Page 45 of Stained Hearts
That made no sense at all. “But what he went through with your parents, his legs—hasn’t he already had enough to deal with?”
She blew out a breath. “Look, what my family did to him sucks hairy donkey balls, and I’m never going to deny that. But he ran to me, and I coddled him. His legs? He thinks things are bad now, but what happens in the future? Maybe they’ll find a way to make them better, or maybe they’ll get worse. You see how he is now. He has to learn to accept help when it’s offered, but also to stand on his own proverbial feet.”
God, she made so much sense to me. “So what do you suggest?”
She shrugged. “I’m leaving, so you’ll have to figure it out.”
Wait. What? “What do you mean, you’re leaving?”
“As he reminded me earlier tonight, he’s not a kid, and I have to stop treating him like one. He called and was crying on the phone. I seriously thought something bad had happened. I get here and find out he’s ashamed for needing you to help him to the bathroom. That’s not life or death, and it’s something the two of you need to deal with if you’re going to have any kind of relationship at all.”
NowthatI understood. “Thanks, Olivia.”
She grinned. “You can call me Livvy, too, if you want.” When she enfolded me in her arms, I let her take comfort. “I’m trusting you with him.”
“I won’t hurt him.”
She pulled back and stared me in the eye. “Yeah, you will. We’re human, and we all do it. But you’ll also be there to pick up the pieces, I’m sure.” She turned and meandered to the door, stopping to check out the house. “You’ve got a beautiful place. Good luck. If you need me, give a call.”
And with that, she opened the door and stepped outside. Her words echoed in my head as I headed back into the kitchen. Aiden hadn’t moved from where he’d been when we left.
“Is she ready?”
“Olivia’s already gone home.”
His head snapped up. “What?” He put his hands on the wheels of the chair and started toward the door. “Why would she leave me?”
“Because you scared her. You made her fearful, and all because you were embarrassed that you needed help.” I blocked his way. “You said you wanted to be treated normally, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to impart on you the greatest wisdom my father ever gave me. Now, I want you to listen carefully, okay?”
He didn’t reply, but I could see his chest heaving and his death grip on the wheels.
“Aiden, will you listen?”
“Yes.”
It was terse and to the point, and that was fine. I knelt down in front of him, reached out, and took his hands. “Here you go. ‘Grow the fuck up.’”
He reared back. “What?”
I got up and went to the refrigerator. I opened the door and pulled out things for breakfast. A package of bacon, some eggs, and a bit of cheese went onto the counter, then I opened the door beneath and pulled out some potatoes to fry hash browns. As I set to work making omelets for us, I kept up a stream of conversation.
“You’re upset because you needed help in the bathroom. What was the most embarrassing for you? Me seeing your dick? I mean, when we get around to sex, I’m pretty sure that’s going to be in my mouth. Or was it your ass? Because I promise you, my cock is going to be up there. In fact, it’s probably going to make a nest, because it’s a sure bet it’ll be returning all the time.” I cracked the eggs in a bowl and set to mixing them. “You told me you were an adult, so why not start acting like it?”
God, I hated how harsh I sounded.
“Fuck you! You don’t know what it’s like, always having to depend on people to help you do basic shit.”
I whirled around. “Yet you keep making them feel like crap when they do help. Olivia was scared to death something happened to you, but even after you were rude to her on the phone, she still came. Why? Because she loves your cranky ass. And even though she said she was going to leave because you needed the reality check, I’m certain if you called and said you needed her, she’d be here in a heartbeat for you. That’s the thing about family, Aiden. We’re always going to be there for you, so stop trying to fucking push us away when things get tough. Why not try to lean on us instead? Take our strength for yourself? Yes, you needed me earlier, and you know what? You’re the only one who had a problem with it. Your poor-me attitude is growing pretty thin.”
His jaw worked back and forth as he ground his teeth together. “You don’t know what it’s like.”
Okay, I could see why Olivia was tired of his attitude. I stomped over to him and glared down. “Who do you think put Brian on the toilet? Who do you think wiped his ass when he was done? Who fed him when he was too weak to do it himself? After his chemo, who cleaned him up when the diarrhea got bad? Don’t you dare sit there and tell me I don’t know what it’s like, because I’ve already lived through it. The big difference here? You’re not dying. You’re acting like a stubborn brat who’s too goddamned afraid to let people in because some haven’t always been nice to you.”
His cheeks went scarlet. He gripped the wheels of the chair and rolled out into the living room. I wasn’t going to chase after him. Instead, I went back to fixing breakfast and prayed that I hadn’t just fucked everything up between us.
I WASplating the food when the squeak of wheels on the hardwood floor caught my attention. He was behind me, I knew. His short breaths, his whimpers—they made me want to turn and pull him into my arms, but I didn’t.
“I’m sorry.”
