Chapter 7 REUNION
ERICA'S POV
I gently wiped the tears from my face while Esme stared back at me.
“Sorry I made you cry,” she said softly, and a small smile curved on my lips.
“Actually, you didn’t,” I replied, turning my gaze to the photo hanging in the living room—my younger self. “It’s just heartwarming how you loved her.”
“Hm, I loved her so much… and I still do,” Esme said.
Then the doorbell suddenly rang. I froze, eyes darting toward the door, my heart hammering. Who could that be at this hour? Trouble?
Esme stood and walked to the door. She opened it slowly, then froze.
“Good morning,” came that familiar, bold, metallic voice.
Shock washed over me. My first instinct was to run. I reached for my bag, but before I could grab it, Aaron’s hand brushed against mine. I hadn’t even realized he had already come inside. My lips quivered, but I forced composure.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean…” The words slipped out before I could stop them. Why am I apologizing? Maybe because he once told me not to jump and I did anyway.
I couldn’t meet his eyes. My hands trembled. I’d never felt this vulnerable in front of anyone before. My mask was cracking.
“Don’t apologize,” he said in a low voice. “You did nothing wrong.”
There was something else in his tone—something heavier and darker.
He was no longer the same. The faint smell of smoke clung to him. Cigarettes. I hated that. He used to hate it too. What had he become all these years?
“Did you smoke?” I asked, and Aaron arched a brow.
“How—”
“Smokers die young, don’t you know that? And yet you actually did smoke.” The words spilled out sharper than I intended. What the hell had happened to him? That nerd who always followed me around, made me laugh, protected me from the cruel ones, he used to be my angel and sometime a grim ripper to my tormentors. Now, he looked more like a shadow, darker.
The memory flashed bright and dark in my mind, they came running.
(FLASHBACK-SIX YEARS AGO)
My pen danced over the notebook as I hummed softly.
“What are you doing?” Aaron’s voice came from behind me, and I froze, quickly closing the page.
He leaned closer, pushing his glasses up, his blue eyes catching mine before he looked away, flustered.
“Sorry I asked,” he stuttered.
I smiled. “Come on, toughen up a bit,” I teased, poking his stomach lightly. He shivered.
“Stop poking me,” he pleaded, his voice low, almost shy.
My eyes glimmered with mischief. “Hmm… grr,” I growled playfully and leaned closer, brushing my teeth gently against his neck in a soft, teasing bite. He went rigid.
When I pulled back, I sucked lightly on his nape—just to mess with him.
His hand reached for my waist. “You should stop,” he said, voice trembling.
I laughed. “Hmm, are you gonna kiss me? Hm?” I whispered, stepping back just enough to meet his gaze.
His eyes moved—slow, deliberate and then my foot slipped. I gasped as the world tilted.
Bam!
Aaron lunged forward, catching me. His hand cradled the back of my head, softening the fall.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I just stared up at him. His blue eyes locked with my green ones. I couldn’t help but laugh, a giggle-sound escaping me. His worried expression softened.
“That was epic,” I whispered, giggling. His eyes brightened. It was the longest he had ever looked at me.
He stood, but his foot slipped—
Mwah!
His lips landed on mine.
\---
“And? Do you remember me now?You know me?” Aaron’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
No. I couldn’t let anyone know who I was. My emotions were betraying me again.
I smiled faintly. “Well, smokers die young. Celina wouldn’t be happy if she saw you like this. She hated cigarettes.” I whispered the last part so Esme wouldn’t hear.
Aaron’s gaze darkened, cutting straight through me. I looked away.
Then Esme walked back in. “Gosh, you remind me so much of Celina…” she murmured before turning to Aaron. “Have dinner with us, we just started.”
“I can’t, I have a long way to—”
“Come on, you’re a friend of Celina. Stay,” she urged gently.
I couldn’t refuse those eyes. “Okay, then. Just for a while. I’ll call my secretary to say I’ll be late.”
I reached for my phone. “I’ll be on the terrace,” I said, walking away.
“Do you know where that is?” Esme asked.
I froze. Damn it.
“My instinct just directed me,” I lied, forcing a smile.
“Gosh, you remind me so much of Celina. Her friends are just like her,” she said, smiling.
I saw Aaron’s eyes narrow, anger flickering beneath the surface. I looked away quickly.
Out on the terrace, I made the call. “Have you gotten it done?” I asked quietly, but paused when I heard footsteps behind me.
“You can’t replace her.”
I ended the call and turned around slowly. Aaron stood there, expression hard.
“Why do you think I’m trying to?” I asked, voice steady and calm.
“She was lovely in every way… Are you here to mock her? Or are you one of them?” he asked sharply.
“Them?” I repeated, curiosity spiking. “Who are them, hm?”
He took a step closer. “You sent all those gifts over the years, didn’t you? To this house?”
I laughed softly. “Would you hate me if I said I did?” I asked, stepping closer until only inches separated us. Our eyes locked....sharp, burning.
“I did. Just gifts. Can’t I do that for an old friend’s mother?”
“You never attended our school. It’s strange you know so much about Celina. I knew everything about her, and I never knew you,” he said.
“You can’t know everyone she talked to,” I countered.
He laughed: a low, dangerous sound that made my skin tingle.
He doesn’t love you. Carter uses girls, makes them think he cares. Don’t fall into his trap. The words echoed in my head, those warning he had given me yet I disobeyed.
“You’ve changed…” I said quietly, eyes darkening as I folded my arms.
“In a good way?” he asked. The air between us thickened, tension humming. His lips parted—
“Dinner is ready,” Esme said, stepping in.
I took a small step back, smiling lightly. “Sure. Coming.”
I glanced at Aaron, smirked, and winked. “You better keep up.”
Then I walked off with Esme, his gaze burning into my back, shimmering with fury.