A different way of seeing things – Chapter 4 - Tell me the truth, not what I want to hear
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A/N: Hi people! First off I can't tell you how sorry I am for the humongous wait for this update, there has been so much going on in my life that there just hasn't been time to write!
Secondly: This is the last chapter of this story, I had planned it from the start and so here it is!
Enjoy!
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"Who is Myra?" Amanda said, trying to look calmer than she felt when Aaron looked at her with sad eyes.
"Myra was Reid's girlfriend in junior high. Back then we weren't as bad as we are now but we weren't exactly friends. One night we were at this party and I decided to have some fun so I started hitting on Myra. One thing led to another and we slept together..." He sighed and turned his head away from her, looking out the window. "What she didn't know was that I was filming the whole thing."
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He could see Amanda's body tensing in the corner of his eye but what hurt the most were her glossy eyes.
"A few days later I was bored... So I posted it online." He felt a tear slip down his face and discreetly wiped it away. "When she found out she was distraught, Reid broke up with her and her friends dumped her... About a month later she jumped off a cliff."
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Amanda was crying now, silently but every tear that dropped was a stab at Aaron's heart and she was shivering.
"What I did to her, in a moment of boredom, made her kill herself... That's why Reid hates me so much..."
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Amanda wanted to say something but she couldn't come up with anything to say. She was so shocked by what she had just heard that she just sat there, staring at him in silence.
She didn't want to leave him but she didn't want to stay either. She felt like she needed to think but at the same time her mind was too frazzled to come up with anything that made sense.
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"I should take you home. Your dad's probably worried." Aaron low voice suddenly broke the silence, causing her to jump a little in her seat.
"Yeah... Probably." She whispered, not knowing what else to say.
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*******It's too cold outside for angels to fly*******
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Robert noticed instantly that something was wrong the moment his daughter walked through the door. She looked like she'd been crying and her body language was not that of a girl back from her first date.
"How did it go?" He asked nonetheless, wanting to hear it from her own lips.
"Fine. Everything was fine." She mumbled, shrugging off her jacket and petting Grimm's head as she was about to head for her room.
"I can tell everything is not fine, Amanda." Robert stood up and walked over to his daughter who stubbornly stared him in the eye.
"It's nothing, just leave it alone."
"It's Aaron isn't it?"
He took her silence as a yes.
"Look, he's a nice kid and all but I really think it's for the best. You not being with him."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" His daughter glared at him.
"His dad isn't the best influence on him and studies show that genetics play a huge part in whether or not children of addicts..."
"So he's destined to be a drunk, is that what you're saying?"
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Robert said nothing but his silence spoke volumes.
"Just like I'll be a drug addict like mom?!"
"That's not what I said..."
"It's what you implied!" Amanda yelled, her voice breaking along with her father's heart at the sound of it. "You know what, forget about it. I'm going to Aaron's, don't wait up."
"Amanda, please wait..." Robert tried calling but was cut off by the door slamming in his face.
A sigh could be heard from Grimm and he looked at his master as if telling him "You really screwed up this time, buddy."
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Amanda was speeding but she didn't care. The tears were running down her face as she desperately tried to clear her head from every bad thought flying around in there. She knew she was probably overreacting to her father's words but her mother was a sore subject and she tended to lash out whenever her dad brought her up.
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Half an hour later she was standing outside Aaron's house, her heart still beating furiously as she hesitantly knocked on the door.
She never got used to standing on the big porch, attached to the big house with a big yard and a big swimming pool. His house, much like every family's who's kids went to Spenser, was larger than life and it always made Amanda feel so small.
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The door opened and the kind-looking woman Amanda knew as Aaron's mother smiled surprised at her guest.
"Amanda? I thought Aaron was supposed to drive you home?"
"He did, um..." Amanda didn't know what to say so she went with the truth. "I just really need to talk to him."
"Well, I'm sorry sweetheart but he's not home yet." The older woman said and Amanda felt her heart sink.
"Oh..." She felt the tears surfacing again. "Then I'm sorry I bothered you." She managed to get out and was about to leave when the woman placed a soft hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't you come inside and wait for him? I'm sure he'll be home any minute."
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Amanda nodded and allowed herself to be led into the house by the sweet woman.
"Feel free to wait in his room if you want, I'll call him and ask where he is." Aaron's mother said and with a last motherly smile at the girl she left to find her phone.
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Walking up the stairs and into Aaron's room the blonde tried to think of anything other than the conversation in the car. She looked at his swimming-trophies, the ones he'd won before the Sons of Ipswitch had grown and caught up with him. She looked at the photos of him and his father fishing when he was a boy, the big unguarded smile on his face as if nothing in the world could hurt him.
Then as he got older dynamic in the photos changed.
In the few pictures that his dad was actually in Aaron seemed to be pulling away from him and soon enough it was just him and his mom left in the pictures.
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"I don't think Aaron has ever forgiven him."
Amanda jumped, she hadn't heard the older woman enter the room.
"He's still angry?" She asked, feeling just how much their situation related to hers.
"I think he secretly wishes that one day he'll put down the bottle and be a real dad again." The older woman smiled a sad smile as she regarded the photo of Aaron and his dad fishing.
"Yeah, I know that feeling." Amanda mumbled and felt the woman squeeze a comforting hold of her arm.
"I called your dad by the way, I figured he didn't know where you were."
"Thanks." Amanda said, feeling a blush coming on. "How worried was he?"
The older woman laughed.
"He assumed you'd be here but he was worried about you nonetheless."
"Guess I'll have to apologize for that when I get home." The blonde chuckled along with the woman. They both knew the Chief of Police all too well after all.
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*******It's too cold outside for angels to fly*******
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When Aaron got home about half an hour later he was surprised to see Amanda sitting on his bed, waiting for him.
"I have to say I was expecting your dad." He chuckled humorlessly as he sat down next to her. "I figured you'd never want to see me again after tonight." He said, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.
"I wasn't sure if I would." Amanda admitted silently. "I needed to think."
"And did you?" Aaron looked up from his hands folded on his lap.
"Yeah, I think I did." The blonde looked up to meet his eyes. She looked deep into them and felt her heart twitch at the fear she found in them.
With a small smile Amanda leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.
It was such a little thing but the simple gesture meant the world to Aaron. He let his hand travel to her hair, gently pulling her closer into their first real kiss.
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There was still so much they needed to talk about but tonight they had made a decision.
They were worth fighting for.
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A/N: Hello again people! Like previously mentioned I had planned this ending from the start and although it may feel unfinished to some of you this was how I wanted to end it.
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I truly hope you have enjoyed it (although I've kept you all waiting for too long) and please drop a comment if you did! :D