Pretend (53 page)

             
Hey I came to my house and Jake followed me inside

             
"Sorry I forgot to ask how many sugars you have in your
cocoa
?
" Mrs Staples asked as she pok
ed her head around the door.

             
"Oh
,
just two please," I replied.

             
"Ok," she said before disappearing again.

             
I looked down at my phone to complete the message but realised that I had accidently sent it already. I quickly opened
up
a new message so that I could finish writing my message, telling Aiden that I was safe and at Mrs Staples' house but as I did
,
my phone died. Great! I knew that he would panic so I quickly ran to the kitchen.

             
"Sorry
Mrs Staples
but could I please use your phone?"
I asked in a panic.

             
"Yes of course you can, there's one in the living room," she said.

             
"Thank you,” I replied as I ran back into the living room, picked up the phone and dialled Crystal's house phone.

             
No answer! Great! He was already on his way
,
I knew it.
 

* * *

             
It had probably been about seven
minutes before I heard a car pull up outside. I had already explained the situation to Mrs Staples so she had been waiting anxiously by the window.

             
"Silver mustang?"
She asked.

             
"Yes," I said as I jumped to my feet and ran towards the front door.

             
"Aiden!"
I yelled as I watched him heading towards my front door.

             
"April?" He said as he practically ran in my direction.

             
As he reached me he instantly threw his arms around me and held me so tight that I almost couldn't breathe. Then he pushed me back a little and started looking over my body as though he was searching for marks or bruises.

             
"I'm ok," I finally said.

             
"You sure?"
He asked in a worried tone.

             
"Yes," I said before his lips came crashing into mine.

I had seriously never seen him like this before. I was quite worried.

             
"I thought something had happened to you," he said as he looked into my eyes again.

             
"I'm ok, I promise."

             
"Of course she is, she's a tough little cookie
,
ain't
you kiddo?
" Anthony said as he gently tapped my cheek.
I threw him a small smile and then turned to
face
Mrs Staples.

             
"This is Mrs
Staples
,
she helped me when Jake was in my house. This is Aiden and Anthony," I said.

             
"Well
,
it's a pleasure to meet you both. Good to see she has people who care for her," she said with a smile on her lips.

             
"Thanks, I'm really glad that you were there," he said as he smiled at her.

             
"No problem, now would you boys like to come in for a cup of cocoa?" She asked in a gentle voice.

             
"No, I think we'll just tak
e April home, if you don't mind?" H
e replied, politely.

             
"Of course not, it was a pleasure meeting you both and do come again for that cup of cocoa," she said as she gave them a little wink and stroked my cheek.

             
"We will," Anthony replied.

             
"Bye," I managed to whisper as I clung to Aiden's chest, for some reason I felt completely and utterly safe in his arms. This is exactly where I wanted to be.

             
The entire journey to the Daniels' was spent in silence. I don't think that anybody knew what to say at this point. I did however notice the odd glance that Aiden gave me in the rear view mirror. He really did care about me, I knew that much.

             
"Right
,
I'll catch you guys later then," Anthony said as we all got out of the car.

             
"You take care of yourself, kiddo," he said as he threw his muscular arms around me.

             
"I will," I said as I tightened my grip on him.

             
I loved these guys.

             
"Catch you later dude," he said as he patted Aiden on the back. Aiden nodded his head and then lead me to the front door in silence.
As I stepped inside, I let out a sigh of relief.

             
"Where's Crystal?" I asked.

             
"She's staying at Jess'," he replied.

             
"Ok."

             
I then began to walk up the stairs. I just wanted to go to bed but I knew that we needed to talk first. I turned back around and gave Aiden a questioning look as he headed towards the living room.

             
"I'm just going to straighten everything up and then I'll be up," he said as he threw me a smile.

             
"Ok," I muttered before heading towards my room.

* * *

             
Thirty
minutes later and I was showered, in my pyjamas and sat on my bed. I heard a gentle knock at my door and prepared myself for a talk that was likely to result in me losing my boyfriend.

             
Could this night get any worse?

             
"Come in," I said in a low voice.

             
"Hey," he said as he sat on the edge of my bed and stared at me.

             
"You ok?" I asked.

             
"Yeah," he replied although I knew he was lying, I could still see the worry in his eyes.
 

             
"So
,
what happened?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

             
"I told Kyle something that upset us both, I ran out of his house to mine, so that I could clear my head. I didn't know that Jake was going to be waiting outside of my house. He must have been following me, I don't know," I said as I struggled to force the tears back.

             
"What did you tell Kyle?" He asked as though it was the only thing that he had heard.

             
I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what would happen next.
I couldn't lie to him though, not Aiden.

             
"I told him something that I was supposed to tell him the day that we broke up but
I never got to because
I found out about Rachel. Today he asked me and so I had to tell him, I couldn't lie," I was stalling but I needed time. I was scared to say those words for the second time tonight.

             
"What?" He asked in a gentle voice.

             
"That I was pregnant," I said after taking a deep breath.

             
"Pregnant?" He half whispered as I watched the shocked look on his face.

             
"Yes, I'm sorry that I never told you but I didn't t
ell anyone not even Crystal,
I was scared. I told Kyle for the first time tonight and the only other people that knew were my mom and Bob but that's only because-"

             
"Stop, just stop," he said in a stern but kind voice. Not sure how it was possible to be stern and kind but he somehow managed it.

             
"But-"

             
"Just let me talk please," he said as he looked at me with sad eyes.
It was over, I knew it. I had j
ust lost the best thing that had
ever happened to me...Aiden.

             
"I understand that
you were scared and probably hurt after what that jerk did to you but you should have told me. You should have been honest," he said.

             
"I know and I'm sorry," I whispered.

             
"It doesn't matter, I don't care," he said as I felt my stomach drop.

             
“Ok,” I said as I realised what was about to happen.

             
"I don't care if you're pregnant April. I don't want to lose you," he said as he held my hand in his.

             
"What?" I asked in complete sho
ck as I realised that he had gotten it wrong
.

             
He thought that I was still pregnant?

             
This was probably the point where I should have corrected him but I was so shocked by his words that I was left speechless.

             
"The night that Jake first...The night that he did what he did to you, I realised something. I realised that I couldn't lose you, I just
couldn't. You mean too much to me and if that means that we have to find a way to deal with this then we will but we'll do it together," he said as he stared into my eyes.

             
"You’re saying that even if I was pregnant with Kyle's baby it doesn't matter?" I asked in a gentle whisper.

             
"I don't care," he said.

             
I instantly threw my arms around him and let the tears roll down my cheeks as my grip on him kept getting tighter.

             
"It's ok," he said as he stroked my back.

             
"I thought that you were going to leave me," I said as I looked into his eyes.

             
"Never," he whispered before kissing me gently on the lips.

             
"Aiden, I'm not pregnant," I finally managed to say.

             
"I don't understand," he said in a confused tone.

             
"I was pregnant but I lost the baby a few days after me and Kyle broke up," I said as I tried not to break down again.

             
"I'm so sorry," he said as he pulled me back into his arms.

             
"I'm so sorry," he repeated.

* * *

             
 
I lay in his arms for about an hour in complete silence before I felt him slide from next to me and stand to his feet.

             
"Good night," he said as he kissed me on the forehead and turned towards the door.

             
"No," I said as I held onto his hand.

             
"I don't want to be alone tonight," I said as I looked up at him.

             
"Ok, just give me a minute," he said as he smiled down at me.

* * *

             
After a few minutes he returned to my room with his mattress, duvet and pillow.

             
"What are you doing?" I said as I began to giggle.

             
"Being a gentleman," he said as he laid his mattress down on the floor next to my bed.

             
"You are so funny," I said as I looked at him fixing his little 'camp' bed for the night.

             
"I know," he said as he leant over and kissed me on the cheek.

             
"Good night," he said as he turned off the light and got into his bed.

             
"Night," I whispered before turning over and trying to sleep.

             
Unfortunately after about five minutes of tossing and turning, I knew that there was something missing.

             
"Aiden?"
I whispered as I leaned down and peered at him.

             
"Yes?" He answered.

             
"I don't want you to be a gentleman anymore," I said as a smile filled my face.