Chapter Fifty-Two

**Aiden**

In the history of best friends fucking up, I had royally fucked up. It wasn’t my first time being a complete asshole and doing something that would inevitably cause an argument or worse between Liam and me and yet on this one occasion, I didn't care. I wouldn't have done anything different.

But this was about that one rule that all best friends follow; don't fall for your best friend's baby sister. It's an unwritten rule that has probably been around for as long as humans have walked the earth. For centuries men have formed friendships with other men and while the other dynamics of the friendship might differ from friendship to friendship, there is one requirement that all friendships have and this was it.

And like absolutely every shitty best friend before me, I had broken it. I wasn’t the first and I wouldn’t be the last but right now, it was my time to fuck up.

It's not like I planned to fall for Ellie. When I first moved in I imagined that she was still that chubby cheeked five year old who hid shyly behind her brother's legs and peered out at the world with big brown eyes filled with curiosity. I know it’s ridiculous to think that since it had been twelve years since I first ever met her but she was my best friend’s kid sister. Emphasis on the kid part of that sentence.

But then I had seen her all grown up and the image of her as a sweet little kid was flattened by the bulldozer of reality. She had grown up to be a beautiful young woman and I had fallen for her the second my eyes had landed on her. She still had those beautiful brown eyes like pools of espresso and gold but she had grown and matured. Now she had beautiful full lips, smooth bronze skin, hips made to be grabbed and thighs and an ass I wanted to bite. She wasn’t petite, she wasn’t skinny either. She has a small waist but softness to her lower tummy. I wanted to suck and bite on that soft flesh as much as I wanted to do the same to her perfect breasts that fit perfectly in my hand.

Everything about Ellie was perfect to me. Her dark and rich locks that cascaded down over her shoulders and back like ribbons of silk. Her slightly upturned nose added to the doe-like resemblance of her features. The scattering of freckles on her back. To me she was a goddess. A shy, intelligent, caring goddess and I wanted to worship her in every way.

But she was Liam’s little sister and he’d kill me if I tried it on with her.

So I tried to distract myself and keep out of the way. I could tell El was extremely uncomfortable as well but that seemed more to do with her own social anxiety.

Life had been tough on Ellie and Liam. Liam had basically been left to look after his sister thanks to their dad fucking off when they were young and their gold-digging, coke loving mother deciding to run off to Vegas to marry some semi-rich professional poke player with a fake tan that bordered on mahogany. In those first few weeks after Julia disappeared in a haze of cheap perfume and bouncy blonde hair, Liam had been lost but tried to put on a brave face for Ellie. She had been too young to really understand what was going on and even if she did, she was too young to take care of herself. But that didn’t mean Liam picked up the role of parent flawlessly.

Being abandoned by not one but both parents had taken its toll on Liam. He became aggressive, angry, and reckless. In school he was getting into trouble, he was skipping classes, starting fights and doing shit that at the time seemed hilarious and fun but was stupid and dangerous. I watched as my friend went from being fun-loving and happy to resentful and lost. But despite the trauma he was enduring, despite the times he would get drunk off of stolen alcohol or start a fight with someone twice his size, Liam made sure Ellie never saw any of it and eventually, we helped him hide that side of him.

I know Ellie doesn’t remember the nights when I would have to practically carry Liam to his bedroom because he was so wasted. Tammy would distract Ellie or keep a watch out to make sure we didn’t wake her up.

Liam was a different person around us compared to what he was like with Ellie. Ellie always came first because Liam loved his little sister but this whole situation was tough on him and he could only let the rage out with us.

Then Liam learned of the assistance he'd get if he joined the military. College wasn't an option for him. There was no money from his parents and he'd fucked his grades and chances of getting a scholarship. The military beat the other options as well. So we signed up together.

I decided to leave before him. My great uncle had passed away several years before and the eccentric old man had left me and the other children (such as Kyle) a small inheritance. There were obviously conditions to that but I had met them by the time I hit twenty-five so I decided I wanted to get out and start my life. I had also heard that a number of my cousins had ended up in the foster care system. My grandparents were too old to help. My parents took in a few of the younger ones and my uncles in California took in one but others like Kyle were stuck in the system. So I decided to make sure they had someone to rely on.

I wouldn't say Tammy and I were ever serious. We had this odd relationship where we were friends for the most part but we slept with each other. In high school we had just been exploring but as adults it was a way to scratch an itch. I had hoped seeing Tammy again would set me straight and I'd forget about Ellie and her beautiful eyes. Tammy was so different from Liam and I. She was always a free spirit with a presence and energy that drew you in. Out of the three of us she was the most outgoing and had a knack of making everyone feel welcome.

The problem was, I couldn't get Ellie off my mind. When I introduced her to Kyle I damn near tore him apart out of jealousy just because he held her hand and sat next to her. I learnt later he cottoned almost immediately that I had it bad for El and like jackass he can be, Kyle decided to tease me.

It was when I saw the bruises that I knew I couldn't stop wanting Ellie even if I tried. Seeing her perfect skin marred so horribly by another man no less made me murderous. I spent several sleepless nights trying to resist the urge to beat the shit out of the little fucker. After Kyle rescued Ellie we all thought it was over but we had no idea how wrong we were.

On the night of Ellie's birthday, I lost all restraint.

She was drop dead gorgeous anyway but when she walked into the bar that night, she took my breath away. I was hypnotised by her beauty. I wasn't even mad she was wearing my t-shirt. I even wanted to steal it and hold it to my nose just to breathe in her scent. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair and felt its weight as it slipped between my fingers like water. I wanted to gaze into her eyes and take in every fleck of gold against a sea of rich molasses brown.

That first kiss had been everything I imagined and more and once I got a taste I couldn't stop wanting more. Even when I needed to head out of town to put the first steps into place for the construction business I couldn't stop wanting more of Ellie. She took up my thoughts every second of the day making it impossible for me to focus on anything. Even without knowing it, she knew how to drive me crazy.

And then I got a call from Kyle. There had been an accident and Ellie had been hurt.

Never in my life have I felt fear like what I felt in that moment and I've been shot at. I dropped everything and drove all night to get back home. At some point I had found the sense to contact Liam but I was as clueless as him until I got to the hospital. Seeing her like that, hurt and frail had knocked the wind from sails like a punch to the gut.

Eventually the full events had unfurled like the petals of a deadly nightshade. Someone had drugged Ellie and she had been hit by a car. It was obvious the two weren't related but if the fucker who drugged Ellie hadn't done that she wouldn't have run out into the road. If I had known Kyle was taking Ellie to a party then I'd have stopped her from going. I've been to my share of highschool house parties and I knew what happened at these things. Just the thought of some guy checking Ellie out made my blood boil but knowing someone tried to hurt her turned my anger into an erupting volcano.

This was the cycle we found ourselves in god knows how many times. I would promise myself I'd do better to keep Ellie safe and then somehow that piece of shit Noah Winters would find a way of getting to her and breaking her down. Ellie leaving school was meant to be the way to break the cycle for good. No one could have foreseen what came next…

"Alright, Mr Green." The detective entered the living room. "Someone has gone to meet Liam Ramirez at the airport but I need to go through your statement again."

I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since I had dropped Ellie at home. That's nearly twenty-four hours since anyone had last seen her.

I had a feeling something wasn't right when I had come home to find no lights on. I had been trying to let Ellie have some space despite the fact I worried about her whenever I couldn't see her. It had only been a few weeks since she tried to kill herself and even though she put on a brave front, I knew she was still reeling from everything Noah had done to her. She didn't talk about it in detail with anyone but I had pieced enough to know this wasn't your average highschool bully.

"I dropped Ellie off here yesterday afternoon about four pm and then I went to the bar to do some work. You can check the CCTV. I don't leave the bar until eight. I come home and I find this mess and Ellie gone. That's when I call you." I rattled off the timeline yet again, my eyes unable to stay off the technician currently examining and gathering samples of the blood stain on the doorframe and staining the carpet. "I've already told you Ellie hasn't run away. Someone took her."

The detective raised a bushy eyebrow at him as if he couldn't believe I was suggesting someone had abducted Ellie. "And who would do that?"

I felt my blood boil as the name sat on my tongue like rotten food. "Noah Winters."