LOGINAidenShe lay on the bed, her chest rising shallowly beneath the thin blanket. Her skin was pale, her face swollen, bruises already blooming across her cheekbones and jaw, angry purple and red that I knew would darken by morning. There were marks along her side, too, where he'd hit her.I sat close, one of her hands resting in mine, limp and cold as I watched her breathe, counting every rise and fall of it.I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, terrified that the moment I did, something would go wrong. That she'd stop breathing, and I'd miss it."There is no sign of internal complications, so she should wake up soon. We're monitoring her closely to make sure..." The rest of the doctor's words faded into the background.Soon? I lifted my head, my gaze drifting back to her face, the split in her lip tearing at my chest. When was soon? Minutes? Hours? Tomorrow?Fuck. I needed an exact time.If I hadn't gone to see Freya. If I'd been a jerk as usual and followed her even after she told
LeahI sobbed into her shoulder, all the guilt I had carried for years crashing down at once. "I'm sorry... if I hadn't gone missing... if I hadn't —""Hush." Her fingers brushed my hair slowly. "It's not your fault you were kidnapped. It's not your fault—" she choked, holding me tighter as she cried with me"I was cruel to you and blamed you for everything," she said. "I needed someone to hate, Leah. I needed a place to pour all that pain, and you were the only one I could do that to."My chest ached. "I deserved it.""I never should have said those things to you."Her words only fueled my guilt, knowing I was protecting the man who killed her son.Around us, the room stayed quiet with mom, dad, and Roman just watching.After a while, Aunty pulled back just enough to look at my face.
LeahI was crying badly now, shaking so hard my knees nearly buckled."There were times," I whispered, hating myself for what I was about confessing, "times I thought you did. You didn't even have to say it. I felt it, I believed it and I loved you too."My throat closed."And that's what makes this worse, Aiden. I fucking loved you and you still broke me. Even after all these years, even when I thought you were dead, you still owned my heart. Does that even make any sense?"His hand cupped my face gently. "You're right," he said, his voice wrecked and stripped raw. "I don't know how to love the right way. But I'm trying, Leah. I swear I am."I shook my head, tears spilling faster."You say things like that so easily," I cried. "You swear you won't hurt me again and then you do something even worse the moment I let you back in
LeahJust hearing Aunty Louise's name had me running and flagging down a cab before Aria could finish her sentence."It's really bad this time," She sobbed over the phone. "She was found in the bathtub, and there was... there was blood everywhere, Leah." My hands shook throughout the ride, and I screamed at the driver more than once to speed up as my thoughts spiralled. I didn't want to imagine it, but the images came anyway.My phone buzzed all the way to the hospital, and I didn't bother checking it once.When I got there, my father was pacing the corridor, his phone clenched tightly in his hand while Aria sat nearby, one arm wrapped around her belly, her eyes swollen and red."Dad," I breathed as tears prickled my eyes.He turned on hearing my voice. "Leah."I ran into him just as he crossed the space between us, and he pulled me into his arms. I clung to his chest and cried."She'll be fine," he murmured, over and over, running his hand down my back, unsure if he was reassuring m
LeahThe hall was crowded with parents who stood in clusters, voices raised as they blamed the school and threatened to withdraw their children. I stayed at the far end of the room, away from them, hoping no one dragged me into a conversation i didn't have the energy for.My gaze kept drifting across the hall to where Aiden sat on the opposite side. He was impossible to miss as he was bigger than everyone else. And it seemed people kept their distance from him because an empty pocket of space formed around his chair.I chewed on the inside of my cheek and forced myself to look away.I was sure our eyes met outside. Even when I walked in, the only reason I'd found his seat easily was because he'd been shamelessly watching me. But the moment I turned, he wasn't looking like I'd imagined it.So why the fuck was he ignoring me? Had he lost his memory again? Or had he simply decided I wasn't worth the effort anymore?The thought lodged painfully in my chest.I hated that I cared at all.A
Leah "Leah," Sam called, jumping to her feet, phone clenched in her hand and eyes wild with worry. "Where have you been? I've been calling you—" she stopped as she took in my dishevelled state.I ran straight into her arms, my body folding into hers as if it had finally been given permission to collapse. I started crying, everything I'd been holding in since Storm's last words, finally breaking loose. "Hey... hey," she murmured as she wrapped herself around me. "What happened?"I shook my head against her shoulder, my sobs turning ugly and my chest aching badly. "What should I do, Sam? What should I do?" My voice cracked. "I still love him. I still love that bastard."Saying it out loud now felt like confessing a crime I swore to take to my grave.They sat the heart is complicated, but I think that's just a polite way of excusing stupidity. Because that's what the heart was, a stupid organ that makes you do stupid things. It never listens to reason, never heeds warnings. It charge







