Ruin (Rhodes #1) by Rina Kent

                             No.

                             “I don’t know what I want,” I say instead, gauging Tristan’s expression. “Please tell me he’s not alone. You care about him, right? You wouldn’t leave him to battle those demons on his own, right?”

                             Tristan smiles. “He’s an adult. He can take care of himself.”

                             “Where is he, Tristan?” My voice is brittle, nearing the edge. “Please tell me.”

                             He shakes his head and releases a long breath. “I can’t do that, but I can assure you that he’s taking a promising path. We discussed his options and I trust what he will do with his life.”

                             A wave of relief passes through me, but it doesn’t last long. Aaron is still not here. “When is he coming back?”

                             “I’m not even sure if he will come back.” Tristan leans on his knees. “You’re free, Mae. Make use of it. Don’t waste your youth and potential on someone like Aaron.”

                             I stop listening to him, pick up my handbag, and leave. Kane drives me back to the front. I ask him for the answers Tristan didn’t provide me but he says nothing, shutting me out completely.

                             Tears overflow my eyes when I drive back.

                             Idiots. All of them.

                             No one understands me. Why can’t anyone see that I’m not really free? My heart, body, and soul don’t belong to me anymore. Aaron took them with him and left me in this vacant body. One that functions out of necessity and the overwhelming need to think about him.

                             I push the door to my art studio. My gaze flickers between the dozen of paintings I drew after returning. When thinking of Aaron became too much and I couldn’t sleep at night, I came here and poured my feelings to canvas. Sometimes it’s his smile, others it’s the intense look in his eyes, his tattoo, or even the small arch of his eyebrow. It’s always him. Everything I paint revolves around him. I can’t possibly exhibit this even when my professors try to talk me into it. They only saw a sample of undefined features and keep insisting on showing it to the world.

                             My fingers trace Aaron’s painted strong jawline. I close my eyes. Tears soak my cheeks, and I have no energy to wipe them anymore.

                             “I miss you, bastard.”





                             Chapter Thirty

                             Aaron



                             Deep breath.

                             The smell of astringent hand sanitiser calms my nerves.

                             Another deep breath.

                             A stronger dose of over-cleaned floor soothes my chest.

                             I can do this.

                             A cart with an unconscious patient rolls towards me with the rest of the emergency team. Blood drips from his chest wound. My gaze fixates on the red. My mind goes black. The white hospital walls blur to nothingness. My senses reach the point of shutting down. There’s no bleaching smell anymore. The nurses and the paramedics are talking, but I hear nothing.