All I see ✔️

CHAPTER 49

Aaron

Here's a bit of very important life advice to you kids. Frozen beans? Yeah no, don't eat those, they taste like rotten garbage. I will tell you what their real use is. It's using them as ice packs that's the real deal.

I am feeling extra generous today so I'll throw in another bit of advice for you. When you are bloody and beaten up in the men's washroom, cleaning your victory wounds, always, always make sure to lock the doors so your best friend doesn't slam the door open screaming bloody murder with his eyes.

Like Logan did just now.

"Break the door why don't ya'?" I wink at him then go back to bury my knuckles under the cold spray of water. I hiss out a sharp breath when the cut burns.

"What has gotten up your ass?" Logan says slowly, his biceps bulging from his crossed arms.

I flash him a bloody smile, and nod my head towards his arms, "Sweet guns."

"Bet they'll look better strangled around your neck."

I open my arms wide and take a step back, "Whoa there, what part of my life doesn't look heteronormative to you? I play hockey and had a girlfriend two weeks back, sounds very no homo to me."

He makes a disgusted face and then walks over to me, "What is it inside your system now? Is it crack? Is that what you did?"

"I am high off of the adrenaline of breaking someone's nose."

His face blanches at the mention, "What did you do?"

When I first came in the washroom, I checked myself. I am not a complete moron. Yet. I needed to see if I got anything that would put my hockey career on a hold. Turns out I only have cracked knuckles which I don't think would require stitches, a bruise on my ribs that oddly looks like a cauliflower and a busted lip making me look like a male Angelina Jolie. I am not complaining.

"Aaron," Logan says in an alarmingly low voice, "What did you do?"

"Nothing! Geez, Logan!" I shove him out of the way and go back to burn my knuckles with frozen beans.

"At least get yourself stitched up."

"I don't need it."

"yes, you do."

"Logan," I really don't have time for his shit, "What's your problem?"

He looks incredulous at being asked this, sending off the alarm bells in my head for an earful I am about to receive, "My problem?"

"You beat people right and left, if they so much as breathe at you wrong. Aaron, you've been way harsher and brutal than necessary during games, you almost sent Nate to the hospital because you slammed into him way too much, all you do is stay locked in your room and threaten people if they score more than you, which thankfully doesn't happen a lot."

The last thing I want to hear right now is how brutally productive I have been, or how he is mad about how I am not hanging out with him anymore. I am not going to apologize for focusing on something other than rainbow friendships and drunken parties.

"I don't see how any of it bothers you," I jab.

"Aaron why don't you get it?!" He yells, "this isn't you. You don't talk, you barely smile."

I flash him a sunshine smile and that throws him off, "Look I smiled."

Logan sighs and his eyes soften and my fists clench involuntarily, anticipating what's to come, "She's not worth it, Aaron."

"Look," I hastily wrap my hands in a bandage and clean up my lip, "I am late for class now."

"Aaron, someday you have to talk about it."

"And that day isn't today," I snap.

For the last two weeks, I have been desperately trying to patch up the pieces of my heart but I cant make it whole, because I don't have all the pieces. Lexie does. And thinking about her and that damned phone call ruins all my efforts, taking me back to square one, with a crushed heart in my hands.

"Aaron look-"

"Logan, I have a class now, I really can't have this conversation."

"When can you?"

"Soon."

"Soon when?"

"When I know why she is lying to me!"

I lean against the wall and close my eyes for a moment because I just need this goddamn day to end. My head hurts and I want to scratch my bloody lips raw and I miss her. I miss her so much and the worst part is that I know that she is lying. You just don't go on a date and then tell them you're bored of them two hours later, it doesn't work like that. I know what we had was real, I know it was, we still have it.

"Aaron," He plants a hand on my shoulder and the next thing I know is giving me a man hug which has me chuckling because it's more than I can expect from alpha-ness obsessed Logan Donovan.

"Why'd you beat him up anyway, Richards?"

I break off the hug, because that's too much old spice scent for one day, "EH, I don't remember. He probably got in my way or something, some wild freshman."

"Wild, man, wild. What class do you have now?"

I think about it for a second before flashing him a sad smile, "Psychology."

"Dear God."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Not Aaron pulling a 'new year, new me' on all of us.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, please stay safe and know that this book is where it is because of you guys. Every single one of you. Now go make a vision board, because that shit comes true.