Chapter 6- Old wounds, new bandaids

"Uh, I'm Maggie," she said.

"Hey," I said.

"You can open your eyes, now. We're wearing shirts,"Aiden informed. I slowly peeked and decided it was safe to put my hands down.

"Relax, we were just making out," Maggie said.

"On my couch," I said quietly.

"Yes, but we didn't want to bother you by walking past you to go to Aiden's room," she reasoned.

"Naked," I countered.

"Half-naked," Aiden corrected.

"You don't get to talk," I said calmly. Maggie looked embarrassed. Aiden just looked a little annoyed.

"Well, I was going to Lexi's house, anyways. I'll see you guys later. Thanks Aiden for helping out and stuff," I said walking to the front door.

"You're in your pajamas," he mumbled.

"Goodbye!" I said ignoring him while putting on my shoes. I grabbed my keys and phone and walked out. Lexi lived close by- I could walk there in like fifteen minutes. Catching them like that was a little awkward. I don't know why it bothered me that much, but it did. I just got a weird vibe from that Maggie chick. I shook my head. I don't even know her; plus, she seemed nice. I wonder if Aiden met her at the party? As I neared Lexi's house, I got pretty emotional. The whole thing with Max last night got me all riled up, I guess. I frantically knocked on Lexi's door. She opened it five minutes later (longest five minutes of my life?), looking worse than I felt- her auburn hair a mess, her dark skin not as bright, and her eyes drooping.

"Ari?" she asked, confused, her hazel eyes looking at me quizzically. I was supposed to say 'hello, can I come in?' or something along those lines, but all that came out was a sob. Lexi looked really worried and ushered me in. Her mom was at work, so the house was empty. I sat down on the couch and Lexi brought me water.

"Explain," she commanded after sitting down next to me. I told her about what happened with Max and what I walked in on with Aiden.

"The thing is, I don't even know why this affected me so much," I admitted.

"Seeing Max probably awakened unresolved feelings in you. I never liked that kid," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"Max didn't do anything wrong. Don't even get me started on the guys you've dated," I pointed out.

"Not about me," she said.

"Yeah, sorry," I said giving a sheepish smile.

"Glad you're feeling a bit better, babe. Honestly, it's not even so much as what he did, but how he did it. Gosh, I can't explain, but I'd rather have a guy who's rude as fuck, then a guy who pretends that he's the innocent victim when he isn't, to be honest."

I didn't say anything and decided to look down on my hands.

"So Aiden's new girl- is she a ten?" she asked smirking.

"You know I hate rating people. She's pretty and she seems nice. I don't really care, anyways," I said. Lexi laughed.

"Sure you don't. I sense a little jealousy," she teased. I glared hardcore at her.

"That makes no sense! Why would I be jealous?" Lexi just smirked knowingly.

The rest of the day, I hung out at her house. I was grateful I didn't have work today or tomorrow. We watched a bunch of movies and then had our famous tea time where we drank tea (duh) and gossiped about people from school. I decided to shower at Lexi's house and borrowed her clothes. We weren't exactly the same size, but we made it work.

We were lounging around talking and not doing much when she got a call. She ignored it which got me suspicious. After getting her to talk, I found out she had a new boyfriend- Andrew. He was 22, which was a better age than her last one so I didn't say anything. It was a really dumb thought of mine, but I felt a little alone at the moment. I was happy being single, but I missed being in a relationship. Seeing Lexi and Aiden, the people I spent most of my time this summer with, in relationships put a pang in my heart. At least that's how I justified what I did after coming home from Lexi's house. It was really stupid of me to do, but I did it anyways.

I texted Max.

Well, I didn't have his number anymore, but I had his Kik thanks to mutual friends. I was also bored, because no one was home. It just happened. We decided to meet up at a cafe the next day. After messaging for a while I fell asleep; nervous about tomorrow but also excited.

***

"I'll get it!" I called after the doorbell rang, but there was no real point. Aiden was in his room with Maggie, so of course I would get it. I shuddered, but at least this time they had the decency to be in his room with the door closed. I opened the door and came across his wide smile. I breathed out a 'hey'. Max looked great as always.

"Hey yourself. You look amazing," he said kissing my cheek.

"You're still a charmer I see," I said teasing. He chuckled.

"Ah shit!" I heard Aiden curse from inside as something broke. You could also hear Maggie's giggles.

"Hey A, have you seen the vacuum cleaner? Remember the lamp in my room? Well, it's a funny story, you'll laugh, but-," he said jogging towards me, but stopped talking when he noticed someone was at the door. I, on the other hand, was hoping I wouldn't be embarrassed even more.

"Ari, you have friends other than Lexi?" Aiden asked in astonishment. I had to resist the urge to smack him right there.

"Of course I do!" I hissed. Aiden smiled sheepishly while Max just laughed.

"Yeah, those two are inseparable. I could barely get between them!" he said.

"Anyways, this is Max. Max this is Aiden. Aiden is staying with us for the summer," I introduced. Keep it civil, Ari. Aiden, however, was the opposite. He narrowed his eyes at Max, and didn't shake his hand at first but later he seemed to snap out of it. I was confused as to why he was acting that way. He was usually very friendly. Max dropped his hand after the awkward handshake and smiled at me.

"Anyways, I think we should go now," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed. I shot Aiden a glare and walked to Max's car.

"BYE! Stay safe kids!"he exclaimed. I wanted to throw my shoe at him. Keep it civil, Ari.

At the cafe we caught up on what we missed in the last year. I had completely ignored him in all things social media and people knew not to talk about him in front of me, so there was a lot to talk about. I had forgotten how funny and charming Max could be. I was a giggling mess.

"Hey, want to head to the beach?" he said out of nowhere. I was not a spontaneous person at all, but I was not feeling myself today.

"Sure," I said smiling. We rode with the top down and music blaring along the coast. I threw my hands up and closed my eyes smiling. I got a weird sense of nostalgia. It brought back a lot of memories.

We were sat on the sand watching the waves. He had his arm around me and my head was on his shoulders.

"I'm glad you messaged me," he said.

"Me too," I admitted. Why had I cut him out of my life, again?

"I missed this, Ari. I forgot how good you feel in my arms, you know? Going away after our fight and not talking to you sucked. I really did wish we could've stayed friends," he said.

Well, we couldn't because you broke up with me.

I didn't say anything, but he continued on.

"You know, I got into UCLA, so I'll actually be in California a lot more now."

I froze at that.

"It'll be great," he said and pulled me into a kiss. It tasted of old memories. First love. First heartache. Nostalgia. There was no passion, though. No sweet taste. No joy. I pushed away. Max seemed surprised. I remembered why I cut him out. He was so manipulative. He always had to have it his way. He was always in control.

"Can you take me home?" I asked calmly. He nodded and we walked back to the car. The air around us was tense despite the breezy beach weather. I was glad he wasn't saying anything. That gladness disappeared on the ride back, however.

"You know, I don't understand you. You're the one that message me, you know," he said. I had to resist the urge to fight back, because if I did I wouldn't stop.

"You always leave me hanging," he stated. I clenched my hands at that. You know what? Screw this.

"You're the one who broke up with me and outright told me there was no point in our relationship if you couldn't touch me! 'Long distance relationships are pointless,' you said! 'We both would constantly cheat on each other,' you said! Then, you made me out to be the overdramatic chick who couldn't let you go! Now you say that I leave you hanging? What the fuck?" I exclaimed. He seemed surprised at my outburst.

"Oh, because everything revolves around how you see it, huh?" he growled. This was so frustrating.

"Stop it! Stop acting like a victim! Stop trying to be the one who's always right, for once in your life!"

"I'll stop when you stop acting like a bitch!" he yelled losing his cool. He seemed like he regretted it, but I was done.

"Stop the car," I commanded.

"What?" he asked, confused. We were in the middle of the highway.

"Stop the car!" I yelled. He pulled over to the side. I opened the door and got out.

"This is why I call you overdramatic, princess," he said. I glared at him.

"Get in," he commanded. I flipped him off and started walking away.

"Ari!" he yelled at me.

"Fuck you!" I yelled not looking back.

"Fine!" he yelled and drove away. I walked for a while and decided there was no way I could go home. It was starting to get dark. I sat down and started sobbing. God, I hate crying. After crying for a bit I called Lexi, but she didn't pick up. My dad was still on his business trip. I was too embarrassed to call anyone else, but I decided to call Aiden. Surprisingly, he answered. He was supposed to be out with Maggie.

"Hey, Ari?" he asked confused as to why I would be calling him.

"Aiden," I croaked out.

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked. I sighed.

"Can you pick me up, please? I'll send you the location."

"Okay," he said.

"But, Ari-," he started, but I hung up. I just needed to go home. I expected Aiden to make me wait a lot, but he was here relatively fast. Usually, I had to drag him to even do simple chores. I snapped out of my thoughts when he got out of the car. I stood up quickly.

"Thanks," I said trying to sound normal, but it came out tired. Aiden pursed his lips like he wanted to say something, but didn't. I was glad he didn't; he just gave me a hug. I rested my head against his chest, and felt a little better. The drive home was silent. I was glad Aiden was kind enough to pick me up with no questions. I was shocked that I just used Aiden and kind in the same sentence. I studied him the whole ride back to avoid thinking about Max and how stupid I was to think he'd change and be good to me. Aiden looked to be deep in thought. Annoyance was evident in his eyes. Usually, when he was annoyed it looked to be a playful annoyance, but right now it looked different. More... worried? By the time I got inside the house I was feeling much better.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aiden asked.

"I'm fine," I said with a small smile. I was. Max wasn't a big deal. I felt like I had some sort of closure.

"Bull. Your nose is still red from crying," he pointed out. I blushed. I hated when people noticed that I was or had been crying.

"Ari," his voice got softer as I looked away. He held my chin and softly turned it towards him, so I was looking at him. I felt his eyes studying me for answers.

A knock on the door jolted us apart. Aiden sighed and opened the door. His body language immediately got tense.

"Hey Aiden. Is Ari here by any chance?"

Max. What the hell was he doing here?

"Leave," Aiden said calmly.

"Look, I'm worried. I went back for her, because she insisted on leaving the car, but she wasn't where I left her," Max went on ignoring Aiden.

Aiden laughed.

"You left her in the middle of no where?" he asked basically pointing out what a dick Max was. I smiled a little at that.

"None of your business, mate. I just want to know where she is, okay?" Max asked a little annoyed.

"She's here. And I don't know what you did to her, but I doubt she wants to see you right now."

I mentally high-fived Aiden.

"I didn't do anything, and who are you to talk on her behalf?" Max growled. I rolled my eyes and went towards the door.

"Ari, hey," Max said. Smooth. Aiden looked annoyed that I'd come. I gently pushed him out of the way.

"Max, hey," I mimicked, annoyed.

"I thought it was clear that I want nothing to do with you. Assholes never win in real life, honey. I suggest you start caring about other people's feelings more, and try hard not to be self absorbed, alright?" I said calmly, but slammed the door in his face. Good riddance. To be honest, I felt pretty good. I'd never stood up for myself when I was with Max or when he dumped me. Despite being an emotional day-it was, I decided, a good day.

"Got rid of that loser!" Aiden exclaimed and we high-fived. I chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Hey, thanks for everything, A," I said smiling genuinely at him. He smiled sheepishly at me. Perhaps not used to me thanking him.

"What are friends for?" he said with a wide smile. 

xxx

Aww, I love these two. I also do not like people like Max. Ugh. Anyways, please vote and comment! I want to know what you thought of it... I edited this super quickly, so there's probably grammar mistakes. I apologize, but nonetheless hope it was a good chapter!

xxx