.

“They’re not from me.” She squeezes my leg through the blanket and smiles. “He’s been here for the last few hours, just waiting, making sure you’re going to be okay.”

My pulse quickens and I sit up quickly, flinching at the pain. “Aidan? He’s here? Is he going to come see me? Mom, ask him if he’ll come see me.”

“Calm down, honey. I’m going to go get him. I’ll tell him you’re okay to have visitors now.”

Once my mother leaves the room I comb my fingers through my short hair, scrambling to find the little comb in the bucket by my bedside. I smooth a few tangles out the best I can and sit up, anxiously waiting for Aidan. He’s there a few minutes later, mirrored glasses on, the hood of his jacket pulled up and his head held down so I can’t see his face.

“You’re feeling okay?” he asks, standing far away from my bed.

“That’s a loaded question,” I say, unable to take my eyes off him. The incision on my side pulls as I try and get up from my bed.

“What are you doing?” He steps forward. “Don’t get up.”

I pat the side of my bed. “Please?” I need him near me. I need to see him and feel him.

He walks over knowing if he doesn’t, I’ll get up and go to him. The bed is in an upright position and when he sits down next to me, I’m able to reach over and touch him. He allows me to lower his hood but still keeps his head down. “Can you take off the glasses and look at me?”

He does what I ask. The glasses get removed and he slowly turns to face me. We hold each other’s stare. Tentatively his hand reaches for mine. “Kiss me,” I whisper. “Please.”

I bring my hands up to his neck and urge him forward. Our lips finally reconnect. The kiss is soft and tender. I pull back, resting my forehead against his. “I love you,” I say and his eyes close. He says nothing but I know in my heart he feels the same way.

My mouth crashes back down on his this time with all the desperation that’s been bottled up inside me. The kiss ignites yet Aidan is careful not to hold me too tight and risk hurting the sensitive area from my surgery.

“Princess Jordyn!” We’re interrupted by a little girl’s squeal. The kiss ends abruptly and I look over to see Christina, one of the little girls I absolutely adore from the burn unit. Her mother runs into the room a few seconds after her, winded.

Aidan quickly lowers his head, his hand searching through the blankets on my bed for his glasses. He can’t find them so instead covers his face in his hands.

“I’m so sorry,” her mother apologizes. “I hope we’re not interrupting. But when she heard Princess Jordyn was here she needed to come down immediately and make sure you were okay.”

“Oh, Christina, I’m fine. It was just my silly appendix. They took it out and now I’m all better.” I give her a very reassuring smile.

“Is he your handsome prince?” Christina asks, pointing a finger at Aidan and giggles. “I know he is, I just saw you guys kissing,” she says in a cute little taunting voice.

“Yes, this is my prince, Aidan.” I say it proudly.
I say it hopefully
. “Aidan, this is Christina, a princess in training. I would love for you to meet her.”

Aidan tenses, then he turns slowly, one hand still clinging to the side of his face. His eyes land on the little girl. She has dark hair, dark skin, and discolored burn marks on her cheeks, chin, and neck. His wide eyes take a moment to register as he slowly removes his hand and gives her the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

Christina’s little mouth drops open in a moment of surprise and then raises into a huge smile of her own. She looks at me and I see her eyes glaze over in approval. “Yay! Jordyn has a prince,” she exclaims, jumping up and down doing a very happy dance.

“Yes, I do.” I laugh at her excitement and admiration. “And now I need you to go back upstairs. I’m putting you in charge of telling everybody the good news.”

She beams proudly at her important duty and runs over with her arms held open. “Careful, Christina, you can’t hug Princess Jordyn too hard, she just had surgery,” her mother warns.

“I’m not hugging her,” Christina huffs. “I’m hugging Prince Aidan.”

Aidan gives the girl a tight squeeze and then stands up and does the prince bow I taught him. Christina giggles and runs back to her mother, giddy with little girl delight.

“Feel better.” Her mother waves at me before taking Christina’s hand and leading her out of the room.

Once we’re alone again, Aidan folds his hands together and brings them up to his mouth. He’s deeply touched by what just occurred and needs a moment to compose himself. I need one, too. The emotion has left me choked up as well.

“You were amazing with her,” I say softly, reaching my hand over to his. “They’re all going to love you. My handsome Prince Aidan.”

“Jordyn,” he sighs, rubbing his forehead.

“I know.” My voice trembles, shaky breaths escaping me. “I know I hurt you. And I know it’s going to take a long time before you can trust me again. But believe me, I love you. I love you so much. Being without you is torture. It’s painful. I need you. Aidan, I promise, I swear on my life, I will never hurt you again.”

“I can’t change the way I look, the way this happened. And I can’t hide from it either.”

“I’m sorry for the things I said. I never meant them. My fears caused me to react and say those things without thinking. And I’m so sorry for trying to hide you. I wasn’t fully aware I was doing it until it was too late. But this time I want everyone to know. I want to show everyone how incredible you are and how in love with you I am.” I sit up further so I can touch him, wincing at the pain the movement causes. My hands run from his chest up to his face. “Will you please give me the chance?”

The shoulders of his muscular frame drop. His eyes close when my fingertips reach his scar. “Of course I will, because no matter how hard I try, and trust me I tried, I can’t stop myself from being in love with you.”

Becca

My silver fox moves the last of his boxes into his new place. I helped him a little, but he did the bulk of it. His parents didn’t lift a finger this time. But his mother is insisting on having us over tonight for dinner to celebrate.

His father’s home recovering and although their lives will never be quite the same, they’re all adjusting. Josh has really stepped up. He’s taking care of his parents. They need him now and he’s been incredible.

“Why don’t we go out and have a drink before we go over to my parent’s house?” Josh suggests, pouring a handful of chocolate chips into my hand.

I wait until the chocolate is in my mouth to answer him. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

Josh bites his lip and groans. “Is there something wrong with me that I find that incredibly sexy?”

We’ve both matured quite a bit since we first met, but well, some things will just always be funny. I swallow down the chocolate and he wraps his arms around me. He kisses my chin and my neck, and then I feel his lips begin their way down his favorite trail of blue stars.

“I thought we’re going out for a drink?” I ask, even though I’m absolutely okay with this and even throw my shoulders back so he can continue to kiss down further.

“We will,” he says, cupping his hands under my behind and hoisting me on top of a stack of boxes. “In a little bit.”

As I reach in to untuck his shirt, the box I’m sitting on buckles underneath me and I sink clumsily into its contents. “Ouch.” I feel something snap and break under my butt. My feet are up in the air and I’m stuck. It may be time to lay off the chocolate chips.

“Are you okay?” Josh asks, trying to hold back a laugh as he pulls me out from the collapsed box.

“Yes, I’m fine. But that kinda ruined the mood. How about we finish this later, after your bed is made up?”

“You see, this is what happens when I do all my own packing.” He kicks the box in mock anger.

“Come on.” I take his hands and he pulls me in for a little kiss. “Let’s go walk down and have a drink at Twisted.” Josh’s new place is still within walking distance to the bar he works at and also conveniently…
to me
.

The weather is warm and the adorable flip flops I slip on are actually appropriate. I take the flower clip from my hair and replace it back in neatly. Josh locks up his new place and reaches for my hand as we exit his building, walking down the sidewalk to the bar. The summer night air actually smells like love: warm, fresh, and happy.

We select a little table tucked away in the back and Josh carries over a bottle of wine and two glasses. He sets a glass down in front of me and fills it first, then his own. Kent Daniels’ band, which always draws a big crowd, is hard at work setting up on the small stage. They don’t go on for about another hour or so, so we should be on our way before the bar gets too packed. Looking around, though, I notice the bar is already starting to fill up. A few trashy “Kent groupies” are leaning against the stage, batting their eyes and squeezing their cleavage up at him. I don’t think he’s too crazy about all the attention, but then again, he doesn’t seem to hate it either. I wonder if there’s anyone serious in his life.