Chapter 5

"Lisa seems like a very bubbly person", I said, remembering her noticeable energy.

He uttered a quick "yes, she is"  with his eyes on the road, never glancing away.

I started to realize that I walked for so long to be this far from my house or Aiden's place seem to be further away.

"What were you doing there all alone? In the middle of the night?", he said, after some time, glancing at me slightly.

To be honest, I did not have an answer. If I did, it would sound stupid. I put my curl behind my ears and replied.

" I lost my way after attending a party," I said, trying to make it believable.

He raised his brow before replying.

"It didn't look like it. Are you lying to me, Haven?", he asked, without showing even the tiniest bit of hesitancy.

I took a deep breath before attempting to tell him the truth.

" I came outside for a walk to clear my head. I didn't realize that I was going astray.", I said, feeling stupid by the way it sounded.

He seemed convinced but he didn't respond, leaving me alone with my assumptions.

"Were you unhappy with the kiss?", he asked, after a while. The question did shock me because I thought it was something to forget and not talk about.

" I- uhm, it's not that", I started, completely oblivious to what to say. "I was surprised, I guess, I don't know."

He immediately let out a chuckle clearly amused by my state. I scowled at him and looked out of the window. It was the first I saw him laugh. And I had to say that it was heavenly. From the slight dimples when he broke into a smile to his deep melodic laughter when his chest vibrated, everything looked magical.

"You should smile often you know", I said, without caring if it was necessary to let him know. "You look better when you smile."

His hands clenched against the steering wheels turning them white. For a second I thought he was going to have a panic attack before he replied.

"I don't think I have a reason to smile anymore.", he said, more like talking to himself.

I felt a sudden pang at the weight of his words. My mind wandered to the time where people had warned me about him, something I used to find absurd. I had always been curious about why he was the way he was. And I believed that there would be a valid story explaining all of him to put the muddles pieces in my mind together.

"Why?", I asked him, not stopping the question before it slipped out.

In some bizarre way, I wanted him to open up to me. I didn't know if it was my curiosity speaking for me or the eerie connection that I had with him. I waited for his reply only to be disappointed with silence from his side. However, I chose to continue speaking.

"Yet, you find something to live for. I'm sure you'll find a reason to be happy about it", I said, slightly smiling at him.

This time, I anticipated the silence that followed and I let it stay that way without breaking it.

It took us minutes to reach my place. I got out of the car and thanked him quickly before facing the door. However, I caught sight of something that impended me to glance at it. My window was broken. I rushed towards it not observing if Aiden noticed it too. He did. I peeped inside to find my whole place sabotaged, making me tumble backward with utmost shock. I hadn't realized that Aiden was right behind me until he held me in place, preventing me from crashing.

He stood next to me for a second before going in.

" Stay here", he said, his voice a little alarmed.

I obeyed him and watched him investigate the whole place like he was searching for something. I waited for a minute before getting a glimpse of something in a corner. It looked like a note. Before I could go in and take a look at it, Aiden beat me to it.

He picked up the note and squinted his eyes in utmost concentration. It looked like bad news, observing his countenance. He crumbled the note and shoved it inside his pocket carelessly and made his way towards me.

"What was that?", I asked.

"Nothing important", he replied immediately, adding to my suspicion.

Before I could argue about it, he revealed something making me frown.

"I don't think it's safe for you to stay here for a while.", he said, staring at me with his scrutinizing eyes, probably searching for some kind of reaction.

He got to be kidding. I was pretty sure he was joking. However, his expression did not confirm the same.

"Why?", I asked him, demanding a quick answer.

"I have a hunch that it could be someone trying to get to me. They probably have seen you with me.", he replied, agitated that I wouldn't give in without answers.

"I'll stay with Anna for a while", I said, more like thinking out loud. However, that seemed to catch his attention. He took a step forward and ruffled a strand of my hair while speaking.

"I say, you stay at my place for a while till I find out who's behind this.", he said.

It took me a minute to process the fact that Aiden asked me to live in the same house as him for a certain period of time.

"Oh my God!", I exclaimed. "No! It's fine! I'll stay with Anna."

He looked amused by my reaction for a second before frowning.

"I am serious, Haven. You shall stay with me till things get cleared and I am not asking you. I'm just letting you know. Get in the car, I'll send someone to pack your things", he said, with a serious look.

"You cannot do that! I don't want to go with you!", I flared up.

Aiden looked clearly irked by this, with the way he pinched his nose and tried to keep his breathing stable. He grabbed my arm and tried to emphasize his point before talking again.

"Listen carefully, Haven. When I decide to do something, there will be sure as hell a valid reason behind it. It doesn't fucking matter if you do not know. Think for a second. Don't you think staying with Anna will get her into trouble too? Do you want her to be hurt? Do you want to be the reason for her to be hurt?", he said, drilling his point in my head.

I wiped the tear that involuntarily trickled down my cheek. I honestly did not want Anna to be hurt so I made a decision based on it. Aiden looked at me and softened his eyes while I quietly made my way towards his car.

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