Realistic or Modern When the Past Bites (Kex x Lost Echo)

[Kekse]

Prologue
​

When Aiden's dark navy graduation cap left his head and flew into the air, he was filled with joy. Not simply because the first season of his life had been successfully fulfilled; no, as far as he was concerned, his life was headed on its perfect projection. Perfect grades and high test scores had gotten him into the university of his dreams and directly into their architecture program. He'd found the love of his life clear back in 8th grade, Rebecca. His student accommodations were paid for on scholarship, his bank account was flush from long summers of working for his dad, and the sun of his future was bright.

If only he'd been able to see the future, he might have saved himself a load of heartache right at that moment. Just six months later he sat in his dorm room fidgeting with his phone. Rebecca should be arriving at any time for their weekly dinner; this was the first time he wasn't looking forward to seeing her. The truth was, long-distance was hard. At first his love had been buoyed up by the separation, but while the saying says that distance made the heart grow fonder, what it doesn't emphasize is that time makes the love grow colder.

At least, he blamed it on distance. There was another factor, though: Natalie.

Aiden had met Natalie the first week of university. She parked herself in the seat directly next to him, her light brown curls bouncing cheerfully on either side of her bright eyes. "Hello, I'm Nelly," she had announced, sticking her hand out and shaking Aiden's firmly. The smile on her face was blindingly beautiful and it stuck deep in his subconscious. Every comment that came from her lips in class was funny or thought provoking, and soon he found himself wanting to spend more than just class time with her.

At first it was nothing. Joining her in the cafeteria or library, studying together at the cafe outside the student life building. Casual hangouts with half a dozen other classmates. She was always warm, always happy to see him, and always willing to drop everything to spend time with him. Before Aiden knew it, she had wrapped her delicate fingers around his heart and cupped it gently.

It was now mid-November and he couldn't deny it any longer. Continuing to allow Rebecca to drive all the way to the university every week when his heart had been taken by another had become cruel. The only question had become whether it was crueler to let her drive all the way here to break up in person, or to call her and tell her not to come. The agony of the decision weighed so heavily on him that he couldn't shake free until it was too late to make a decision at all. Knowing there would be a knock at the door any moment made his hands tremble and his breath catch in his throat.

 

[Lost Echo]

Pulling into the empty space, Rebecca sighed and leaned forward to rest her head on the steering wheel. She’d been looking forward to this all week. While that was normally the case, to be honest, (she always missed him), it was even more this week. Her poli sci professor tore into her paper in front of the rest of the class. She knew she should be thankful for the chance to redo it, but that humiliation had been draining on her. Everyone was talking about it all week. All she wanted was a hug.

And now she was here. She could just focus on her love. It was difficult, the distance. She knew she should be grateful she chose a college close to his, but it was better when they spent their days together. Then again, everything was easier in high school.

Running her hands through her hair, Rebecca surveyed herself in her rearview mirror. Grabbing her purse from the seat beside her, she dug through it, pulling out a tube of lipstick. Starting with a cupid’s bow, she then dabbed the rosy color to the corners of her mouth. Blotting it with a tissue, she pursed her lips into a kiss, then smiled. It matched the rose of her dress perfectly.

She was quick to drop the tube back into her purse, then get out of the car. Seriously how could she wait any longer? She was steps away from seeing him. She blushed a bit, smoothing a hand down her skirt. She wanted to surprise him by being pretty today. It was silly, but after her week, she felt she deserved it.

Trying to contain her excitement, she tried not to skip inside. Still, she walked quickly, not wanting to freeze on such a chilly day. Shivering as she entered the heated building, she headed straight to the desk, greeting the woman behind it who recognized her in turn. She was here every week after all.

"Look who's dressed up today! You and your boy" the woman wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, "have plans tonight?"

She let her hair fall into her face as she signed in, secretly pleased by her compliment. “I wanted to surprise him.” She revealed.

"Well, I think he'll like it."

Laughing she replied, "He better." Waving a quick goodbye, she headed down the hall to his dorm. Her heart was already racing. She loved the feeling she got around him. So warm and safe. His hugs were divine. His kisses…she blushed and bit her lip, even the thought of them excited her.

Reaching his door, she smoothed her hair carefully, then spun in a circle making sure her dress fell artfully. He was such a visual person, being an artist after all. Then she reached up and knocked.

 

[Kekse]

The knock pulled Aiden's head up and forced his muscles to unlock. He moved slower than usual across the small room, pausing with his hand on the knob to take a deep breath and ensure the smile pasted on his face came across as genuine. The heavy door gave way with a squeak, revealing the woman he'd loved for over half a decade standing in the hallway. She was drop-dead gorgeous standing there with her perfect makeup and rose dress. How could he possibly break up with her?!

His smile widened unbidden and he reached out to pull her into his arms, taking in her familiar perfume. Perhaps he held her a little tighter than usual at that moment, knowing full well that it would be one of their final hugs. Aiden had no delusions that she would want to remain friends with him after this; perhaps if they'd been fighting first, it would have been mutual and they could simply downgrade their relationship. But he knew this was going to be a blindside...

"You look beautiful tonight, Becs," Aiden murmured, running his warm hands up and down her chilly arms to warm them. He stole one final, deep kiss before stepping back and keeping hold of her hand. "Such a nice dress deserves to be seen by other people. I was going to just order in pizza, but perhaps we should go out tonight instead. Mom and Dad sent me a little more birthday money than usual, so how about we go to the steakhouse we've been saying we'll try since I moved down here?"

Appeasement, that's all it was. But for himself or her, Aiden wasn't really sure..."I can't go there looking like this, though." He looked down at his black tank and basketball shorts for a moment with a pensive glimmer in his eyes, let go of Rebecca's hand, and took the three steps to his wardrobe. How nice to go, though? Business casual should be fine; he removed a pair of tan slacks and a dusty blue button-down shirt from the rack.

He didn't even bother to go in the bathroom to change; they'd been together so long, he didn't care a bit if she saw his boxer shorts. Aiden slipped the button-down over his tank and replaced the shorts with slacks, standing ready to go in about three minutes flat. Making sure he had his wallet with a tap of his pocket, he grabbed his keys with one hand and Rebecca's hand with his other.

The receptionist flashed the attractive couple a bright smile as they passed through the downstairs lobby and out into the chilly night air. Aiden slipped Rebecca's hand into his pocket out of habit to keep it warm while they crossed the parking lot to his beat up old Toyota Corolla. Memories of their adventures together in the car he'd saved so hard to buy flashed behind his eyes and he blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear them. He didn't need that. Not tonight. As usual he opened her door, helped her inside, and closed the door behind her before crossing in front of the car to enter his own seat.

"And we're off," he said as cheerfully as he could muster. Old 'Boston' roared to life, only clunking slightly as Aiden backed out of the parking spot and headed for the parking lot exit.

 

[Lost Echo]

And then she was in his arms. She pressed her face into his shoulder, loving how he held her tight. Like he’d missed her just as much. As he rubbed warmth into her arms, it felt like her burdens were fading away. She couldn’t contain her blush, but she kept eye contact as they held hands. His steel blue eyes were intense as they took her in. She only closed them once his lips were on hers again.

When Aiden said it, she felt beautiful. Squeezing his hand, she shimmied a bit, showing off her dress. “Going out would be nice…” she’d hoped they would. While part of her had hoped they’d skip the formalities and go straight to undressing, she wanted to talk with him too. She loved every part of him. How dorky he was when talking about the new designs he dreamt up, or how beautiful he was when the light caught his hair. She wanted to be the type of couple that giggled in serious situations just because being together was so wonderful. Sometimes, she felt like they were already there.

“Well, I think you look nice,” Rebecca ran her hand up his bicep, letting it linger as he stepped away to his wardrobe. She watched him change, not sexually, just comfortably. She liked that they could be in each other's presence so easily. “It was so fast, it’s almost as if you were ready to begin with.” Once he was finished dressing. “Sally’s going to assume we spent these few minutes differently.” she teased as she followed him out the door.

She waved at Sally, blushing because of her own joke, and continued outside into the cold. She squeezed their hands together, nestled in his pocket automatically, and smiled at his chivalrous move. She slipped inside the car, smoothing her dress underneath her. And waited as he got into his side and started to drive.

It was only with his “we’re off” that she noticed something was off. It had sounded…forced? He definitely had something on his mind. Biting her lip, she studied him for a moment. Still, trusting that he’d bring it up when he was ready: she asked after his week, then complained a bit about her own.

All too soon they were at the Steakhouse. Rebecca was kind of excited. They’d been on dates before, but this was one of the fancier places he’d taken her. She waited in the car, knowing his preference for opening her door, then got out. The chill seemed worse after the heated car, so she took the excuse to huddle a little closer to his warmth, wrapping an arm around him instead of the usual holding hands.

They’d done this often enough to keep it graceful, even with their difference in height. She loved the feeling of him around her. This time, she hurried forward, and opened the door for him, teasing, “My lord,” and sweeping an arm to let him inside.

 

[Kekse]

Her body pressed up against him in such a familiar manner made him feel both comfortable and guilty. It was obvious she had no idea what was coming. But he allowed the contact to continue because truly, he still cared deeply for her. He laughed when she rushed ahead to open the door and only took one step inside, ensuring they didn't get too far apart.

The hostess gave the couple a smile and picked up a pair of menus. "Just two tonight?" she asked, and Aiden nodded. "Perfect. Come right this way and we'll get you seated."

Aiden took Rebecca's hand and followed the waitress into the depths of the restaurant where they were seated at a little table near the back. The hostess said something about the waiter coming by soon, but Aiden was already not paying her any attention. He simply nodded and she left as he turned his attention to Rebecca. "So tell me about your week," he prompted, focusing on her face and smiling. His eyes flickered up at another patron walking by and noticed they were seated right next to the bathrooms. Gross.

The restaurant was moderately busy; not busy enough to have a wait to be seated, obviously, but busy enough that the pair had been sitting for almost ten minutes before someone came by to take their drink orders. Aiden hadn't even really looked at the menu much yet. He ordered a water and paused to allow Rebecca to order anything she wanted before nodding that they needed a few more minutes.

 

[Lost Echo]

It was wrong, but Rebecca liked it when he ignored other girls. Even while she turned and thanked the hostess, she was pleased to keep his attention. Unlike other girls, she never had to worry about him straying. The feminist inside her told her that was wrong to think: it wasn’t a competition. But another part of her countered it was true, so could it be both wrong and true?

Gently he pulled her attention back (he was always keeping her on track) to ask about her week. Looking down, she traced a finger in circles around the table. “Kinda sucky actually.” She grimanced involuntarily, then covered her face, not wanting to look ugly in front of him. Hurriedly, she continued, “I’m…infamous on the campus now.” At least it felt that way; most of the other freshman having been in that class. “The Ogre” as she’d complained about him before, “Tore into my paper in front of everyone. It. Was. Mortifying.”

She raised her head to look at Aiden, hoping he’d agree with her, “It was completely unnecessary and, and cruel. He could easily of just sent it back to me or taken me into his office, but instead he had to humiliate me!” She clenched her jaw, letting anger come where tears wanted to be. “No, he just wanted to. And now everyone knows and won’t let me forget it.”

They passed the ten minutes easily, talking with each other so much that they hadn’t checked their menus by the time the waitress actually came to get their orders. She ordered a Sprite before picking up her menu and actually figuring out what to eat. Pulling her lip between her teeth, she worried over the prices. There was a reason they hadn’t been before. Maybe he’d let her cover her half? He was always too chivalrous for his own good, but even with the extra birthday money, this would be a lot. At least the tip. She could get the tip.

She asked about his week in turn, eager to hear about the designs and techniques he was learning. He was so lucky to know what he wanted to do. She felt adrift with her undeclared major. But he was her steadying anchor.

They were ready when the waiter returned. After he ordered first, she chose a ribeye steak. As they walked away, she reached across the table for his hand. “Thank you for this.”

 

[Kekse]

"What the hell?" Aiden frowned and gave her hand a squeeze. "I swear that man treats his class like a power trip. He's lucky I'm not in the class, because I'd rip him back just as hard. And you know I would." A sigh slipped through his lips and he leaned closer to her. "It would certainly have been more professional to critique it in private if he was going to be that harsh. I'm sorry, Bec."

And he really was. For lots of things tonight. After hearing how terrible her week was, Aiden almost felt too guilty to break things off right now. Would it be kinder to wait until she'd had a better week? No, ruining a good week was probably worse than adding to a bad one. He was grateful when she changed the topic and gave him an out to stop thinking about what was going to happen later tonight.

"It was a rather run-of-the-mill week, really. We started a section on earthquake-proofing, which I guess is kind of interesting. Did you know that it's a misnomer? You're not really 'earthquake proofing' anything. You're simply building in a way that will take the least amount of damage in an earthquake. It's a whole bunch of physics and numbers and stuff, which really aren't my strong suit. But I guess I need to learn it if I'm going to be a good architect! I much prefer my drafting class and my design class. We're learning how to use CAD. It's got a big learning curve, but it'll be worth it."

Being around Rebecca was so comfortable that soon, Aiden didn't even realize he was rambling. Telling each other about their day had been a ritual for so many years. The waitress reappeared before he knew it and he hurriedly snatched up the menu to pick something. "I'll have...the New York strip with the baked potato and house salad." A safe bet, he figured. "Rare, please."

The waitress nodded and disappeared for a moment while Rebecca took Aiden's hand. "Of course, Becs. It's the least I can do when-" He stopped, swallowing the rest of the sentence and flushing slightly. That would have totally ruined the dinner..."When someone so important to me deserves it." There, that was much better. He let out just the smallest sigh of relief at his 'quick recovery' and spotted the waitress coming toward them with their drinks. A smile crossed his lips and he watched her approach expectantly, only...she didn't see some lady's purse sitting in her walkway. Just a few steps from their table the waitress stumbled, sending the cups flying toward Aiden and Rebecca.

 

[Lost Echo]

Rebecca laughed, liking the thought. If only they were in the same classes. Aiden was right: she knew he’d have stopped the ass in his tracks, cutting him down to size instead. He was always protecting her. Keeping her safe. She squeezed his hand as he leaned toward her, giving him a smile. His apology was so sincere: as if her pain was his. “I know. It’s okay. Surely by next week something’ll have happened to make me forget all about him.” She predicted, not knowing it would be much sooner. “At least I can redo it. And he was pretty darn clear what he didn’t like about it. I can fix that at least.”

She smiled to hear him slip into a ramble, finding him adorable. He was such a nerd. She loved it when he geeked out over architecture. It was proof he knew what he wanted in life. “I can help you with the math if you want. After dinner, I can walk you through some of it, okay?” Numbers were her strong point. They were reliable; rigid in a way essays and writing never were. Math was either right or wrong, there wasn’t anything else. She hated that there were multiple right answers in English or Political Science and she’d never chose the right one. But math, she’d love to be able to help him as he helped her.

Then something was off again. He’d stopped halfway through his sentence, then obviously changed it. With a red face, he’d released as if missing a landmine. They didn’t have landmines. There was nothing they couldn’t talk about, right? She watched as his gaze shifted from her, looking at the waitress, her heart climbing her throat. She was so busy watching him, her only warning was his widening of eyes before the ice-cold drinks poured over her.

“Uh” She made a sound, shocked to her core. She was drenched from her shoulder to the pool of Sprite slowly seeping into her lap. She stood up, the rush of liquid falling to the puddle on the floor, and tried to grab for a napkin, something to fix this. With wide eyes, that were already starting to water themselves, she looked up at Aiden, begging him to fix this.

 

[Kekse]

Somehow, the drinks managed to stop short of soaking Aiden, but he stared for half a second in shock and horror as Rebecca was completely soaked in sweet liquid. The waitress stared on in horror as well, seemingly unable to come up with a solid sentence. Aiden grabbed his cloth napkin and began wiping away what liquid he could, making hushing noises as his large hands brushed way the beaded sprite. "Let's take our meal back to my apartment and you can change, hm?" he consoled, cupping her cheek with his free hand. He looked up at the waitress who nodded vigorously and hurried away to the kitchen.

She soon returned with a handful of dry rags, which Aiden switched to in hopes of absorbing more of the soda. It didn't seem to do a lot of good, but he still went through the motions of comforting and drying. Not much later their meals arrived in to-go containers which the waitress set on the dry part of the table. "Those are on the house for the inconvenience," she said, her voice trembling slightly as if she were waiting for an explosion.

Luckily for her, Aiden had always been a calm and gentle person. "Oh, thank you." He looked up at the waitress with soft eyes filled with sadness. "You didn't have to do that, but we appreciate it. Come on, Becs. I've got a towel in my gym bag in the back seat of the car that you can sit on." With the food in one hand and Rebecca's hand in the other, the pair made their way back to the ancient Corolla.

"Here babe, hold these for a second?" Aiden handed over the styrofoam containers and began digging around in his back seat, eventually coming up with a (mostly) clean towel that he draped over the passenger seat. He then took the food back and helped her into the car before handing them back and slipping around to the driver side.

A frown settled across Aiden's cheeks as he drove the short blocks to his apartment. "I'm sorry dinner got ruined," he eventually muttered, not even looking over at Rebecca. The guilt was piling on extra thick now that he hadn't even managed to give her a nice evening before breaking up with her. "You can shower and change into some of my sweats when we get back, and I'll try to make our food look nice. It won't be the same as eating at the restaurant, but hey. Free steak?"

 

[Lost Echo]

Rebecca remained frozen. Her thoughts dripped, slow like syrup. She watched as Aiden uselessly tried to absorb the mess with his fancy napkin, unable to think, to do anything. As he cupped her cheek, she closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe. Aiden would take care of this. She didn’t need to do anything. Opening them again, she took slow gulps of air, trying to hold back the tears. Why did this have to happen? She just wanted one good night this week to make up for all the horribleness.

She jumped at the trembling voice, having been lost in her head and focused on Aiden’s soothing motions. It was more of a grimace, though that was perhaps because of her awkward stance, leaning forward slightly, so her dress tented away from her body, but she tried to give the poor girl a smile. “At least it was just Sprite, right?” She tried to end the joke with a laugh, but it sounded slightly hysterical. She wanted to be angry, but while she was angry at the world, she couldn’t blame the young girl. She obviously hadn’t done it on purpose.

Still, she was grateful for the chance to escape the stares she could feel from everyone in the restaurant. (The noise had cut off in silence as her mind did. Neither had started up again, not really.) She hissed as the cold air bit her wet skin upon exiting, but she was grateful to be out of there. She was slow to react, when the styrofoam containers were passed over, nearly dropping them before she managed to balance them on top of each other.

As she stood there, shivering while he searched for the towel, she couldn’t help but admonish herself, “I’m so stupid. I just froze. I felt like I couldn’t do anything. If you weren’t there what would I have done? Just stood there stupidly until someone had pity on me?” She ran a free hand through her hair, then stopped and grimaced as the strands stuck to her hand. She wished she wasn't so much like a child.

Handing him back the food, she smiled gratefully at him, “You’re always taking care of me. I’d be lost without you.” She sat on the towel, grateful she was at least not dripping any longer, though she immediately fiddled with the heat, holding her hands in front of the vents to warm up.

She could tell he was really upset that dinner hadn’t gone well. Most of the trip back to his dorm was silent. She studied his profile, glancing away a bit to seem more natural than staring, and wondered what was going on in his mind. Had he had plans for this night? Like important plans? She thought back to when she’d first arrived. He’d claimed to just have plans to order pizza. She wasn’t the type of girl to need or even want a public proposal, to be honest. And he knew that…still, she glanced down at his pocket, trying to see if she could spot the shape of a box. She’d seen him put those on. Had he managed to sneak a ring in there without her noticing?

She jumped a little when he spoke, her heartbreaking at the guilt in his voice. He must have. Still, he tried to make everything right again. “A shower would be lovely.” She shifted and the towel came with her thigh. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this sticky before. You never realize how much a cup like that holds.” She reached over and laid a hand on his thigh, squeezing it comfortingly. “Don’t worry about it. At this point, it’s par for the week. Still, you’re right. Free steak is pretty lucky of us. I’m sure that’s from you though. I just hope I’m using up all my bad luck this week.”

As he parked, she picked up the to-go boxes, holding them above her lap to keep them from getting too sticky. She let him open the door, offering him the containers as she pulled up the towel to take with her. She wrapped the sticky fabric around her shoulders, figuring it needed to be washed anyway. Plus the thick terry cloth was warm enough to keep her from snuggling into Aiden’s side and making him require a shower too.

“Oh no!” The receptionist greeted them in horror, taking in the drenched state of Rebecca. “What happened?”

Rebecca forced a laugh, before understating, “There was a bit of an accident at the restaurant.” Then she turned to Aiden, leaning up to kiss his cheek, “But Aiden was my knight in shining armor as always.” Squeezing his hand as she looked back at the woman, she repeated, “I’d be lost without him.”

They were quick to reach his room, and she broke off to steal his shower as soon as possible. Standing in the bathroom, she stripped, then studied the dress. With a shrug, she took it into the shower with her. It was already drenched. The least she could do was make sure it was just water, not Sprite. She didn’t bother with soap just let the fabric get soaked through before draping it over the shower curtain.

Then she focused on herself. She loved using his shower. Or more accurately, she loved using his soap and shampoo. It made her smell like him even longer after she’d gone home. This distance was hard, but they were making it work. They were stronger than that. Once she was rinsed off, she dried off quickly, before pulling on his t-shirt. It was long enough to cover her butt, though not much more than that. Still, she was with him, it wouldn’t matter. She’d steal the sweats when she went home. Wrapping her hair in the towel, she exited the room.

“Thank you so much.” She went straight to his side, wrapping herself around him. “I feel so much better.”

 

[Kekse]

"You're not stupid, Becs," Aiden assured her. "You are a stronger woman than you give yourself credit for. But taking care of you has been my pleasure from the moment we met." He gave her a soft smile and turned up the heat. The drive to his apartment felt like he was driving the long road to Calgary where he would be hanging his old life on the cross and leaving it behind. Perhaps it was a new birth and birth is painful, right? He focused his eyes on the road and attempted to calm the racing of his heart. "I can only imagine. Thankfully I've not been soaked in soda before. Though do you remember that time we had a shaving cream fight at camp with all of my cousins? I think that's the dirtiest I've ever felt in my life! I probably had an entire can of the stuff all over me. Smelled like aftershave for an entire week."

He actually managed to chuckle at the memory. It was one he held dear, especially a mind-snapshot of the pair of them completely covered in white foam as he carried her toward the rudimentary shower. Her smile, so dazzling that it had always warmed him in even his darkest moments, seemed to take on a bitter tinge. The joy in her laugh had faded to mockery. If the image held a golden glow before, it now faded to a blue mask. Were all of his memories of her going to lose their sparkle? The very thought made the corners of his eyes prickle. If there was a moment where he considered calling off his plans and cutting Natalie out, it would be that moment in the car where he realized his past was slipping away like sand in an hourglass.

But the way Natalie laughed. The way her hair glittered in the sunshine, and how she always seemed to know exactly what to say when he was frustrated with his work. It all made him feel like he was stepping out into the warmth of a summer day after such a long spring. Spring is beautiful and new, exciting and fresh. But it heralds the coming of something warmer. Something brighter. Something deeper. And that something? Aiden couldn't help feeling like that something was Natalie. Those years with Rebecca had taught him how to be a man. A good man. A man who knows how to protect and care for his girl. And now he was ready to take those skills and apply them to a summer relationship. A mature relationship.

The thought gave him strength and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He couldn't back down now. This is what needed to happen. It wasn't fair to Rebecca to keep pretending that she had his entire heart. No. She was his first love, and she deserved far better than that. Yes, she'd probably have trouble understanding at first, but eventually she'd understand. He was sure of it.

"I don't know. I don't know that my luck is much better than yours," he chuckled and put the car in park. He accepted the food boxes after unbuckling his belt and hurried to open her door for her. With one hand full of warm styrofoam and the other holding Rebecca's hand, Aiden led her into the building as quickly as he could. The winter air stung his skin and he knew that it would have to be ten times worse with wet clothing.

Aiden flushed a little as Rebecca's lips brushed his cheek and showered him in compliments that he didn't feel like he deserved. "That's the minimum acceptable response for a boyfriend," he insisted, coughing a little in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. The receptionist laughed and waved at the couple as they disappeared into the elevator. What a cute couple they were. Nice to see that chivalry still existed and that happiness could still be found in simple love.

He put the food on his little two-person dining room table and locked the apartment door while Rebecca disappeared into the bathroom. Soon he heard the water running and went into his room to find something for her to wear. With a band tee and pair of grey sweat pants, he knocked on the bathroom door before opening it. "I'll leave these clothes for you on the towel rack, okay? And you'll probably want to use the towel on the left. It's the clean one."

Guilt again filled his conscience as he thought about the first time they'd showered together. It had been so exciting and felt so rebellious. He'd never seen a woman in her full glory before that day, or felt the sensation of her hot skin against his chest. Would it be horrible of him to take one last opportunity to be with her in that way? Especially knowing what was coming next for the pair of them? As much as he ached to take one more indulgence, Aiden knew it would only make his betrayal all the more painful. So instead, he closed the door and returned to the kitchen. He didn't have a lot of dishes, but he managed to pull out two plates that matched and two sets of silverware that were...similar to each other. While he set about setting up the meals as nicely as he could, he began to wonder if he'd be able to eat any of this at all. The longer the night went, the more he felt illness settling into his stomach. It roiled and clenched until he wasn't sure if he was going to be sick or not.

Though he managed to take a deep breath and settle the nerves somewhat before the scent of his shampoo filled the air and Rebecca emerged with just his t-shirt on. She was as beautiful as ever and his eyes couldn't break away from her. "I'm glad," he replied, his fingers running softly up and down her back before he kissed her on the forehead and took a step back. "We should probably eat our dinner before it gets any colder, hm?" He pulled out her chair and pushed it back into position, sat down at his own meal, and picked up the steak knife. He hadn't realized his hands were trembling until he attempted to cut the steak and found it hard to hold his fork. Aiden took a steadying breath and held it a little bit tighter, managing to make the cut this time.

Despite definitely being colder than if they'd eaten it at the restaurant, the food was delicious. Even with his taste buds dulled by nerves and guilt, he managed to somewhat enjoy most of the plate. Though his eyes kept darting over to Rebecca between bites and his hands dried on his pants in an attempt to keep them from slipping right off the silverware. "We should have tried this place sooner," he said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. He knew the place had been ruined, now, and that he'd never get another chance to share it with Rebecca. "It's really good." Otherwise, he ate quietly. He finally ended up pushing the plate away and watching Rebecca until she had finished as well.

The time had come. There was no point dragging this out any longer.

Aiden took Rebecca's hand and looked deep into her eyes. "Hey, Becs? I need to talk to you about something." The words stuck in his throat and he felt like he was being strangled by them, but that didn't stop him from forcing them out. "I've...been trying to figure out how to talk to you about this for a while, but I haven't been brave enough. We've been together for a really, really long time. And you know how much I love you, right?" His voice cracked just a little and his hand strayed to his pocket subconsciously, as if seeking refuge away from hers. "I've loved you for so, so long. Even before you realized that the nerdy little blonde boy at the back of the classroom in dirty, holey jeans and muddy boots even existed. From the first moment we kissed, I've never imagined my life without you by my side."

His mouth opened as if to say more, but he'd lost the fight with words. Tears began glimmering along the rim of his lower eyelid and he lowered his head, looking away while he cleared his throat. He wanted to stop there. He wanted to give her a kiss on those tender lips and run away from the table, away from the apartment...away from his life. This was the moment of no return.

The 'but' moment.

"But you deserve someone that you don't have to drive hours to see. You deserve someone who can give you every moment of his time and hold you every night. Rebecca, I...I can't be that man for you. I can't ask you to keep spending all your time and money to visit me here. I wanted to give you a perfect night to remember as-" The rest of the sentence felt like he was attempting to expel a mass of sticky, viscous liquid from his airway. Tears finally broke the dam and rolled down his cheeks as he finally looked back up into hers. "To remember as our last. I didn't want this to go this way, Becs. I wanted to marry you and have children and grow old and be buried together at the end of the road. But our lives have changed, Becs. Right now, I can't offer you that life. I'm so, so sorry, Rebecca. There's no easy way to do this, but you'll find someone so much better than me."

Aiden folded in on himself, burying his face in his arms as it pressed against the cheap wood of the table. He didn't know exactly how Rebecca was going to react, but he knew this was going to be painful for both of them.

 

[Lost Echo]

“You were welcome to join me.” Rebecca teased, as they separated, “But I suppose dinner’d be too cold by then, huh? Microwaved meat never tastes the same. And I want to enjoy our free steak!”

She smiled at the little setup, touched that Aiden tried so hard to imitate a restaurant. The attempt may have failed, but it was all the sweeter for it. She took her place, running a hand over the seat as she sat, the smooth wood cool against her bare skin.

Looking across the table at him, her smile dropped as she saw how nervous he was. Reaching across the small table, she grabbed his hand gently, “It’s just us. It’s okay.” Something was wrong--no, off, no something was up. She was just thinking the worst because of the past week. It could be he wanted to take the next step in their relationship. Still, each bite went down dry. She wished for a soda or water but didn’t want to break this fragile thing between them.

When he seemed to remorse not trying the place earlier, she had to force herself to swallow the piece of meat she’d been chewing. That sounded…final. “We can go back, you know? I won’t hold the accident against the whole restaurant. This steak is pretty good.” She assumed, if she could just focus on the taste, and not, whatever this was. She tried a few more bites, but seeing him having given up, she placed her fork down beside her plate.

Her hand started to tremble when his surrounded it. Her lips parted at the words, somehow knowing this will hurt, even as she tried to trust him. This was Aiden. He loved her. He’d never hurt her. She was just feeling tears burn in her eyes as she held his gaze because of how bad her week had been. Her mind had been primed to expect laughter, but this was a safe place.

Her mind raced. What would he need bravery for? “You can tell me anything. You know that.” Her voice sounded broken though, and she had to swallow against her dry throat. Her eyes left his face, following his hand as it dropped to his pocket. They widened and suddenly her heart was pounding in her ears. “I don’t want to be without you either.” She whispered, her gaze raising to his once more, the tears dripping into her smile.

But then he stopped. He looked away. Not down at her hands, but away from her. Then when he spoke, his throat cleared he started with ‘but.’ Suddenly she felt cold in just his band tee. She felt small and vulnerable. She started shaking. Her ponytail swished back and forth as her head moved. “No.” she started to whisper over and over. “No. This isn’t happening.” She denied, even as her face crumpled in belief.

“No.” She wiped the back of her hand angrily against the tears that refused to stop. “No. We’ve talked about the distance. I don’t mind. And you know that. I…I can even stay all weekend. Next semester I can go virtual. We can make this work. We’ve been making this work.”

“I know you.” She swore, her eyes fierce. “If you’d had more problems you wouldn’t have been scared to bring them up. Not to me. You wouldn’t just….just break this before we talked about it.” Her speech was interrupted with gasps, as she tried to get enough air to get through this. Then she ran around the table, wrapping an arm around him, “Oh god, you’re sick aren’t you? Oh love, don’t be an idiot. Don’t push me away. I’ll support you in everything, even this.” She was bawling now. Scared of losing him for real. “How long have you known?”

 

[Kekse]

At first her reaction was well within what Aiden had expected. But then...she jumped to entirely the wrong conclusion. He pushed her away slightly and shook his head with disbelief written all over his face. "No, Rebecca, I'm not sick. I just can't do this long distance thing anymore." A million more words attempted to claw their way out of his throat, but he just couldn't figure out how to say them.

"And I don't want you to give up your schedule for me. I feel like I'd be asking you to waste your time and talents for someone who can't give you what you deserve. You deserve your man's full attention, and you can't get that from me. Not right now."

The sheer pain was evident in Aiden's eyes, but he also showed no signs of backing down. His mind was made up on the matter. It was time to stop feeling like he was sneaking around, even though he knew he'd been faithful so far. But much longer and he couldn't guarantee that would remain the truth. "There are...plenty of men at your college who would love you just as much as I do. You're absolutely stunning. You'll find another boyfriend just as fast as you want one."

He turned away and vigorously rubbed his eyes, trying with all his might to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. This wasn't supposed to be so HARD! "I should...I should go. You can stay here and drive home tomorrow when the storm has stopped. I'll go to-I'll stay with-I'll...I'll figure something out for the night." He reached for his keys and sniffled, his body attempting to disobey him and rush back to wrap her in his arms.

 

[Lost Echo]

Rebecca stumbled backward, the push feeling much harder than the slight movement should have. “Then why are you hurting us like this?” She stared, hands in front of her, but this time scared to reach out. She searched his face for answers, for a reason. Because she knew, she knew, whatever he was saying was bullshit. “I don’t need or want your full attention. You know I love that you’ve found your niche. Architecture is great for you!” She trailed off, knowing this wouldn’t get her answers.

And this pain deserved answers. Her shoulders were hunched in as if protecting her heart and she wrapped her arms around her torso. She didn’t even bother stopping the tears anymore as they ripped out of her in sobs. Why was he crying? If this hurt, all he had to do was stop it. “I don’t WANT another boyfriend,” she screamed in response. Her mind chirped an answer. Her secret fear of being replaced. “Do you?”

Then he was trying to leave. “What?! No. Wait!” She tried to grab his hand. Grabbing an elbow and holding on. “No no no!” She was panting, and the tee shirt was getting damp with her tears. “Tell me. That’s why isn’t it?” She started shaking, “You want someone else don’t you?”

It was then she let go and stepped back, “Well if that’s the case, why are you so upset? Why are you crying? Why even go through this night of pretending? Do you think it made this hurt less, well newsflash it didn’t!” She ended in a yell, then crumpled in on herself again.

 

[Kekse]

"I don't...that's not...Fine, maybe I do think it would be easier to date someone nearby, but I have been faithful. You can ask any of my classmates if you want and they'll all tell you that I've never done anything remotely inappropriate for someone who already has a girlfriend. But I can't handle being away from my girlfriend most of the time. And so...I have to end us. And I'm freaking crying because I still love you. This isn't easy for me, either!"

He watched her crumple in front of him and simply couldn't handle it anymore. With keys in hand, he walked to the door and opened it, pausing in the doorway. "You can stay if you want. If not, please drive safely. I'll always love you."

And with that, he closed the door behind him and headed for the stairs. Tears streamed down his face as he made his way to apartment 317 where his best college friend, Zach, lived. He pounded on the door until Zach opened it and, concerned, pulled Aiden inside. "What happened, man?" Zach asked, gesturing to the couch and fetching a soda from the fridge. He did have harder options in the house, but knew that his buddy was a stickler for rules, including underage drinking. Zach handed over the drink and sat in the chair across from Aiden while he pulled himself together.

"I broke up with Rebecca," Aiden finally managed to choke out while wiping his face. He felt entirely stupid showing up at his buddy's door in tears, but thankfully Zach seemed cool about it. Zach sighed and nodded knowingly.

"I see, I see. Can't say I'm surprised, man. Everyone knows how you look at Natalie, but we also know that you're not the cheating type. So we may or may not have had a bet on how long it would take you to dump the high school sweetheart. Sorry not sorry, bro." Zach winked and popped open his own soda, taking a long swig. "It was the right thing to do, though. Long distance rarely works. Now nobody is leading anybody on, and you're free to date Natalie. She's totally obsessed with you, man."

Only half of Zach's words were helpful, but Aiden was appreciative of the attempt anyway. He drained half the can of soda and took a deep breath. "You're right. She'll understand someday, I know it. Mind if I crash on your couch tonight? I don't want to go back up there until I know she's gone."

"For sure, bro. There's an extra blanket in the cupboard and I'll grab the extra pillow from my bed. Things will look brighter in the morning, yeah?" He gave Aiden a big grin and returned with the objects, flipped on the TV, and spent the rest of the evening cheering up his friend.

~~
If he'd known what that day would bring, Aiden might have slammed his hand down on the alarm, rolled over, and gone back to bed. The ghosts of his past haunted him sufficiently without becoming an unwanted level of corporeal.

But, he was, in fact, not psychic, and he had an entire mountain of work to do that day. The newest proposal for the city hall project was due today, and it still had a way to go before it was ready to meet the shark tank. And he didn't trust anyone else to get it there.

Part of it was being a control freak, but the larger portion was avoiding yet another embarrassing meeting with his investors. The last time he'd trusted his colleagues to finish up the proposal, he'd discovered they didn't even bother with land surveys or neighborhood scouting. They seemed like such basic things that he never would have considered the fact that the others he worked with would just...not bother.

And so he climbed out of bed, combed the wild mop of blonde hair into a somewhat presentable 'style,' and slipped into his favorite fawn suit. Usually he would have gone a little less formal, but any points he could gain with the investors were worth the effort.

He frowned at himself in the mirror while brushing his teeth. The dark bags had moved back in beneath his eyes, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Perhaps everyone would just assume he's been working overtime? That's what he'd pass it off as if anyone asked, for sure.

The truth, on the other hand, was far more closely related to the nonstop nightmares that had plagued him for the last year and a half. Aiden had suffered from nightmares since he made the biggest mistake of his life.

You see, that mistake was named Natalie Vaughn. She was tall, blonde, and had the figure of a Greek goddess. But if that had been all, he never would have given her a second glance. What really caught his attention was the look in her eyes when she looked at him. It sent a shiver down his spine that he didn't really understand, and when she asked for his contact info...he handed it over without a second thought.

He didn't know if it was the excitement of something new or just a natural fading of the relationship, but by the time that winter night with the terrible steakhouse adventure arrived, he knew that long distance wasn't going to happen any longer.

Six months later, Natalie was his wife.

Had they been happy? Well, Aiden supposed they must have been at one point. They got married so quickly, after all. But that happiness had been buried under so many fights, so many tears, and so many sleepless nights that he could barely remember any of the good times.

Apparently she couldn't either, because just a week before Christmas he arrived home to a completely empty apartment. Not just a 'the wife took her things and left' empty. No, this was extreme.

She must have had an army of help while he was at work that day, because literally all she left was a heap of his clothing on the bedroom floor, half a bottle of ketchup in the fridge, and the bedframe on the living room floor next to the front door. Apparently she hadn't wanted to deal with disassembling it when it didn't fit through the doorframe.

To say he was left a broken man would be an understatement.

Yet he suffered in silence. His coworkers knew that he'd gotten divorced, but Aiden hadn't even told his brother or his parents what Natalie had done to him. The only person who knew was the psychiatrist he'd started seeing when his dark thoughts began to scare him.

The psychiatrist had prescribed an antidepressant which he took for about a week before deciding he didn't like how it made him feel. To this day, however, the bottle sat on his nightstand just tempting him to swallow the entire contents. More than once he'd woken up from a nightmare and grabbed the bottle, only to put it down after talking himself off the cliff.

Thankfully today was not one of those days. Aiden made it out the door and onto the subway with plenty of time to spare. He scanned his itinerary for the day, sipped a cheap cup of coffee, and stepped out into the hallway of his apartment building. His steps were interrupted when he saw the apartment across the hall was open with a pile of boxes in the entryway.

Ah. Someone must be moving in! The apartment had been empty for a while, so he was quite interested to see who the manager had finally managed to fill it with. He didn't want to appear awkwardly nosy, but he definitely walked down the hallway much slower than usual in an attempt to run into his new neighbor bringing up another box.

 

[Lost Echo]

If he’d always love her, why did he hurt them like this? “Why?” That’s what she wanted to know. What did she do wrong? How could she fix this? It hurt so much. Who could be so wonderful to break them apart? What made her better than Rebecca? Oh, she knew Aiden. Even now. She knew he hadn’t cheated. It was just that he wanted someone else. Someone who’d made it into his college. She was probably beautiful, but he wasn’t shallow. She knew it took more than that to catch his eye. She just apparently didn’t know how to keep it. She was an old thing, and though he tried to be nice about it, he wanted something new. Someone who had her shit together.

She stood there hugging herself. Slowly growing colder with her bare legs. She looked around at the apartment she’d spent so much time in. Her mind flashed to times they were together. She’d never been alone here. This was supposed to be her safe space. Now it just hurt. She had to get out of here. She grabbed the sweats he’d pulled out yanking them on her legs so fast she almost fell over. Her hands were shaking as she ran out the door, barefoot because she forgot her heels. The elevator was hell. How many times had she cried in here? Just at the thought of facing another week alone? What would she do now?

She was sobbing by the time the doors opened into the lobby, and just ran past the kind receptionist, who tried to get around the desk to catch her. Ignoring her cries, she ran into the rain, her feet making small splashes in the puddles accumulated on the sidewalk. With her already wet hair, she barely noticed, just fleeing to the safety of her car.

She barely remembered the drive home. But she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of him. She spent the week, crying as the scent of him faded. She even still had his sweats, wearing them on weak nights.
~
“Of course Mom.” She climbed the stairs, a large box in her arms, her phone squeezed between her ear and shoulder. “I’m fine Mom. Yes, I know. I just needed space. I love you too Mom.” The litany of replies was spoken calmly. Even as she made faces in the empty stairwell. “Listen, I gotta go. I’ve almost got my last box up.” She spoke, as her feet found the landing of her new hallway. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Tomorrow Mom, I’ll be tired after unpacking. I love you too. Yes. Okay. I will. Bye Mom.”

She looked up, saw a ghost and dropped her phone with a thud on top of the box, it sliding off and onto the floor while she froze. Aiden had been on her mind even more since Rick dropped her. How maybe it was kind of him to drop her before cheating on her. How it’d hurt so much more when the blond had broken up with her than when Rick cheated on her. Had she not loved Rick? Is that why he--?

“Shit. Sorry.” She must have been seeing the resemblance since he’d been on her mind so much. “I’m Lynn.” She waved with a hand, arm still wrapped around the box. Shifting the heavy box to the side, she tried to balance and reach for her phone at the same time. At least she was wearing flats. “I’m guessing we’re neighbors now?” The embarrassment was obvious in her voice, but so was the laughter.

 

[Kekse]

Did he almost literally run into his new neighbor? Yes. Did he also find his breath catching in his throat when he saw who the new neighbor was? Also yes. But he managed to barely keep his eyes from bugging out of his head and leaned casually over to pick up Lynn's phone. "No worries," he said with a smile. He scooped up the phone and placed it carefully on the box, which he offered to take from her hands. "You need some help with that, Lynn? It's the least I can do for you and it looks pretty heavy." Aiden didn't know if Lynn recognized him, but he sure as heck recognized her. The mountain of guilt and regret that he thought he'd worked through threatened to crush him again, though he did his best to remain casual. "Aiden. And we are indeed! It's a pretty decent building, I suppose."

It was like his past had jumped through space to smack him in the face. Aiden wasn't sure if he was excited or horrified, if he was being honest. He stood in that hallway with a dumb look on his face, wondering how he'd managed to come face-to-face with the first love of his life after ten years. Ten long years. She was still as pretty as he remembered, with those soft eyes that had always managed to make him weak in the knees. He was tempted to slap himself awake, because this could have been a scene right out of one of his nightmares. Any moment now she would disappear, or turn into Natalie and begin berating him in that way she always had.

But she was laughing. So either she'd forgotten him, forgiven him, or just didn't recognize him. There was no way she would have been happy to see him in any other circumstance. His last interaction with her had been immature. Selfish. If she felt even a tenth of the pain and regret he'd suffered at the hands of his own actions, he wouldn't blame her for punching him in the face. And even with all those facts...he'd spent years fantasizing about how the scene would go should he ever meet Lynn again. Finding her in the hallway of his apartment complex was far from anything he'd imagined. It was always a grocery store, or a park, or some random beach somewhere like a romantic comedy on the silver screen.

If he was smart, Aiden would have bid Lynn adieu and carried on to work. But he was mesmerized. Suddenly, work didn't seem quite as important. He stared into her eyes and shook his head slowly. Under the assumption that she'd remember him after his name, Aiden spoke softly. "You haven't changed a bit. And you probably still hate my guts. I know it has been a really long time, but I really am sorry for how stupid I was back then. And if you want to punch me, go ahead."

 

[Lost Echo]

Just looking at the man was bringing up so many memories. How broken she was after he’d dumped her. She’d nearly failed that semester, her depression was so bad. Even after, she turned to drinking and parties to rebel against the constant pain. Yet she loved him still. Was that why Rick leaving just felt like another failure?

But seriously, no. Even her luck wasn’t that bad. She’d gotten over him ages ago. Lynn was good at talking herself into denial. Sure, he introduced himself as Aiden, but there were plenty of Aidens in the world. Were there? Especially blonde ones that made her heart race. “Thanks.” She murmured automatically as he took the box from her arms. He was even as polite as he’d been. Still, she’d assured herself she was being silly.

Right up until he spoke. Horror flooded her face for just a moment before a smile reappeared. It might have been fake, but Lynn worked in PR, she knew how to fake a smile. “Punch you?” She laughed a little at the thought, no, even then she didn’t want to punch him. “No, of course not.” She walked over to the pile of boxes in front of her new apartment.

Which was going to be hellish. “Should I expect a couple of kids to run around?” She knew he’d married her. Gods, it was going to be awful watching the family just next door. Facing away, she breathed in deeply, promising herself she could do this. She was excellent with denial. She turned and took the box from him once more, placing it on another. “You’re probably busy. I’ll let you get going. Thanks for your help.” She wanted to run and hide and cry for a minute. Just a minute, she’d pull herself back together afterward. She promised. She was so good at denial.

 

[Kekse]

He wasn't sure if her reaction was a good one or a bad one. It seemed she'd developed quite the poker face in the last ten years and Aiden could no longer read her like a book. Heck, she didn't even introduce herself as Rebecca anymore! Then again, perhaps she just didn't recognize him and decided to use a different name. But one thing he did know: She definitely knew who he was now. "Whew, glad I'm not about to taste a knuckle sandwich." He stepped a little closer to her pile of boxes, despite not having been invited to help her carry them in. He paused, however, at her question. It was like a punch to the stomach and Aiden leaned forward slightly with his hand over his abdomen. "No. I don't...I don't have any kids."

A haunted look filled Aiden's eyes which flickered toward his own apartment door. "Surely you're married, though? Your husband should be ashamed for making you carry all this up here on your own." He relinquished the box easily and took a step back at the obvious attempt at getting him to leave her alone. Which was fair enough. If he'd been in her position, he likely wouldn't want to talk to himself either. His hand went automatically to his hair as it always had, twirling one of his curls around his fingers in a nervous tic.

"Yeah, I, uh...probably should get to work. Lots of responsibility as the lead architect. Thought I do have a really great team who are totally capable of stepping up if I'm not there." Aiden attempted a smile, but knew that he was coming off as someone attempting to win the 'World's Most Awkward Neighbor' award. "I guess I'll...see you around. Since we live closer to each other now than we did even in high school!" Too bad we couldn't have lived this close in college...I never would have left you if I hadn't been so lonely all the time. He turned with a short wave and disappeared into the elevator as fast as he could, starting to feel a little nauseous as the incident began to fully sink in. Was this a blessing or a curse?!

 

[Lost Echo]

Lynn paused, turning to look at him worriedly. That reaction was extreme. Definitely, a topic to avoid. Though she wondered why that was. Had his wife suffered miscarriages? Had he lost a child? She wanted to know: it hurt to think he’d been so harmed and she wasn’t there to support him. But no, he’d decided he wanted someone else. She was definitely mature enough to accept it. It’d been long enough.

She accepted the conversation turning to her easily with a laugh. Anything to keep that look off his face. “Nah, my fiance felt like monogamy wasn’t for him. He just didn’t mention it until I came home early and met her.” Her tone turned sardonic, but still pleasant, inviting him to laugh with her, instead of feeling bad for her. It was probably too much detail, but Lynn was going to keep up a pleasant relationship with her neighbor. Even if it’s him. Maybe especially since it’s him. Even though the thought of meeting his wife made her want to cry. There was still some desperate part of her that wanted him in her life any way she could.

Still, he took her push to leave desperately. Awkwardly, but that was just Aiden. It was sweet to see him mess with his hair like he always had when things turned uncomfortable. He must have been desperate to seem normal as he rambled about his job and his team. “Congrats. I’m glad you got your dream.” And with that, he left, referencing the best years of her life.

She sat down heavily on a box and put her head between her knees. Fuck. What was she going to do? She couldn’t tell her mother. Though since he was married, she wouldn’t have to deal with her demands to get back with him.

She couldn’t believe her luck. It’d been shitty--no, she’d made bad choices after he dumped her, but until her CEO decided fraud was the way to go, everything had been going well since college. Sure, everything meant work and only work, but she’d been successful. Now, like a switch everything was falling apart. She wouldn’t have come home early if the office hadn’t closed for investigators to search it. So she wouldn’t have seen Rick with the natural blonde. And now she got to live across from the love of her life…and his wife.

At least she didn’t move with Rick. That would have been terrible. The Bible said thou shall not covet your neighbor’s property (including his wife) but left out the important part. Coveting the neighbor.

But did she? No. She wanted the relationship they had back. Like always. But that was impossible. This would be awkward, but maybe seeing him daily would break the lingering feelings she had for him. Ten years without him certainly hadn’t. Maybe it was a chance to get over him for real.

She lifted her head and blinked away the tears. At least her makeup was waterproof. It didn’t matter. She’d signed the lease and she was living here. For at least the year she’d signed for. Picking up a box at random, she started moving in.

 

[Kekse]

Fiance. So she had managed to find someone after him. That was a bit of a relief, honestly. Aiden had at least enough respect for his first love to hope that she would have found happiness. But an unexpected anger rolled in his gut that the man had cheated on her. What kind of scummy jerk would pull that on her?! Well...honestly, he'd come close. But at least he'd had the decency to break up with her before actually pursuing Natalie, right? The thought was little comfort as he hurried down the sidewalk toward the subway.

What really gave him pause, though, was another thought entirely: both of them were currently single. Which meant perhaps they had another chance! But would it be weird for him to even consider pursuing her again? Would she be willing to entertain the notion? Or would he end up in an entirely awkward situation, spending at least the next 8 months avoiding his neighbor until he could choose not to renew his lease and move? He already cursed the fact that he'd signed a 2 year lease right before Natalie left, but how could he have known she'd finally follow through on her threats after ten years of making them? The fight the night before had been no different than any that preceded it. She'd disappeared for days at a time before, always coming back when she'd cooled off. Always promising she would be calmer next time.

He must have had an unapproachable face as he sat on the hard bench of the subway and allowed the train of thoughts to rumble through his brain. No one sat within two seats of him in any direction, despite being in the middle of the morning rush. That suited Aiden just fine. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, anyway.

By the time he reached work, Aiden was so far in his thoughts that he barely noticed as his assistant greeted him with a cup of coffee. "Heya boss! Good to see you made it in. We all heard the news about the 8:30 train and got concerned that you were on it." Benjamin handed the cup of coffee over and flashed his bright smile at Aiden.

Aiden accepted it and tilted his head slightly. "What happened with the 8:30 train? I did end up missing it because I had a bit of a surprise outside my front door this morning."

"Oh, you haven't heard? Apparently some guy pulled a gun on the passengers and shot a whole bunch of people before he could be taken down. We all kept waiting for a call that you'd ended up in the hospital or something!" Benjamin's soft brown eyes glistened with worry and sadness. "I guess that surprise was a blessing in disguise. What was it, anyway? Something nice?"

Shock filled every cell in Aiden's body and he nearly dropped the cup in his hand. "W-what?" A shiver raced down his spine and across his extremities. He stumbled slightly and braced himself against the receptionist's desk while he took in the news. Had he really come that close to possibly losing his life this morning? That five minute delay which put him on the next train was his salvation? "I had a new neighbor move in, someone I went to high school with. If I hadn't stopped to talk to her, I...would have been on that train. Holy-" But there was nothing 'holy' about it.

Despite considering that bottle of pills beside his bed multiple times a week...the thought of actually dying was horrifying in this moment.

"You'll have to thank her when you get home, I guess. We better get up to the conference room, though. The meeting with the city rep starts in like fifteen minutes." Benjamin patted Aiden's shoulder and Aiden took a deep breath. Yes, he'd have to consider talking to Lynn again when he got home. If he could gather up enough courage to knock on her door, that is.

Aiden managed to calm his thoughts and return to work mode as he always did by the time he opened the conference room door. That skill had been a blessing in the last year of his life; no matter what was going on outside, he'd always been able to move to his 'work' box and close all the others for a few hours. It was a welcome relief from the daily pain of memory. By the end of the day he had practically forgotten all about the train incident, but there was no way to get Lynn's face out of his mind.

After work, he stopped at a little pizza place just outside the apartment complex to grab some dinner as he often did on his way home; there wasn't much point cooking for one, he figured. He stopped at the door with pizza in one hand and keys in the other, trying to locate the door key without having to use both hands. Aiden couldn't stop himself from glancing at Lynn's door repeatedly during the process, wanting to talk to her again...but knowing he didn't really have the courage to bother her.

 

[Lost Echo]

Dammit, where was it? She wanted so badly to sleep in a bed tonight, but there the frame was, strewn on the floor with no way to put it together. She could have sworn she’d taped the Allen wrench with the bolts, but as her new shitty luck would have it, there wasn’t one.

She glanced at the mattress and box spring leaning against the wall. She could just put them on the floor and put sheets on. By this time all the shops were closed, so she’d have to wait until tomorrow to get one. Wherever a hardware store was.

She hated moving. It might have been her apartment they were living in, but it had reminded her too much of Rick to want to stay. He probably only stayed with her for her money. Bastard. What had she seen in him? He was the opposite of Aiden. That was why she’d gotten with him. But as she worked more (and became “less fun”) he hadn’t changed from their partying ways. It was likely her fault the relationship fell apart.

Resting her head in her hands, she brought her mind back into focus on her current problem. Rick was gone, there was no point in thinking about him. It was a phrase she’d used for Aiden for years now. But that wasn’t true anymore. She laughed at the thought of seeing Rick 10 years from now. She certainly wouldn’t feel as complicated as she did now.

Aiden. Her neighbor. Who might have an Allen wrench. She was going to have to deal with him regularly. She might as well meet the wife now. It’s not like her dreams wouldn’t make up the most beautiful woman possible to fill the role.

She looked down at her wrinkled shirt and slacks. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her worse. Her mind flicked back to her dress that night. That she’d left in his bathroom, just desperate to flee. She still had his sweats and t-shirt. Her defense was that they were comfy. So on bad days she’d change into those and pretend. She was so pathetic.

Fuck that. She was going to be an adult and ask her neighbor for an Allen wrench. She’d treat Aiden as if he was just some kind stranger she met this morning. Standing she smoothed down her slacks and tugged at her shirt with no avail.

Shaking her head as she gave up on looking more presentable (Did she even want to impress his wife?) she left the apartment to stand across the hall. Wait. Was this his apartment? That was what she’d assumed. But as her eyes flicked down the hall, he could easily be further down. Well, maybe she was going to meet another neighbor.

She gave an attempt to fix her hair, pulling the tie out and then redoing her ponytail. Then with a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

 

[Kekse]

Aiden finally made it into his apartment, set down his pizza, and removed his shoes. He thought maybe he'd feel better once he got back home and could distract himself with TV, but as he sat at his mismatched dining table and chair 'set,' he found himself simply staring into space. The pizza grew colder by the minute as the man leaned on his elbow and allowed his thoughts to wash in and out like the tide. He probably would have been there all night if his reverie hadn't been interrupted by a knock at his door.

Slightly puzzled, he picked himself up from the chair and wandered over to the door. Nobody ever knocked on his door except the landlord, and he knew he'd paid his rent on time. He didn't bother looking through the peephole before swinging the door open. He probably should have, though, because he was completely unprepared to find the slightly ruffled form of Lynn standing in the hallway. "Oh, it's you," he mumbled, attaching a smile to his face as soon as his brain could locate one. The words came out with a considerable amount of surprise and a hint of happiness. "Come in, come in. Have you had dinner? I bought this whole pizza and haven't even touched it yet. You're welcome to some of it."

He moved slightly out of the way and gestured into his bare apartment. His belongings amounted to an amalgamation of thrift store furniture and whatever gaming consoles he'd managed to pick up for cheap. After listening to Lynn's request, Aiden thought for a moment with squinted eyes (a sure sign he was thinking pretty hard.) "I think I have some Allan wrenches in my tool bag. Which is...somewhere. Not that there's much to search through, obviously. Why don't you sit down at the table and enjoy some of the pizza? Or the couch if you're not hungry. It's ugly, but it's comfortable. I think it might be in my closet, maybe..."

Aiden wandered into his bedroom and began rifling around the few cardboard boxes he'd used to bring a few things from his parents' house to the apartment after Natalie left. He knew his dad had tossed in the spare set of tools, but A) he'd never needed them and B) he'd never looked inside of it. Luck was with him today; he soon emerged with the smashed black bag and brought it out into the living room.

"Found it! Let's see what's in here..." He set it on the table and began poking through the contents. It wasn't a very large bag, so he quickly found what he was looking for: what basically amounted to a Swiss army knife of Allan wrenches. "Aha! This ought to do the trick. What are you putting together, anyway? Would you like a hand? I uh...obviously don't have much better to do tonight. Just planned to watch TV and go to bed."

He ran his fingers through his hair again and leaned against the entryway, doing his best to seem relaxed. This was just Lynn, after all. They had known each other so well back in the day. Why should he feel awkward around her? Besides the fact he'd replaced her. Yeah...that was a little awkward.

 

[Lost Echo]

God this was awkward. Lynn was desperate enough to think the basic, “Oh it’s you” was positive, almost happy, as opposed to as…complicated as it likely actually was. This was such a bad idea. She followed him in anyway, unable to keep from scanning the apartment for signs of The Wife. There weren’t any? In fact, there were barely any signs of life beyond the necessities. Even she had art. How long had they been living here? Were they having money problems? God, that was so rude of her to think, but his chairs didn’t match for goodness sake!

The smell of pizza pulled her attention away. “Oh, I shouldn’t.” Would his wife be unhappy that he shared the pizza before she got home? But little gods she was so hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. “Maybe one piece?” She could trust Aiden to deal with his wife. He’d offer, if she was the type to get upset, then let him deal with it. She was hungry. As he left the room, she went to the box, tugging free a slice. Then like a savage, she ate it immediately, standing up over the box. It was gone far too quickly, leaving her time to study the empty apartment. She tried to distract herself, reclosing the box, then taking a seat at the table, as if she’d been mannered this whole time.

Lynn glanced back toward the hallway Aiden had left by. She could hear him rummaging, likely to return any minute, so she glanced around the kitchenette, which was as bland as everything else. It almost seemed bleak. She knew Aiden was the type to focus on work beyond anything else sometimes, but this seemed extreme. It was a relief when he emerged from the bedroom holding a fairly small black bag.

Setting it on the table, he was quick to find exactly what she needed. Standing, she went over to him, “Oh thank goodness.” Surely her luck wasn’t so shitty that none of those would fit. Surely. She wasn’t surprised by the offer to help, Aiden had always been that way, but she was surprised that he claimed he had nothing else to do. She must be out of town or something for the night. Lynn knew she should ask, should bring up that can of worms that would only rot the longer she ignored it. But she didn’t, instead she just smiled and replied, “My bed frame. I want to sleep in a bed tonight. Otherwise, I’d have waited until tomorrow. Thank you for all this.” She waved her hand at the array of allen wrenches, but meant more.

She led the way to her new apartment, having left it unlocked for the short trip. Opening it reflected the same layout as Aiden’s, though with much more stuff. The furniture had arrived ahead of her, so the table set made up a small dining room, with a couch sectioning off the living room. There was a cabinet, likely for a tv that had yet to be placed. You could spot it leaning against the wall, wrapped in a blanket. “Sorry for the mess. I feel like I’ve been working all day and have nothing to show for it.”

The path leading to her bedroom was lined with boxes. She navigated the path with ease, her thin frame shifting around them out of habit after a full day of doing so. Entering her bedroom, the queen sized frame was laid out across the floor, the mattress and box spring leaning against each wall. The frame was a soft green, with leaves inlaid in it. Simple, yet very elegant. She flicked on the overhead light, since she’d yet to unpack her lamps, and went straight for one of the corners. Kneeling, she lifted the metal bar across her knee, using a hand to pull the frame straight. “See? It’s not hard. I just couldn’t find the wrenches.” She sighed heavily at herself, “At least I still had the bolts. I can’t believe I didn’t leave the allen wrench in there.”

 

[Kekse]

"Ah, bed frame. Yeah, I could see how that would be important to get set up the first night. And it's the least I can do, honestly. Let's get it set up so you can get some rest. Moving is exhausting at the best of times." Aiden shot her a bright smile and followed her across the hallway, closing his apartment behind him after tapping his back pocket to ensure he had the spare key in it. After having locked himself out multiple times, he always made sure to carry one separately from the ring of keys he tended to leave on the counter. A pang of...jealousy? Embarrassment? crossed his heart when he stepped in and realized how many more belongings Lynn had than he did. "Oh, no, it's fine. You've already seen how pathetic my apartment is. And I don't have any excuse because I've been there...a while."

Aiden gave Lynn that smile she'd know so well and followed her into the bedroom, careful not to touch anything precariously stacked. He was a bit bulkier than she and it took a bit more maneuvering, but he arrived only moments behind Lynn. His eyes swept over the bed frame and he nodded. Super easy. Between the two of them, it should be put together in like ten minutes flat. "Isn't that the way it always goes? You specifically make sure that the bits which are easy to lose are secure, then manage to lose the parts which feel like a given to make it. The wrench is probably in a box somewhere and you'll find it when you put things away." He stepped up to the frame and picked up the bag of bolts, poured a few in his hand, and slipped the first one into the corner hole. After turning it finger-tight, Aiden stared at his collection of wrenches and guessed at one.

And it slid right into place, as if he'd studied engineering or something. A few turns later, that bolt was finished and he moved on to the next one. "We'll have this done super quick. I'm sure you want me out of your hair as fast as possible." Aiden chuckled in a self-deprecating way and tightened the next bolt, giving the frame a little wiggle to make sure it was tight before moving on to the next area.

They were making quick work of the frame just as he had predicted. Though part of him really wanted to slow down and enjoy the company. There was something so warm and familiar about hanging out in Lynn's room with her. Somehow, despite the unspoken awkwardness he felt between them, Aiden had to admit that he hadn't felt this content and relaxed in years. He knelt next to her and secured the last bolt, shook the frame to check for any loose areas, and nodded. "There we go. Let's get the mattress on there, yeah? Those things are a pain to move by yourself."

Aiden picked up one end of the mattress and helped slide it into place on the frame, again pushing and pulling before he was assured that it was completely stable. Some part of him had managed to find the box where his protectiveness had been hidden and put it back on. There was no way he was going to let the bed frame collapse and, at best, scare the daylights out of Lynn in the middle of the night.

With that done, he seemingly had no more reasons to stall his departure. Especially since his stomach had begun to rumble in annoyance that he hadn't slipped any of that pizza into his mouth before leaving his apartment. He flushed slightly at the sound and ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess I should eat my dinner. I don't need all of it, though. I could bring it over and share some more? Pizza is the proper moving food, after all. At least, that's what everyone I've helped move has used as a bribe."