I walked out to see Aiden and his lawyer standing in the courtyard, the sun shining down on his smooth face and the wind gently blowing his hair. Maybe it was the nurse in me, that need to fix and tend and care, but I wanted to run to him and make it all better. They walked across the yard to the parking lot, and Aiden stopped again beside the Shelby. He shook hands with the other man and then he got into his car and sped away. I watched until I could no longer see her taillights.
I decided to try Bre one more time, and when she didn’t answer, I realized that for the first time in a long time, I was completely alone.
It would take time, but I was going to try and explain myself to Aiden. He deserved that much, and I couldn’t live with him not knowing the truth or thinking something horrible of me. Not that what I’d done wasn’t terrible, but I needed him to know there was no hidden agenda. That my parents hadn’t put me up to it and that my feelings, despite it all, had been sincere.
Chapter Thirty-One
Aiden
After the trial, I went home and changed clothes before heading out to Glen’s with all intentions of getting hammered. It had been a while since I’d been on a good tear, and it was as good a night as any considering I was numb inside. Lexa, a.k.a. Alexandra Patterson, had killed me.
“So, you’re saying she lied about her name?” Glen poured my fifth beer, still trying to catch up.
“Yeah, and no telling what else. The whole time she let me go on and on about losing my family, the hearing, and even calling her family a bunch of assholes. Guess the asshole doesn’t fall far from the asshole tree.” I tossed back the beer and took a hard drink before slamming the glass down on the table.
“You really think her parents knew all along? That they’d pimp out their girl to try and ruin you? That doesn’t sound likely, man. I think you need to talk to her.”
“Oh, I’ll talk to her. I’ve got a good earful for her, but not yet. I’m going to let her stew a bit.” I had my own shit to stew in, and I intended on getting good and shit-faced before dealing with any of it.
“Yeah, let that bitch stew,” said some asshole next to me. I turned and looked him square in the eye. Then I punched him right in the mouth.
Glen jumped across the bar before the man even hit the floor, but it was too late. There was nothing he could do but help the man up. He rubbed his jaw and looked at me like I was crazy. “What the hell, man? I was on your side.”
Maybe he had been, but he’d also called Lexa a bitch and I wasn’t about to stand for it. As pissed off as I was, I’d beat his ass down if he made that mistake again.
“You need to calm down, Aiden.” Glen helped the guy to the other end of the bar and gave him a free beer, which he drank around keeping his pie hole shut. Then he stepped back over to me. “Am I going to have to cut you off already?”
“You know I’m not drunk. That asshole’s been running his mouth all night.” I downed my beer and knocked on the bar, meeting Glen right in the eyes, challenging him to cut me off.
“Promise me, friend, that you’ll settle down. Let’s talk about something else.” He thought steering me away from the conversation would help matters, but after another hour and three more beers, I was back on it.
“You know I even thought about marrying her? Of course, I wanted her to move in first. How fucking dumb could I get, right? Lexa Lively. Sounds like a fucking stripper’s name.” I turned and shouted to the crowd, “A fucking stripper, ladies and gentlemen.”
“That’s enough, buddy. I’m closing you down and calling your friend Scott. I’m sure he’s up to make a buck.”
“Fuck Scott.” I pushed my empty glass off the bar and stood up. “I’ll walk home.” I threw my keys across the bar, and they broke a glass. Glen cursed and then came around to walk me to the door.
“You’re going to end up in jail; let me call you a ride.” I jerked away from him and met his stare.
“I’m fine. I’m going to walk off some of my aggression. Go serve your fucking beers, and I’ll call you when I get home.”
“If I don’t hear from you in a few hours, I’m sending out search parties.” He was concerned, and as mad and drunk as I was, I was also grateful. He deserved a better friend than me.
“Okay. I’ll be good, I promise. Give me my house key.” Glen hesitated then took my key off the little ring and pressed it into my palm.
“Don’t lose that.” He walked away, and I gave him a salute and kept walking across the lot to my truck. I had to take a piss, and I wasn’t going back inside. I walked up to the front of my truck and had my cock out aiming into the bushes when the loudmouth came out from the other side and started running his mouth again.
He said something about a sucker punch, but I turned and pissed on his shoes. He screamed and threw a punch, but I ducked out of the way before his other hand connected. I staged a bit, feeling the sting on my cheek. With my cock still hanging out, I punched him back into my truck door. He staggered forward, and I moved out of the way in time for him to land face down in my piss.
“You’re having a worse fucking night than me.” I spat on him and then turned to walk away as Lexa’s Camaro pulled to a stop and her window went down.
Correction: maybe my night was worse, after all.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I shook my head and went to walk around the car; if she had shown up before I’d been punched in the gut, I might have still been drunk enough to actually get in the car with her.
She drove forward, keeping me from going around. “Aiden, let me take you home. Please. I’m worried about you.” She looked like a mess, and the last thing I wanted to see was her crying eyes pleading with me. I wasn’t about to break weak.
“Not going to happen, sweetheart.” I kept walking the only way I could out to the street, but she didn’t give up.