CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
QUESTIONS

A week had passed and Aaron hadn't allowed himself to slip up. He was going to ignore Steve until he felt the boy had learned his lesson, Aaron felt that two weeks with Steve not hearing from the blond was nothing compared to the years Steve had previously ignored or blanked his younger brother.

His parents had left two days prior, and Aaron couldn't stop the heavy feeling of jealousy that tugged on the depths of his stomach at the goodbye Steve had received in contrast to the one Aaron had.

His parents had literally told him bye as they were leaving the house, meanwhile Steve had not been left alone practically the entire day.

It hadn't necessarily been in front of Aaron, he had been up in his room, but he knew the three were all spending the two adults last day home together.

Aaron wasn't going to go downstairs and make the day awkward. It would have been nice to have his parents at least be civil with him on their last day, but he wasn't going to force it.

The blond had somehow managed to convince himself that he was at fault in regard to the situation, he was the one who had began ignoring Steve when the older boy finally began speaking to him again.

Deep down Aaron knew that the way his parents treated him wasn't his fault. But for some twisted reason, it made him feel a little better to force himself to believe that there was a reason for their seemingly strong distaste towards him.

If Aaron could convince himself that at some point years ago he had done something unforgivable that had caused the rift between himself and the two adults, then it meant he could convince himself that their wasn't something wrong with him.

Something wrong with him that could possibly explain why his parents would view him in such a negative light.

However it was a little difficult for even Aaron to believe seeing as it wasn't a sudden thing. It wasn't like his parents had loved him so much until a certain moment, it wasn't like there was a turning point that made them change their minds. They had been cold to him as long as he could remember, even when he was little he could remember feeling a strong sense of displaced guilt wash over him.

It was obvious he wasn't wanted, it wasn't exactly a well kept secret. And as Aaron grew older he quickly realised that he probably wasn't ever wanted and that it wasn't something he had control over.

Aaron truly believed that his parents had only ever wanted one kid, that Aaron had literally been an accident - it would definitely explain a lot. Although he'd never asked or brought this up to any of his family, already knowing the answer but not wanting to hear it come from their lips. Aaron had the idea that if he never heard his parents say it, then he could brush it off as him overthinking things.

He would never ever bring it up to anyone other than his parents anyway, it was embarrassing. The fact that his parents didn't like him, that he had never even been wanted? It was embarrassing. It embarrassed him.

His friends wouldn't get it anyway. They wouldn't understand it. They'd maybe get how it was shitty of them and sympathise with him and the situation, but they wouldn't get it. They wouldn't get the depths of it, or how big of an issue it actually was or how much it actually bothered him.

So, in order to not make his parents or older brother uncomfortable on their last time seeing each other for a couple months, he stayed in his room until they left.

Only rushing down the stairs to say goodbye as they left. That was it, one word exchanged from each of them. No hug, no mumbling of love you's - nothing.

To be fair, they had done the same to Steve, but Aaron knew they'd given him a proper love felt goodbye before Aaron had rushed down stairs. A love felt goodbye that should be exchanged between parents and their children.

About an hour after the two adults had left, Aaron too left the house to go meet Kimmy. He hadn't seen her the past two days, despite the fact that they were usually out everyday together.

This worried Aaron, simply because of his own concerns. Maybe he had done something to upset her? Maybe she didn't like him anymore? Maybe she liked someone else? He knew that all his theories were absolutely ridiculous, but the rational part of him tended to slip away once he'd found himself in a stress filled spiral.

What had fuelled his worries was the fact that he had been calling her and received no sort of answer.

He still hadn't heard from her, only knowing they were heading out because they'd planned it previously, he didn't even know if she'd show.

As embarrassing and typical as it was, the two were going bowling. Aaron was well aware that it was a rather cheesy date idea that had been done a million times in the movies, however Kimmy had very obviously wanted to do it and he wasn't going to shut her down.

Aaron was walking with his head down, kicking each rock he passed. He was biting the inside of his cheek rather harshly, not for any particular reason, he just did it out of habit.

Soon the boy made his way up to the spot that they were supposed to meet each other at, Aaron's brows raised and his eyes widened as he saw the girl with dark brown hair standing anxiously.

She was looking around and her hands were clasped together, clearly nervous.

Without even realising, he regained his composure, straightening his back and relaxing his shoulders. A large part of him didn't even think she would be there, not after not hearing from her for the past two days. Aaron's lips twitched up into a smile, walking much faster than he had been priorly, excited to see her.

"Hi." He tapped her shoulder from behind as he approached her, the girl flinching before turning to him with a taken aback expression.

"Hi." Kimmy smiled slightly, her once panicked expression faltering into a look of relief at the sight of the boy.

The blond was about to spew unnecessary apologies, fearing his worries from prior were even a fraction true.

However Aaron quickly took a step back, furrowing his brows as his thought out apology died in his throat. His nose scrunched, tilting his head to the side as his smile slipped from his lips at her demeanour.

"What the fuck is that?" He asked in a stressed voice, motioning to the large bruise on her cheek.

The girl looked to him with a panicked expression, like a deer in headlights. Her eyes had widened slightly and her brows furrowed - though not in confusion, in fear almost.

She didn't know what to say - that much was obvious. Kimmy simply blinked at him rather rapidly, trying to think of what she could possibly say to him to calm him down.

"Hello? Kimmy, where the hell did you get that?" Aaron asked again, grabbing onto her wrist and tugging her closer so he could see the dark bruise better. "Kimberley-"

"It's nothing." She cut him off with a slightly wobbly voice, shaking her head frantically. "Seriously, Aaron, it's nothing-"

"It's not nothing." The blond snapped at her a little harsher than he'd meant to. "You seriously can't have that on your face and not expect me to say anything about it."

"Listen to me - it's nothing." Kimmy abruptly snapped back at him, her harsh voice fuelled more with fear than anything else. "I hit my face, no big deal. It's just a bruise."

"Yeah, a bruise that you very obviously didn't give yourself." He retorted with a frustrated glare, not even willing to hear the girl out. "Where did you get it?"

Aaron realised this must have been how the girl had felt when she'd found him in such a state with the Russians. And it was quite a difference. There was one bruise on her cheekbone that already had him sent into a spiral - one bruise that he had seen. Whereas Aaron had quite literally couldn't walk and had been beat unconscious.

Still, the bruise resting on her cheekbone was a dark purple color, so noticeable that it must have been causing her high pain. Aaron began to wonder if there were any other marks that were hidden from sight.

"I..." Kimmy trailed off in a defeated tone, her face scrunched up in a way that gave off the impression she was trying to stop her eyes flooding over with tears. "I... fell. I hurt it after I saw you the other day-"

"No you didn't." Aaron shot back with one swift shake of his head. Taking a momentary pause before speaking up in a much calmer voice, as if to try comfort her. "Just tell me what happened, alright?"

"I did tell you." She stressed instantly, clearly startled at the thought of him not believing her. "I did. Listen, I hit it on my tree. You know the one I climb to get in and out of my room? I slipped and I hurt myself, I still have my cast, and it was difficult to keep my balance so I fell. I just hit it against the tree-"

"Really?" The blond retorted with an eye roll, not wishing to start an argument - just wishing the girl would talk to him honestly so he could try help her. "Where have you been the past two days? I called you tons of times, you didn't answer."

"I just... I've- wait you called?" Kimmy asked in a higher pitched voice than usual, her brows deeply furrowed in confusion.

"Yes I called!" Aaron answered in an obvious voice, his brows raised drastically. "I called you for two days and you didn't answer. How could you not know I called?"

"I'm sorry I didn't answer the phone, but I was... busy?" The girl answered weakly, her statement coming out as more of a question.

"Doing what?" Aaron challenged in a firm tone, the entire conversation irking him.

"Fixing my face!" Kimmy exclaimed in a frustrated tone, although Aaron was unsure if she was more frustrated with him or herself. "And before you ask, I just told you why I had to fix it. I hit it against the tree, I'm fine. I know you're worried about it and I know it looks bad, but I'm fine." She took a breath, and instantly her look of pent up anger washed away and was suddenly replaced with concern and worry. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound-"

"Stop, stop it." Aaron put his arms out, waving his hands at her to get her to stop talking. It was a little bizarre and out of the ordinary; usually it was Aaron's nervous rambled being shut down. "Kimmy, just... stop, okay? I don't mean to stress you out. I was just asking, I mean, what am I supposed to think? You show up here with a mark like that on your face? You expect me to just pretend I can't see it?"

"No." Was her calm response, an underlying sense of panic still laced within her voice. "I just... no one did this to me, okay? I hurt myself climbing my tree."

Aaron didn't believe her.

He did not believe her one bit. Although, he could easily tell she was on the brink of completely loosing it, her worries clearly taking over her senses.

It wasn't even that he thought someone else had done it, he didn't know how she'd done it, but he didn't believe her story with the tree. Something told him that she was lying to him - he knew she was lying to him. But he also knew that she had a reason to.

What was the reason? He did not know. But he knew that whatever it was, it was causing her a great deal of stress and that she clearly wanted to drop the topic.

"Alright." He nodded with a blank expression, not even trying to sound convincing in his one word answer. The boy paused debating on whether or not to continue - more for her sake than his. Eventually he did, his voice much more stern than it had been. "But you're not climbing that tree again. I don't care if it's yours or whatever, you're not climbing up or down it again."

Aaron cut himself off at the sight of her slightly relaxed look, his words seemingly putting her at ease. The boy was willing to drop the topic for her benefit, but not before he said what he felt needed to be said. "And I see one more mark on you like that and you're telling me what actually happened and who actually did it."

Before the blond could even blink, the look of unmistakeable horror was back. Although not as harshly as previously, she didn't show it on her face, not wanting to portray that there could be any truth to what he was implying. But her eyes showed how she really felt, she was scared shitless.

...

Another three days had passed and yet again, Aaron hadn't seen the brunette girl at all in that period.

Although he was seeing her again that day, he'd finally gotten ahold of her that morning, the girl answering the phone the third time he'd called that morning.

In a panic, Aaron had asked her if she wanted to come to the sports store where he'd gone to get his hockey stuff, telling her he needed to get stuff changed and that he didn't want to go alone.

That was a flat out lie. All the gear Aaron had bought himself was completely fine, perfect actually.

So, because he had panicked and blurted the first thing that came to his mind, Aaron was stuffing his gear into his hockey bag, preparing to buy everything all over again because he wanted an excuse to see the girl.

He was worried about her. Especially after he'd seen the mark on her face, and he hadn't exactly been able to calm his worries with her response. The girl was quite clearly lying.

It was how she had been so adamant to lie to him on how she had got it that worried him more than anything, suddenly theories warping left and right on his mind - making himself paranoid at all the possibilities.

Aaron huffed loudly, lifting up the heavy bag and throwing it over his shoulder before leaving his room.

He could hear Steve laughing loudly before he even seen him. The older boy was stood talking to someone on the phone, talking obnoxiously loud.

Aaron put his head down as he passed the older boy, brushing past without looking in his direction, not wanting to accidentally start something while Steve was on the phone.

The blond wanted to talk to his brother, genuinely believing that him ignoring Steve was doing more damage to himself than it was to his older brother.

The only issue was that he now felt like Steve wouldn't want to talk to him anyway. He clearly didn't feel the same way as Aaron felt himself feeling when ignored by his sibling.

Aaron couldn't understand how Steve was so unbothered. Even if he wasn't and he just didn't like to show how it affected him, Aaron didn't understand.

Truth be told Aaron could lie to himself and make up excuse after excuse as to why Steve didn't seem bothered, but deep down he knew why. The older boy probably didn't care.

It wasn't like him not speaking to Aaron was anything new, Steve was probably used to not talking to his younger brother for long periods of time.

Aaron presumed he should be the same. He wasn't as young as maybe he liked to pretend he was sometimes, he was getting older - he'd never get any younger, he just had to deal with it. When Steve was Aaron's age he didn't act like him in the slightest, Aaron wished he could do the same.

It was weird, Aaron didn't necessarily look up to his brother all that much, but he had this undeniable need to please him? Like what Steve would think of him was always on loop in the back of his mind when he was faced with a decision.

Usually it was something negative, always negative connotations following. He rarely ever wondered what good things Steve would think of him, only ever the bad. It was never Aaron wondering if his brother would be proud of him for something, it was wondering if his brother would be embarrassed of him for a decision he'd made or something he'd done.

It wasn't just Steve, it was everyone. Only it seemed to be Steve that he focused on, seeing as he knew the boy was embarrassed of him in the past and feared that maybe he still was in the present.

Aaron knew it wasn't healthy to always worry about what people thought about him, but he couldn't help it. He could pretend he didn't care all he liked, however he knew he cared too much.

He didn't just care - he couldn't. The boy had to obsess over each and every negative thought that entered his head, picking his self esteem apart in the process.

The boy didn't want to admit it, but he'd started to do it with Kimmy too. Constantly worrying about her and creating faults scenarios about every little thing to do with her, always carrying a little bit of concern that was ready to blow up and send him over the edge at the slightest looks of uncertainty on her face.

It wasn't that he was worried she'd do something to hurt him, he was worried someone would do something to her. Perhaps that's where his abrupt reaction had come from when she'd turned up with a dark bruise on her face. As if to confirm his suspicions or something.

That wasn't the first time he'd seen a bruise on her, but they were usually found on places that could be brushed off as an accident.  Everyone got bruises, Aaron included. Usually he didn't even know how he'd got them, it was like they would just show up.

However the bruise on her face was different, it had been put there with intent, both Aaron and Kimmy knew it.

Aaron really hadn't meant to come off so harsh with her, he just worried about her and went the wrong way around trying to show her that.

Readjusting the grip he had on the heavy bag, he stepped out the front door and closed it swiftly behind himself, practically praying the walk wouldn't take too long, the weight of his bag already taking a slight toll on him. The boy regretting suggesting such an activity to the girl already.

...

lol things will get interesting soon I SWEAR!!!!

Hope everyone had a great day!!

Thanks for all the support on this book it means sm!!!

- AJ :)