Chapter 11 - Price of Refuge, Part 2

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            Aiden's mind went back to that night when Bridgette laid her head on his chest; the previous night replayed in his head. There was the point in the movie where a guy was being cheated on by his blond wife who was with the younger guy. That’s the point where Steven stared at Aiden. Aiden just stood and walked to the kitchen to get some water; no need to hang around for that.
            “I love you,” she murmured quickly. It jostled him out of the thought.
            Her eyes opened and she followed with, “I’ll pay for that later.” An awkward pause as she closed her eyes again and rolled to the left pulling the comforter over her.
            Too late. She broke the rules again. Fuck.
            All he could do was breathe in heavily. The mute button killed the already quiet ambient sound of night.

           
            “Yeah. Sure. Let me get dressed first.”
            He snapped the cellphone shut. She was still in his bed. The conversation with Steven was quick and to the point which should’ve kicked-off some alarm in his head that said somethin’ wasn’t right. All Aiden knew was that he was tired and didn’t care.
            The apartment doorway opened slowly and Aiden reached under his bed and pulled out his gun. He stood by the bedside and thumbed the hammer as he heard footsteps in the living room. They stopped for a moment.
            Bridgette looked up at Aiden but didn’t say a thing; that dose of common sense saying it was best to lay-low. The footsteps started again and they were nearing the bedroom doorway. Aiden raised the gun to the doorway but had a feeling he knew who was around the corner. Bridgette quickly pulled the comforter over her head and dug deeper into the mattress.
            Steven. He stopped in his tracks and was pissed-off enough not to notice the gun pointed at him. Bridgette’s bra hung from his fingers; the worst consolation gift for finding out the truth.
            Aiden lowered the piece and stood there. He saw that mixture of hurt, frustration, and pain swimming in Steven’s eyes. No doubt Steven wanted to rip him apart but that’s not what he was here for. At the moment he was trying to burn a hole through the bed with his eyes.
            “So… you left this is the living room.” He tossed the bra on the bed.
            Her arm flailed out, searched aimlessly for a minute before her fingers touched it, and disappeared under the comforter again.
            “Bridgette” Aiden called out. A command. A call to senses.
            Her head shot up, keeping her eyes locked on Aiden. His head motioned toward the bathroom door. Bra and comforter in hand she slid off the bed and marched to the bathroom.
            “Why?!?” Steven shouted. Deep down Aiden was sort of impressed.
            Bridgette stopped and stared directly into his eyes before saying, “Because it was fun!” She stared at him for another moment before storming off into the bathroom, slamming the door behind and loudly locking it.
            Because it was fun. No, that was not the preferred answer. Aiden breathed in deeply and set the gun on the floor. Might as well get dressed. It was going to be a long day.