Pretend (48 page)

             
It was strange but
Susan and Kate became friends. I guess that they both understood each other’s situation and they tried to help each other. This meant that
Caitlyn spent a lot of time at the Daniels' when they firs
t found out about her existence.
I guess it makes sense now,
Susan and Kate were trying to protect her
from the violence. I guess that Susan understood what Kate was going through and in some str
ange way, tried to help. I soon realised
that that wa
s why Aiden and Crystal spent a l
ot of time at my
g
randparent’s
house when they were little too
, they were being protected in the same way.
Aiden and Crystal don't see much of their sister, C
aitlyn anymore but when they do
, it was always a situation like this.

             
"Hello, anybody in?" Crystal said, interrupting my thoughts.

             
"In here," I said as I gave Caitlyn her hot cocoa.

             
"Caitlyn?"
Crystal said as she walked through the kitchen door with a shocked look on her face.

             
I saw th
e anger in her eyes immediately.
It was
the exact same look that was in Aiden's earlier.

             
"Hey
,
come and give your big sister a hug," she said as she outstretched her arms and waited for Caitlyn to walk over.

             
"Did he hit Kate again?" She mouthed to me as she held Caitlyn in a tight embrace.
I nodded my head to say yes and watched as a sad expression filled her face. Crystal had a tough exterio
r but those who really knew her
understood just how sensitive she truly was and this was always one of her weaknesses.

             
"It's ok," I mouthed to her as I watched her eyes fill with tears.

I knew that she would be picturing herself when she was younger in this similar situation. Only she would be the scared child. It hurt me to see her sad.

             
"Right
,
you go and drink your hot cocoa whilst I grab a drink," she finally said as she managed to compose herself.

             
From the day that Aiden and Crystal
discovered Caitlyn's existence
they never treated her as less than their sister. The love that they had for her even though they see her so
little was a bond that
many siblings would envy. I guess that was one of the many reasons that I loved both of them so much.

             
"Has Aiden gone out?" Crystal asked.

             
"No, he's in his room. I'll go and talk to him whilst you catch up with Caitlyn," I replied as I gave her a reassuring look. I knew that she was worried about him.

             
"Thanks," she said before giving my hand a little squeeze.

I walked out of the door and gently shut it in. This night was bringing back so many memories. I quietly made my way up the stairs, stood outside of Aiden's bedroom door and then knocked lightly.
 
When there was no answer, I made my way in anyway.

As I stepped in and closed the door, I found him lying on top of his bed with his arms behind his head, staring out of the window. He never moved or made a sound when I stepped in, instead he just remained frozen.

             
"Hey," I whispered as I sat down on the edge of his bed, staring at him.

             
"Hey," he muttered as he kept his eyes fixated on the window.

             
"You ok?" I asked. Stupid question, I know but what else could I say?

             
He shrugged his shoulders and turned his head slightly to look at me.

             
We sat in silence for about five min
utes before he finally spoke
.

             
"I don't understand him," he said in a quiet voice as he gently sat himself up so that his back was propped up by his pillow.

             
"I know," I said, immediately knowing that he was talking about his dad.

             
"Sometimes things just make no sense but God has a reason for everything. We may not understand
what that reason is
but things always work out the way
that
they are supposed to but we have to
have faith," I said as I placed my hand in his and gave him a little squeeze.

             
"I know," he said as he threw me a small smile.

             
"April," he said as he stared deep into my eyes.
 
Suddenly my stomach dropped, this seemed like he had something important to say.

             
"Yes," I answered, nervously.

             
"I will never be like my dad," he said as he continued to stare at me.

             
"I know," I said with a reassuring smile on my face.

             
"No, I need you to really understand. I will never ever hurt you like that, never and I will never let anyone hurt you like that again," he said as I watched the corner of his eyes begin to sparkle.

             
"What Jake did wasn't your fault Aiden," I said as I moved closer to him and placed my hand on his cheek.

             
"I should have been there. I let my dad hit my mom for years and then I let Jake put his hand on you," he said in an angry voice.

             
"Stop, you were a child Aiden, we all were
and
there was nothing that you could have done-"

             
"I could have and I should have, you're wrong," he interrupted.

             
"I'm not wrong, your dad has a problem and until he admits that it will always be the same. You were a child and no matter how many bottles of drink that we hid, he always found more and he still got violent. There are some things that are simply out of our control and as for Jake that wasn't your fault all of us were fooled by him," I said as I stroked his cheek.

             
"You've got to stop blaming yourself for things that are beyond your control otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy," I said in a gentle voice.

             
As I finished that sentence, I saw something that I have never and would never have expected to see in my entire life...A tear run down Aiden Daniels' cheek.

             
I held him so tight that I felt like I was going to explode. I wanted to take away his pain but I knew that it would take way more than that but I had to try.
It was crazy but seeing him
like that
made me feel hurt, I could literally feel his pain and it was breaking my heart.
He never cried beyond the one tear but it told an entire story, one that I understood clearly.

             
"You know, I just realised something," he whispered into my ear as we continued to embrace.

             
"What?" I asked.

             
"That all this time that I've been up here, I missed you," he said as I felt the slight smirk on the side of my cheek. He was back.

             
"
Wait,
did Aiden Daniels just say the 'M' word?" I gasped as I pretended to be shocked.

             
"I think I did and do you know what?"

             
"What?" I asked with a smile on my face.

             
"I think I liked it," he said before letting out a little laugh.

             
"So
,
you're back then?" I said as I stood to my feet and looked down at him.

             
"Yup," he said as he stood up in front of me.

             
"Thank you," he said before
 
I took a slight step back to look at him and then placed my hand in his and smiled.

             
"Come on, time to play the big brother role and make them feel safe," I said as I attempted to pull him out of the room.

             
"Wait," he said as he stood frozen.

             
"What's wrong?" I asked in a worried tone.

             
"I forgot something," he said.

             
"Oh ok, what is it?"

             
"This," he said before cupping my cheek with his hand and planting the softest and most passionate kiss on my lips.

             
"Promise me that you will never forget to do that again?" I said as I smiled at him.

             
"I promise," he said as a smile filled his lips.

             
It wasn't long before we were all gathered in the kitchen and trying to make Caitlyn feel better ab
out tonight’s events. It worked,
of course and it seemed like all
of
the pain of the night had become a distant memory, for now.

             
"Hey, I'm going to give Kate a call and let her know that Caitlyn's here," Crystal whispered into my ear before walking out of the kitchen door.
Aiden gave me a questioning look but I gave him a smile that told him that everything was fine.

             
Somehow this night turned out much better than I had expected.

* * *
             

Last night seemed to come and go very quickly and before I knew it, it was Thursday. Since Kate had agreed to let Caitlyn stay the night it meant that we had to get up a little bit earlier to drop her off to school first. She seemed happier today
,
which was good.

After a long day of lectures, boredom and catching up with
Crystal's date in between period
s, the day was finally over.

             
"Hey," Kyle said as he ran to catch up with me.

             
"Hi, I thought you'd be outside waiting," I said as I slowed down my pace.

             
"No, our class got held behind," he replied.

             
"Still coming to mine to see Mimi?"

             
"Yeah, of course," I said as we walked towards the school’s parking lot.

             
I looked ahead and spotted Aiden, leaning against his car.

Was it possible for someone to look that hot all the time?
How I had managed to resist him all of these years, was beyond me.

I felt the instant change in Kyle's body language and somehow, I sensed the tension that ran through him as we approached Aiden.

             
"Hey," I said as a smile spread across my lips.

             
"Hey," Aiden said as he threw a smile back in my direction. I also saw the look that he gave Kyle but pretended not to notice it.

             
"I'll be two minutes," I said as I turned to face Kyle.

             
"Cool," he mumbled before walking off towards his car.

             
"So," Aiden said as I watched him trying to keep his distance.

             
"So
,
what?"
I asked with a smile on my face.

             
"So, I really want to kiss my girlfriend right now," he said as a smirk filled his face.

             
"Oh is that right. Where is she?" I asked, playfully.

             
"She's close," he said as he kept his eyes fixated on mine.

             
"Oh really, what's stopping you?"

             
“
Well
,
she's my sister's best friend, which is cool by me but she's sort of a chicken and
scared to tell her so you know,”
he said as he let out a small laugh.

             
“Oh be quiet,”
I said as I pla
yfully
hit his arm and laughed.

             
“
Crys
tal can be dangerous you know,”
I said as I raised an eyebrow and continued to smile.