for hurting me, I can’t help but think of him as a hero.
Just this once.
“I’m sorry,” Adam spits.
“No, no.” Aiden tsks. “Repeat it and mean it this time.”
“I don’t care about his apology,” I say. “He’s nothing.”
“That’s true.” Aiden’s lips curve into a smile. “But he still needs to apologise. You can do it standing or on your knees, Herran. Your choice.”
Adam’s red-rimmed eyes meet mine, but they’re filled with maliciousness more than anything else.
The bastard doesn’t feel guilty about what he’s done.
“I’m sorry.”
“Apology denied.” I glare at him. “I hope you rot in hell, Adam.”
A sadistic spark ignites in Aiden’s eyes. It’s as if he summoned his demons and they’re now taking reign of the situation.
Or maybe I summoned them. After all, he’s doing this for me.
Aiden turns into an unstoppable force for me.
“You heard her. Not that I was going to let you go.” He circles Adam like a predator before the attack. Smooth, silent... terrifying. “You dared not only to look at what’s mine, but you also touched her. Do you know what that means, Herran?”
Adam’s throat works with a swallow. I can see him hold his breath, as do I. The darkness in Aiden’s metal eyes can only mean trouble.
I’m on my toes, waiting for what he’ll say next.
“It means you’re out.”
One moment, Adam stands there, the next, Aiden pushes him. The rugby player loses balance and splashes into the water, flooding the edge.
Aiden isn’t done.
Not even close.
He crouches at the edge of the pool. The moment Adam comes up for air, Aiden grabs his head and thrusts him back down.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
Adam’s limbs flail all around, splashing water everywhere. He struggles for breath and only finds water.
Aiden fists his fingers into the rugby player’s hair and wrenches him out. He gasps for air like a dying man.
“Were you suffocating in there, Herran?”
Aiden shoves him back into the water. His expression is neutral, serene even. “Good. Now you know what it feels like to drown.”
I stand there, my limbs shaking as Aiden holds Adam underwater.
The calmness on his face sends shivers down my spine. I know, I just know, that Aiden would murder Adam and not bat an eye.
He’d do it on school grounds.
He’d endanger his future.
I run up to him, ignoring my fear of the water nearby. “Stop it, Aiden. Let him out.”
“Not yet.” He uses both his hands to keep Adam underneath the surface. “He hurt you. He hurt what’s mine.”
“You’re going to kill him,” I hiss.
“Small price to pay for touching you.”
“I hate him, too, but I’m not ready to lose you this way.” My voice is loud and clear. “He’s not worth it.”
Aiden’s head tilts in my direction. His steel eyes immediately soften when they meet mine.
I fall to my knees beside him, uncaring about the water soaking my skin, and grip his arm. The tight muscles ripple underneath my touch.
“He’s not important, Aiden. You are.”
That must’ve worked.
Slowly, too slowly, Aiden allows me to pull his hands from Adam’s head. The latter surfaces, gasping for air.
Neither of us pay him attention, not even when he climbs out, wet and shaking like a dog.
We’re too lost in each other’s gaze to pay attention to the world surrounding us. We’re barely touching, but I feel him all around me, like a constant.
Right now, I’m sure that if I somehow fell into the pool, he’d bring me out. He’d protect me and be my hero once again.
I should probably stop thinking about him as a hero.
“You’re a fucking psycho,” Adam spits once he’s out of the water. He’s wet and dishevelled, but I couldn’t feel sorry for him even if I tried.
Aiden’s left eye twitches as he meets Adam’s ashen face. “Fuck off before I finish what I started.”
Like the coward he is, Adam limps out of the pool area with his tail tucked between his legs.
And then, Aiden is back to watching me as if I’m the only person in his sights.
What does he see when he stares at me this intently? Is it Ma? Or is he perhaps trying to erase her similarities from my face?
Both Knox and Teal admitted to wanting to hurt me due to how much I look like her, so maybe Aiden feels the same.
Maybe deep down, he wants to hurt me, too.
What if everyone I love hates me because of my genes? It would be tenfold more painful if it’s Aiden.
But would he have been willing to commit murder for me if that was the case?
And yes, he