Outcasts [PUBLISHED]

Thirteen-The Real Aiden

Sassy only walked halfway to the park. The rest of the way I held her in my arms. She is one spoiled dog. I must really love this dog if I'm willing to hold her like this.

The park came into view and I sighed. I wonder what Aiden wants.

We got to the grass and I put Sassy back down on the ground. But once her paws hit the grass, she laid down on her stomach. I tugged on her leash. "C'mon Sassy."

Did she budge? Not even a centimeter.

"Sassy, you lazy dog, I'm not going to hold you the whole time." I scolded her. "We need to start walking."

She looked up at me and tilted her head to the side. Sometimes I wish I could know what she thinks of me. She probably thinks of me as her maid or something. I tugged on her leash again. She looked like she was going to stand up but ended up lying back down.

"Sassy, I will leave you here." I told her. "I mean it."

"Are you really threatening a dog?"

I whirled around and found Aiden standing behind me. "I'm not threatening her. I'm scolding her."

Aiden rolled his eyes and bent down. Once Sassy saw him, she got up and went straight into his arms.

"It seems like she likes you." I said to him.

He chuckled. "Don't be jealous because she likes me better than you."

"I am not jealous." I argued. "Why did you want me to come here in the first place?" I demanded from him.

He stood up with Sassy in his arms. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" I crossed my arms.

"The wedding." He said, turning serious. "Let's go sit on that bench." He said as he started to walk away. I followed him silently.

We reached the bench and set Sassy down on the ground. He sat down on the bench and patted the spot next to him. "Sit down. I won't bite." He winked.

I sat down next to him and sighed. "So, why do you want to talk about the wedding?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" He raised his eyebrow. I stared at him until he spoke again. "Just kidding. Jeez. But anyways, you seem like the only person who understands where I'm coming from right now. I thought I had Kelly on my side, but she thinks she's the shit now because she got wasted at that party."

Is that why she hasn't talked to me?

He took a deep breath and looked at the ground below him. "My mom died when I was seven." I realized then that he was opening up to me. He was going to tell me his life story. "I remember her perfectly. She always curled her hair then would put it up in a ponytail. She always told my dad how lucky she was to find a guy like him. And she made a killer cheesecake." He smiled slightly.

"Then she got sick." His smile faltered. "I didn't understand it then, but she had gotten cancer. I always wondered why she would tell me she's going to the doctor. I asked her what was wrong, but she told me she must have gotten a stomach bug or some shit like that."

"She knew you wouldn't understand." I commented.

He nodded. "She made it seem like nothing was wrong. But I started to really wonder when she ended up in the hospital. I caught my dad crying every now and then and it scared me. I remember the last conversation I had with my mom. We were visiting her in the hospital and I was sitting next to her bed. She held my hand and told me to always be a strong boy. No matter what." He pursed his lips. I almost thought he was going to cry, but when he looked up his face held no emotion. "Things were harder after she died. Dad was working two jobs so I hardly saw him. My dad and I had a pretty good relationship while mom was still alive. But that changed."