Never say forever (Never series Book 1) (8 page)

I can’t believe I passed out before Aiden got here. Or did I? My head is beginning to throb from all the confusion and the questions I can’t seem to answer.

“
Serena, I need to speak with you. But, later when we can talk alone. It’s very important.”

Hmm. I wonder what’s eating away at his brain.
Did something happen to him? Or maybe our friendship is ruined? Did he do something to me tonight that he is regretting and trying to get it off his chest? I’m a little scared and nervous. I hope he gets this off his chest soon. I see him grab his phone and text someone quickly.

“
Where’s Larissa?” I worry.

I know we came to the party together and I woke up on a beach with just me and Aiden. That alone has me scared that something happened. Why wouldn’t Larissa be with her best friend? Why am I waking to a guy? I know he has become one of my best friends but in reality we haven’t known each other long.

“
She went to go get you some water. She was sitting out here the whole time with me waiting for you to wake up. A minute before you woke, she went inside to grab you water in case you were thirsty when you woke,” he said.

I feel a bit relieved knowing she was here, too. Maybe he is just looking out for me. Just as he
finished I saw Larissa heading our way with a glass of water. He was telling me the truth after all. Maybe I can trust him.

“
Serena, you’re up! Here, drink some water.”

She hands me the glass and I gulp the liquid down as if I haven’t had a drink in ages. It’s delicious going down and really gets rid of the acidic taste in my mouth from vomiting. I still have a bad taste and desperately need some mouthwash but the water did the trick for the time being.

“
What time is it?” I ask, because honestly I have no clue.

“
Two-thirty,” Larissa said after she looked at her watch.

Oh, my God, how long have I been out?

“
My Mom is going to kill me. I should been home a while ago,” I started freaking out. Panic mode came about full force.

“
It’s okay. I texted your mom and said that we were having too much fun at my house and you passed out, and I didn’t want to wake you,” she said, trying to calm me down. “But I can’t bring you in the house like that. I don’t want my mom to bring up in casual conversation to your mom that you walked in at two-thirty looking drunk with vomit all over yourself.”

“
It’s okay. You can stay at my house,” Aiden jumped in.

How can I stay at his house? Our parents dated for Christ’s sake. They probably still talk.

“
How is that possible? Your Dad will surely tell my mother I stayed there,” I expressed my concerns.

“
Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to my dad. He will be fine with it, I promise, and he won’t say anything to your mother. This will give us time for me to talk to you on the way to my house,” He said with promise.

“
Okay. Larissa, be safe going home. Text me when you make it. I’m ready for bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I hug her tightly.

“
Okay, I’m glad you’re up. Love you, Bestie,” she says as she breaks free and smiles at me.

“
Love you too, crazy bestie!”

I start walking towards Aiden’s car with him next to me. He hits a number in his phone and holds it to his ear.

“
Hey, Dad. There was some trouble at this party and I need a favor…..yeah…..I’ll explain it to you later….Serena needs a place to crash, I’m taking her home. Do not say anything to Serena’s mom about this……Okay, see you soon. Thanks Dad.”

He turns to me, “Everything’s good. He won’t say anything. My dad respects me, I promise, everything will be fine. I’ll drop you off at Larissa’s in the morning and you can walk home from there, that way your mom won’t suspect anything.”

“
Thanks Aiden.”

I can’t express how great of a friend he is. We walk side by side until we reach the car. He opens my door like a true gentleman. I sit down in my seat and buckle my seatbelt. He enters the driver’s seat and starts the ignition, but doesn’t put the car in drive. I look at him and he seems lost in thought. He seems as if he’s contemplating what to say. He looks at me and I can see concern on his face.

“
Serena, do you remember anything that happened tonight?”

He asked a simple question. Yet I can’t seem to give him a simple answer. What did happen? I drank, I danced, and I woke up on the sand. I guess that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. What happened between dancing and waking up? I am almost too scared to find out.

“
Aiden, I had a drink. I’m not a drunk. Please don’t patronize me or peg me as a bad person. I don’t need anyone to look down on me. Least of all you! I had a drink to let loose. Don’t judge me.” I got all defensive. I don’t know why. I feel as if Aiden maybe thinking badly of me. I don’t know what else to say.

“
Serena, I promise I don’t think any less of you. I could never think less of you. I’m not asking you to belittle you in any way or lecture you for that matter. I’m simply asking you out of concern, being your best friend, I need to know you’re okay. I need to know what you remember before I go into detail about what happened.”

Now I’m really scared.
Did something bad happen?
My teeth start rattling as my eyes threaten the tears that are about to fall.

“
No. Just tell me! I need to know!” I say as a single tear escapes.

I can’t prevent it. My emotions have gone into overload and I know what he’s about to tell me is not going to be easy for him to say. It’s not going to be easy for me to hear either. I can feel it in my gut, I’m about to be smacked with a reality that will sting me to the core.

He grabs my face and cups my chin. He looks into my eyes.

“
Listen, I don’t want to tell you this but you deserve to know. I arrived at the house and couldn’t find you. I asked around and someone saw Jeremy bringing you up to a bedroom. I freaked out, Serena. The thought of you being in the room with him, knowing he didn’t have consent from you, drove me insane. I broke down the door. I will never forget the sight of Jeremy on top of you…”

He didn’t get the rest out because I opened the door and immediately hurled. Tears streaming down my face. How could this happen? I didn’t even want to come to this party. Just knowing that Jeremy was on top of me and he took advantage makes me feel dirty and disgusting.

“
Serena, he didn’t get far, I made it in time. He was still fully clothed. If I had come five minutes later, you may not have been so lucky. I’m so sorry that you have to go through this, but I am here every step of the way. Please know that,” he said with pure sincerity. I don’t say a word until my sobs have slowed and I have emptied the contents of my stomach.

“
So… he… didn’t… rape...…me?” I stutter out the question because it’s hard to believe, I have to hear it again.

He looks me straight in the eyes and I know he’s being honest.

“
No, I promise. I beat the shit out of him. When I left, he was unconscious. I didn’t care though. All I cared about was getting you out of there and away from that scumbag. That’s how you got on the beach. I carried you out there. Larissa and I sat on that beach for three hours anxiously waiting for you to wake up. We were nervous and afraid of you not waking because we think that Jeremy drugged you. I was hoping to God that he didn’t overdose you. I swear, if you didn’t wake, I was going back in and killing him.”

I can see the fear on his face as he was telling the story. I saw the fear turn to rage as he was talking about Jeremy. I could tell he really cares about me and our friendship. I sit there in my despair and think of everything. I know that Aiden’s looking out for me and he’s expecting a response but I can’t speak. I can’t express how I’m feeling because my stomach is twisted and I can’t even begin to speak, let alone know what to say. I sit here in misery, in my own thoughts, while Aiden drives us home in pure silence. He knows I need this to process everything that happened tonight. We arrive at his house. He walks around and opens the door for me again.

“
I know it’s tough and you may not know what to say. You may not want to talk. I’m not going to push you. I’ll leave you to be alone if you want. Just know that I am here, if and whenever you need me.

Don’t hesitate,” he said, his eyes promising me what his words just told me.

We enter the house and he walks me up to his room.

“
You can sleep in my bed. Don’t worry, I will be on the couch.”

He walks up to his dresser and pulls out a t-shirt and some pajama pants.

“
I know these may be big, but get out of these clothes and you can wear these to bed. I’ll leave you be. Get comfy. I’ll see you in the morning. Remember, if you need me, I’ll be right downstairs on the couch,” he says with a smile as he closes the door behind him.

I start to undress, ridding myself of the clothes that caused this chaos. I
put on his t-shirt and pants. It smells just like him. I know this is wrong but I can’t help but snoop around his room. I find a photo on his dresser. Looks like a young Aiden and probably his mother. I pick the picture up and see the pure love on their faces, just by seeing their smile. My heart wrenches to know that he doesn’t have that anymore. I know his mother gone but I’m not sure how. I walk over to his closet and notice a bunch of football trophies on the top shelf. Hmmm. He must have played football before. I wonder why he hasn’t tried out at our school. Judging by his trophies, he must be a great athlete. I guess I will find out sooner or later.

I start to feel sick in the pit of my stomach again, so I go to lie on the bed. I lie awake and can’t seem to fall asleep. Deep down, I am scared. I know Jeremy doesn’t know where I am at but the fear is
still there. He didn’t succeed with me. What if he tried again? My mind keeps going crazy with thoughts that I can’t take it anymore.

I rise out of bed and walk downstairs to the living room. Aiden is lying on the couch watching some TV show. He hears me approach and gets up immediately.

“
What’s wrong?”

He can sense something is wrong without me having to say anything.

“
I can’t sleep. I am still scared. I don’t want to be alone. I know your dad won’t be happy but can you sleep in the same room as me. I might be able to sleep if I know someone is there with me and I’m not alone. I don’t mean to sound like a baby or anything.”

“
You don’t sound like a baby. It’s understandable. You went through a lot today. Yeah, I’ll come up and sleep in there. I know you won’t want me to sleep in the bed with you so I can sleep in my chair or on the floor.”

I actually do want to sleep in bed with him. I long to have his arms wrapped around me. I know I’ll be able to sleep knowing I am in his arms and well protected. I don’t say anything though. He may not want the same thing and I don’t want him to get into trouble with his dad if he finds out we slept in the same bed. We walk up to the bedroom and I watch him as he pulls out extra pillows and blankets and makes himself a bed on the floor. He turns out the lights and lies down on the floor in his bed right beside where I lie a few feet above him. I rest my head on the pillow and am invaded with his scent. Just as I am about to fall asleep I feel his hand reach up and gently hold mine. It was the sweetest gesture that comforted me to a deep sleep.

***

Aiden

I woke up the next morning and looked up and Serena was still passed out on the bed. She looks so cute when she’s sleeping. I could sit here all day just watching the peacefulness she portrays while she’s asleep. I start to rise and notice that my dad was stopped right in front of my door. I hope he’s not thinking that anything happened.

“
Hey Dad.”

“
Good morning son. What happened last night?” he asked with a concerned look on his face as we both start making our way to the kitchen.