Camp Where The Hell Are We? | ✓

48

"Don't conspire or plot against me, alright?"

Marley scoffed, but on the inside, she was smirking deviously, "Your brother and I conspiring or plotting anything against you? Never."

Aiden let out a loud sigh from beside her, and she could tell he was regretting giving her Ian's number. Either way, she would've gotten it anyway, they were following each other on Instagram, but it was the principle of the thing.

"He wants you to follow him back." Marley pointed out, tucking her phone away and pausing her conversation with Ian, "On Instagram."

Aiden scoffed, scooping another mouthful of his chicken salad — the healthy option he managed to find at the carnival food trucks — into his mouth before he responded, "If I wanted to know what was up with his life, I'd walk down the hall and around the corner at home. I don't need to see any more of douchebag Dylan, either."

"I'm right here, only a path away and you follow me. It's the same thing, Aiden."

His blue eyes flickered to hers, dancing with amusement, "It's not the same thing. I love you, I tolerate him and everyone else in this world."

The tolerating everyone else but her part was right, and his words were probably supposed to sound romantic in a weird way, but they were offensive to the rest of the world. Including his brother!

"You don't mean that." she sighed with a shake of her head, "You're lucky to have him and you shouldn't tolerate family. He will always be there for you unconditionally. I feel like you take that for granted sometimes."

Marley didn't mean for their table conversation to turn so serious, but Aiden's attitude towards his brother rubbed her the wrong way. She would do anything to see Jacobi again, tell him she loves him, and Aiden was here with a brother alive and well saying he only tolerates him.

She felt his hand circle around hers where she was resting it by her fork. He laced their fingers together and lifted the back of her hand to his lips. On contact, she felt her body humming, and her cheeks turn scarlet. His blue eyes were dark with remorse.

"I'm sorry. You're right. But it's not..." he chewed on his bottom lip, and it only served to distract her more, "it's what siblings do. Gabby and her brother are the same way, I've seen it in action. Doesn't mean we don't appreciate each other. Siblings have a funny way of showing love. Of course, I care about him, Marley."

She felt terrible for accusing him of not loving his brother, so she leaned into his side and rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, too. How much you care about your brother, Aiden, it's something I admire about you."

She felt him kiss the top of her head, "Well, I admire how you always manage to steer me in the right direction. If you weren't around, Douchebag Dylan would've gone home in a full body cast."

Marley sighed dramatically, "When are you ever going to cut him some slack? He's a good guy or else Ian wouldn't be with him, and it seems like they're going to be together for the long haul."

"That's what Ian said. And because they're staying at my house right now, I suppose it's serious."

Marley blinked in shock, "What?!"

Aiden sighed through a clenched jaw, his eyes becoming distant though they were still locked on hers, "He's home alone right now. Our...parents are on another business trip. Won't be back for a while."

"Aiden..."

"He'll be okay." He cut her off quickly, sensing her worry, "We have people who stay at the house and with Dylan there — well, he's looking after Ian when I can't so I suppose he's has my blessing to stay."