Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) (19 page)

“I have a million, but tell me everything and I will ask my questions at the end,” Aiden replies.

“Okay. I understand that you drove here. We’ll let you drive back, but we’ll send someone to come take your car away this evening. You can’t stay with family and that includes staying with Aleah, either at the mansion or at her condo. Everything you do will be monitored closely. So don’t even think about cheating. If you have questions on whether or not something is acceptable, call me at any time… Questions?”

“When will I lose access to my money?” Aiden asks.

“Everything’s already blocked.”

Aiden takes a sharp breath. “When do I have to move out of Grandpa’s house?”

“You have till Sunday.”

That’s only two days away. I hear Aiden suck in a breath, pushing up from his chair and saying goodbye to the two men quickly. We walk to the car in silence, as I let him work through all the stuff on his mind before I start talking.

Once in the car, I turn towards him. “So? What do you think?”

He releases a deep breath. “Honestly, it’s better than I expected. I thought he was going to have me spend a month in a remote jungle or something. In a way, it’s too easy, but I know there is a catch. I know Grandpa wouldn’t make this that easy for me, so I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m also pissed they didn’t give me any time to prepare myself. To find out after the fact that you’ve
already
lost access to all your money and your belongings is a bit disheartening.”

“I know, but it’s temporary, and it’s going to be okay, right? You’ll get paid a reasonably good salary… I mean I know it’s nothing compared to what you got before, but you should still be able to live comfortably once you start getting paid, and they’re giving you some money to last you till you get your first paycheck.”

“Yea, I’m not worried about that. I don’t think that would be an issue. I have a ton of friends I can stay with. I’ll probably just stay with one of them for the whole period. If not, I would at least stay with one long enough to get my first paycheck and rent a nice place. In fact, let me call my friend Jake right now.”

He presses his finger on a call button on the steering wheel and issues a voice command. A few seconds later the sound of the phone ringing fills the car through the speakers.

“What’s up, Aiden?”

“Hey, man. I’m here in the car with my friend, so watch your language.”

“Your friend? Oh, that’s mysterious,” Jack says with a chuckle. “Since when do you care if I curse in front of your lady friends?”

“Since right now,” Aiden responds in an annoyed tone. “Listen, I have a favor to ask you. You remember how I told you my grandpa is making me jump through a bunch of hoops to get my inheritance?”

“Yea?”

“Well, this new thing is that he wants me to work and live on a normal salary for a few of months. So they’re taking away my condo and my car temporarily, and…I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while until I find a place?”

“Um…uh… You know I would love to help you out man if you could, but the thing is…it’s just that I just asked Steph to move in with me. She’s moving in tomorrow and I really want this to work out with her. It’s just going to be weird having you here when she first moves in, you know?”

Aiden laughs. “You asked Steph to move in with you? What kind of joke is that? Since when do you ask girls to move in with you? Plus, it was just last week that you were telling me you’re getting tired of her and are ready to end it.”

“I know, but things changed since then, okay? Don’t judge, man. I really like her.”

“Sure. Whatever,” is Aiden’s only response.

After he hangs up, I hear him mutter a curse under his breath. “The bastard is lying. There’s no way he’s asked Steph to move in with him. She’s annoying as hell, and he was only with her because of her smoking body. I can’t believe he lied to me. You don’t know how much I’ve done for this guy throughout the years.”

“Guess your grandpa was right about one thing. You’re about to find out who your real friends are.”

When we get home Aiden swiftly heads to his room, muttering something about needing to get his stuff in order.

I find him a few hours later outside by the pool. He looks lost in his thoughts, his shoulders slumped forward, his hands covering his face. By the looks of the bottles on the table in front him, he is well on his way to getting drunk. It takes him a few minutes to notice me approaching, but when he does, a frown creases his forehead.

“You should stay away from me today−Aleah. I’m not in a good mood,” he warns in a hard tone.

His warning falls on deaf ears. Seeing the pained expression on his face and hearing the sadness in his tone makes me pick up my speed towards him instead. The n
eed to comfort him is too strong to restrain. I take a seat close to him and study his face.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” I ask, unable to hide the concern from my voice.

“What
happened
? What do you think happened? Weren’t you there with me this morning when my dead grandpa turned my life upside down to teach me a fucking lesson?”

The hardness of his tone startles me. I understand that he’s upset, but why is he taking this out on me?

“I was there, Aiden, but you weren’t this upset after you learned about the will. So what’s happened since then that put you in such a mood?”

“Exactly what my grandpa thought would happen. He knew exactly what he was doing... The
lessons
have already started,” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“What do you mean?”

He takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his black hair before finally meeting my gaze. “I called a bunch of my friends... Guess what? Every single one of them has an excuse. After the first four, the others didn’t even pick up. I think they started letting each other know to avoid my calls. I’m only asking to stay with them for a couple of weeks and the bastards are not even answering my calls. What the fuck sort of friends are these? And I only called my so called close friends,” he says in exasperation.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Two weeks is not even that long. Plus you could break that up into a few days at each friend’s house. Why would they not even answer their phone?” I ask, thinking out loud.

He sucks in a breath, turning his head to avoid meeting my eyes. “Yea, that’s what I kept asking myself too. But after I called the guys, I tried one of the girls. This is one of the ones who’ve been relentlessly after me for as long as I can remember. I was curious to see her reaction. You know what she said?”

I shrug my shoulders in response, even though I’m dying of curiosity to know what the girl said.

“Before I had a chance to say anything, she said you’re calling me because you need a place to stay, and proceeded to tell me off for calling her now that I was broke and desperate. She said something about my grandpa leaving me penniless. When I tried to ask her what she meant, she said she knows that I was left off of the will and my Grandpa took away everything he had given me before.”

“Why would she say that?”

“Clearly there is a rumor going around that Grandpa left me high and dry,” he says through gritted teeth. “And they all think I’m desperate for a place to stay and probably money, so they’re avoiding me like the plague.”

“They think you’re in such a desperate position, and instead of wanting to help you, they’re turning their backs on you? These are some friends you have, Aiden.”

“You’re telling me!”

“So what are you going to do?”

He snaps his head towards me, his eyes burning with anger. “What’s with all the questions?” he asks in a raised voice. “You don’t have anything better to do this afternoon than asking me rhetorical questions?”

“I’m just trying to have a conversation with you,” I answer honestly, confused by his sudden anger.

“Well, I’m not interested in this conversation. You can show yourself back inside the house now.”

My jaw drops, anger at his words slowly crawling up my spine. “Excuse me? Why are you talking to me like that? I’m not one of the ones who shut the door in your face. I’m trying to help,” I say in exasperation, unable to help raising my voice.

He snaps his head towards me in a flash, and the fury in his eyes catches me by surprise. “If you want to help, then leave,” he yells, while trying to wave his hand at the direction of the house. The sudden jerking of his hand in my direction along with the angry tone of his voice startles me, making me instinctively raise my hands to protect my face.

His eyes widen by my reaction. “Did you just flinch? You think I’m going to hit you?” he asks in a raised voice, “I’m not your stupid psycho brother. My family may be fucked up, but unlike yours, we were at least taught not to hit women.”

His sudden swipe at my family catches me off guard. I know my family is messed up, but hearing it from him in this way makes my heart ache, bringing tears to my eyes.

“You know nothing about my family” I manage to say, my voice catching on the last words.

I turn around quickly so he doesn’t see the tears welling up in my eyes or the sudden trembling of my hands, and decide to leave before he can see how his words affected me. I hold myself together until I make it my room and lock the door behind me. It is after collapsing on the bed that I let the tears fall.

A couple of hours later, a knock on the door grabs my attention. I hesitate to answer, knowing full well who is standing behind it. He’s probably here to apologize and I don’t know if I can deal with that right now. His sudden show of temper has frightened me, making all sorts of warning bells go off in my head. I need time to process all the emotions this man evokes in me.

He knocks again, and I remain silent. After a third knock, I hear the rough sound of something being placed against the door, followed by retreating footsteps down the hallway.

After I’m sure he’s back in his room, I walk to the door, opening it with reluctance. I see a medium size white box placed on the floor with a single red rose placed carefully on the top. I pick up the box and the flower and notice a piece of paper taped to the top. I remove the paper and open it to see a handwritten note with the words:

Sorry! I was way out of line. I hope you can forgive me.

Feeling touched by his note, I go on to open the box and a smile crosses my lips as soon as I see the contents. Inside, there are a dozen different cupcakes from one of the best bakeries in L.A. He took me to that bakery a couple of days ago, introducing me to their cupcakes and I told him they had the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. The bakery is at least forty-five minutes away from the house. The fact that he drove for an hour and a half in his current sour mood to get me something meaningful to apologize with warms my heart, bringing unexpected tear to my eyes. The man can invoke such strong conflicting emotions in my heart; my head is spinning from the force of it all.

As I take in the contents of the box, the door to his room opens revealing his magnificent frame as he pivots outside. His back is to me as he walks down the hallway, giving me a chance to study his body language. His head is bent down low; his shoulders slumped forward revealing the tension in his shoulders. He takes a couple of steps before sensing my presence. He slowly turns his body around and our eyes meet. “I’m sorry,” is the only thing crossing his lips.

I feel extremely confused and conflicted and don’t know what to say to him, so I just stare at him instead. After a few seconds, he mistakes my silence for anger. He releases a deep breath, “I get it. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now,” he says in a hoarse voice, before turning around and walking away.

“Wait,” I suddenly hear myself say. “Where are you going?”

“Out. I’m not in a good frame of mind right now. I need to get hammered tonight. I need something to make me forget. I usually find it in a bottle and in women... So the bottle will be my friend tonight,” he says running his fingers through his hair. “Please stay away from me for the next couple of days. I really don’t want to do or say something to hurt you again…but you invoke such strong reactions in me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to control myself. For your own sake, just stay away. Give me some time to work through the stuff in my head.”

I don’t know if I will be able to stay away, but I nod my head any way, as I watch him leave the house.

As the night goes on, I keep thinking about what he said before he left, and the more I think about it, the sicker I feel to my stomach. His words about finding comfort in women and alcohol keep turning in my head. My mind goes a million different places as to where he might be and what he could be doing, and none of those scenarios are pretty. I try to tell myself that I shouldn’t care if he is with other women, but the knots that are formed in my stomach every time I think of where he could be right now tell me a different story.

As time go by, the feeling of uneasiness slowly turns to rage. I start to feel angry at him for acting like we are the best of friends, for taking me to the law firm with him today and making me feel like there’s something between us, but at the first sign of trouble, leaving me alone at home and turning to other women and alcohol for comfort.

The anger and worry keeps me up late at night, not allowing for a minute of sleep to creep in. After lying in bed for hours wide awake, I decide to go watch TV in the upstairs living room so I can hear him if and when he walks in.