Page 62 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

He frowned in thought. “Kacey.”

“Nope.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Matt wasn’t done yet though. “What about Violet. And Melissa?”

I stuck my chin out. “Nope. No one.” I levelled my gaze back on Aiden. “I told you, I really like her. She’s the reason I won’t touch the fucking likes of girls like Kacey and Melissa.”

The hall fell silent for a while. I was surprised a teacher hadn’t come out and yelled at us to get to class. Aiden just stood there and glared at me before turning and running his hands through his hair in frustration. “Fuck!”

I stayed quiet, watching him deal. When he suddenly turned back on me, I held my ground.

“She can’t do it, man. She’s got anxiety issues. I mean, she’s not usually the way she’s been this last week…”

“I know. We’ve been talking about it. She told me what happened when your dad died.”

Aiden’s eyes went wide and his face drained of color. “She told you? As in, she talked about what happened…?”

“Yeah.”

He stood there gaping at me, momentarily stunned. “What exactly did she say? Tell me.”

I didn’t understand the panic in his voice. It kind of scared me. Was I not supposed to have said anything? Fuck. It was too late to back out now.

“She said your dad had to get her from kindy because of the riots, and when a car exploded, he tried to carry her to safety, but was shot.” I paused, trying to determine whether I should continue. When he gave me a slight nod, I figured it was okay. “She told me how he wanted her to run, but she couldn’t leave him, and that everyone around her was yelling and screaming, not caring that they were walking over the top of her and your dad. And the blood. She told me about the blood.”

I didn’t know how it was possible, but Aiden’s face went even paler. “Shit.”

“What?” He really didn’t look well. I could feel Matt and Dean’s nervous energy beside me.

Aiden’s panicked look turned to devastation, and when he spoke, it was so quiet I almost didn’t hear him. “She’s never told anyone that before.” He looked dead into my eyes. “I mean anyone. Not me. Not my mom. Not the police. Not even the therapists.”

Oh.

“Fuck,” he said, although it lacked conviction. “She really likes you, doesn’t she?”

“I fucking hope so.”

He studied me for a minute. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but by the end he looked defeated. “You realize she might never be able to do this?”

I sighed. “I know. And it doesn’t fucking help that we’re going on tour for months on end, but for now I’m happy with whatever she’s comfortable with.”

He continued to stare at me like I was a puzzle that couldn’t be figured out before lightly shaking his head.

I cleared my throat. “So…you’re okay with me asking her out?”

His jaw clenched as he thought over my question. “Of course I’m not fucking okay with it, but I don’t really have a fucking choice, do I?”

I shrugged. He was right about that.

His eyes narrowed. “Just be aware of what I’ll do to you if you ever hurt her.”

“Trust me. I’m aware.”

We were all silent for a while as we all processed what’d just happened. To be honest, I was a bit surprised it had taken so long to come to a head. I mean, I would’ve thought whenever Mia and I were together it would be obvious we had a thing going on, but I guessed we rarely touched, so it could’ve looked innocent too.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Matt said, breaking the silence. “Class is already half over anyway.”

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