Aiden Hale
"Sign it, if you want to see another day"
Alaric resounded in my ears as he handed the pen over to me.
I carried the piece of paper, read through it quickly and saw what it was. It was an agreement.
It had a lot of interesting clauses, for example, I wasn't allowed to press charges, which I found funny.
The clause that clause that caught my interest was the one that says:
"I am not allowed to tell anyone what I found while I was doing my job. Mr Rourke Alaric. If I didn't know any better I'd say you're hiding something."
I said bluntly to his face but he didn't panic. He simply handed me the pen and smeared his teeth.
"I could have you dead. Be grateful you're alive. Sign it"
I couldn't believe he was threatening me. The last I checked. I was the one that should be threatening them.
I didn't want to sign it but then, I thought of Cassian. His father probably thought he was a failure because of me.
I had brought him so much trouble but he was still willing to defend me.
Picking up the pen, I realized that my reason for signing was because whatever I had shared with him was really special.
I should probably leave him on a good note. So I sighed. Immediately I dropped the pen, Alaric Rourke picked it up looked at it and then said:
"Get rid of him"
Which came as a shock to me. Before I could blink, I black bag was put over my head as I struggled.
The last thing I remembered was being hit on the head and dumped by the street.
Waking up, I found all my stuff. My wallet and jacket which still had Cassian's scent on it.
I sighed bitterly as thoughts of those moments we shared flashed before my eyes.
"Cassian Rourke"
I muttered. That name was definitely going to be on my lips for sometime. I pulled out a cigarette and lit it as I found my way back to my regular life. A life with no Cassian.
***
Being let go by the Rourke's didn't feel like freedom. The experience was similar to a James Bond film. I'd call it.
It felt more like being released into a world that suddenly looked unsafe. Probably because I had become aware of everything.
The truth felt like something that was hidden. My mind couldn't settle. Alaric was definitely hiding something. Those documents I found held the truth inside.
The good thing was that they dropped me near my apartment. Immediately I got in and everything looked normal, I was okay.
But now, the hairs on my neck rose with every step I took. From my office to my house, I could feel eyes watching me.
Familiar cars that were packed opposite my house and never moved. I had a panic attack as I thought. Was I really free or did I just become a more sophisticated prisoner?
But why? Why were they following me? What did they want with me again?
Obviously they had everything about me. They had the connections and the influence.
The worst part was that I couldn't prove anyone was following me, yet every shadow felt occupied, and every sound behind me scared the shit out of me.
I didn't do too well with horror movies so this was definitely far from what I wanted for myself.
I tried to brush it off and return to my routine, but I couldn't shake the heaviness inside my chest. Why were they stationed everywhere I went?
I tried to work, eat, sleep, but everything turned into reminders of Cassian. It even got worse with his people watching me. I wondered if he knew.
Was it him or his father? I didn't even know.
"Fuck"
I said out of anger. I couldn't stop thinking of the way he watched me that night in the penthouse. He had his eyes on me. I loved it.
The way he pulled me in without even trying. I tried to convince myself I was better off away from him, but the truth wasn't just painful. It revealed the lie I was trying to tell myself.
"Maybe I should see someone else, it could shake it off"
But it was a lie. Nobody was going to replace Cassian in my head.
At the coffee shop, I went to get some. I noticed the same car that had been following me all week, pull up.
At this point. I've had enough. I walk straight to the car and start yelling.
"Please give it a break. Give me a break. Tell Cassian if he really wants to see me or know how I'm doing he should do it person like a man"
The car drove off in order not to cause a scene but it was too late for that.
As I return back home. I decided to prepare for a date with some guy I had matched with on a dating site.
As I shave my beards on my face, my mind keeps replaying the way Cassian's father walked in, the shock, the tension in Cassian's body, the fear he tried to hide behind his cold expression.
"Alaric Rourke was definitely a terror"
I tell myself. For the most part, I should be relieved I'm out of their world, but was I really out. They kept on following whether Alaric or Cassian. I wished it was Cassian though.
My phone beeps and then I see that my date is outside. I put on my clothes and look at the mirror.
Looking at my reflection and instead of feeling confident, I feel the emptiness of losing something that never even had the chance to become real. I wanted Cassian.
I switch off the lights and head out.
***
As the days passed, it got worse. The dates didn't help. None of them could match up to Cassian, they weren't close enough.
"Aiden, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
I keep on feeling his presence behind me. Inside me and everywhere I went. Everything reminded me of him.
And in the middle of it all it was Cassian. No matter how far I tried to distance m
yself from him, my mind kept on circling back to him like gravity pulling me into an orbit I couldn't escape.