Goodbye Aaron
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12th
Journey wakes up, feeling exhausted and hurt. She looks into her phone camera. Her body is still in pain from last night, but instead of blood, scars are scattered on her face. They are light, like they have been treated. She looks around through her blurry eyes, and she sees a cup of tea on the side, along with an ointment. She runs the ointment on her face and on her arms, they had scratches too. She sips the tea, it's still hot. Her eyes clear up a little, and she sees Aaron's head down on the very end of her large bed. She shifts her body more straight, and Aaron gets right up. "Hey princess." He says in that same, strong voice. Journey can tell he's tired, his eyes have huge sacs. "You need to sleep." "I want to make sure you're alright." Journey smiles at the idea of tired Aaron making her tea and bringing ointment.
"Thanks, but I want to make sure you're alright too." Aaron smiles, and sits next to her, scooting into the cover. Journey blushes madly, and it reaches her ears. He puts his arm around her waist, hugging her tightly. She puts her head on his shoulder, and they both smile. They really love each other. Aaron plays with her hair and says, "Oh, Ava's at the store getting you some bandages for your arms. They look really bad." "Does she..." "No, not in a million years. I told her we were robbed." Journey nods, and enjoys this nice moment. "Hey guys I'm back! Oh," Ava says, smirking at Journey and Aaron. Journey blushes softly, but feels comfortable with her seeing them together.
Ava puts down her bags. "The advisor at the store got me to buy this lubricant to put under the bandages." Ava hands the lubricant to Aaron, followed by the bandages. Aaron squirts out some of the soft gel, and massages it onto both of Journeys arms. Journey smiles, liking the extra attention. Aaron wraps around the bandages, doing it not too tight. "Thanks Aaron. You're the best." She says into his shoulder as she awkwardly hugs him, and he hugs her back. Aaron takes his leave, he has to go and rest. Well, Journey forced him out. Journey sighs as he leaves, missing his warmth.
"So, Journey." Journey looks up from her bed, smiling at Ava. "Are you guys official? I know what he does to you. You haven't stopped blushing since you met him. And you never blush." Ava laughs as Journey starts blushing in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious Ava?" "Totally girl. Now, how you gotten him a present?" Journey gets up slowly. Her body still hurts, so she moves swiftly to her bag of gifts. She brings out a box shaped for wedding rings. "Oh my god, you're going to propose?" Journey laughs at her friend's ridiculous question. She sits on the edge of her bed, and carefully opens the box. It was matching metal rings. One has an engraved phoenix, the other a dove. "The phoenix is for compassion, the dove is for peace." Ava gasps, looking closer. "Those are adorable! I'm sure he'll love them." Journey smiles, thinking of his reaction.
She puts the box on her side table, and she hears a knock. Ava goes to open it, and a man stands outside. "Is Aaron here?" Journey is intrigued, and gets up to the door. "What do you need him for?" The man has grey eyes and sleek black hair. She would mistake him for Aaron if he didn't look so much older. Maybe 25? "I'm here to visit him. I'm his brother." Journey's eyes widen. She didn't know he had a brother! "Follow me, I guess." Journey steps out the dorm, and closes the door. They start walking. "So, what brought you to my dorm?" "My father said he would probably be there. What's your relation to him?" "Well Aaron did just leave." They stay in silence, and they walk down the stairs.
Journey knocks first on Aaron's dorm. "Hello?" "Hey Aaron. Your brother stumbled upon my dorm, so I led him here." Aaron smiles, and the two brothers pat each other's backs. "Journey, this is Aiden." Journey shakes his hand, and Aiden shakes it back. He holds a little longer than intended, so Journey loosens her grip. "Come on in Aiden. Journey, did you want to come?" Journey nods, and Aaron lets her in.
His room looks neat and tidy, with thick tinsel hung everywhere. He had a one person dorm, so in the extra space he had his desk. Aiden sits on his bed, and Journey sits on his desk chair. "I'll get some refreshments from the kitchen." Aaron leaves, leaving the two together. "How are you related to Aaron?" "I'm his..." They haven't actually said what they were yet. She knew they were dating, so was she his girlfriend? "We're dating." "Oh... cool. Hope he isn't obnoxious around you. He's really a player." Journey hasn't seen an obnoxious bone in his body! Well, they did just meet. Could he be obnoxious? "I haven't ever seen him being obnoxious." "Well, with his last few girlfriends, after he dated them for like a month, he started cheating on them and abusing them. It got really messed up." Journey's head starts hurting, and she can't think properly. They're talking about the same Aaron, right?
"I'm back with some drinks." Aaron sees Journey's worried look, and asks, "What's wrong?" "I-I- I have to go." Journey runs out, scared, and upset. Journey runs into the dorm, crying. "Babe what's wrong?" Journey ignores Ava's question, sprawling out on her bed. She starts sobbing, she can't believe what she heard. Ava comes over and lets her lay her head on Ava's lap. "Get it all out Journey." After a few minutes of crying, Journey lifts her head and hugs Ava. "He's a cheater Ava! An obnoxious abuser too!" "I'm confused, we're talking about Aaron, right?" "Yeah.. his brother told me about how he abused his last girlfriends. And cheated on them." Ava laughs a little. "And you believed him?" Journey shows a questioning look. "Journey, you're a beautiful woman. Men will lie just to be with you." Journey blushes. "Why would Aaron's own brother do that? That's messed up." Ava sighs, shaking her head. "The world is messed up, honey." "Ava, I'm not sure I believe you, but thanks for comforting me." Ava rolls her eyes and moves back to her bed.
Journey decides to move on with her life. She never met Aaron, she never his dad, she never met his brother. She never bought him a ring. She tosses the ring box into the trash can, along with her feelings.