It was never effortless to love Aaron Warner. He was a difficult teenage boy who seemed to forget a lot of the time that that was what he was-a teenage boy. He'd always felt that loving or even caring for him would be impossible for all the world to...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"GOD, PLEASE TELL me this is some sick, elaborate joke to get rid of me."
Aaron is clinging to the handles of the chair like it might kill him if he doesn't. We've been fighting for five minutes but it's feeling like an eternity already and I'm not even halfway finished yet. Or maybe I am. I don't know. All I know is that my heart is cracking slowly, pieces falling back out of place.
"No, I—" Aaron breathes heavily. He looks like he might start crying and I may even feel sympathy for him if he wasn't such a lying bastard. "Please, Mara, I tried my best to keep you out of everything that—"
"Oh, that makes it better!" I slam the kitchen door shut behind me. I can't hear this anymore. I feel like a child that just found out her parents were never in love and stayed together for her sake. "You lied to me!" I shout at him as the door opens and he follows me in. "God, Aaron, do you know how long six months is?"
"I tried to keep you out of everything because it would only put you in danger," Aaron says to me, voice breaking like the walls of love and comfort I built around us. "I never meant to hurt you in any way, love, I just—my father could never find out. I'd rather die than think of the things he'd do to you if he knew—"
"Then you never should've talked to me in the first place," I say to him and I never meant for it to sound so bitter and cold and cruel. I never meant to be in this position. "If you were so afraid, you never should've said hello or visited me to see how I was doing—you should've stayed away—"
"I know, I know," he says frantically, running a thousand hands through his hair. "It is my fault, Mara, and I wish more than anything that I could erase the mistakes I made but I. . .God, selfishly, I don't regret ever seeing you that day."
Tears spring to my eyes and my vision goes blurry. How can my life be so vicious to me? What did I do to deserve this? Was I not good enough? Was it because I didn't pray?
"Was everything a lie?" My voice is barely a whisper. "Is your mother even really sick?"
"Yes," Aaron clears his throat. "I only lied about my role in this world, Mara."
I scoff. "Only."
"I'm not asking for forgiveness, I'm asking for understanding," he pleads. "I couldn't live with myself if I knew the hatred you carried for me was more immense than the love you once felt."
"Oh, shut up," I don't know where these words are coming from and who I've turned into and why this girl is so mean and fiery. "Don't you dare start telling me about how much you love me, Aaron, you know more than anyone how unfair that is. I. . ." I shake my head. Pray I'm shaking away my tears too. "I trusted you. I haven't trusted anyone in. . .fuck, my whole life and you—" I quickly bring my hand up to cover my mouth. Cover my tears and the breakdown I'm a step away from having.
