Return to the Darkness - Ripley Proserpina Page 0,25
We were strangers in town versus your cousin, who was a local boy.”
I shook my head. “Yeah, but they hated us. My cousin wouldn’t have anyone wanting to help him. Trust me on that. Erdirg turning everyone against me aside, my cousin got into all kinds of shit.”
“Well, the devil you know, as they say. When it came down to it, my brother spent most of the last decade in jail. Now, he’s raving, on drugs, and can barely keep his job at the grocery store. It isn’t pretty.”
My heart fell into my stomach and tears came to my eyes. “Your father did this because he wanted you guys to have a better life, one where he put you guys first and things went better for you. A stable family. I don’t understand how this all got so screwed up.”
Aaron’s jawline was tight when he spoke. “My father wants all kinds of things.”
I sat forward. “What about Colton and Thorn? Are they okay?”
“Ah… yeah, I think so. I don’t really see them much. Colton went into business with his father, and I think Thorn is coaching football at the high school. He does odd jobs around town. After his parents split up and his dad lost all their money, he’s been a little bit lost. But Colton is the one I avoid.”
I side-eyed him. “Why’s that?”
“I never see him that he’s not doing something ugly.” He shook his head. “He’s not a good guy.”
We pulled into a driveway that must have been the apartment building where Aaron lived. This was awful. Every single second of it and I couldn’t leave it like this. No, if this was how things were. In this world, I hadn’t been the one to get rid of Erdirg. And that had fucked everything up. I let out a breath. Okay, then. I was going to figure out how to fix that.
Inside Aaron’s apartment, I could see little flashes of the guy I knew. There was a bookcase full of books, the bindings torn and worn so much I couldn’t even make out the titles. There was a picture of him and Oliver standing in front of the ocean, Oliver must have been about fourteen and Aaron younger. They had their arms around each other’s shoulders, and they wore matching smiles. This was before I’d ever met them.
I didn’t like the cigarette smoke permeating the air or the holes in the sofa. The dirty dishes in the sink. It was depressing as hell.
Aaron closed and locked the door behind me before stopping. “I just can’t believe you’re alive.”
“I can’t believe I’m not. The whole time we fought Erdirg, I thought it was the darkness inside me that would undo us, but it turned out that was what saved us.”
“You don’t seem so dark.” He studied me. “You seem lighter. Like you were happy.”
I had been. I’d had them. And they’d had happy lives. “We’re going to get there again.” I wouldn’t allow any other outcome. “Shit. I’m so fucking mad at your father!”
Aaron’s face split into a grin. “You sound like Oliver.”
“Ha!” He didn’t even know. “When I left him, he was complaining about your dad. And now look at me, I’m doing the same thing.”
“Are you hungry?” Aaron asked me. “Tired? The bathroom is right through there.” He pointed to a dingy looking door.
“No,” I replied. “But I do need to do something.” I took a breath and let it out. “I need you to call Oliver. Have him come over. Will you do that for me?”
Frowning, he put his hands on his hips and stared down at the floor. “That could be a huge mistake. I don’t know how he’ll react.”
Fair enough. But we weren’t going to be able to do this without all of us working together. I had been the hot mess when we first met, and now they were, but we’d succeeded. For crying out loud, we were ten years older, a lot wiser, and didn’t have a demon to deal with in this reality. We could handle a little time travel.
“Just call him. We’ll deal with the mess after we make it.”
Aaron huffed a laugh and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Okay. But I warned you.” He was silent after dialing. “Ol? Can I come get you? I need your help.” He’d had a little pucker between his eyes as he spoke, but whatever Oliver said made his face clear. “Really? Okay. Great. Be there in fifteen.” He hung